C-store retailer opens shifts across store locations

Kum & Go is enabling employees to cover shifts at nearby stores with a new feature of its labor optimization platform.

The Des Moines, Iowa-based convenience store retailer is leveraging the cross-unit shift coverage capability now included in the labor optimization toolkit of the Crew frontline digital workforce platform. Kum & Go has rolled out the cross-unit shift coverage feature to all of its employees spread across 400 stores in 11 states. 

The retailer has been able to leverage this feature to balance labor coverage more efficiently and without adding additional work for frontline team members or area managers. Eligible employees are able to cover open shifts at sanctioned, nearby Kum & Go locations.

As a result, Kum & Go’s frontline and hourly workers have obtained a new level of control over their work schedules. Now, it’s easy for employees to pick up additional shifts and customize their own schedules. The retailer hopes for the greater sense of flexibility and control employees receive to produce higher levels of engagement, stronger retention, and more efficient labor utilization.

"Crew’s support for cross-unit shift coverage has really enhanced the launch of our newly established flex pools,” said Marty Roush, VP of operations at Kum & Go. “Now employees can pick up shifts at nearby stores, our staffing levels are higher, and employees are empowered to manage their own schedules directly from their phones. At our size, the ability to pool labor across multiple locations has been invaluable."

Kum & Go operates 400 stores in 11 states: Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming.