Case Study 9 – C-Store Realistic Job Preview

One of the fastest growing, family-owned convenience stores in the nation, with more than $4B in sales, 350+ locations across six states, and 12,000+ employees.

The challenge:

Based on experiencing an average 49% turnover in personnel at its store locations, our client desired to build a process that would improve its recruiting and retention practices and proactively reduce attrition by creating a more efficient and effective application process.

The solution:

Five Star created an interactive web-based Realistic Job Preview that is available on the company’s corporate website. The Realistic Job Preview provides applicants with a true understanding of job requirements, dress and appearance codes, and pre-employment screening processes. It concludes with an online compatibility instrument to help potential applicants determine if the job is right for them before they begin the next step: the application process.

Results:

By presenting a realistic look at employment with the company and sharing company policies and standards up front, prospective employees could self-select out of the hiring process prior to submitting an application. This saves the applicant time and the company the expense of high applicant traffic. Overall turnover was reduced by 2% in the first year with a total savings of $350,000 in manager time alone for an ROI of 500% of project cost.

The Realistic Job Preview was presented as a Case Study at the International American Society of Training and Development conference and is featured in the book entitled Rethinking Retention in Good Times and Bad, by Dick Finnegan.