U.S. Companies Are Offering These Insane Incentives In An Effort To Lure New Employees
There is a job crisis in America. But not in the way you would expect it to be. There are currently more job openings in the U.S. than before the pandemic. And yet, it has never been harder to fill those open positions.
Companies in the U.S. scaled back on headcount during the worst months of the pandemic, and a lot of them are now desperate to hire new employees. So desperate, in fact, that even minimum wage jobs at fast food companies are being offered with insane incentives attached to them.
Why is this happening? For starters, the pandemic changed people’s perspective on life. It has had a big effect on Millennials and Gen-Z, and they are flat out quitting the 9-5 rat race in order to pursue work that provides them a better work-life balance.
With less people wanting to return to traditional work, finding and retaining quality employees is harder than ever. And companies are getting creative in finding new ways to hire and keep good talent.
Recently, John Pompliano compiled a list of several of these insane incentives in a twitter thread.
Applebee’s was seeking to hire 10k people this summer.
They gave out vouchers for free appetizers to anyone who scheduled an interview.
They had over 40k applicants 🤯 pic.twitter.com/6uYuW8Ar66
— John Pompliano (@JohnPompliano) June 14, 2021
Waste Management will pay for employees, spouses, and children to earn bachelor's and associate degrees.
Why?
Because each time an hourly employee leaves, it costs a minimum of $12k to search and hire a replacement.
— John Pompliano (@JohnPompliano) June 14, 2021
If these already seem unreal, just wait. They get better.
Omni Hotels & Resorts got wild.
– New employees get 3 free nights at the Omni hotel of their choice
– Summer hires get a $250 signing bonus + $500 retention bonus at end of the season
– Entry-level housekeepers earn $16 an hour in Austin (Texas minimum wage is $7.25)— John Pompliano (@JohnPompliano) June 14, 2021
Jersey Mikes in Santa Cruz, CA:
– $10k bonus for new assistant manager
– $5k for new shift leaders
– $500 for incoming full & part-time employees— John Pompliano (@JohnPompliano) June 14, 2021
Interesting sign-on bonuses:
-Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is giving $1k
-Sheetz is giving $500 for store workers and $1k for shift supervisors
-Tops Markets is giving $2k
-Woodman’s Market is giving $1.5k for new hires and $500 employee referral bonuses
— John Pompliano (@JohnPompliano) June 14, 2021
These companies, plus others, are offering one time payments to employees who get vaccinated:
-&pizza $500
-Lidl $200
-Kroger $100
-Royal Farms $50
-Instacart $25— John Pompliano (@JohnPompliano) June 14, 2021
Instacart with the deep pockets. Kidding!
Are a lot of these incentives just ways to put lipstick on a pig? Of course, a new iPhone isn’t going to help pay your rent when you are still making minimum wage at a fast food restaurant. But the lengths that these companies are going proves that if you are currently seeking employment, you have more negotiating power than you think.