NORMAN, Okla. -- In its ongoing effort to help independents compete with large chain stores, Convenience Store Alliance (CSA) has announced the addition of CareerBuilder, the nation's largest online job site, to its arsenal of vendor programs.
With employee labor as the largest convenience store operating cost, CSA is working to relieve the pangs of turnover for independent operators within the Phillips 66 brands in the Western half of the United States and for all brand affiliations in the Eastern portion.
The average industry turnover rate is currently 77%, with the majority of turnovers occurring within the first 90 days of employment, according to the NACS State of the Industry Report for 2012.
The estimated cost to turnover a single hourly clerk is $3,900, according to the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council. This figure takes into account costs for recruiting, interviewing, training new candidates and paying overtime to cover unfulfilled positions.
Based on these statistics, a store with 15 part-time and full-time employees will average $44,850 in employee turnover costs.
"In an industry where turnover occurs at such a high volume, even the smallest decrease in turnover will increase dealers' savings," said Benjamin Kuntz, sales director for energy services at CareerBuilder. "We give CSA members the tools and resources it takes to recruit and retain the best quality employees--resulting in a positive store experience and, ultimately, adding to the bottom line."
CSA's program swaps duct-taped "help wanted" signs and walk-in applicants for targeted job postings on more than 1,600 CareerBuilder partner sites such as MSN and AOL, all with a guaranteed applicant flow. Store operators with 30-day job postings can expect an average of 20 applications for "store clerk" and 18 applications for "store manager" positions.
CSA members receive national account pricing on CareerBuilder.com branded job posting packages, resume databases and targeted recruitment emails. Marketers can qualify for additional discounts by using CareerBuilder's annual package to post for executive, administrative, management and clerical positions. Marketers and larger dealerships on the annual program will receive training, data tracking and return-on-investments (ROI) measurements in order to build a pipeline of candidates.
"We offer many ways to help increase employee retention, including HR and benefits programs," said Mike Lawson, president and CEO of CSA. "But it all begins with the hiring process."
CSA helps independent convenience store operators nationwide to compete with large chain stores. It gives storeowners access to reduced costs on high-quality products, valuable resources to boost business efficiency and solutions for business growth. For the western half of the United States, Convenience Store Alliance is the Phillips 66 Branded Retailer Buying Program and is available to more than 7,000 branded sites that currently sell Phillips 66, Conoco or 76 branded gasoline. Dealers and fuel distributors outside the exclusive territories are also eligible to participate, regardless of brand affiliation.
CareerBuilder is owned by Gannett Co. Inc., Tribune Co. and The McClatchy Co. Clients include Love's, Murphy USA, RaceTrac and 7-Eleven among other national chains.
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