Kohl's to Give Bonuses to Hourly Employees That Work Through the Holidays
Kohl's Corp. is giving an extra few hundred dollars to hourly employees at its stores and distribution centers to keep staff with the retailer through the holiday season. Hourly store, distribution center and e-commerce fulfillment center associates will be eligible for a $100 to $400 bonus for working with Kohl's through the holiday season, the company announced in a news release. The decision to incentivize hourly employees comes amid one of the worst labor shortages in recent history, with more retail workers leaving their jobs than employees in any other industry.
Total Retail's Take: Retailers are taking steps to protect themselves from the labor crisis, using incentives such as increased pay, bonuses, flexible schedules, on-demand pay, among other benefits to both hire and then retain hourly workers for their stores and distribution centers. Kohl's is choosing to be proactive and forward thinking as it plans for what figures to be a busy holiday shopping season, particularly in-store as consumers get more comfortable with that activity.
Hiring and retaining the right talent will be critical for Kohl's as it looks to compete this upcoming holiday season with Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, and others for sales. The department store chain has been aggressive in utilizing its stores as distribution centers for online orders, and the training of staff on new tasks and responsibilities will be part of that strategy. However, the first step for doing that is ensuring there's enough workers on hand to meet surging demand. Paying more, whether in the form of hourly wages or bonuses, will always help in that area.
