Dive Brief:
- Amid the hectic holiday season, retailers and giant distribution centers like Amazon must quickly hire and train their seasonal workers. Amazon manages the training task in just two days, the Wall Street Journal reports.
- The company's newest centers use state-of-the-art automation to get seasonal employees ready for work, often on their first day on the job. With help from screens, scanners, robots and other technology, employees learn each phase of their job. Workers in the warehouse watch a screen showing how to pack items for shipping and which containers to use, then wait for a machine to dispense tape for sealing packages.
- Rapid training saves Amazon on operating costs, the report says, which, in turn, allows the company to pay seasonal workers above minimum wage.
Dive Insight:
In a tight labor market with relatively low unemployment, Amazon announced several seasonal holiday openings at its distribution centers, competing with other major retailers. Streamlined recruiting technology can give the company an edge, since it can train workers quickly and pay them higher-than-normal wages.
This is likely a win-win for the company financially and for job seekers looking for seasonal work. As Amazon demonstrates, there's a clear value to using video technology during the recruiting and onboarding process to quickly familiarize temp workers with compliance procedures and company policies.
