The internal cultures of five big brick-and-mortar department store chains – Dillard’s, JC Penney, Kohl’s, Macy’s, and Nordstrom – are the subject of today’s industry showdown. It’s no secret that for those in the retail world, the last ten-plus years have seen major upheaval from the online shopping marketplaces that have come to dominate the culture. People simply aren’t shopping the way they used to, but they’re still getting the products they need. Our five companies are challenged with changing under pressure, and some are certainly keeping up with the times better than others. But our beat is culture, and we want to know how these companies’ employees feel about the department stores they work for as the seas of industry continue to shift. Using Comparably’s employee-submitted data, we can paint a picture for you of how it is to work for all five of these companies in 2019. Let’s see who has kept up with the times, and who is still operating like its 1986.
OVERALL CULTURE
Kohl’s takes the initial little gold trophy for their Overall Culture score. Nordstrom takes second place, only one percentage point behind Kohl’s. Macy’s, JCPenney, and especially Dillard’s aren’t currently as popular with their employees, at least not in terms of their internal culture. Again, these are businesses under extreme strife and transition at this point in their histories, so we can expect to see that tumult reflected in the grades they receive.
Dillard’s: “Customers come before everything. You see someone you drop what you are doing and greet them. Again, your clients are everything. Everyone is friendly for the most part.”
JC Penney: “Before the actual interview there was a group activity with a few other candidates to test our ability to work as a team to be successful.”
Kohl’s: “They truly do care for their employees. Yes they have quality and work standards, but they follow the work hard, play hard mentality. How many businesses do you know that treat their employees to lunch, slushees, cupcakes, cook offs, and contests randomly all year long and celebrate all holidays with small tokens of appreciation for each employee?”
Macy’s: “Overall, I think they attempt to make a very large company feel small. Some departments are better at it than others. My experience is that it’s been very family friendly, supportive and overall.”
Nordstrom: “It’s not what it used to be. They’re trying too hard to be too young. It should do a better job of serving the 45+ crowd as these are the people with disposable income.”
CEO & LEADERSHIP
Nordstrom takes the second trophy for CEO, which reflects how all employees of that company feel about the job their chief exec is doing. Erik Nordstrom beat out Kohl’s Michelle Glass by five points. Macy’s Gennette, Penney’s Soltau, and Dillard’s Dillard the 2nd all ranked around the C and D range, perhaps a function of them taking the blame from employees for larger issues affecting the company.
Dillard’s: “Leadership needs to get better at listening to people that don’t have a suit.”
JC Penney: “What I like best about leadership is that they always give their employees something to look forward to, like ways of earning extra cash by signing customers up for the store credit card.”
Kohl’s: “Our leadership team encourages each team member to perform to the best of their abilities. They really encourage the team environment.”
Macy’s: “I know Jeff Genette personally. He is a decent and extremely smart CEO. He is well liked and generally respected. He is working on getting better advising and that is important.”
Nordstrom: “The CEO cares about customers and employees, but is not actively dealing with upper managers who are undermining diversity and inclusion efforts.”
COMPENSATION
Nordstrom, who present the strongest “class act” vibe of our five competitors, wins a second trophy in the Compensation category. Kohl’s turned in an average score just five points behind Nordstrom. It should be noted that the winning score was a lowly B-, and that three of our other four chains rated in the D range.
Dillard’s: “We are paid based on our sales per hour, our SPH. At my store, you start out at $12/hr. If you meet your SPH raise goal, you will get a pay increase. If you don’t, you will get a pay cut, or potentially lose your job.”
JC Penney: “Wages and benefits are extremely low, at almost every level except for the absolute top of management.”
Kohl’s: “I think retail in general should be paid a bit higher. Not as highly as college degree requiring jobs, but the fact i make 9$ an hour to be running around like crazy for 8 hours isnt exactly fair.”
Macy’s: “The pay is awful and in the morning we have to work in the dark. There have not been any raises in two years and the union is not effective on vouching on our behalf. Higher wage salary is needed especially when opportunities for growth are limited and growth is slow.”
Nordstrom: “I am not a commissioned employee, however, if I were I would want less commission and more regular pay, simple because of the return policy at Nordstrom.”
PERKS & BENEFITS
It would seem Perks & Benefits are not substantial across the industry, at least for workers in the stores. The fact that Nordstrom can win this category with a C- score says a lot. Elsewhere, Kohl’s was just a few points behind Nordstrom. JC Penney and Dillard’s both flirted with an F grade for compensation, so interested applicants beware.
Dillard’s: “If you’re a full time you can have vacation days, sick days, overtime and health care that includes dental and vision. Part time you will earn vacation.”
JC Penney: “We do have a good medical leave plan but as far as retirement etc, there is nothing unless you are management.”
Kohl’s: “On site medical clinic and very affordable dental, vision and health care plans even for part time employees.”
Macy’s: “High deductible health care plan, health saving account, 401k with match, short and long term disability, group life insurance, paid vacation.”
Nordstrom: “Health insurance, 401k match up to 4%. Stock purchase opportunities and an employee discount.”
DIVERSITY
Things look a bit rosier in the Diversity category, which tracks how the companies are viewed by workers of various ethnicities. Nordstrom does take another trophy on its march to glory, but all four of our other companies scored solid B’s for Diversity, although those numbers may be inflated (as in the case of many national chains) by a willingness to extend low-paying sales floor jobs to members of all races. Our anonymous Nordstrom employee opines that the diversity there doesn’t quite reach the top of the company.
Dillard’s: “The store I am at is extremely diverse.”
JC Penney: “They have no tolerance for any degrading or discriminating of others.”
Kohl’s: “All walks of life. A good variety.”
Macy’s: “They need to increase diversity at the senior level.”
Nordstrom: “Some department sare diverse and some not so much. Depends on the head department manager.”
OUTLOOK
Dillard’s: “As with most retailers, Dillard’s bottom line is their profits and not their employees’ well-being. They’re also out of touch with today’s consumers and prefer to cater to an older generation of customers.”
JC Penney: “The company needs to communicate; to make a realistic comeback would take a monumental effort.”
Kohl’s: “My managers and coworkers give the job a good feeling. I feel less like I’m working and more like I’m volunteering and hanging out with some friends.”
Macy’s: “The company is downsizing and retail is changing. I’m afraid I’ll lose my job.”
Nordstrom: “Obviously online is doing great but in-store isn’t. Each store has web fulfill teams and online gets the credit even though they are taking product from in store. So customers that want to shop in store end up having to order because web fulfill took their item.”
And with a final win in the Outlook category, which tracks the way employees feel about their company’s future, Nordstrom takes the whole enchilada. Kohl’s is second here and second overall, but our other three competitors – Macy’s, JC Penney, and Dillard’s – are struggling to hang on to their market share as the shopping culture continues to undergo radical transformation, and that struggle is being reflected in these grades. Those who are drawn to a job at one of these companies are urged to investigate Kohl’s and Nordstrom for current opportunities.
