Whether you have been the manager of a warehouse or more than one factory floor for several years, or you are relatively new to the role, a good leader and a strong and effective manager should always be looking for ways and means to improve.
So, with that being said, here is help and advice for warehouse managers who are looking to improve their professional performance at work.
Ask Your Team for Their Advice and Opinions
When you cast your mind back to managers and team leaders you have had in the past, it is highly likely that the ones you remember fondly are the managers who were supportive, open, and honest and who always explained where you went wrong (if, of course, you did).
.........................
Now, as a leader of people yourself—and more specifically, the person in charge of the health and safety (not to mention the mental well-being at work, at least) of a dozen or more factory workers—it is your turn to proactively and regularly engage with your trusted team members when a suggestion is made that could impact them.
Learn As Much as You Possibly Can
When the heat exchanger on a particular piece of machinery decides to stop working or presents a regular malfunction warning, your natural go-to may well understandably be to arrange for an emergency call-out from a qualified engineer.
However, even though there are many times when getting someone who knows what they are doing is essential, you could well be paying over the odds for a simple solution. These solutions may be as simple as a faulty lightbulb, simply because you are not familiar with the machinery.
.........................
This is why it is also strongly advisable to learn as much as you possibly can about critical items of equipment and machinery on the warehouse floor. Moreover, you need to feel confident in yourself to be able to fix a problem should one arise.
This willingness to keep “a finger in every pie” will stand you in incredibly good stead with employees and both new and recurring clients and customers alike.
Stand Up for What You Believe In
If you feel, for example, that a proposed process or new way of working is going to result in negative impacts on one or more members of your team, you need to make your voice heard and stand up for what you believe in.
.........................
Moreover, you could even look to becoming more influential in how the rules and legislations governing your own manufacturing company are reviewed and look to upgrade, improve, and modernize regulations as an industry standard.
Strive for Sustainability
Not only will placing a larger focus on sustainability make for a more attractive manufacturing business for your clients and potential future employees, but you will also be helping to reduce your company’s carbon footprint in the process.
From reviewing the entirety of your supply chain to implementing a no-waste strategy across the warehouse floor, there are numerous ways and means of becoming a more sustainable and, therefore, more respected employer.
Be an Impactful Leader
Any respected and, ultimately, successful manager and leader of people knows and understands the importance of continually looking to expand and enhance their knowledge and their areas of expertise even when they have won their dream role.
.........................
Being a good leader is not just confined to how you approach a particular task, situation, opportunity, or workplace dispute. Rather, it is also about inspiring your employees to reach for the top in their own careers and to build the company’s success together.
Simple yet effective ways to work on your leadership skills include:
- Develop the valuable skill of foresight
- Listen more than you speak in meetings and conferences
- Motivate others and never be afraid to compliment a job well done
- Take on additional responsibilities and ‘extracurricular’ tasks
Work to Use Resources Far More Effectively
Finally, and especially in the world of production, it is your moral and, in some situations, legal, responsibility to be considerably more aware of the resources both you as an individual company use and how efficient and effective the entire supply chain is.
.........................
Look to minimize any and all remotely negative impacts on the planning and design stage of new or updated process before it goes live and take time to review past incidents or documented breaches of health and safety in the warehouse and work to connect safer movement of materials with a safer working environment.