Kroger to Hire 10,000 Workers Across its Grocery Banners
Kroger announced Monday that it will hold a hiring event on Thursday to fill 10,000 jobs across its businesses, reports CNBC. The event will offer virtual and in-store interviews for prospective staff in its retail, e-commerce, pharmacy, manufacturing, and logistical operations. In addition to its namesake Kroger stores, the company operates brands that include Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, and Ralphs.
Kroger has been adding staff since the beginning of the year, but this is its first nationwide hybrid hiring event. The company added 100,000 employees during the coronavirus pandemic, but a Kroger spokesperson told CNBC that many of those workers have since returned to their pre-pandemic employers. The company has an average national wage of more than $15.50 per hour. In March, Kroger said it planned to invest $350 million to raise the average associate wage to $16 per hour. In a press release, Kroger added its benefits include a tuition reimbursement program, mental health counseling, and discounts on groceries, electronics and streaming services.
Total Retail's Take: Retailers have been raising wages in an increasingly competitive labor market, the latest challenge to stem from the COVID-19 pandemic. The worker shortage has stifled retailers' store re-openings as many employees either left the industry or were let go during the health crisis and are hesitant to come back.
"In today's highly competitive labor market, we know talent is selective and attracted to companies that are leading with a clear purpose, growing and improving every day, and committed to offering a diverse, inclusive, and engaging culture where they can thrive and excel," said Dawn Gilmore, Kroger's head of talent acquisition, in the press release.
Job seekers are looking for companies that invest in their employees, support a diverse workforce, demonstrate compassion and understanding, and offer paths to promotion, among other things. And with so many companies hiring right now, candidates can afford to be selective. Retailers, like many business across other industries, will have to increase benefits, wages, training resources, and health initiatives in this tight labor market to attract both store associates, warehouse staff, and corporate employees.
Kristina Stidham is the digital content director at Total Retail and sister brands Women in Retail Leadership Circle and Women Leading Travel & Hospitality at NAPCO Media. She is passionate about digital media and handles video, podcast and virtual event production for all brands. You can often find her at WIRLC, TR, WLT&H or industry events with her camera and podcasting equipment—or at home on Zoom—recording interviews with thought leaders and business executives.
Kristina holds a B.A. in Media Studies and Production from the Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication in Philadelphia. Go Owls! When she's not in the office, she loves to go on long walks, sing around the house, hangout with her family and two pet guinea pigs, and travel to new places.
