Today we present a look into the Company Cultures of five of the biggest US supermarket chains – Albertsons, H–E–B, Publix, Whole Foods and Winn-Dixie. Many of us held jobs at supermarkets and groceries on our way up as younger people, and its a certainty that many people still do… So while there’s not a ton of glamour here, there’s also no denying that these are fundamental workplace experiences that can set the stage for what the working life is going to be like for many of us. Let’s take a look at what Comparably’s employee-submitted responses to questions about workplace culture can tell us about how it is to work for these big supermarket chains in 2019.
OVERALL CULTURE
Right out of the gate, favorite H-E-B wins with a rare A+ in the Overall Culture category. Publix, another chain notable for they positive way its employees rate often rate it, is almost 10 points behind the winner. Whole Foods has a respectable third-place showing. Albertsons and Winn-Dixie begin to establish a trend with this initial category.
Albertsons: “Working at the headquarters can be pleasant. However, the pay store level is running behind inflation.”
H–E–B: “What more could you ask from a company whose tagline is ‘Because People Matter’? Not only do we exist to provide the freshest products at the lowest prices but also with the highest level of customer service.”
Publix: “While I realize no company is perfect. I am not sure where we could improve on the culture of Publix.”
Whole Foods: “The chain is passionate about the mission, celebrates creativity, and is generally supportive of team members.”
Winn-Dixie: “Lately ‘young people in charge’ drama and the occasional rude customer can throw a wrench in things. Perhaps the troublemakers should be held accountable.”
CEO & LEADERSHIP
No real contest here: H-E-B’s chief executive, Charles Butt, takes the CEO category in stride, blowing away his closest competition (Publix’ Todd Jones) by an enormous 14 points. CEOs from Albertsons, Whole Foods, and Winn-Dixie don’t fare nearly as well.
Albertsons: “Leadership allows autonomy and have trust in the decisions that I help make for our company.”
H–E–B: “The leadership isencouraging, inspiring and they go to great lengths to take care of their employees.”
Publix: “We are proud to have him as our CEO.”
Whole Foods: “He is very down to earth. Attends store openings and set ups in jeans and sneakers, gets his hands dirty.”
Winn-Dixie: “He needs to listen to employees, the ones who give everything everyday at work.”
COMPENSATION
Another big win for H-E-B (looks like we’re gonna have to get used to typing those dashes), again besting the popular Publix by almost 10 percentage points. Again, a respectable third-place showing for Whole Foods. Again, poor scores for Albertsons and Winn-Dixie.
Albertsons: “Top out pay is not enough to survive on. Cost of living keeps going up and our pay stays the same”
H–E–B: “The company contributes to my benefit package and is very competitive.”
Publix: “They are extremely fair and definitely pay more and compensate much better than any other company that I’ve worked for.”
Whole Foods: “The wages are above market average and the benefits are also a nice addition especially compared to other companies.”
Winn-Dixie: “The amount of work you’re required to do doesn’t match what you get paid in the slightest. Raises are minimal, people just want to be paid decently.”
PERKS & BENEFITS
And in what already feels like a comeback from way behind, Winn-Dixie manages to top H-E-B’s Compensation score by one percentage point. Neither score is particularly high, so the less said about the other three perhaps the better – except that its mildly surprising to see Publix rate so poorly here.
Albertsons: “They match 401K deposits, which is nice.”
H–E–B: “Affordable health insurance, stock options, employee discount.”
Publix: “They do provide benefits but you have to work certain amount of hours to receive them and it seems that they kind of make sure you don’t get that far.”
Whole Foods: “20-30% off food. Free healthcare with seniority/years of service.”
Winn-Dixie: “Benefits like group insurance would be nice.”
DIVERSITY
That’s our H-E-B, pulling out another nearly-ten-point win over Publix and Whole Foods, tying for second place in the Diversity category. Winn-Dixie is back to its old tricks in last place, making Albertsons look mildly good by default.
Albertsons: “My department is mostly white males.”
H–E–B: “Diversity, acceptance and job skills open to all.”
Publix: “I feel as a woman that it’s hard to succeed in the company as men hold many of the managerial positions.”
Whole Foods: “There is diversity among the team.”
Winn-Dixie: “Its a variety of cultures and we all get along.”
OUTLOOK
Albertson’s: “I wish we wouldn’t have bought Safeway. Wish we would have used Albertson’s ideas to run our division. We won’t be around much longer if it keeps going the way it is now.”
H–E–B: “Good pay, good hours, easy job, proper training, well rounded managers, joh security (they have never laid off anyone in company history).”
Publix: “Everything about working for Publix is great!”
Whole Foods: “Online is growing, and with Amazon we will surely continue to expand our distribution channels.”
Winn-Dixie: “We need better leadership, new tech and good ideas.”
Clocking a more-than-ten-point victory over Publix for good measure in the Outlook category, H-E-B wins the whole thing. With employees like that, who needs customers? In other news, Publix certainly did well and would have won most comparisons with those grades. Whole Foods seems to still be somewhat in flux, and both Albertsons and Winn-Dixie might want to consider putting a little more focus on how satisfied their employees are behind the scenes.
