FOREST CITY, N.C. — Lee Harrill has been in the c-store business for 40 years and says now is the most difficult, most challenging it has ever been to find a good employee.
“It is hard to get a really young person now that has the work ethic,” says Harrill, who, along with his son, owns six Drop-In Food Stores in the Forest City, N.C., area. Dependability isn’t what it used to be, he says. “Showing up, not taking off a day because they want to go to a concert,” he says. “And if you can’t change the schedule [for them], they’ll just quit.”
To improve the odds of hiring quality staff , Drop-In has left behind the state and federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and increased its starting pay—as much as $2 per hour more than it was two or three years ago—and cut down on the lag time between hiring and an initial raise.
Harrill says his recruiting methods are fairly traditional, using “Help Wanted” signage outside and inside his store, but he adds, “As always, your best bet is your employees to recommend somebody they know.”
“If a person can work only two days a week, we’ll take it.”
Even in today’s unprecedented labor market, tried-and-true basic hiring strategies can still help companies fill positions. That’s according to Laura Varn, vice president of people, culture and communications for Parkland USA, a fast-growing c-store retailer based in Calgary, Alberta. “A lot of our potential candidates walk into the door. They’re not looking on Indeed or social media. They’re walking in, and they live in the neighborhood, and they’re interested,” lured by “something as basic as making sure that we’ve got really great flyers in the store windows,” she says.
Varn says employer marketing is important, too, and Parkland works to advertise its benefits to potential employees. Benefits include a 401(k) program with 5% match, healthcare benefits, advanced pay, flexible hours, tuition reimbursement, parental leave, flexible work-from-home arrangements and more.
Such programs pay dividends, according to Harrill, who says in the past four months, he’s seen more job applicants coming through the door. “I don’t know if the federal money has run out or what, but I do see it loosening up a little bit,” he says.
47 million
The number of Americans who voluntarily quit their jobs in 2021, reflecting a continuation of a long-term trend, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. From 2009 to 2019, the average monthly quit rate increased by 0.1 percentage points each year, per The Harvard Business Review
Another aspect to hiring is playing up the company and making sure it’s physically attractive, says Chad Ellis, retail division manager of the six-store Horizon Resources co-op in Williston, N.D.
Ellis says he’ll give candidates a solid background on the co-op and its culture. “We’re probably one of the most laid-back, relaxed co-ops there is. It doesn’t change expectations and what’s expected of an employee coming in,” Ellis says. “I’ve noticed having a clean facility where its appearance and the staff look good is appealing to outsiders.”
One incentive Horizon Resources offers employees is an immediate 10%-over-cost discount on most store products, except food and beverages. This includes traditional c-store products, as well as hardware-store items such as guns, Traeger grills, boots, fencing and clothing. The company has had employees take advantage of this perk, however, getting hired, buying items and then quitting.
“It’s so tough because it has been a struggle finding quality help. I don’t know where people are at or what they’re doing.”
For retailers looking to fix short-term problems, the gig economy has officially entered the c-store space.
“The toughest challenge is probably the starting wage,” Ellis says. “I think most of these incoming candidates are expecting a little higher pay. And with inflation and the volatility of the market, it’s so tough to meet those starting out. We just want to get them in the door and then, based off their performance, promote them that way.”
Horizon Resources’ starting wage, $14 hourly for a clerk running the till, coupled with a “horrendous” cost of living, high prices for housing, groceries and gas, and hiring competition with other area businesses combine for a difficult situation.
The co-op’s benefits through Blue Cross are very good, he says, which consequently makes it difficult to match the starting wages being offered elsewhere. But from the perspective of a young job seeker, whom Ellis defines as those in high school into their early 20s, “They don’t care about [health benefits] necessarily. They just want to see a big paycheck coming in.”
Once an employee is working, Ellis says, offering more opportunities will increase the odds of employee retention.
“Give them opportunity to empower them,” he says. “ ‘Hey, are you willing to try this within the store? Maybe learn how to do this or that?’ ” That extra effort, he says, can increase their self-worth and make them feel appreciated. Examples of this at the co-op, Ellis says, would be training an employee to refill pro pane tanks and drums of oil or fuel and driving a forklift.
Ellis adds that the co-op recently started an online c-store video training program for employees to improve the quality of store visits for customers.
“We’ve pushed that out to all the managers and employees to help them know how to properly interact with customers and what their role is. That’s going to have a big impact on employees and give them an awareness beyond the interview of what’s expected to make a store function properly,” he says. “I feel that would give some employees that sense of, ‘Oh, they’re going to invest in me, train me to do things to the best of my ability and to meet company’s policies and standards.’ ”