Retailers have been hit hard by staff shortages, and this only becoming more urgent as they gear up for the Christmas season.
So Macy's has decided to dial up its compensation and benefits offerings, particularly around education.
Should other employers follow suit?
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The US job market is rebounding, but retailers across the country are still grappling with the ‘Great Resignation’ and staff shortages ahead of the busy Christmas shopping season.
Therefore, retailers are coming up with inventive strategies to both retain and attract new staff.
Macy’s has decided to not only offer referral bonuses of $500 for staff to help it hire 76,000 new employees this Christmas, but it has stepped up its investment in compensation and benefits to make sure it doesn’t lose its existing workers to competitors.
For instance, the retailer has followed in the footsteps of Amazon and Target by making a $35 million investment over the next four years into a debt-free education program.
This initiative will see Macy’s pay for 100% of tuition, books, and fees for a range of education courses, including bachelor’s degrees and professional certificates.
This benefit, which launches in February 2022, will be available to all employees, whether they are salaried or are paid hourly.
To do this, Macy’s has partnered with Guild Education, an education and upskilling platform, that supports employees as they learn and gives them choice and flexibility to fit the courses around their work schedule.
In addition, Macy’s has committed to raising its minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Talking about the announcement, Macy’s chief transformation and human resources officer Danielle Kirgan said: “As a company, we’re driven by our mission to enable our colleagues’ success and be the preferred employer everywhere we do business, with competitive pay and benefits rooted in principles of equity.
“This program removes a major barrier to accessing education and will help our colleagues to further develop their skills and grow their careers and earning potential.”
“By investing in our colleagues’ education and financial well-being, we’re determined to make it possible for them to bring the best of themselves to work every day and to enable them to pursue their own aspirations within and outside of Macy’s, Inc.”
But, could investing in career development of employees stop companies avoid the worst of the ‘Great Resignation’?
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