Sheetz & Cumberland Farms Named 2018 Best Workplaces in Retail

NATIONAL REPORT — The convenience channel is ranked among the best of the best when it comes to retail. Notably, Sheetz Inc. and Cumberland Farms Inc. landed on the Best Workplaces in Retail 2018 ranking by Great Place to Work and Fortune magazine.

Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz came in at No. 4 in the national ranking, with 87 percent of employees saying their workplace is great. Employees also said the convenience store retailer offers a great atmosphere, great pride and great communication (94 percent, respectively). They also touted Sheetz as offering great challenges, great rewards and great bosses (93 percent, respectively).

One employee said, "I feel that our company executives truly care about our 'front line' employees. When they visit a store, they want to spend time talking with the employees about how things are going and always ask what they could do to make their store better."

Sheetz operates 589 c-stores throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina, and has 16,814 employees.

Headquartered in Westborough, Mass., Cumberland Farms landed at No. 6 on the Best Workplaces in Retail list. The family-owned company operates 572 c-stores across eight states and has 8,387 employees.

Eighty-seven percent of Cumberland Farms employees said their workplace is great, while 88 percent said they are treated as a full member of the company regardless of their position, and 86 percent said management has a clear view of where the organization is going and how to get there.

"Being given the tools to grow and succeed makes me feel like I'm actually doing something important. Like I matter and make a difference. They make it so I feel as though I'm one of the reasons why it's a great place to work," one employee commented.

In a released statement, Cumberland Farms CEO Ari Haseotes said the company is proud to have been honored as one of the 2018 Best Workplaces in Retail.

"While the award is flattering, the true value of this achievement is the recognition by team members of our efforts to create a great place to work at Cumberland Farms," said Haseotes.

"We take the results of the surveys seriously and work each and every day to make Cumberland Farms a great place to work for all. Our team member discount card and enhanced communications throughout the organization are examples of changes that are a direct result of feedback from past surveys," he added.

The Great Place to Work ranking is based on anonymous surveys representing more than 631,000 employees from Great Place to Work-certified companies in the retail industry. Great Place to Work, a global people analytics and consulting firm, evaluated more than 60 factors measuring whether employees find their organizations create a Great Place to Work For All. 

Eighty-five percent of the evaluation is based on employees' experiences of workplace trust and the opportunity to reach their full potential at the organization, no matter their position within the organization. Each company’s score takes into account employees' involvement in company innovation, the organization's values and the effectiveness of their leaders. 

To see the complete Best Workplaces in Retail 2018 ranking, click here.