Bethany Clark

As the industrial market continues to grow and face increasing labor challenges, companies are determining ways to make manufacturing and warehouse jobs more attractive to workers. Cushman & Wakefield surveyed industrial real estate experts across the country to determine the amenities most desired by workers. What they found is that the amenities these workers are seeking are not too dissimilar from what you might find in an office.

They include:

• Temperature control – cooling and heating
• Onsite food options (food trucks, cafeteria, walking distance to restaurants)
• Windows for natural light and fresh air
• Electric vehicle charging
• Games (ping-pong, foosball, basketball court)
• Gym/workout facilities
• Walking trails and outdoor seating
• Daycare
• Improved restrooms, break areas, lactation rooms, privacy rooms
• Access to public transportation

“Back in the day, a ten cent increase in pay for a worker made him move to a new job. Nowadays, the labor force looks at their work environment and career paths—they want to advance and go from a distribution center front line worker to a supervisor, for example,” says Bethany Clark, Managing Director of Strategy & Operations for Cushman & Wakefield's Logistics & Industrial Services group for the Americas. “Compensation, of course, is always important and the job becomes even more attractive when married to a variety of workplace amenities,” she tells GlobeSt.com.

With the industrial market showing no signs of slowing, labor will continue to be in high demand and companies will need to continue enhancing their efforts in enticing prospective employees. Cushman & Wakefield's 2019 North American Industrial Outlook forecasts that vacancy will remain low, hovering at the 5% mark for the rest of the year. The report further concludes that a comprehensive labor study is as important as an environmental assessment to site selection experts.

“There has been an evolution of different expectations for different generations,” explains Clark. “For example, millennials desire their industrial facility to have workout facilities and an onsite daycare. In the recent past, workers would start their shifts at 4:30am instead of 1pm because there was no air conditioning. Nowadays, there just needs to be air-conditioning.”

Onsite food options

According to the survey, workers would like to be in close proximity to food options. As a result, companies are designing parking lot spaces for food trucks as it's a lot easier to bring the food to the workers instead of them leaving the complex in search of a meal. One example is how some distribution centers have installed full-service kitchens and have area restaurants rotating through them.

Windows for natural light and fresh air

Employee turnover at distribution centers can also be countered by their accompanying amenities. Turnover rates, for example, can range up to 100% in some heavy-duty industrial areas and particularly for seasonal employment. However, the typical employee turnover rate is around 30-50%.

“The job can become monotonous and boring. It can be hard work at a hectic pace and it's even harder working in dimly-lit areas. As a result, a popular request is installing windows and having well-lighted areas,” says Clark.

Electric vehicle charging

Seen in limited scenarios, the growth of electric cars means that employees need to charge their vehicles. Some of these cars may also be used in last mile deliveries.

Games

As our holiday seasons keep getting earlier and earlier, supervisors are hiring seasonal workers in mid to late summer as distribution workers prepare to satisfy the needs of a consumer-centric industry. Games, in limited parts of the U.S. are sometimes used to break up the monotony of the job plus attract and retain employees. Games will also help build camaraderie between a work team as well as bring a health and wellness component to the workplace, Clark tells GlobeSt.com.

Redesigning aged facilities

As some of the industrial facilities age, companies have the option of redesigning some of these buildings to accommodate a lot of these requested amenities.

“For example, some companies are redesigning their parking lots to introduce a food-truck court,” says Clark. “ A lot of these amenities can certainly be adapted to older buildings.”