CSNews Kicks Off National Search for Best Places to Work in C-store Retailing

JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Convenience Store News, the c-store industry’s leading business media brand, announced today that it will partner with the Best Companies Group to determine the “Best Places to Work in C-store Retailing.” This is the only nationwide competition of its kind, with the winning companies -- publicly or privately held retail businesses that operate, franchise or license a minimum of 10 full-line convenience stores -- being recognized as excellent employers through their innovative practices and policies.

The ranking of the winners, along with an editorial feature, will appear in the November 2014 issue of Convenience Store News and on the CSNews.com website.

The goal of CSNews’ “Best Places to Work in C-store Retailing” program is to identify and recognize those great places to work in the c-store industry that strive to create and build even better workplaces for their employees. This initiative is integral for the convenience store industry to attract the best and brightest employees, and to compete in both the national and global arenas. This prestigious award is sure to help winning companies increase the quality of their job applicants, heighten company pride, give them the ability to benchmark their company with their peers, and provide them with great public relations and marketing advantages.

Retailer organizations will compete based on the number of full-line convenience stores they operate in North America. The program has been purposely designed to compare companies of similar size. Therefore, the “Small” category will be comprised of companies having 10 to 99 stores. Companies with 100 to 499 stores will be considered “Medium.” Meanwhile, “Large” companies are those that have 500 or more stores.

The selection process, conducted by Best Companies Group, will be based on an assessment of the employer’s policies and procedures, combined with the results of a 66-question employee engagement and satisfaction survey. At the conclusion of the program, companies will have the option of purchasing an in-depth Employee Feedback Report, which will enable them to develop and implement the strategic steps necessary to create a great workplace and continue to improve the performance of their business.

Both employers and employees will be asked to complete user-friendly surveys online. If email and Internet technology is not available for use by company employees, the Best Companies Group also has a paper survey option available. The paper surveys are completed and confidentially returned for processing. Companies will not be required to pay a “participation fee” to go through the assessment process unless they need to use paper surveys. A small fee will be assessed based on the number of paper surveys requested.

The deadline for registration in the Convenience Store News “Best Places to Work in C-store Retailing” program is May 30, 2014. Go to http://bestplacestoworkcsn.com to register and learn more about the process, the survey tools, the valuable Employee Feedback Report, and how this program can help your organization.

“We are pleased to team up with the Best Companies Group as we begin surveying for the ‘Best Places to Work in C-store Retailing,’” said CSNews Editor-in-Chief Don Longo. “These exemplary companies will not only have great benefits and salaries, but also a culture that makes people love their work.”

In a world of continuously shrinking margins, an intentional and progressive human resources strategy is critical to creating and sustaining a competitive advantage. One measure of such strategies is the quality of the workplace experience. Numerous studies show a strong correlation between profitability and creating a great place to work.

Best Companies Group works with national and local partners in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to establish and manage “Best Places to Work,” “Best Companies” and “Best Employers” programs on a national, statewide and regional basis.