Trader Joe’s: 10 Ways it Attracts & Retains Great Employees
Customers love Trader Joe’s friendly and helpful staff. One of the keys to Trader Joe’s success is hiring the right people and investing in them. Jon Basalone, President of Stores at Trader Joe’s in 2019 said: “we’ve been around for over 50 years, and we’ve never had layoffs. We stay true to what we know works for Trader Joe’s and our crew members.” “You combine that with the pay, benefits and supportive, fun environment, and people tend to want to stick around.”
This year Trader Joe’s was named the third best large employer in the retail and wholesale category by Forbes and Trader Joe’s was ranked as having the highest customer satisfaction rating among supermarkets in 2021 by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. With a little more than 10% of Trader Joe’s employees being with the company for 10 years or longer Trader Joe’s knows what it takes to attract an retain talent. If you are trying to increase employee engagement or attract better team members consider these strategies that Trader Joe’s uses with great success.
1. Trader Joe’s pays its employees well. Part time crew members (an entry level store position) can make up to $24 per hour which is nearly twice the highest average minimum wage in the United States. Captains (store managers) make around $100,000 per year. Joe Coulombe, Trader Joe’s now deceased founder once said that: “the fundamental difference between Trader Joe's and all other retailers is the income level of employees.” Speaking about his dad, Joseph Coulombe said: “he loved and believed in his employees and he wanted to keep them.” “And the only way to do that was to pay them well.”
2. Trader Joe’s knows how to keep its employees motivated during their shifts. Instead of having to do one task all day Trader Joe’s crew numbers perform a variety of tasks ranging from replenishing stock, to cashing people out to cleaning. This variety keeps employees engaged and helps to prevent boredom. "It's perfect because it breaks down your shift. You don't get tired doing one repetitive thing" said Ivetta Linnell a former Trader Joe’s crew member.
“My first day at Trader Joe’s, I was being shown how to cut open a box and stock some frozen food, and someone came up and said, ‘let’s go in the back — we’re having a tasting,’” said Basalone. “The whole time, I was thinking, ‘am I supposed to be doing this? I feel like I should be at work,’ and the person training me said, ‘no, this is a part of it. We’ve got to learn about what we sell.’”
3. Trader Joe’s takes care of its employees by making a contribution equal to 10% of an employee’s salary to their retirement fund. This incentive is available even to part time employees as long as they work a minimum number of hours. Trader Joe’s automatically makes the contribution without requiring employee matching.
4. Trader Joe’s makes it a priority to hire nice people. Speaking about this Trader Joe’s president, Bryan Palbaum said that Trader Joe’s explicitly tries to find people that have “outwardly nice” personalities since it is hard to “train someone to be nice”. One of Trader Joe’s former CEOs, John Shields, said that he wouldn’t hire someone if they didn’t smile within the first 30 seconds of an interview. The nice and friendly people Trader Joe’s hires attracts similar people to work there creating a positive working environment.
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5. Employees receive a competitive benefits package covering health, dental and vision care. Employees pay only a small premium with Trader Joe’s paying the rest. Employees also receive paid time off and there’s also nothing like a good discount to keep your employees motivated. Trader Joe’s employees receive a 10% discount on store purchases.
6. Trader Joe’s crew remembers receive a performance evaluation twice per year and can receive up to a 7% pay increase each year which adds up over time. "I've worked at other retail stores and the pay is a lot lower than TJs. We also get raises twice a year, the opportunity for a bonus, and the most affordable health insurance I've ever heard of (with a free gym membership!)," said a Trader Joe’s employee.
7. Trader Joe’s believes in promoting from within. 78% of Trader Joe’s “Mates”, a role that is similar to a supervisor within a retail store, started as crew. 100% of Captains (store managers) are promoted from the pool of Mates. Regional Vice Presidents are also promoted from within.
8. It is a fun place to work. “It almost doesn’t feel like work—it feels more like we’re hosting a party and the customers are the honored guests. You get to meet and work with some amazing people, whether your fellow crew members or customers, and the interaction and energy that comes from that just makes it a really great place to work” said Basalone.
9. Employees are encouraged to be themselves instead of fitting into a corporate mold. "There's no script," said a Trader Joe’s employee. "As long as I make sure the customer is having a great time, and I'm emphasizing Trader Joe's values, I can talk to people about whatever I want."
10. Trader Joe’s has Mates employees want to work for. "Almost every manager I ever had somehow made me feel like I could tell them anything, personal or otherwise— even though I didn't have a lot in common with them" said a former Trader Joe’s employee. "They did a lot of listening up front and opened up almost every conversation with asking what I think and then responding to what I said. I always felt trusted."