Industry Perspective: Weigel’s Rolls Out On Demand Pay For Employees

Weigel’s Rolls Out On Demand Pay for Employees

Weigel’s new On Demand Pay feature gives c-store workers early access to earned wages and aids recruiting and retention efforts for the chain.

Erin Del Conte • Executive Editor

Attracting and retaining quality employees are bigger challenges than ever before for c store operators. Meanwhile many workers are struggling to make ends meet in today’s inflationary environment.

Powell, Tenn.-based Weigel’s, which operates 72 c-stores in east Tennessee, introduced a creative solution that aids recruiting and retention, while benefitting employees. On Oct. 1, 2021, the chain introduced On Demand Pay through Paylocity, allowing employees to access up to 50% of their earned wages early. CStore Decisions spoke with Weigel’s Director of Human Resources Melanie Disney to learn more about the program and how it’s working for the chain.

CSD: What has been the employee response since Weigel’s rolled out the program?

MD: The On Demand Pay option has been well received by both team members and store leaders at Weigel’s. Some store leaders have said that it has been a great retention tool for them because team members know they will have access to a portion of their pay in real time, and that is not something every employer provides. It has also increased team members picking up shifts when they need money for emergencies or just for fun since they can get paid the same day. Currently, we have approximately 12% of our employee population using On Demand Pay.

CStore Decisions (CSD): Why did Weigel’s decide to introduce On Demand Pay through Paylocity?

Melanie Disney (MD): With rising inflation and an already strained workforce, we made the decision to offer On Demand Pay to all hourly team members in order for them to access the money they already earned, so that they could use it when they needed it the most.

CSD: How does the program work?

MD: On Demand Pay is available to all hourly team members. They may use it in real time to gain access to 50% of the money they have already earned that day.

CSD: What does Weigel’s see as the benefits of the program?

MD: Weigel’s has used it as a recruiting and retention tool. Modern technology puts so many experiences at our fingertips. It’s an instant gratification world where the expectation is to get what we want, how we want it and when we want it. On Demand Pay meets the needs of the current workforce. We have many team members that use it every week, and others only access the feature for emergencies. It is available whatever the need.

CSD: I understand more employees used the feature to access their

Melanie Disney

daily pay when fuel prices spiked. Has usage leveled out since then or are you seeing it go back up?

MD: Usage was slow to take off with only a few team members using it initially. However, we saw the most drastic increases in usage with the rise in gas prices and inflation. Since then, the number of team members using On Demand Pay continues to increase.

CSD: What advice do you have for other chains considering this option?

MD: We made the decision to only allow access to 50% of pay so that team members would have money left at the end of the week on their paycheck.

Employers should give thoughtful consideration to the amount of pay they wish to make available to their teams. It is also helpful to provide education around managing money for those team members that may be employed and earning a paycheck for the first time.