Target posts Q&A on its wage hikes
On Tuesday, Target Corp. said it is raising its minimum hourly wage to $12 this year, starting with existing associates, part of the retailer’s previously announced initiative to raise the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour by 2020. In a Q&A posted on its website, Stephanie Lundquist, Target’s chief human resources officer, discussed the wage hikes and what they mean for the company. Here are some highlights:
How did the team react to the announcement that wages were increasing to $11?
Overall, we received an overwhelmingly supportive response to our investment from team members, job candidates and the community. Our existing team members were excited about the move and even more enthusiastic about our commitment for the future. It also helped as we were hiring more than 100,000 seasonal team members for the holidays. The weekend after our announcement, which is one of our biggest hiring weekends of the year, we doubled the number of job offers we made compared to the year before. And we saw a significant increase in job applications throughout the entire holiday season.
How and when will the increase to $12 minimum wage go into effect?
Building on the commitment we made last fall, we’ll increase to a $12 minimum wage this year, beginning with our existing team members. For tens of thousands of team members, it will be their second significant wage increase in a six-month time-frame. And for all team members, a $12 minimum wage will be higher than the state-level minimum wage offered in all 50 states.
As a leader of the Target team, how do you think about where and how you invest?
We believe that taking care of our team members means investing in their whole selves. That certainly includes pay, but it also means giving them opportunities to grow professionally, take care of themselves, their families and each other and they are passionate about making a difference for our guests and their communities.
Over the past year and a half, we’ve invested hundreds of thousands of paid training hours to develop our team members’ product knowledge and service skills and provide continuous learning programs. We’ve invested in wages and benefits so our team members can take care of themselves and their families. All of this is in addition to the benefits we offer our team members every day, like a merchandise discount, additional discounts for healthy product options, tuition reimbursement, industry-leading access to free counseling services and more.
What does it mean to you to make these kinds of investments in the Target team?
When we announced our wage increases last year, it was one of my proudest days at Target. I’ve worked in retail my entire career and have spent more than a decade at Target, focusing on how we take care of our team members and help grow their careers. I’ve traveled to stores across the country, talking to our team members, and I understand the impact that increased wages make on their ability to take care of themselves and their families. And for our team, it allowed us to say: we appreciate you, we care about you, and we’re investing in your future.
For the complete Q&A, click here.
How did the team react to the announcement that wages were increasing to $11?
Overall, we received an overwhelmingly supportive response to our investment from team members, job candidates and the community. Our existing team members were excited about the move and even more enthusiastic about our commitment for the future. It also helped as we were hiring more than 100,000 seasonal team members for the holidays. The weekend after our announcement, which is one of our biggest hiring weekends of the year, we doubled the number of job offers we made compared to the year before. And we saw a significant increase in job applications throughout the entire holiday season.
How and when will the increase to $12 minimum wage go into effect?
Building on the commitment we made last fall, we’ll increase to a $12 minimum wage this year, beginning with our existing team members. For tens of thousands of team members, it will be their second significant wage increase in a six-month time-frame. And for all team members, a $12 minimum wage will be higher than the state-level minimum wage offered in all 50 states.
As a leader of the Target team, how do you think about where and how you invest?
We believe that taking care of our team members means investing in their whole selves. That certainly includes pay, but it also means giving them opportunities to grow professionally, take care of themselves, their families and each other and they are passionate about making a difference for our guests and their communities.
Over the past year and a half, we’ve invested hundreds of thousands of paid training hours to develop our team members’ product knowledge and service skills and provide continuous learning programs. We’ve invested in wages and benefits so our team members can take care of themselves and their families. All of this is in addition to the benefits we offer our team members every day, like a merchandise discount, additional discounts for healthy product options, tuition reimbursement, industry-leading access to free counseling services and more.
What does it mean to you to make these kinds of investments in the Target team?
When we announced our wage increases last year, it was one of my proudest days at Target. I’ve worked in retail my entire career and have spent more than a decade at Target, focusing on how we take care of our team members and help grow their careers. I’ve traveled to stores across the country, talking to our team members, and I understand the impact that increased wages make on their ability to take care of themselves and their families. And for our team, it allowed us to say: we appreciate you, we care about you, and we’re investing in your future.
For the complete Q&A, click here.