Recruitment and retention are key points of emphasis for retailers looking to grow in the c-store space.
When it comes to recruitment in, Englefield Oil, which operates 117 Duchess c-stores in Ohio and West Virginia, takes a comprehensive approach, using grassroots events, traditional job posting websites, social media and word of mouth, said Nathan Arnold, director of marketing for Englefield Oil.
“Utilizing social media has helped our team members, especially store managers, interact with potential candidates and showcase the culture of Duchess. Everyone wants to have an inside look into what their job culture may be, and we hope to showcase this in all of the forms of recruitment we do,” Arnold said.
For Calloway Oil Co.-owned EZ Stop, which operates 24 c-stores in Tennessee, the company’s biggest recruiting assets are word of mouth about its “excellent culture and working environment” along with employee referrals, said Melanie Disney, head of human resources for Calloway Oil and H&L Transport Inc.
“We use all the job boards like everyone else but when someone speaks highly of their job and recommends it, then that goes a lot farther than any advertising that we can do,” she said. “Having a strong brand certainly makes recruiting easy.”
The biggest challenge for EZ Stop has been shifting out of the “fast and furious hire” mindset, because in today’s job market, hiring too quickly or hiring just anyone who applies is no longer necessary, Disney explained. Now, EZ Stop approaches hiring by slowing down the process and selecting the best high-quality candidate who aligns with the company’s culture and team of “nice people.”
Similarly, Country Fair, which operates 73 store locations in Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, has seen about a 10% increase in applications over the last year. Like EZ Stop, the company is looking to slow down its hiring process to ensure it makes high-quality hires.
“The challenge is maintaining our standard,” said Steve Seymour, director of personnel for Country Fair. “When we vet, interview, reference check and assess properly, we make better hires. Better hires lead to lower turnover, higher retention and ultimately more profitability.”
Seymour noted he hears a lot of talk in the industry about speeding up the application process by making applicant tracking easier, but there can be pitfalls with this approach.
“We will not fall into this trap,” Seymour said. “Our jobs are difficult. They take care for and focus on the customer. If a potential applicant can’t take proper time and care to complete an application to our standard, we don’t believe they will do the job to our standard.”
Additionally, Seymour has some concerns regarding artificial intelligence (AI) having the potential to oversimplify the recruiting process.
“Just because an applicant lists 200 keywords on their resume and an AI bot advances that resume to an interview stage, it doesn’t mean the applicant is qualified for a job,” he cautioned. “When you allow your recruiters to become lazy and depend on things such as ‘keyword matches’ to secure interviews, you are not working in the best interest of your company.”
He stressed that hiring the right people for the correct roles requires hard work and attention. That said, Seymour isn’t saying recruiters need to forgo AI entirely.
“Just be careful not to unintentionally lower your standard by becoming over dependent on AI,” he said.
RaceTrac, which operates more than 800 stores across 13 states, looks to strike a balance with AI. It has strategically added AI tools while maintaining its “high-touch, personalized recruiting and interview experience,” said Linda Sutton, director of recruitment for RaceTrac. “Streamlining parts of its interview process, such as automating low-value tasks like reminders and scheduling, has helped it manage an uptick in applicant volume by allowing recruiters to focus on more important aspects such as “in-depth candidate evaluation and faster time-to-hire for top talent,” Sutton added.
While some c-store retailers are focused on slowing down, RaceTrac has found that applicants’ tolerance for a long drawn-out interview process is “exceptionally low.”
“In today’s market, speed is paramount for acquiring top talent. Given our commitment to a personalized, high-touch hiring approach, we’re focusing on educating and collaborating with our hiring managers. We’re balancing the need for their confidence in the process with the urgency of securing talent efficiently,” Sutton explained.
Once a candidate accepts a job offer, RaceTrac ensures a smooth transition by offering comprehensive support that begins immediately after acceptance and continues through to the first day of work.
“We maintain open communication to help them plan and complete any pre-employment tasks with ease,” Sutton said. “We also strive to create a warm and welcoming environment through our interactive, live New Hire Orientation, where we share our rich history and future vision. We emphasize how each department contributes to our overall strategy and culture, fostering a sense of connection and purpose.”
Family Express, which operates 81 locations in Indiana, takes a different approach to recruitment.
“We have zero recruiting strategies, only retention strategies,” said Alex Olympidis, president of operations for Family Express. “We believe that a vigorous selection process coupled with intensive training and support for our current teams is the best method of recruiting new star associates when we grow our headcount by means of new locations or adding Cravin’s To Order kitchens.”
Family Express has a large growth trajectory planned in terms of new-to-industry stores scheduled to open in 2025 and beyond. “We communicate that anticipated growth to our workforce so they can see the career opportunities ahead,” Olympidis said.
