FMI MIDWINTER EXECUTIVE CONFERENCE 2001-01-22 (3)

DAVID MERREFIELD

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- A work-scholarship program developed at Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y., has been instrumental in reversing high school dropout rates for participating students and is a valuable source of in-store workers.

Danny Wegman, Wegmans' president, gave an update of the 14-year-old program during last week's meeting of the Food Marketing Institute's Midwinter Executive Conference. Wegman is also FMI chairman.

"Rochester is the 73rd largest city in the nation, but it's the 13th in terms of children in poverty," Wegman told a meeting session. "We knew we had to do something to help head off that cycle and maybe to help ourselves at the same time with the high turnover rate we have among our part-time workers."

So Wegmans started a program that involves close personal supervision and role modeling for students interested in working in Wegmans stores. At present, Wegmans has some 17 advocates working with about 450 students.

A particular focus of the activity is on helping students become aware of common business basics such as showing up for work, showing up on time and solving interpersonal problems in some way other than with fists.

"It's a big job to show people that when you disagree with what's going on, you don't solve the problem with your fists," he said. "You talk it out."

Indeed, Wegman said many of the students in the program would have no positive role model at all if it weren't for the program.

"There's a cluster of people in poverty that have no role models except for drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes," he said.

As an illustration of the program's success, Wegman said that stores typically have an annual 80% to 100% turnover rate for part-time workers, but those involved in the program are retained at a rate of 90%.

"Given that it costs about $4,000 to train a new worker, this represents a great cost savings," he said.

And, perhaps more important, four of five students in the program graduate from high school and up to 80% of those who graduate go on to college.

By comparison, just one in five students similarly situated, but not in the program, graduate from high school.

Moreover, Wegman said, the shift in society from funding welfare to solving problems through programs means that increasing funds are available to underwrite the cost of programs such as the one at Wegmans.

Wegman said that his company received a funding grant of $5 million last year to underwrite the cost, in recognition of the success the program has achieved.