WAREHOUSE STAFFING CHALLANGES With more than half (51%) of 3PLs growing their order volume by more than 25% in 2022, hiring has increased commensurately to support order growth. Despite optimizing and automating warehouses when possible, many still rely heavily on the workforce to meet that demand. Not surprisingly, finding qualified workers (46%) ranks as the primary warehouse labor challenge. Cost (14%), turnover (13%), and time-to-productivity (11%) rounded out the top four biggest labor challenges. Although still a relatively small amount, absenteeism tripled its respondents from 2% in 2021 to 6% in 2022, indicating this may be a future issue to watch. The 3PLs with the highest profitability were more likely to select turnover or time-to-productivity as their largest labor challenge as Best Practice: Consider the career path for warehouse workers and help them identify opportunities for growth and advancement. With the adoption compared to low to negative profitability companies. of new technologies and processes, warehouses are ripe with opportunities for people wanting to grow their careers. By framing up the longer-term opportunities, warehouses can better retain existing talent and use training to build skills for their workforce.