Dive Brief:
- Progressive Grocer’s annual report of the grocery industry found labor issues, including recruitment, training and retention, are among retailers' chief struggles in 2017, according to Progressive Grocer.
- Terra Powers, Norcal human resources and education manager at a Safeway in Pleasanton, CA, noted the industry needs to be flexible and adjust to ensure it's reaching employees and keeping them invested.
- A recent Coca-Cola Retail Research Council North America study said that retailers should seek applicants “with emotional stability, optimism, self-efficacy, openness and who express conscientiousness.”
Dive Insight:
Grocery turnover is somewhere about 60% and many stores are reporting that it’s harder and harder to find people who want to work in food retail.
One of the problems with finding workers, analysts say, is the industry doesn’t do too much to make itself appealing. Harold Lloyd Presents, author of “Supermarket Rules! 52 Ways to Achieve Supermarket Success,” says this lack of personal interaction goes as deep as applicants' first contact with company HR: sometimes broken or unkempt application kiosks that show retailers don’t roll out the welcome mat for new hires.
Some many potential workers might not want a full-time job, which would keep them from accepting a full-time position. They instead have a gig economy mindset, and want to work when and where they want.
A recent study by the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution showed that the gig economy is increasing far faster than traditional payroll employment. Another study by Intuit predicted that by 2020, 40% of American workers will be independent contractors.
However, there are grocery retailers that are going above and beyond the challenge of retention and creating a positive environment. Wegmans, Publix and Whole Foods were all recently named Great Place to Work legends by Fortune magazine — meaning they've made the annual list of the nation's 100 best workplaces for 20 years straight. This year, Wegmans was second overall, right behind Google. These stores have done so well because of their commitments to their workers, each garnering strong marks for having leadership that’s honest with employees and offering an environment that establishes a sense of camaraderie among its workers.