Food Retailers Struggling for Employees the Solutions is Simple

Regular readers of this blog keep telling me ‘the food industry is not brain surgery’.  They also ask why is it so difficult for so many?  So, we asked Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Are you ready for his answer?

Our blog readers are right the food industry is not brain surgery.  When in doubt Johnson says look at companies growing same store sales, store count, and profits as they leave success clues for those who or unsure of simply uninformed.

Having problems getting employees do what Sheetz is doing Pay MORE, while evolving your business model.  Sheetz was one a C-store now its customers consider it a fast-casual fresh food restaurant that sells gas. If your menu, product offerings look more like yesterday than today’s successful retailers its time your business model evolves.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Sheetz is investing $16.8 million to boost its store-level wages, edifying its relationship with employess driving relevance and word of mouth recruiting. Sheetz's goal is to offer competitive wages, which helps attract and retail top talent.

Travis Sheetz, president of Sheetz stated "As a family-owned and -operated business, we know our employees are our most valuable asset," … "We are deeply committed to investing in our employees and creating a great working environment where they feel valued and have the resources they need to succeed."

"Our goal is to provide competitive wages and full-time hours to as many employees as possible, as well as providing quarterly bonuses as a way for employees to share in our success," Travis Sheetz continued.

Now, this latest investment comes on the heels of a $15 million investment in employee wages in 2016. That investment coincided with a significant effort to shift more store employees from part-time to full-time work. Don’t use justification or rationalization as an excuse not to keep you company relevant for consumers or your employees.

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/  or www.twitter.com/grocerant