Turnover remains high in the c-store industry, with both full and part-time sales associate turnover exceeding 100% in 2024, according to the NACS State of the Industry Talent Insights Dashboard. Here's a look at how retailers across the country are finding ways to mitigate frontline turnover in their stores.

1. Nail Your First Impression 

One way that HR personnel can fight high turnover is by making sure job descriptions are on par with what applicants are looking for long-term. Tiger Fuel, which operates The Market by Tiger Fuel stores in Virginia, said having “fun, concise” job ads that lead with what a prospective employee will get out of the job, versus first listing everything they’ll have to do, helps make applicants more interested in the role, the retailer told NACS in the August 2025 NACS Magazine article “Fuel Your Frontline Workforce.”

“We love taking care of our employees, and we pride ourselves on providing the same benefits package to a cashier as to the president of the company. Putting that out there first and foremost for employees has really drawn them in,” said Shaleena Arreguin, HR director for the company.

In the last two years, St. Romain Oil Company, which operates 15 Y-Not Stop stores in Louisiana, overhauled its job descriptions to make sure expectations for the job were clear after it saw misalignment between job postings and actual position requirements at the company.

“It was a reason we were losing people, so we really evaluated what the essential parts of the job were and what a roadmap for success for the employee looks like,” said Annie Gauthier, CFO and Co-CEO at St. Romain Oil Company and 2025-2026 NACS Chairman. 

2. Find the Right Match

For Gauthier, nailing the hiring process in the earliest stages has led to reduced turnover down the line. The company uses a hiring assessment that looks at core functions of the job as well as personality characteristics like integrity, conscientiousness and dependability, she said.

"We are looking for general attitude fits—and that’s the same for any position you’re applying for, whether it’s a cashier role or corporate,” she said.

3. Think Beyond the Traditional Job Description 

For other retailers, considering mindset, personality and other soft skills has helped them find frontline workers that align with company’s values and the customer service-oriented nature of the convenience business.

The Wills Group, which operates Dash In convenience stores in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, has evolved its hiring approach from looking for candidates who have “explicit c-store experience to having more hospitality, retail and foodservice experience, because we really want to demonstrate a high level of customer experience,” said Lorissa Martin, manager of talent acquisition and performance at the Wills Group. “We even created a concierge role, which is really unique.” The concierge at Dash In is there to greet guests, help them with their kiosk orders, provide samples, answer questions, and generally just be a friendly face for customers in the store. 

Using a data-driven approach to hiring can help inform better decisions about the people and teams in an organization. Learn more about the NACS State of the Industry Talent Insights Dashboard and its benchmarks on HR metrics, including compensation, turnover, benefits and recruitment. 

*Retailers who participate in the annual NACS Talent Insights Survey gain complimentary access to the aggregate data. The 2025 survey is now open; learn more at TIDSurvey.