How 2 Retailers Became Among the Top U.S. Companies to Work For

TULSA, Okla., & ALTOONA, Pa. -- Convenience-store retailers QuikTrip Corp. and Sheetz Inc. return for another year on Fortune’s 2017 ranking of the 100 Best Companies to Work For.

QuikTrip earned the 68th slot on the annual list, up from last year’s 76, and Sheetz moved up 10 places to 87.

For the past 20 years, Fortune and research firm Great Place to Work have compiled the list with staff surveys and benchmarking data.

Here are some of the policies that helped solidify QT and Sheetz as employee magnets ...

This Tulsa, Okla.-based chain boasts low company turnover. In fact, 600 employees have stayed with the retailer for more than 20 years, according to Fortune. Those anniversaries don't go unrecognized. Employees who stick around are rewarded with jackets, cash prizes and company stock. At 25 years with the company, a worker receives a one-month paid sabbatical.

Employee surveys show that QuikTrip employees feel they are kept in the loop. Each year, staff gets a chance to meet with Chet Cadieux, the company's chairman, president and CEO.

“We get to eat great food and hear the state of the company, what QT is currently working on along with what is being planned for the next five years,” said one surveyed employee. “The thing about Chet, he is transparent in what is going on with QuikTrip ... it is what it is! Each employee leaves with a neat gift. Every employee also has a chance to win $500 or a week's vacation!”

Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz attributes its continued presence on the ranking to always digging for a deeper understanding of employees.

“We are constantly asking employees, ‘What do you like? What don’t you like?’ and then we act on it,” Stephanie Doliveira, Sheetz’s vice president of human resources, told CSP Daily News.

The retailer uses traditional barometers, such as annual engagement surveys and focus groups, to measure employee attitudes. But it also gathers team members for “Connect Sessions,” where all employees are invited to gather at a hotel ballroom or local business to offer input to executives. “People want to tell you how things are going, and our best ideas come from our employees in the field,” Doliveira said.

Last year, Sheetz invested $15 million in raises for store employees. Now, the chain of 524 c-stores is turning its attention to offering more full-time positions. The goal is to have a ratio of 60% full-time and 40% part-time workers. “It can’t be just about wages,” she said. “You can pay $15 an hour, and if your employees are only getting 10 hours each week, they can’t make a living wage.”

• Click here to see the complete Fortune list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For.