The pool of qualified hourly workers in the supply chain is continuing to
shrink, and that means companies who rely on these workers need to address what
matters most to this valuable talent pool. Enter: The Essential Employee Survey.
Ignite Industrial Professionals is partnering with The Ohio State University’s Fisher
School of Business on an Essential Employee Survey that asks essential workers valuable questions about
their work – and what is important to them on the job.
Brian Devine, president and CEO of Ignite, pioneered a similar survey almost 20
years ago and decided to bring it back as a way to address recruitment shortages in the
supply chain industry. Devine says the Essential Employee
Survey gives front-line workers a voice, amplifying the unique challenges and needs of
this workforce.
“There are all kinds of employee surveys out there,” he said. “But there aren’t any that
specifically highlight hourly workers. And we know that hourly workers think differently
about their job than salaried workers.
“This survey gives them a voice.”
The Essential Employee Survey features more than a dozen questions asking essential workers things like
what shift they prefer, start and end time preferences and why did they leave their
last job.
It is being conducted in partnership with the OSU Fisher College of Business and
Professor Terry Esper. The survey will be published once a year, Devine said, and
companies with enough participants can also request specific data to compare with
national results.
The study is expected to be published in April 2026 and will debut at the Warehousing
Education and Research Council (WERC) conference in May in Jacksonville, Fla.
The survey was given to three categories of workers: Full-time hourly associates,
temporary workers and new applicants seeking work.
Devine said that salaried employees generally list different priorities than hourly
workers, and the Essential Employees Survey aims to give hourly workers a voice and
assist companies in tailoring their job offerings to recruit and retain these valuable
employees.
“We know this pool of workers is dramatically shrinking,” he said. “This survey is to help
employers figure out how to attract or retain more workers. We need to listen to them
and not treat them as second tier.”
Ignite Industrial Professionals
Are you a hard worker looking for a new job in the industrial supply chain industry? Or
are you an employer looking for hard workers? If you want to learn more about how we
support industrial professionals, contact us today.
