Buehler’s Offers Flexible Financial Solution

To foster the continued growth of its employees, who range in age from 16 all the way up to 76, Ohio independent grocer Buehler’s Fresh Foods realized that it needed to focus not only on attracting new talent, but also on streamlining the onboarding process so that new associates are engaged early on. To that end, in 2014, the retailer teamed with Minneapolis-based Ceridian and since then has successfully implemented the company’s Dayforce solution for payroll, HR, benefits, workforce management, recruiting, onboarding and learning.

Most recently, Buehler’s has rolled out Dayforce Wallet, a flexible pay solution providing the option for on-demand pay, which Yvonne Monea, VP of human resources at the grocer, recognized immediately would help the company stand apart from its competitors for both current and prospective employees.

“I was so excited because I immediately thought this will help us with our recruiting,” recounted Monea. “I don't know of any other competitors locally that are offering an on-demand pay solution, and I saw what this could do for our employees. This is something different that will attract good employees to our company.”

First deployed in August 2020, Dayforce Wallet proved to align easily with Buehler’s existing Dayforce use. “Our employees are accustomed to using the Dayforce mobile app to address all of their employment needs,” explained Monea. “They're checking their schedule, they're putting in a time-away-from-work request, they’re checking their pay, so it's a natural addition to have Dayforce Wallet for on-demand pay available as a feature for them as well.” 

The solution has also been helpful on the catering side of Buehler’s operations. “In our catering department, we could have 10 weddings on any given Saturday, which requires a lot of staff to cover these events,” noted Monea. “Dayforce Wallet is something that can help us attract employees to work at these events. When they clock out at the end of their shift on Saturday, their pay is immediately available to them.”

Additionally, having more financial flexibility, especially in uncertain times, can really make a difference for employees. “Times are tough right now, and you never know when you might need a few extra dollars in your pocket,” said Garrett Cox, who oversees the human resource information system and talent management at Buehler’s. “Our motivation to offer Dayforce Wallet to our employees is really to provide them flexibility in their payments and their wages. It may be novel to some, but to others, it's so important.”

Enabling employees to access funds they’ve earned before their regular pay day will give workers a better way to bridge the gap between pay cycles, according to the grocer. “We've received requests from employees for help between one payday to the next, and prior to Dayforce Wallet we haven't been able to help them,” pointed out Monea. “We're aware that previously, employees would resort to going to one of the payday loan places which take an outrageous interest percentage as a fee. Now with Dayforce Wallet, as soon as an employee clocks out, they have access to a percent of their earned wages, which is a much better option than a payday loan.”

Buehler’s completed its implementation of Dayforce Wallet in just two weeks, with the help of a Ceridian implementation specialist who showed the company how to configure the platform to best fit its needs.

In the first month after implementation, 10% of Buehler’s employees had already started using Dayforce Wallet, and, according to Cox, the number keeps rising with every passing pay cycle. In fact, he said that employees found the solution so helpful that although Buehler’s only initially launched it at a single test store, adoption of Dayforce Wallet spread by word of mouth to the grocer’s other locations.

An employee-owned company, Buehler’s Fresh Foods operates 13 stores, six restaurants, catering services and a food truck.