How to Use Effective Communication in Your Warehouse

Running an efficient warehouse starts with ensuring staff are on the same page and are communicating with one another. When your team knows who to talk to and makes it a priority to keep everyone updated on critical information, you’ll likely have a more productive, safe and efficient warehouse. Some common challenges warehouses regularly face can be addressed through better communication practices and investing in labor-saving equipment.

Review some of the following tips for good warehouse communication and how you can benefit from implementing these tips.

Jump To Sections:

• Challenges Facing Communication in the Warehouse
• Ways to Improve Warehouse Communication
• Benefits of Strong Communication in the Warehouse
• Labor-Saving Equipment to Facilitate Communication

Challenges Facing Communication in the Warehouse

Warehouses suffering from communication challenges put themselves in danger of an unproductive staff, an increase in accidents and a decrease in client satisfaction. There are a few common challenges that put warehouses at risk of improper communication and the unfavorable results that stem from it.

One of the primary challenges to warehouse communications can be a facility’s size and the inability to locate needed staff members. While you spend time looking for a worker, more productive tasks could be getting done and tasks may get delayed. Additionally, warehouses sometimes do not set clear expectations and systems for contacting managers and supervisors. This lack of communication guidelines can leave staff unsure of who to contact in the case of an emergency or to tell crucial information.

Since warehouses usually employ many workers, an ineffective communication system can lead to uneven distribution of information. Some workers may be aware of the newest changes, while others may be behind the curve, leading to slowdowns or accidents. Companies without communication devices, such as radios or smartphones, can also struggle to contact workers when tasks need to be reassigned or an emergency occurs.

Ways to Improve Warehouse Communication

There are several ways you can improve communication in your warehouse and overcome common warehouse communication challenges. Below you can find some of the top tips for good communication in the warehouse:

1. Create a Clear Structure

One of the first steps to improving communication in your warehouse is making sure there’s a clear chain of command. When issues pop up, staff need to know who they should contact about the problem and from whom they can get advice or action steps. The right actions can be taken when staff members know who they should contact based on the nature of the problem and how they can contact those people quickly.

In addition to ensuring staff know who to contact, managers should prioritize setting up regular in-person meetings and check-ins with staff. Speaking to staff members face to face is one of the best ways to communicate information. As such, you may want to consider regularly scheduling meetings at the start of the day. When new policies or procedures are being implemented, you can meet with staff individually or hold special in-person meetings for management to communicate the changes.

2. Provide Wearables for Staff

Warehouses can be huge, and as a result, it can be difficult for staff members to find each other’s location and get in contact with each other. A great way to keep track of employees and facilitate faster communication is outfitting key staff members with wearable devices. Wearable devices are usually worn on a wrist or hip and feature GPS technology showing viewers where the device is at all times.

When staff members wear these devices, supervisors and managers can quickly locate employees they can’t reach otherwise. They can also use the devices to delegate responsibilities or other tasks to employees based on their proximity to a department or work station.

Companies have found that outfitting their entire staff with wearables can create some interference, making it hard to locate employees. To mitigate this challenge, many warehouses only give wearables to floating employees who are tasked with supporting various departments or new hires who are still adjusting to the work. Managers should also be outfitted with wearables so other supervisors or managers can find them quickly.

3. Give Staff Radios and Phones

Workers may not be in earshot of others while they’re completing their main tasks in the workplace. Additionally, there can be lots of noise in a warehouse, especially when heavy machines are operating. Part of knowing how to promote strong communication in the warehouse is learning about how phones and radios can facilitate a better flow of information.

When you outfit your staff with smartphones, managers and staff can communicate via talk or text, no matter how close they are to one another. If a staff member needs help with a task, a smartphone can help them contact a supervisor quickly.

While smartphones are the most high-tech option for one-on-one communication, many warehouses still rely on two-way radios. Radios are the most durable of the two options, and they are also more reliable. In emergency situations, radios can give your company a sure-fire way of reaching relevant parties, while smartphones can be affected if cell networks are overcrowded or down. Regardless of which communication device you select, implementing one or the other can greatly improve warehouse communication.

4. Purchase a PA System

Companies that know how to promote employee communication often choose to invest in a PA system for mass communication. Managers and supervisors can use PA systems to quickly get the attention of all workers at once and give them critical information. You can find wireless PA systems with up to a two-mile reach.

The PA system speakers can be set up all around your warehouse so it’s possible for everyone to hear key messages. When you invest in a PA system, it’s crucial regulations are in place for who can use the system and when. Ensuring PA announcements are reserved for key messages and only accessible by responsible personnel can prevent false alarms from going out or the PA system being overused, causing people to tune out the messages.

5. Invest in Cloud-Driven Software

Accurate data is crucial to a company’s efficiency and ability to meet expectations. Making sure staff can quickly access data, adjust it when data changes and keep everyone on the same page on the state of operations are all a priority of the modern warehouse. If you’re trying to improve warehouse communication, cloud-driven software can be one of the best ways to make sure data is as accurate and accessible as possible to every department.

Companies can upload their inventory to cloud-based software. Since the data and information uploaded to this software are stored online, team members can quickly share data with different departments and audit their inventory, looking for any areas of improvement.

