SAVANNAH, Ga. --Enmarket has announced it is investing more than $500,000 per year to increase the starting salaries of its convenience-store employees and has raised its senior general manager earnings potential to a minimum of $55,000, with a profit-sharing bonus.
"This decision underscores the company’s commitment to building the best workplace in the retail industry," it said in announcing the initiative.
“We want to offer the freshest experience for our customers, and we’re starting with how we better support our store-level team to lead the industry,” said Ryan Chandler, vice president of business development at Colonial Group Inc., the parent company of enmarket. “To get there, we have to set ourselves up to develop, retain and attract the best people. That’s precisely why we have established an industry-leading career path, compensation program and benefits structure. Training, development and recruiting are key priorities. At the same time, we will have industry-leading responsibility and accountability.”
The Savannah, Ga.-based company is offering starting salaries well above the national federal minimum wage rate of $7.25, it said. The company said it expects this strategy to attract new talent to the company and aligns with enmarket’s “Enriching Life” campaign.
“It’s more than a campaign; it’s our mission,” said Chandler. The campaign strives to foster the personal and professional growth of employees, now called "chief enrichment officers," or “CEOs.”
According to Chandler, “Enriching life starts with our team because we know that investment leads to the highest levels of customer satisfaction.”
The company also strengthened employment requirements for managers and senior general managers to attract candidates with higher levels of education, experience, proficiencies and management skills. It increased the salary for a senior general manager to a midrange of $55,000 a year, while the midrange of the average management salary rose to about $45,000 a year. Enmarket managers will additionally have the opportunity to earn a 5% bonus of their store’s net income.
Enmarket’s commitment in increasing employee compensation and benefits underscores its position as a market leader and aligns with the company’s 2015 rebranding and name change, which also added new healthy snack products, fresh foods and take-home meal solutions to more than 60 convenience-store locations throughout Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
“There’s so much happening to enrich the lives of our customers and employees,” said Matt Clements, director of marketing. “Enmarket is recognized as a brand of friendly employees, fresh offerings and quality fuels. We’re now pleased to be leading the way again by making a substantial investment in the building the greatest retail team in the industry.”
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