Utility – Loader – Lead – Order Selector – Micro Goals

Warehouse and Operations as a Career

Hi all. I was speaking with a V.P. last week and he brought up micro goals. I got to thinking, I talk a lot about goals and planning, but isn’t our normal progression within the industry just that, a bunch of micro goals. From a unloader or G/L position, to being trained on the electric rider pallet jack as a runner, and on to maybe a receiver, or putaway or replenishment forklift driver and then to maybe a position in management. Aren’t each of those steps really just micro goals?

Now if you look for definitions for micro goals about all you’ll find is something like small goals and steps that leads you to or helps you reach your short- and long-term goals. I found that a bit odd as I’m hearing the term more and more often, especially in different coaching groups. I wanted to bring it up today because over the last few weeks I’ve heard several testimonials from listeners talking about how they we’re recently promoted and maybe more importantly why they feel they were noticed by their employers. I love advancement stories!

So, our first one is kind of off our normal track I guess, but it’s about a great opportunity. A local recruiter was invited to work with a group that offers life skills and opportunities for both young candidates entering the work force as well as adults interested in changing careers. After the student’s classroom studies, a great life skills and light industrial positions overview the students get actual hands-on experience in the warehouse. The recruiter received an overview of the class and left so excited about the new knowledge he received. He feels so empowered to go out and offer the training to others now. One of his goals has been to be more involved with and learn more about the warehouse operations, he felt he needed to know more about the positions he was sending his applicants to fill. His goal is much bigger, but this micro goal was a first step towards becoming more of a trainer and or coach for his teams.

One more quick story about recruiting and we’ll get to a couple of warehouse opportunities and the men and women that answered that knock on the door. I’ve heard about two, long term recruiters, both women that accepted the added duties of overseeing the day-to-day operations of the facilities they used to just recruit for. In both instances the facility managers had moved on and they were asked if they’d like to learn more about the business and take on a few more responsibilities. They both were excited about the opportunities and are doing a great job. A first step, or micro goal if you will, towards their goals of running their own regions.

Ok, here’s one about a young lady from the production world. Without a doubt she is that employee. Always at least 10 minutes early to work and she can follow directions to a tee. She gets along great with everyone. Not that she likes everyone. But you’d never catch her not being consistent across the board with her teammates. Her management team took notice to her positive outlook, her work ethics, and her ability to listen before acting, and promoted her to a lead position. I asked her why she felt like she was given the opportunity and she shared that by being excited to come into work each day and helping others when there down or having problems people seemed to feed off of her work ethics. She stated that the workplace is not a place for drama, it is a place of professionalism and self-improvement. I asked her to expand on self-improvement. She said since she was hired, she has always tried to learn the position that worked beside her. By knowing how to do several different things she could help more people. And she felt it was important to listen to and learn from every lead and supervisor in the plant. She figured they were in that position because they knew more than she did! She knew she needed to accept this position in order to advance to the admin tech position she was after. That all made since to me! Another great micro goal towards a much larger goal.

So I’m learning that a micro goal is really a step moving towards a planned goal. Off topic for a minute. I know this lady that oversees a niche business for her boss. She’s taking business and accounting courses at night. I asked her why those classes. Her answer was she had a plan. She wanted to expand the position she had, maybe make it much more efficient, a one woman show. Now I don’t know what all that means but the classes are a steppingstone, a micro goal to a much bigger one!

Alright, where was I, got to fine my next bullet point. I heard about a guy that did everything right! He was laid off; he’d been working in the manufacturing industry. He’d worked for 4 years for a small family-owned company. The company had been around for over 30 years, and it’d just ran its course with the family I believe. They had closed the doors and given all their employees a generous severance package. He wanted to take this chance for a fresh start.

He decided he wanted to work in the distribution industry. He chose a few companies that were within a 45-minute radius from his home. He knew he wanted the opportunity to work with more of an automated warehouse system but that still utilized equipment to move freight as well. He applied at two facilities within his driving distance. One company was seeking a sanitation person and the other was looking for an inventory control or cycle counter. Both companies made him an offer and he chose the sanitation job. I asked him why that choice and he stated that he just felt like it would put him in contact with more of the warehouse position he’d need to become a V.P.

He actually only worked that job for 3 nights and he was moved to the truck loader job. 4 weeks later he was being trained on the electric rider pallet jack to load the bulk trailer loads. He was offered the lead loader job three months later. Now 7 months after that he is mapping the loading of the loads, working closely with the routing department and the transportation supervisors.

He’s accomplished 5 micro goals and on his way to the next few now. I’m starting to think that micro goals are a mindset maybe?

We have time for one more, let me find a good one….here it is! So, a girl had a friend that loved her warehouse job. She was an order selector for a parts company I believe. Anyway, this girl had never done anything other than retail jobs at the mall and a couple of fast-food jobs. She found a pallet jack class that was being offered, I think it was through an area high school or maybe a junior college, I guess it could have been a training center or tech center. She passed the course and applied for a position where her friend was working. All they had open was a warehouse utility position open. She accepted the job, expressed her wishes to be an order selector to her new boss, and within 3 months was being trained as an order selector. Today she is in the top 10% productivity wise on her shift! She planned, set a few small or micro goals and achieved her first-year goal of being an order selector. I wonder where she’s heading next?

So micro goal may not have an official definition I learned that it is a real thing. I think there those thoughts we have as we’re making our plans for the year. I’m really good at writing down my goals. However, I’ve realized that I don’t always consider those smaller thoughts as goals. Now I know to write them down, they are my micro goals, and they are important to my growth plan each year.

Well, I’ve got to get back to work now myself. I hope we’ve given you a thought or two to tackle the week ahead!

Until next week, think, plan, set those goals, and of course, be safe for our friends and family’s sake.