As logistics providers continue to struggle filling warehouse and trucking jobs in 2024, a report from the workforce analytics firm WorkHound says that traditional business metrics like location performance, revenue, efficiency, and employee turnover may not effectively capture the nuances of evolving labor relations.
While those measures are essential for evaluating the overall health of a business and showing positive progress, they may not be able to detect trouble brewing behind the scenes. In turn, that blind spot may leave leaders unaware of underlying employee discontent, WorkHound says.
In fact, the firm says that several frontline businesses reported in 2023 that their strongest-performing locations were the very ones that petitioned for union elections — seeking the support and representation that they were not getting from their company leaders.
The challenge gets even worse in businesses with several layers of hierarchy. In larger companies especially, middle management can unintentionally act as a bottleneck, filtering crucial information and preventing it from reaching the top, WorkHound said. Leaders also have limited interactions with customers, a job that’s frequently left up to logistics teams and truck drivers, forcing them to fend for themselves when problems arise in the field. And, with workforces dispersed across multiple locations, it’s particularly challenging for top leaders to keep tabs on everything.
According to Chattanooga, Tennessee-based WorkHound, pending changes in the labor sector could soon shine an ever brighter light on the issue. Key labor trends heading into 2024 include:
In response, WorkHound says its platform for continuous feedback uses digital communication tools to bridge gaps between management and employees by making communication a two-way street and creating a workplace culture that is employee-centric and respectful of worker rights — with or without a union.
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