4 Food Retailers Among 20 Best Workplaces in Retail
Fortune magazine has once more released its 20 Best Workplaces in Retail, a subset of its 100 Best Companies to Work For, and food retailers were prominent on the list, with Wegmans Food Markets, Publix Super Markets, Nugget Markets and Whole Foods Market coming in at Nos. 1, 3, 6 and 20, respectively.
“What I find unique about Wegmans is the longevity of many employees’ careers,” an employee noted in Fortune. I feel there are not many companies where you can start as a teenager, continue in college, work as an intern in a variety of departments, and ultimately make it into a full-time career. Employees feel safe and satisfied, but still challenged. We also have the ability to work in a variety of roles throughout our careers, and we don’t have to leave the company to do so.”
Of Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans’ second consecutive No. 1 retail workplace ranking, Colleen Wegman, the company’s president and CEO, asserted: “Our people demonstrate our values with every action they take. They help one another, help our customers, and they make Wegmans a happy place to work and shop. I couldn’t be more proud.”
Wegmans has been named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by Fortune magazine for 20 years in a row, ranking second overall in 2017.
“I would say the most unique thing about working at Publix is all the possible career paths that you can take in the company,” an associate observed in Fortune. “If you do not like the job position or the warehouse you are working in, you are very easily able to request a different position or shuffle to another warehouse and keep your same position. Other companies have very little opportunities to advance, but at Publix, the sky is the limit.”
“Being ranked as a best workplace in retail is an honor,” said Todd Jones, CEO and president of Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix, which has also made the 100 Best Companies to Work For list for 20 straight years. “This recognition makes me especially proud since it’s based on associate feedback.”
Publix moved up a slot in this year’s retail ranking, having come in fourth in 2016. It was 21st on the 2017 100 Best Companies to Work For list.
“We are empowered on day one to take care of our guests,” a Nugget Markets associate noted in Fortune. “We do not have to ask permission to replace a product or reduce an item in order to fulfill a guest’s needs. We all submit ideas that we have to help make our company better. No matter who you are, your idea is considered, and often rewarded if implemented.”
Woodland, Calif.-based Nugget has appeared on the top 100 list for the past 12 years, this year at No. 30, and was second in last year’s retail ranking.
A Whole Foods worker told Fortune: “I appreciate that there is a genuine connection to the immediate community as well as to helping those less fortunate in the world. The focus on different foundations gives us a greater sense of purpose as a team member. I greatly appreciate the people I work with as well. The people around me are amazing, and it makes coming to work easy. We’re all purpose-driven and are willing to help each other when needed.”
Whole Foods didn’t appear on the 2016 retail list, which consisted only of 15 companies, although it has made the Fortune 100 rankings for 20 years, coming in 58th in 2017.
The 2017 retail ranking also included c-store operators QuikTrip (No. 2) and Sheetz (No. 7).
To compile the lists, Fortune teams with Great Place to Work, which bases its ranking on a data-driven methodology applied to anonymous Trust Index survey responses from more than 38,000 employees at Great Place to Work-certified organizations.
“Thanks to their commitment to provide a fulfilling career experience, the Best Workplaces earn the trust and dedication of retail employees who serve as critical ambassadors for their brands,” said Chinwe Onyeagoro, president of Great Place to Work, which has U.S. locations in New York and San Francisco.