Costs tied to staff turnover and training continue to rise, but to keep the expense in check, retailers and wholesalers are turning to more sophisticated hiring technologies and practices.
Distributors are embracing automated systems and standardized processes to find -- and keep -- the best employees, especially for entry-level positions.
Last month, Hannaford Bros., Scarborough, Maine, was to begin rolling out a computerized applicant screening system to its 118 stores. The program, which underwent an 18-month test in six stores, will be used primarily for candidates seeking store-level positions, said
Karen Koulovatos, employment specialist at Hannaford.
"What we are getting, based on data we have seen, is a more successful hire," Koulovatos said. "That is, people who will stay with us for one or two years. The quality of the hires is better only because we are able to screen more people."
Because the company devotes less face-to-face time with minimally qualified applicants, more time is devoted to better quality people. "It provides a labor savings so we can pick from a larger pool of candidates," she added.
Koulovatos said job seekers still complete a paper application before the computer interview is administered. "From those, about 60% will go on to a face-to-face interview," she said.
The computer interview is composed of 100 multiple-choice questions developed specifically for Hannaford and covers a wide range of areas from work history and customer service skills to honesty and teamwork topics.
The software program then compiles applicant responses and generates a document that serves as an "interview guide" for each job candidate. Test responses are assigned ratings based upon what qualities are deemed to be most and least desirable for a particular job.
At Winn-Dixie Stores, a similar system has been used for screening job candidates for more than a year, said Mickey Clerc, vice president of public relations at the Jacksonville, Fla., chain.
Clerc said the computerized interview ensures that a thorough and consistent fact-gathering process is conducted for all job applicants.
"We feel this makes sure we cover all of the appropriate questions that we might have," he said. "You can program questions that people might otherwise miss in a personal interview. The program keeps our people on track and it informs them of the steps to take."
Clerc said the computer application brings consistency to the hiring process and is especially beneficial for larger operators like Winn-Dixie.
"We have almost 1,200 stores and that means you have 1,200 different people out there hiring," he said.
"It does give us the ability to have a more consistent system of evaluation," Clerc said, "and that should produce better results."
For some retailers, the automated screening process happens in a remote environment, perhaps even in the job applicant's own home via the telephone.
Baker's Supermarkets, Omaha, Neb., and Bi-Lo, Mauldin, S.C., are among those retailers using automated telephone interview systems. Job candidates can dial into the system and, by using the key pad, respond to 10 minutes of questioning.
A wide range of questions are designed to seek out matches for applicant skills and job requirements. Among the questions posed by Baker's system: "Are you available for full-time work?" "Can you lift up to 50 pounds?" and "Should someone be fired for stealing more than $5?"
Industry observers said such a system may not be appropriate for every business, but it can be a good fit in food retailing where job turnover, and consequently, payroll and training costs, are high.
The consistency that technology brings to the hiring process can also serve to protect retailers from discrimination lawsuits.
"When you look at all the legalities of hiring, you really have to be on your toes and keep your staff current," said one source. Bias is a part of human nature, he added, and "it's not just race, age or sex, but biases on height, beards or mustaches. They have always been around."
Standardized screening strategies are being put to use not only in the stores, but in warehouses, too.
A program in place at distribution centers operated by both Hannaford Bros. and Associated Grocers of New England, Manchester, N.H., has reduced turnover for both companies.
John Franz, director of operations at Associated Grocers, said the staff turnover rate has been reduced by about 50% since the company started using highly detailed preprinted application forms tailored to food warehouse operations.
"There has definitely been a cost savings" as a result, he said.
"The [new hires] coming through the door are much more suited for the warehouse. The supervisors and other workers have commented that it seems to be a better caliber of people."
The test is administered not only to full-time applicants but to temporary and seasonal hires.
"It used to be we would spend a lot of time interviewing a lot of people and sometimes hiring the wrong people, but now they take the test and if you don't fall within the certain percentage, we don't waste any more time."
The printed applications Hannaford uses in its warehouses were designed specifically for order selectors and truck drivers in the chain's distribution facilities.
For more than a year, applicants have been screened with a test designed to ferret out the best candidates, not just search for minimum qualifications.
"It is always difficult to find people motivated to work in a warehouse environment," said Patty Jalbert, employment administrator at Hannaford's South Portland, Maine, distribution center. "The work is physically demanding.
"The supermarket industry has changed so that we have consumers in our stores shopping 24 hours a day, seven days a week," she added, "so we have to be ready to provide our products to our retail outlets at all times. Finding people to work nights and holidays was not an easy task."
Jalbert said using the test has reduced turnover. New hires "are more motivated to be in the kind of environment we are hiring for. There are no surprises for them. They pretty much know what is expected."
"Now we get a closer match to what their expectations and needs are to ours."
Rob Lassiter, director of distribution at Save A Lot, Jackson, Tenn., said his company began using the test because questions were job-specific.
"We are trying to find people who will be satisfied with this type of work and stay with the company," Lassiter said. "It takes such a long time to train people, and then for them to produce successfully for the company. We definitely want to curtail turnover.
"The work itself is very physically demanding and we work three shifts," said Lassiter. "If we have people stay with us two years, they usually stay with us for a longer period of time. Our turnover is usually within six to nine months."
Hannaford said advanced screening and hiring systems are particularly useful for large-volume hiring tasks, such as what is needed for a new-store opening, which can involve interviewing 500 to 700 candidates in a week's time.
"I do think some people view it as impersonal," Koulovatos acknowledged, "but those people are the ones who usually don't [qualify for] the face-to-face interview anyway."
