ATLANTA -- Instead of constantly combating turnover, RaceTrac Petroleum Inc. has started to take a new approach.
In most of the areas where the Atlanta-based retailer operates the unemployment rate ticks in around 4%, even dipping to 3.4% in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In response, the chain is trying to help managers understand that employees are looking at things on a short-term basis and to not be upset when someone leaves.
“We still care about turnover, but it can have the law of diminishing returns to only focus on turnover,” Nichole Upshaw, director of human resources for the 430-unit chain, said at this year’s NACS Show. “People are going to get frustrated and burnt out. So, we’re asking ourselves, ‘How can we make it a great place for the people who are here today.’ ”
Here’s how the retailer is taking a side path around the uphill battle of turnover ...
The convenience-store chain has ratcheted up the opportunities for employees to give feedback. RaceTrac asks employees what they think about the workplace after their first 90 days. Instead of conducting staff engagement surveys once a year, the c-store now has workers fill out the questionnaires twice a year. In addition, Upshaw and the retailer’s director of operations find opportunities to personally meet with all levels of employees in stores.
Upshaw is focused on converting the 4,000 team members that leave the chain each year into brand ambassadors. “If you’re not thinking about boomerang employees, you’re missing out,” she said. The executive tells managers to keep a list of the team members they would like to have back.
This kind of cultural shift requires a major buy-in from senior team members, Upshaw said. At RaceTrac, when leaders didn’t adjust, they couldn’t stay with the company. As a result, “our director of HR [and our] operations and executive teams look different than a few years ago,” she said.
With more than 400 stores, RaceTrac ranked No. 20 on CSP's 2017 Top 202 list of the largest c-store chains in the United States.
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