BALTIMORE—High’s is spotlighting its employees this summer with a series of celebrations and providing pay incentives and attendance bonuses for hourly associates, plus sign-on bonuses for new employees to boost recruiting efforts.
“Our goal at High’s is to deliver the best guest experience,” said Brad Chivington, senior vice president and general manager of High’s, in a press release. “We would not be able to accomplish this without our store associates. Attracting and retaining top talent is a priority for High’s.”
Chivington said High’s believes in “investing in our associates with competitive wages and providing a clear career path for our associates to see their experience at High’s as a steppingstone, learning valuable skills or even as a potential career.”
Effective June 21, High’s committed to increasing hourly associates’ wages by $1 an hour. An attendance bonus will roll out in July for hourly retail associates. Along with the wage increase for existing High’s associates, the starting wage will also increase by $1 an hour and potential new hires can earn up to $500 in a sign-on bonus.
C-store retailers are vying with other sectors to attract and retain team members, and many are offering higher starting wages and one-time bonuses. Wawa, Sheetz, Pilot, Circle K, Thorntons and 7-Eleven are just a few of the many chains looking to hire.
Baltimore-based High’s was featured in NACS’ Ideas 2 Go spotlight in 2019. The family-owned chain operates 55 High’s convenience stores with a team of more than 500 employees.
To help convenience retailers attract and retain top-notch people, NACS partnered with the nonprofit Good Jobs Institute in January 2020 to bring the Good Jobs Strategy to the industry. The Good Jobs Strategy, which is a combination of investment in people and smart operating choices, increases employee productivity, motivation and contribution and promotes operational excellence. Case studies show that implementing the Good Jobs Strategy can grow a business and increase customer loyalty.
Retailers can access the Good Jobs Calculator, designed exclusively for NACS and the convenience industry. This tool allows retailers to use their own data and customized assumptions about the amount of improvement or uplift achievable, and executives can run scenarios on the bottom-line impact of a Good Jobs system.