The Logistical Lowdown

Keller Trucking founder Tom Keller and nephew Bryan Keller hosted the final of a series of events spanning the year to celebrate 40 years of service since Thomas E. Keller Trucking incorporated.

My youngest daughter is in the 1st grade, and she recently did a biography report on Jane Goodall, the world-renowned primatologist expert. As part of the research I helped her with, I came across a primatology example that helps signify the benefits the a continuous improvement program. It highlights the mentality of “the way we’ve always done it” and is loosely based on research performed in the 1960s on a group of monkeys by G. R. Stephenson, though it’s more of a fictitious fable. The story is popular on the internet and was even featured in the 1990 movie ‘The Contender’ in which the actor Jeff Bridges illustrates this mentality.

While many recognize Memorial Day as the first three-day weekend of summer, it is important to remember the meaning behind the holiday. On Memorial Day, we remember and honor the sacrifices of our nation's veterans. On the last Monday in May, we take time to reflect on the lives lost in battle to protect our freedoms we enjoy today. 

The idea of focusing on employees' overall wellness is not new to the 21st century. According to Gainer in History of ergonomics and occupational therapy (2008), the idea of workplace wellness began with Bernardini Ramazzini, an Italian physician, in the 1600's. Ramazzini focused on the effects of work exposure on the employees and was interested in preventative measures to improve employee well being.

We've reached Part III of How to Engage Remote Warehouse Employees. In Part I, we talked about how to engage remote warehouse employees through communication; and that communication needs to be at the center of your relationships with your employees. 

In the second article, How to Engage Remote Warehouse Employees, Take a Chance on Me; we discussed ways to empower your crew so their observations and insights can be used to make your warehouse better. 

So, finally we're going to discuss part III of engaging remote warehouse employees; it's to have some fun! 

In a previous post, I wrote the first part of the three part series: How to Engage Remote Warehouse Employees Through Communication.  I'll continue that topic and focus on the second aspect of engaging remote warehouse employees: Empowerment. 

First, let's recap-  Engaging Remote Warehouse Employees through Communication. The key take-away was to put communication at the core of your relationships with your employees if you want to be sure your employees are engaged in their job, their work, and their company. 

As a Regional Operations Manager, I oversee six warehouses throughout the mid-west. The distance varies as I can visit some with a day trip, others require a half-day drive, and I even have a few that require flying or driving the entire day to see. So, how do I engage remote warehouse employees? 

Being a manager is a tough job, being a manager of remote employees adds a few curve balls to the managers role. We rely on many forms of communication to get our work done; phone, email, and even video conferencing.

What do you do when you receive a job offer? If you're like most people, you'll focus on the monetary number and not fully consider the entire compensation package. However, your answer should be along the lines of “weigh the benefits, of course!”

In the working world, it’s well known that compensation is more than just a salary. Recently, companies have expanded their benefits package outside the dental, vision, and life insurance realm. Flexible work hours, wellness programs, and even onsite daycare are trending in the more progressive companies. So what does this mean for potential new hires? How can one make an informed decision when deciding between two offers with very different benefits? The answer is, all you need is love for the job and a little HR!

It takes a lot of patience and persistence to be successful at recruiting drivers these days. A lot of effort, time, money, and brain power is being put towards finding quality drivers that are a good fit to join our fleet. However, our focus is not solely recruiting, but also retaining our current fleet of safe, professional, and dependable drivers. So… what are we doing?