Training a new warehouse employee in week one

A new employee arrives, is told "just watch how it's done", and two hours later is picking orders alone. The mentor is busy, nobody has shown the equipment, and the rules were explained by word of mouth. Most mistakes in the first month come not from stupidity but from a lack of training. On the other hand, warehouse staff turn over quickly, and starting from scratch every time is expensive. A well-organised first week cuts that cost noticeably and builds the newcomer's confidence.

Day one: safety and a map of the warehouse

On the first day there is no picking and no dispatch. The newcomer is shown the warehouse: the zones, the escape routes and the extinguisher points, the first-aid kit, the areas that are off limits and the aisles where equipment travels. So that the rules do not stay purely oral, have a short written instruction that the employee reads and signs. For the order and timing of the formal safety briefing, consult an occupational safety specialist, who knows which document is needed and in what form.

On the same day a mentor is assigned.

The mentor

A mentor is not "whoever is free" but one named person. He or she should be experienced, patient and never break the rules personally, because the newcomer copies exactly those habits. The mentor's own output target is reduced during the first week, otherwise there is no time to teach and it all boils down to "just walk next to me". The mentor also needs a clear task: at the end of the week, a short write-up on the newcomer. Set aside five minutes twice a day, at lunch and at the end of the shift, for questions, so that the newcomer is not shy to ask.

The plan for the week

1. Day one: safety, the warehouse map, zones, the key terms (code, location, batch, label), meeting the team.
2. Day two: receiving. First watches the mentor, then does it under supervision: checking the delivery note, counting, applying labels.
3. Day three: putaway. How location codes are read, where goods go, how a move is recorded.
4. Day four: picking. Starts with small orders and every order is checked.
5. Day five: checking and dispatch, a small independent task and a conversation: what is clear, what is not.

Complex jobs, meaning returns, damaged stock and stock counts, are not taught in week one; they are left for weeks two and three, so the employee first masters the main flow.

Training on equipment (forklifts, lifts) and permission to use it is a separate matter: only an employee who has completed the required training works on it. Consult the relevant specialist on that procedure too.

What is shown and what is checked

At the end of the first week the mentor ticks off a simple list: can the employee use a scanner, read a location code, check a picked order against the delivery note, does he know where to put damaged goods and whom to tell about a dangerous situation. Each item is marked at three levels: "shown", "did it himself", "did it without errors". Where the "without errors" mark is still missing, the employee works under supervision.

Working with mistakes

In the first week the newcomer's work is checked in full, that is, every order. In weeks two and three, say, every fifth one, then by the usual sampling. Errors are recorded, not to punish but to see which mistake keeps repeating. For instance, say a newcomer mixed up two similar items when picking: their locations are side by side and their codes almost identical. The remedy is not to scold the person but to change the layout: separate the items or add a colour to the label. If several newcomers make the same mistake, the problem lies not with the people but with the instruction or the warehouse markings. During the first month hold a ten-minute talk once a week: how is the work going, what is hard, where is help needed.

Common mistakes

• The "just watch" method: there is no system and everyone teaches in their own way.
• Loading responsibility for the whole warehouse on day one.
• Getting on equipment without authorisation "to be quicker".
• No feedback is collected, so the instruction stays unchanged for years.

Conclusion

A trained employee makes fewer mistakes, becomes independent faster and stays longer. The plan costs little: one mentor and one checklist. During a warehouse audit, SkladKontrol looks at how clearly processes are written down and whether they are followed in practice; clearly described processes become a ready basis for training newcomers.