SPRINGDALE, Ark.—Tyson Foods has overhauled its healthcare and wellness benefits for its employees, investing more than $20 million this year in the changes. The company now offers longer parental leave, additional mental health support and other wellness and health plan benefits at no additional cost to employees.
The company increased its parental leave program to include eight weeks paid leave for mothers and two weeks paid leave for U.S. team members whose spouse or partner gives birth. The company also offers four weeks of paid parental leave for adoptive parents.
Last year, Tyson Foods announced plans to build an on-site child-care and learning facility at its Humboldt, Tennessee, poultry processing plant. It also announced a program at its Amarillo, Texas, beef plant to work with two local providers to provide free child care for second-shift workers.
(Casey’s, Kwik Trip and Sheetz offer child-care facilities at their headquarters.)
Tyson employees will also have access to a personalized well-being portal to help manage their health and well-being.
“The new offerings reinforce our commitment to ensuring we offer equitable and market-competitive programs to our team members and align with our vision to become the most sought-after place to work,” said Johanna Söderström, chief people officer, Tyson Foods.
The changes are in addition to recent compensation boosts. Tyson invested more than $50 million in thank-you bonuses and $100 million in wage increases for U.S. hourly workers over the past year.
A recent Fast Company article reported that benefits will play a larger role in recruitment strategies in 2023. Nearly 60% of job seekers in the United States say benefits are important when looking for a job, according to a Talent.com survey. Only salary was rated as important by more people.
“With the continued talent crunch in the labor market, many organizations will turn to implementing more comprehensive and attractive benefit packages to attract and retain top talent. Nontraditional benefits, such as access to fertility treatments, financial wellness programs, and pet insurance, won’t be uncommon benefits in the year ahead. In fact, they are already highly sought-after by Americans,” writes Robert Boersma, vice president, operations at North America at Talent.com, in the article.
Kwik Trip, MAPCO, and Delta Sonic Car Wash were named to the 2023 Top Workplaces USA list. The list is determined entirely by employee feedback.
NACS has partnered with The Good Jobs Institute on how c-store operators can provide “good jobs,” which meet people’s basic needs and offer conditions for engagement and motivation. The Good Jobs Calculator, designed exclusively for NACS members and the convenience industry, allows retailers to use their own data and customized assumptions about the amount of improvement or uplift achievable, enabling executives to run scenarios on the bottom-line impact of a Good Jobs system.
Revisit “Understanding Your Local Labor Landscape” in the December 2021 issue of NACS Magazine for tips on building an effective employee value proposition and how to gain an edge when competing for candidates.