Apr 25 2022
With the retail hiring climate getting more and more challenging every day, it’s time to reevaluate what your company can do to stand out from the pack and win more talent. One obvious way to attract more workers is by raising your hourly wage—but that’s not enough!
In addition to competitive compensation, your company needs to build out a more robust benefits package to stay competitive during the labor shortage. Because of this, we’ve compiled a nifty list of unique benefits that really make retail workers tick as well as which retailers offer these perks as part of their benefits packages.
Keep reading for inspiration from five retailers that are crushing it when it comes to employee benefits for store workers.
Urban Outfitters: Employee Discounts
Urban Outfitters offers employees amazing discounts across their entire brand portfolio which includes Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and BHLDN. Offering retail employees discounts on items sold in your store is a great way to reward workers and encourage them to engage with your company even further.
Discounts allow your retail workers to purchase and use the very items they assist customers with day in and day out. And, at a store like Urban Outfitters, where employees don’t wear uniforms, discounts can allow workers to buy clothes they can wear while working in your stores. Now that’s a win-win!
Apple: Stock Grants
It’s probably no surprise that Apple has employee benefits that are as cutting edge as the technology they build. One particularly unique benefit they offer retail employees is giving them stock grants and discounts when purchasing Apple stock. This benefit allows frontline employees to be more invested (both literally and figuratively) in the state of the company. When your retail workers are shareholders of your company, they have a financial incentive (beyond their hourly wage) to bring their best self to work every day.
PetSmart: Tuition Assistance Progam
Let’s give a round of “a-paws” for PetSmart’s benefits package for store associates, which includes reimbursing its employees up to $3,500 a year for tuition! The retailer offers this perk to both full-time and part-time employees, which means part-time students can flourish at PetSmart as they finish their degrees. Offering your retail workers tuition assistance is a simple way to show that you care about your employees’ growth outside of work.
Sherwin-Williams: Commuter Benefits
Paint retailer Sherwin-Williams offers frontline store workers commuter benefits as part of their exhaustive benefits package. With this perk, their employees can allocate pre-tax dollars to be taken out of their paychecks to spend on things like public transportation and parking. By using this benefit, Sherwin-Williams employees can save up to 40% on their transportation costs! Offering your workers commuter benefits eases the financial burden of commuting to work for your employees.
401(k) Matching: America’s Tire
Another great perk to offer your retail workers is 401(k) matching. After 1,000 hours of service, America’s Tire retail associates are eligible to open a 401(k) account. The retailer contributes $1 for every $1 an employee contributes to their 401(k) (up to 3%). Contributing to your employees’ retirement funds is an awesome way to show employees that you care about their well-being well into the future.
We hope these five unique benefits for retail workers give you the inspiration you need to build a benefits package that will allow you to win more talent during the labor shortage!
