Hiring a warehouse specialist: what to look for

A company looking for a specialist for a large warehouse usually writes in the advert: "5 years' experience, knowledge of 1C, responsible". Hundreds of candidates fit such requirements, yet many will not deliver. Experience matters, but it is not enough on its own: a person who spent five years in the same disorderly warehouse has five years of experience. The main question is a different one: can the candidate solve your particular task?

Define the role first

A warehouse has three different tasks, and they call for different people:

• an operating manager who keeps a working system running steadily;
• a builder who sets up the system from scratch: locations, procedures, records;
• a "fixer" who corrects the problems an audit has found.

The first needs order and endurance, the second the ability to carry change through, the third a head for numbers. Before the advert, write down what result is expected within 12 months as three measurable goals, for example: record accuracy, order-picking time, shrinkage. There is one more choice: develop someone from within or hire from outside. An internal candidate knows the warehouse, the people and the history, but brings old habits too. An external one brings a fresh eye and different experience, but spends the first months getting to know the place. For fixing and building an outsider is often the better fit, for stability an insider.

Three core abilities

A warehouse specialist must show three things together: working with numbers, seeing the process and managing people. Each can be tested at interview:

1. Working with numbers. Give the candidate a small table (a month of movements and balances) and ask: what will you check first, which indicators will you calculate? A strong candidate will find days of stock, record accuracy and slow-moving goods unprompted. An example, hypothetical. Candidate A has ten years' experience but does not know what accuracy was in the last warehouse. Candidate B has four years but can say, with figures, how he raised accuracy from 92 to 98 percent by introducing cycle counts and location storage. The second may be the better choice.
2. Seeing the process. Ask the candidate to draw and explain the path at their last workplace from receiving to shipping: where were the most problems, how did they find them and what did they change?
3. Managing people. Ask: how did you change a shift that did not follow the rules? Whom did you develop? How do you train a new employee?

Interview questions and warning signs

Useful questions: "What was record accuracy in your previous warehouse and how did you raise it?", "What was your biggest mistake?", "What will you do in the first 30 days?"

Warning signs:

• "I never had any shrinkage": usually this means shrinkage was not measured;
• every problem is the previous manager's fault and the candidate played no part;
• cannot quote a single figure from their own warehouse;
• answers every question with "we need software";
• talks only about himself, not about the team.

Good signs: speaks openly about a mistake and shows what he learned, knows his own numbers, and asks about your data before proposing a solution.

A practical test

Add a walk round the warehouse and a 30-minute mini case to the interview. During the walk, ask what the candidate sees: a strong one notices the receiving zone, the aisles and how people move. The case: "Tomorrow there will be 20 percent more orders, what will you do?" A strong answer takes people, space, equipment and receiving and shipping routines into account together, while a weak one stops at "I will hire more people".

Probation and support

Even the best choice produces no result without the right conditions. Write down a plan for the first 90 days: in 30 days learn the warehouse and get access to the data, in 60 make the first corrections, in 90 deliver the first measurable result. The new specialist needs open access to data, authority to make decisions and clear backing from management. Compare the salary with the market in advance: a strong candidate will not come for pay that is too low. Part of the pay can be tied to measurable goals, such as record accuracy and shrinkage.

Conclusion

What sets a good warehouse specialist apart is not years of experience but the ability to work with numbers, see the process and manage people. The OmborExpert specialists can help define the role, prepare interview questions and assess a candidate's technical answers.