7-Eleven hires more than 110,000 employees per year across its 13,000 locations in the United States and Canada alone. But even the country’s largest convenience retailer has had its share of hiring challenges that will resonate with retailers of any size. Chief among them: finding quality candidates, getting back to them in a timely fashion, and offering a competitive package that will attract prospective workers and encourage them to stay.

On average, it cost $1,294 to hire a full-time hourly associate and $1,119 to train the individual, according to 2023 data from the NACS State of the Industry Talent Insights Dashboard. “When you combine those costs with turnover rates above 100% (full-time sales associates averaged 125.3%), it really adds up,” said Jayme Gough, director of research and development at NACS. For part-time sales associates, the industry average total turnover rate was 169.6%.

“While there are a significant number of people that we could fill our open positions with, it’s about finding the right ones, and we have significant hurdles we have to get over in order to get people to join us and to stay with us,” said Rachel Allen, senior director of talent acquisition at 7-Eleven, during a NACS Show Education Session in October. It’s a sentiment that every retailer in the country, no matter the channel, understands. So how can your company gain an advantage when it comes to bringing in the right people?

In the December issue of NACS Magazine, retailers shared insights and best practices for finding and retaining quality employees. Here are a few tips:

1. Don’t Delay: 7-Eleven’s hiring process used to take 10 days. And in those 10 days, the company lost a lot of applicants who were offered jobs at stores down the street, Allen said. “Candidates have a low threshold” when it comes to waiting, “and there are consequences if we aren’t fast enough,” said Allen. “Oftentimes we were too late and not getting to candidates in time.”
2. Attract the Right Applicants: There are ways to ensure you’re finding quality applicants in a timely fashion. Allen said the first step is making sure the job listing gives employees all the information they need upfront, which will better ensure that the right people are applying. “The more transparent a job ad is, the more it also gives candidates the opportunity to opt out. And when you’re looking through hundreds of applicants, that can actually be helpful. If it's ultimately not the right fit, we don’t want to waste anyone’s time.”
3. Communicate with Candidates Effectively: Texting is the way today’s workforce wants to communicate. “I wasn’t sure texting an individual about a job interview would work if you’d asked me six months ago, but I will tell you it’s 110% the most effective way to get a response,” said Brad Anderson, director of recruiting and development at Weigel’s. “I might call an applicant and they don’t pick up the phone, but if I send a text I get an immediate reply and can schedule the interview right then. In this day and age, that’s the way the world is going.”
4. Lower Barriers to Entry: When TXB was recruiting during Covid, the company noticed a problem with its job application: It was too long. “It took someone about 20 minutes to fill out, which was discouraging people from finishing it,” said Abby Curlin, training developer at TXB Stores. “And it was collecting information that we didn’t really need in written form.” The company pared it down to a five-minute application that’s more focused on a candidate overview and saves the rest of its information-gathering for the interview process.

To read more insights about how retailers are tackling labor challenges and streamlining their hiring practices, look out for “Success Strategies for Hiring” in the December issue of NACS Magazine, coming this week.