Cloud-driven software can also assist with accepting orders, keeping a record of your quarterly sales data, sending order reminders and reviewing stock levels. You can utilize software to design the most optimal workflow and ensure there aren’t any shortages or backlogs of inventory. With all these capabilities available online, staff members can be more informed about the warehouse and communicate their work status to others more easily.

Benefits of Strong Communication in the Warehouse

After implementing better communication practices in your warehouse, you’ll likely notice the many advantages it affords. From improving the safety of your warehouse and reducing the chance of accidents to creating happier clients and getting better performances from your staff, there are multiple reasons to make communication a priority at your warehouse. Check out the top benefits below:

• Improved safety: Stronger warehouse communication can have a direct impact on safety. When staff members don’t know about potential dangers, they’re more likely to injure themselves. Having clear communication practices and devices makes it easier for employees to communicate potential safety hazards. If a staff member is in danger or has injured themselves, a safety communication system can get them help faster.
• Better performance from staff: When you communicate expectations and other key information to staff more clearly, it’s more likely they will perform their jobs more efficiently and reduce the rate of errors. Organizing regular meetings and training can also facilitate improved performance from staff. Additionally, the ability to reach out to managers for help faster can keep staff members from going through extended periods of downtime to stay productive longer.
• Greater employee satisfaction: A focus on employee communication can lead to higher staff satisfaction. Building a culture in your company that connects workers and gives them the opportunity to contact one another quickly can lead to more camaraderie and coordination between team members. When managers make it a point to speak one on one with staff members, they’ll have more opportunities to build staff confidence and hear their concerns.
• Reduced chance of errors: A workspace that doesn’t communicate information about essential practices, dangers and changes is more likely to produce errors. While mistakes happen, better communication can make sure staff are properly trained and receive assistance when faced with a more complex job. Having a practice of regularly communicating safety and operation standards for equipment can also reduce the risk of accidents occurring from improper use.
• More consistency: When you have a system for communicating essential information to all staff members, they will likely provide more consistent performance. Since you can quickly get information to team members, it’s much easier to remind them of the right procedures for conducting tasks correctly.
• Happier clients: A more productive workplace with fewer errors can lead to happier customers. There may not be as many delays in processing inventory, meaning clients won’t face delays in their products arriving. You may even be able to get products to clients faster.

Labor-Saving Equipment to Facilitate Communication

Along with following the safety tips for good communication, you can also improve your warehouse with labor-saving equipment. Much like good communication practices, labor-saving equipment can improve the efficiency, productivity and safety of your warehouse. Learn more about how to improve efficiency in the warehouse with labor-saving equipment:

1. Safety Tape and Signs

If you want to know how to improve warehouse safety, floor tape and signs may be what you’re looking for. These products do a great job of communicating proper Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines to workers. To ensure staff members are aware of OSHA guidelines, you can install floor tape and signs on the ground in key locations containing messages about safety procedures. Signage and tape can communicate the proper guidelines, even without supervisors around.

2. Stretch Wrappers

Stretch wrappers can save staff a lot of time. Instead of having to wrap pallets by hand, stretch wrappers automate much of the wrapping process. This automation makes the stretching process go faster and frees up your staff’s time for other tasks. Stretch wrappers also reduce the chance of user error that could lead to damaged products or wasted stretch film.

3. Pallet Dispensers

Moving pallets by hand can be a very time-consuming process that also increases the chances of an employee becoming injured. Pallet Dispensers remove the need for workers to manually stack or re-stack pallets, saving them time and reducing their chance of injury. Your staff will appreciate not having to do a physically straining task, and the time the machinery saves can also free them up for other tasks at the warehouse.

4. Pallet Inverters

Anyone who’s ever had to repeatedly move product by hand from one pallet to another knows it’s hard work. Pallet Inverters make load transfers simple and improve the safety of staff while at the same time help reduce the potential for product damage. They’re also easy to operate and will absolutely help improve the output of your facility.

5. Lift Tables

When you need to place the pallets at a level where workers can handle them with ease, lift tables are an excellent option. Lift tables make it so staff members don’t have to do excessive bending, stretching, or reaching, saving them time and increasing their safety. These machines can place loads at the ideal angles and heights for the next step in the handling process.

6. Pallet Changers

Sometimes, you may need to change materials from one pallet to another. Instead of relying on staff to change out the pallets by hand, pallet changers automate the process. These machines can turn, push, pull, lift, tip or squeeze products and then move them to a new pallet with ease. These capabilities improve your warehouse’s efficiency and reduce the need for manual input from staff, saving your workers’ valuable time for other tasks. You can also simplify the process of cleaning pallets with industrial pallet washer systems.

Contact Cherry’s Industrial Equipment to Learn More

Now that you’ve investigated how to improve warehouse communication, you may be interested in outfitting your warehouse with labor-saving equipment. Cherry’s Industrial Equipment offers plenty of equipment options designed to make your warehouse more productive. To help our clients find the perfect solution, we offer both standard and custom equipment options. By working with our team, you can make your warehouse safer and more efficient.

Contact our team at Cherry’s to learn more about how you can improve communication at your warehouse and receive high-quality machinery. Browse our equipment to find industrial solutions for your warehouse today.