TULSA, Okla. -- Among the plethora of technology, financial and real estate businesses on Fortune’s inaugural list of the 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials, QuikTrip stands alone as a representative of the convenience-store industry.
The retail chain earned the No. 69 spot on the list, which is a “best of the best” ranking, according to the magazine. “Of the 465 companies with published reviews recently surveyed using Great Place to Work's Trust Index employee survey, 315 of them surveyed at least 50 employees under age 35,” the magazine stated. “Nearly 90,000 millennial-aged employees from these companies answered 58 questions about how frequently they experience the behaviors that create a great workplace. This resulted in a total score for each company based entirely upon employee feedback. Great Place to Work’s 2015 list of the 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials was ranked using these scores.”
About QuikTrip, a chain of more than 70 c-stores with 16,864 employees, Fortune wrote:
Unlike other gas station and convenience-store chains, QuikTrip has extremely low employee turnover. Only 13% of workers leave compared to an industry average of 59%. That’s a credit to the company’s above-industry average pay and what employees say is an overall friendly and supportive atmosphere.
QuikTrip awards workers for one, five, 10, 15, 20 and more years of service with the company, which can include cash gifts. Store attendants can also get $50 bonuses if they receive a perfect score on a mystery-shopper review.
“We are truly treated as individuals, and the company takes a personal interest in each of us,” said one employee. “I believe this is unheard of when a company grows to the size we are. We actually have to open new markets to create movement to give your employees an opportunity to advance because no one leaves.”
Mike Thornbrugh, a spokesperson for QuikTrip, told the Tulsa World that change is a key for success at the chain. “We’re constantly changing,” he said. “We’re not stuck in old ways, even if they work.”
He said QT is pleased to make the new Fortune list, as it helps measure how the company is doing with the rising demographic.
“The bulk of our workforce are millennials, and the bulk of our customers are millennials,” he said. Fortune said 83% of QT's workforce is part of the millennial age group.
The company continually works to break the stereotype of a convenience store being a terrible place to work, he said.
“We tell everyone they’ll be treated like family, they’ll be paid well, and they’ll have opportunities to move up,” Thornbrugh told the newspaper. “We’re honest with everyone so they know what to expect.”
Click here to see the complete Fortune 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials.
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