OPERATIONS
Store Ops + Labor + HR + Real Estate + Financial + Field Ops
Sheetz announced plans last year to hire 8,000 new people for its growing company, which opens approximately 30 new stores each year. This hiring push was not only to address company growth, but also to fill turnover, Doliveira explained. The chain’s investment in wages has helped them attract a “great applicant flow,” and the chain is now hiring for summer business, which always sees an increase in traffic. “We know the most successful candidates have been customers. They love Sheetz and coming into our stores, and so they consider employment,” she said. “We do a lot of recruitment through our current customer base, and are also using more social media channels to get the word out and find great people.” Most organizations start recruitment efforts where they have been successful in the past, yet this should only be step one in a strategic hiring plan, according to Bruce Tulgan, founder of RainmakerThinking Inc., a management research, training and consulting firm. Employers also need to look at places that seem likely to produce good sources, but where they have not tried before so they can ignite a flow of new talent. “If you’ve sought new employees only from top schools in the past, but these sources are not yielding enough applicants now, perhaps it’s time to consider looking at top students from second-tier schools,” he suggested. “If you’ve poached talent only from K-Mart in the past, maybe you should consider poaching talent from supermarkets and restaurants.” Some key considerations in order to attract the right people to the company start with an investment in wages and hours, but also includes offering a total package. This means benefits, a good work environment, and training and development.
44 Convenience Store News | JULY 2017 | WWW.CSNEWS.COM
“C-stores need to be intentional about building a path, and a talent management approach is needed,” Bourgeois said. Sheetz invested heavily in increasing its wages for hourly employees, but also took into consideration the number of hours given to employees, which is just as important, according to Doliveira. “You could pay $20 an hour, but if you only give someone five hours a week, they can’t make ends meet,” she explained. “It’s about paying a better wage and giving enough hours to attract and ultimately retain.” The total employment package needs to appeal to candidates, and top talent is looking for opportunities to learn and advance on a career path, as well as training and experience, said Bourgeois. “People like to change jobs every couple of years because they want to be challenged and want to learn something new, but you can have them change jobs within your organization,” she noted. An overall strategy to aim for is to attract people into the lower-level talent pool and then have a talent management process that moves people into an intermediate range, Tulgan pointed out. The goal is to build a sufficiently large applicant pool so that a company can be selective, he said. INVEST IN TRAINING
Training is another key component in retaining employees, according to the 2016 Best Workplaces in Retail report released by research and consulting firm Great Place to Work and Fortune magazine. The study showed part-time retail employees who receive ongoing professional development are twice as likely to look forward to coming to work each day, and are twice as likely to describe their company as a great place to work. This past year, the National Retail Federation (NRF), along with a number of retailers — including c-store industry players Pilot Flying J and The Kroger Co. — launched a new program called RISE Up (Retail Industry Skills & Education), aimed at assisting people in securing jobs in retail and getting the training needed to advance in their careers. The RISE Up program includes a 15-module formal training program for entry-level retail associates, designed to provide a wide range of skills and training. “RISE Up helps the people who need it the most, and helps retailers address recurring talent challenges — including reducing the time needed to hire and train new associates and decreasing turnover,”