Paying Employees to Stay, Not to Go...

[one_voice]

CONCORD, N.H. — Ben Nawn, a sophomore at the University of New Hampshire, says his friends who work at McDonald’s are envious of what he earns working for the Boloco burrito restaurant here.

While they make $7.25 an hour, the federal minimum wage, Mr. Nawn receives $9 an hour, which Boloco sets as the floor at its chain of 22 restaurants, most of them in New England.

“That’s pretty high,” said Mr. Nawn, who hopes to work in sports broadcasting someday. “$9 is a good base, and the benefits are great.”

Mr. Nawn works at one of the handful of restaurant chains that deliberately pay well above the federal minimum wage. In-N-Out Burger, the chain based in California, pays all its employees at least $10.50 an hour, while Shake Shack, the trendy, lines-out-the-door burger emporium, has minimum pay of $9.50. Moo Cluck Moo, a fledgling company with two hamburger joints in Michigan, starts everyone at $15.

*snip*

“Our people work really hard, and $15 impacts their lives in a very positive way,” Mr. Moorhouse said. “The whole notion that it’s all kids starting out and they don’t deserve to be paid much, that’s all specious. We’re paying people $15 an hour so they have a living wage, so they really care about you when you come in the store.”

A major benefit of paying $15, he said, is “we don’t have any turnover. We don’t have to train people constantly.” His restaurants serve upscale hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and salads, and a full meal generally costs around $1.25 more than at McDonald’s.

Rachel Troutman, 34, said she was thrilled to be earning $15 an hour, $600 a week, with Moo Cluck Moo. She used to earn $10 an hour as a top manager at a sit-down family restaurant.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/05/business/economy/boloco-and-shake-shack-offer-above-average-pay.html?_r=0

[Wounded Bear]

1. We need this attitude to make a comeback...

Bit time!

[Gormy Cuss]

2. True turnover costs are often ignored by employers.

There are costs to identify, interview and hire employees (ads, resume/application reviews, interviews by one or more staff, reference or background checks, adding employees to payroll and benefits systems, etc.)
There are costs to train said employee. (e.g. lost productivity for staff doing the training, low productivity for the new hires)
There are costs when employees leave voluntarily (e.g. removal from payroll and benefits systems, rescheduling work)

Smart companies understand that holding on to productive workers by paying them a bit more is a good investment.

[BrotherIvan]

3. Corps have totally ditched customer service

By paying your employees crap, they don't really care about their jobs and it shows when dealing with customers. That is why department stores are dying: they fired all the staff so it's quite literally a ghost town. The turn over is so high because they treat everyone as disposable. They do not care about experience or performance from an employee, just the cheapest.

I wish there was a way to get people to stop spending their money at crappy corps and to support small businesses. But people are so easily fooled by advertising and PR, it seems hopeless.

[one_voice]

4. This here...

they treat everyone as disposable.

Exactly.

I've been saying that for some time now. Employees are treated like diapers. Shitty & disposable. You're paid crap while usually doing the work of 2-3 people. Workers have lost their voice, especially true for the lower wage workers...imo.

[BrotherIvan]

6. Yes, and it's not just service jobs where they treat you as disposable.

In my industry, reality TV broke the unions. Positions that used to make a rather high union wage are now staffed by 20 year-olds making $500 a week. So many people have had to leave and find a new career. And if you do stay, the contempt that they have to pay you for experience of talent is palpable. I had one employer demand that I train someone in Bangladesh how to do my job. I told him there was no way I could or would do that and walked out. The job market in this country is why corps have all the power. I'm glad to see that small companies are realizing that the publicity is worth it.

[one_voice]

8. Agree...this is happening everywhere..

train someone in Bangladesh

Telling an employee to train the person taking their job.

[BrotherIvan]

17. And paying them 5% of what they pay you

It's so gross.

[arikara]

9. The local news shows on TV here have done the same thing

One of stations got rid of the long time, well known and respected middle aged anchor and he's been replaced by a 15 year old blonde with a squeeky voice. They probably pay her a tenth of what he was making. But that little girl looks ridiculous trying to anchor the news.

[BrotherIvan]

16. Probably destined for Fox

ugh.

[A Little Weird]

5. Admirable

Unfortunately I don't think any of the restaurants mentioned in the article are near me, but I would certainly be willing to pay a little bit more at a place that doesn't treat their employees like crap.

[PeaceNikki]

7. That's a fantastic article!

I wish they were in my region so I could support them all. I'll try to seek out more businesses who focus on treating their employees and customers better.

[freshwest]

10. We MUST get back to this way of thinking:

No business which depends for
existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.

~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

Pass it around, even if only on a bulletin board somewhere. The people need to remember what social justice is. Get them thinking.

[Brigid]

11. The Brigid Corollary:

Any businessman (or woman) who depends on crap wages to stay afloat is an idiot who doesn't know how to run a business.

[ybbor]

12. I'm eating a notorious cluck sandwich right now

Took my daughter to Moo-Cluck-Moo for lunch today. We walked in and she said, "Oh my gosh, this place smells amazing!" The owner was at the register and we talked for a bit about his stores and he then walked over as we were waiting for our food with a T-shirt for my daughter. The place was very busy and I go whenever I am near one of their stores. Great food! Great business!

[Jack Rabbit]

13. To whom do the Koch brothers think they are going to sell Dixie Cups once the minimum wage is zero?

The model of global capitalism that is being pushed is unsustainable at every level. The race to the bottom must be stopped before even life on earth is unsustainable.

How can that be done when so many billionaires, like the Kochs, insist on bribing politicians and buying elections with impunity?

[littlemissmartypants]

14. ...

Jobs with Justice.
Feminist Justice.
Nice trend we have going.

Love, Peace and The Righteous Fight.

Hat tip to Uncle Joe.

littlemissmartypants

[littlemissmartypants]

15. Thank you. nt