Productivity - a controllable answer to counter unfavorable demographics
Finding, attracting, and retaining talent is job one for most employers today.
America has known for as long as I’ve been alive … literally … that this issue was coming.
The baby boomer cohort, of which I’m a card-carrying member, were born between 1946 and 1964, and is one of the largest generations in modern history - consisting of more than 76 million births which occurred when soldiers returned home from WWII and began raising families.
The oldest baby boomers are now 80; having long transitioned out of the workforce and into retirement … igniting increased demands in healthcare, eldercare, and driving up all forms of medical costs.
The youngest of the baby boomers are now soon to follow, which will only widen an already gaping hole in employment utilization - leaving ‘work’ on the shoulders of a dwindling number of younger workers in their peak performing years, while the last contingent of the baby boomers are busy contemplating their own exits and performing social security calculations on their breaks and lunches.
Their managers are huddled in nearby conference rooms, scratching their heads and growing ever more desperate to solve the calculus problem which today’s workforce demographics present for any business with its sight set on growth … but with far less human resources to draw upon to be part of a solution.
When businesses report the leading labor challenge of 2026 is “backfilling retiring Baby Boomers” they need to realize the solution to everyone’s common problem is NOT happening in the form of replacement hires alone.
From a practical standpoint, for businesses to overcome the implications of a shrinking, aging, and inherently less productive workforce – their solution will need to come from a combination of initiatives.
How can we achieve …
- Differentiated and higher retention rates … slowing our rate of turnover
- Differentiated and higher quality hiring … becoming a local employer of choice
- Advances in technology … which work in tandem with our employees
- New and advanced skills … and narrow our capability gaps
- Differentiated increases in productivity … without depleting capital
My offer is to help any business accomplish the latter, without the need to invest a $1 of capital.
Work Done Better has a track record of helping 40 consecutive distribution and fulfillment centers achieve an average productivity improvement of 25% (a range of +11% to +44%) in 3-6 months.
Yes, we’ve accomplished these levels of gains, 40 consecutive times.
For most anyone running a distribution center, or a network of DCs, even if you were to land in 41st place and achieve ONLY a 10% improvement in a 13-week engagement:
- A 10% improvement over the last 4 months of 2026 is sure to make for a successful peak season, and probably a budget-beating 2026.
- You are sure to take the pressure off your hiring and retention needs
I’d love to help your team enjoy that kind of success.
Please contact me to learn more and discuss how and where to get started.