Four Reasons C-Stores Should Invest in Employee Training

4 Reasons C-Stores Should Invest in Employee Training StrasGlobal

Consider your last trip to a retail location, can you remember how you were treated by one of the employees? Odds are customers will interact with someone in your facility during their visit. So, doesn’t it stand to reason that these employees are well-trained and exemplify the message that your business is trying to send? Investing in employee training goes beyond a knowledgeable associate – it has a ripple effect that touches your entire business. Read on to uncover four reasons C-Stores should invest in employee training.

1. Reduce turnover by promoting from within – Employee turnover is a cost of doing business. In fact, not all employee turnover is bad. You’re in business for a reason and employing those people that don’t enhance your business isn’t necessary. In the 2016 HR & Labor Study conducted by Convenience Store News it’s noted that the C-Store turnover rate is around 54%. That’s a hurdle that all C-Store operators must face.  

To compound this statistic the U.S. Department of Labor released a report in early May, 2018 related to the nation’s labor market and cited the unemployment rate at 3.9%. As reported by the New York Times, this is the lowest rate since 2000. To help reduce employee turnover and circumvent the need to hire new employees from a smaller pool, consider promoting from within. This not only ensures that your employees are knowledgeable about your business but it also gives new employees something to aspire to.  

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2. More knowledgeable staff = better customer service – GroveHQ.com writes that an unhappy customer will tell, on average, sixteen of their acquaintances about a retailer’s poor service. In contrast, happy customers will only share positive reviews with nine of their friends. With statistics like these it’s important to keep your staff knowledgeable and well-trained. There is a direct correlation between knowledgeable staff and better customer service. Connect with trained professionals like those at StrasGlobal to ensure your staff is well-trained – resulting in happier customers.  

3. More consistent customer experience – Working in unison with the previous topic, well-trained associates stand a better chance to provide your customers with a consistently positive experience. Consider McDonalds for a moment. McDonalds has been around since 1961 and has one of the most consistent experiences of any retailer. This isn’t by accident. McDonalds has a training school that focuses on the consistency that they have become known for. It may not make sense for your company to start a school, but working with a firm like StrasGlobal is a great start at offering a consistent customer experience.  

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4. Better compliance with state and local labor laws – Ensuring your associates are educated on the current state and local labor laws can be a daunting task. Laws fluctuate from state to state and if you’re a multi-state organization it can prove difficult to keep up with those changes. Strasburger works with companies across the United States and keeps current on any changes in regulation to ensure their clients are one step ahead of the process.  

For 35 years StrasGlobal has represented the best of the convenience industry’s entrepreneurial spirit and drive for innovation – providing turnkey small format retail site contract operations, staffing services, accounting services and retail consulting to companies large and small. 

Contact us to learn how StrasGlobal’s staffing services can help you improve your hiring, training and ongoing management of the most important asset in your retail location – your employees.