Article created for the digital issue of the NATSO Foundation’s magazine
Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the 2024 NAG Conference in Tampa, Florida as their guest. There were several great sessions, including a knock-out panel on Labor Management: Refining Retention and Development Strategies.
Mel Kleiman, founder of Humetrics, moderated the panel, which also included Kristin Bowen, brand and marketing manager at Warrenton Oil Co.; Lorissa Martin, talent acquisition and performance manager at The Wills Group/Dash In; and Melanie Disney, director of human resources at Weigel’s.
Here are ten great ideas shared by the panelists:
- Recruiting cards. Make a business card that your managers can give out whenever they meet someone who may be a good fit for your travel center.
- Take the application information and begin the interview right in the store. Load an iPad with an interview guide so managers can interview prospective applicants right when they come in. Then, have the corporate office follow up and set up a more thorough interview as soon as the application comes in.
- Be transparent. Make sure you are transparent about what the job includes. Tasks like cleaning bathrooms and taking out the trash should be explicitly spelled out.
- Reassess benefits frequently. Employees' expectations and needs for benefits change more rapidly than they used to. Conduct a benefits survey every 18 months to update what benefits your employees are looking for.
- Set up a mentor program that includes incentives. Offer a kicker for mentoring a new manager. This gives new managers someone to call if they need advice and incentive mentors to participate.
- Surprise and delight with Snappy. Snappy is a gifting platform that can be used for small rewards. For example, if you help with a Grand Opening, you’ll receive a $25 gift card.
- Do performance reviews twice a year. Instead of annually, perform reviews twice a year. This allows for faster feedback and faster pay increases.
- Consider semi-daily pay. Distribute 50 percent of daily pay each day and the remaining 50 percent every two weeks.
- Diversity job boards. Make sure you are posting your positions on diversity job boards.
- Employee Fun Intake. On the first day, give employees a form with personal questions such as favorite candy, favorite team, kids’ names and ages, and pet information.
Next year’s conference, now named CStore Connections, will be held March 9 – 12, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
// This article was created for Stop Watch magazine, the magazine of the NATSO Foundation. The NATSO Foundation is the research, education and public outreach subsidiary of NATSO, Inc. The NATSO Foundation provides programs and products to strengthen travel plazas’ ability to meet the traveling public's needs through improved operational performance and business planning. Visit www.natsofoundation.org for more information. (Donate to the NATSO Foundation here.)
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