NORMAN, Okla. – In its ongoing effort to help independents compete with large chain stores, Convenience Store Alliance (CSA) recently added CareerBuilder to its arsenal of vendor programs. With employee labor as the largest convenience store operating cost, CSA is working to relieve the pangs of turnover for independent operators within the Phillips 66 brands in the Western half of the U.S. and for all brand affiliations in the Eastern portion of the country.

The average industry turnover rate is currently 77%, with the majority of turnovers occurring within the first 90 days of employment, according to NACS 2012 State of the Industry data. The estimated cost to turnover a single hourly clerk is $3,900, according to the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council. This figure takes into account costs for recruiting, interviewing, training new candidates and paying over-time to cover unfulfilled positions. Based on these statistics, a store with 15 part- and full-time employees will average $44,850 in employee turnover costs.

“In an industry where turnover occurs at such a high volume, even the smallest decrease in turnover will increase dealers’ savings,” said Benjamin Kuntz, sales director for energy services at CareerBuilder, in a press release. “We give CSA members the tools and resources it takes to recruit and retain the best quality employees — resulting in a positive store experience and, ultimately, adding to the bottom line.”

CSA’s program swaps duct-taped “Help Wanted” signs and walk-in applicants, for targeted job postings on more than 1,600 CareerBuilder partner sites such as MSN and AOL, all with a guaranteed applicant flow. Store operators with 30-day job postings can expect an average of 20 distinguished applications for “Store Clerk” and 18 applications for “Store Manager” positions.

“We offer many ways to help increase employee retention, including HR and benefits programs,” said Mike Lawson, president and CEO of CSA. “But it all begins with the hiring process.”