You’re trying everything.
Higher starting wages. Sign-on bonuses. Employee appreciation days. You’ve added PTO, improved benefits, and invested in better training programs.
And yet, you’re still watching good people walk out the door before they hit their 90-day mark.
Here’s what makes this especially frustrating: some c-store chains are actually winning the retention battle in 2025. Some chains report being “overstaffed, which is a wonderful problem to have.” Another slashed turnover by 27% year-over-year. A third saw turnover rates drop 20% lower for employees using their newest retention program.
So what do these chains know that you don’t?
They’ve figured out that retention isn’t about spending more money, it’s about spending money differently. Let’s look at six retention strategies delivering real results, backed by c-store chains that have transformed their turnover numbers, so you can hit 2026 running.
Strategy #1: Earned Wage Access
Employees who use earned wage access programs have approximately 20% lower turnover rates than those who don’t (Country Fair being an example!).
Earned wage access lets employees access a portion of their already-earned wages before payday, without predatory payday loans or high-interest credit cards. One c-store chain partnered with a program allowing employees to access 50% of their weekly pay via bank deposit, gift card (with bonus value), or a no-fee credit card.
Why it works: Financial stress is a massive, and often invisible, driver of turnover. When frontline workers are one emergency away from missing a shift, earned wage access provides a safety net.
Strategy #2: The 90-Day Intensive
If you’re losing half your employees before they hit 90 days, and most c-store chains are, you don’t have a retention problem. You have an onboarding problem.
Smart chains have restructured their approach to the first 90 days:
- More shadowing time before being placed at the register alone
- Regular check-ins at 30, 60, and 90 days to catch issues early
- First evaluation and raise at 120 days so employees have something to anticipate
Why it works: New employees are deciding during those first 90 days whether they made the right choice. Heavy investment in this window communicates: “We care about your success.”
Strategy #3: Text-Based Communication
EZ Stop launched text-based communication and reported a 90% engagement rate on messages sent. Compare that to email open rates (around 20%) or app-based messaging (where two-thirds of employees never download the app, and fewer than 8% of notifications are engaged with).
Why it works: Unused apps, unread emails and outdated bulletin boards are connection blockers, creating distance between leadership and frontline workers. Text-based communication eliminates the friction.
When people feel informed, they feel valued. When they feel valued, they stay.
Strategy #4: Real-Time Pulse Surveys
What would happen if you saw a 160% increase in survey participation after switching your survey approach? One goHappy partner, Quality Brand Group, saw annual survey participation increase by 160% – and the effect on turnover? 27% less turnover year over year.
What changed? Texting. When your frontline is reached effectively, they are more likely to engage.
It’s not just annual surveys: EZ Stop runs pulse surveys via text to gauge workforce sentiment. Operations meets with HR weekly to integrate feedback and develop targeted strategies.
Why it works: More timely feedback means you can mitigate issues before turnover becomes highly prevalent. Real-time pulse surveys also catch problems while they’re still fixable.
But here’s the key: pulse surveys only work if you close the loop. Ask, listen, act, communicate what you did. When employees see their feedback lead to changes, they learn their voice matters.
Strategy #5: Recognition That Feels Real
Recognition addresses one of the biggest complaints from frontline workers: “I don’t feel seen or appreciated for the work I do.”
But generic “Employee of the Month” plaques don’t cut it. Recognition that works is specific, timely, and visible to the entire team.
EZ Stop circumvented the standard recognition cards and community board celebrating team members by integrating text-based shout-outs that reach the entire workforce, making recognition a shared celebration.
Why it works: When recognition is specific (“Thank you for staying late to help with the delivery truck”), timely (within days, not months), and visible (the whole team sees it), it sends a powerful message: “Your contribution matters. We see you.”
Make recognition peer-to-peer, not just top-down. The best recognition often comes from people who work side-by-side every day.
Strategy #6: Strategic Overstaffing
Here’s a counterintuitive strategy: intentionally overstaffing.
Calloway Oil and H&L’s Director of HR reported: “We are overstaffed, which is a wonderful problem to have. We are already staffed and prepared for the busy summer season and can focus on training and career growth instead of staffing.”
Why it works: When you’re constantly understaffed, existing employees burn out, you hire too quickly, training suffers, and your best people leave. Strategic overstaffing breaks this cycle.
When you have capacity, you can hire selectively for quality, train properly, give existing employees breathing room, and develop people for leadership rather than just filling shifts.
Calculate your true cost per turnover (recruiting, training, lost productivity, team morale impact). You’ll quickly see that having 5-10% extra capacity costs far less than constant turnover.
The Real Retention Formula
Look closely at these six strategies and you’ll notice: none of them are about paying people more money.
Yes, competitive wages matter. But assuming your pay is competitive, these strategies address something deeper: they make frontline workers feel valued, informed, supported, and connected.
The c-store chains winning in 2026 understand that people don’t leave jobs—they leave feelings. The feeling of being invisible. The feeling of being uninformed. The feeling of not mattering.
When you eliminate those feelings, retention follows.
Your 2026 Game Plan
You don’t need to implement all six strategies at once. Pick one to pilot in Q1 2026:
- Losing people in the first 90 days? → Start with the 90-Day Intensive
- Spending heavily on recruiting but people still leave? → Try Earned Wage Access
- Team feels disconnected? → Implement Text-Based Communication
- Don’t know why people are leaving? → Launch Real-Time Pulse Surveys
- People feel invisible? → Build Authentic Recognition
- Constant turnover crisis? → Test Strategic Overstaffing
Choose one. Implement it well. Measure the impact. Then add another.
Because in 2026, the companies winning the retention battle aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones who’ve figured out how to make frontline workers feel like they really matter.
Ready to stop the turnover cycle? The strategies that work in 2026 aren’t about spending more, they’re about connecting better. Discover how leading c-store chains are cutting turnover by up to 27% using goHappy.
