SpartanNash readies companywide hiring blitz

Grocery distributor SpartanNash plans a “National Day of Hiring” to fill job openings in selected markets companywide.

Scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 16, the employment drive is designed to source “the best new talent from fresh experts to drivers and pharmacy technicians,” Grand Rapids, Mich.-based SpartanNash said Monday. Plans call for National Day of Hiring events to be held at distribution centers as well as company-operated supermarkets.

“We’re not just offering jobs, we’re helping plan a future for talented people looking to develop new skills to advance a satisfying, rewarding and long-term career path,” Mike Koppenol, vice president of Total Rewards at SpartanNash, said in a statement. Total Rewards is the new benefits package that SpartanNash launched earlier this year.

The National Day of Hiring events will offer candidates a chance to learn more about open positions plus on-the-spot interviews and possible same-day job offers, SpartanNash said. The company also will unveil details about a range of new associate Total Rewards benefits launched this year. They include comprehensive benefits effective within 30 days or less of a candidate’s hire date, competitive salaries and an enhanced associate discount program at company-owned stores and fuel centers.

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In addition, SpartanNash plans to spotlight new education and training programs that offer associates more career development opportunities at any level while still getting paid.

“As a ‘People First’ company, our biggest investment is always in our associates, both current and future team members,” Koppenol noted. “They’re vital to our communities and our company’s success, so we’re pulling out all the stops to meet our new team members as we strive to be the employer of choice.”

This year, SpartanNash launched two new development programs: SpartanNash University and SpartanNash Academy. SpartanNash University is an experiential cohort learning environment for more than 100 top talent leaders as well as 200 aspiring leaders, while SpartanNash Academy now offers training programs for frontline retail and distribution teams, providing foundational development for career advancement and next-generation leaders, the company said.

SpartanNash added that it also offers on-demand courses via Workday, an online human capital-management platform, that cover topics ranging from finance to presentation skills. Last year, SpartanNash associates completed more than 100,000 hours of training — about five hours per employee — through the system. Another recent rollout was the Enhanced Tuition Reimbursement Program, which provides tuition reimbursement up to $5,250 annually with expanded eligibility to all full-time and part-time benefits-eligible associates who work 30 or more hours per week.

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Through its core food wholesaling business, SpartanNash distributes to all 50 states, supplying 148 corporate-run supermarkets in nine Midwestern states — which constitute its retail business unit — and over 2,100 independent grocery retailers nationwide. The company, with about 17,500 employees, also distributes to 160 military commissaries and over 400 exchanges in the United States and internationally.