STORES Magazine - October 2008 - (Page 37)

Company: BURGERVILLE Headquarters: Vancouver, Wash. Employees: 1,400 Retention Strategy: Affordable Health Care 2005 employee survey spelled it out in black and white: The No. 1 concern of Burgerville workers was affordable health care. “We bet that if we could find a way to make health care affordable for all our employees — most of whom are hourly employees — we could alleviate a huge concern and win their loyalty,” chief cultural officer Jack Graves says. It was a sizeable bet — approximately $1.5 million — but it has paid off handsomely. Since it began offering an extended and improved health insurance plan, Burgerville has achieved a dramatic increase in employee retention and loyalty. Prior to implementing the new plan, turnover rates hovered around 128 percent. In 2006, the first full year of the health care initiative, turnover dropped to 54 percent; today the rate is holding steady at 52 percent. Productivity and employee confidence are up, absenteeism is down and, by reducing turnover, Burgerville has conservatively saved more than $500,000 — capital the quick-serve chain would have had to invest in recruiting, training and onboarding. Under Burgerville’s plan, employees who have been with the company for at least six months and work 20 hours a week are eligible for health insurance; it costs each employee $15 per month, or $90 monthly for family coverage. Burgerville’s parent company, The Holland, pays more than 90 percent of the premium for employees and their dependents. The package, put together in partnership with Kaiser Permanente, has no deductible — a tipping point for employee acceptance, according to Graves. High school and college students, retirees and young moms working part time “are often on a tight budget,” Graves says. “What we learned, however, was that these employees were less likely to go to the doctor — even if they had some insurance — because they couldn’t afford the deductible. “Offering affordable health care with a zero deductible was a game changer,” he says. A It didn’t happen overnight, however. “The program was so outside the box that people didn’t believe it at first,” Graves says. “We actually set up a field trip of sorts to a Kaiser clinic to demonstrate how it worked.” Employee retention isn’t the only metric Burgerville uses to measure its return on investment. “With more skilled employees, our restaurants are running better and they look better,” “With more skilled Graves says. “The food is hotter employees, our restaurants and it’s served faster, too. There’s a renewed sense of pride and comare running better and they mitment.” look better. There’s a The changes are having a renewed sense of pride healthy effect on the bottom line, and commitment.” too; Burgerville reports a yearover-year increase in guest counts — Jack Graves and a lift in sales. “Being a local company, word spread quickly of our commitment to providing health care, and STORES / OCTOBER 2008 37 WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - October 2008

STORES Magazine - October 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Force of a Different Collar What Shoppers Think Bagging the Competition 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Favorite 50 Sticky Strategies for Retention Concept2Watch Kiosks Online Business Intelligence RFID NRFtech Wrap-up E-Commerce Credit Warehouse Systems Logistics Selling Tools Supply Chain LOEB Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - October 2008

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