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SpartanNash

850 76th St SW, Byron Center, MI 49315

Company CareersDiversity & Inclusion

About SpartanNash SpartanNash (Nasdaq: SPTN) is a food solutions company that delivers the ingredients for a better life. Committed to fostering a People First culture, the SpartanNash family of Associates is 17,000 strong. SpartanNash operates two...Read More

E-Interview

DiversityAmerica's Greatest Workplaces

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Diversity,America's Greatest Workplaces

E-Interview

America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2024 In conversations with Newsweek, SpartanNash answered the following questions:

1. Can you provide an overview of your company's workplace culture and values, and how they contribute to a positive work environment?

SpartanNash is a food solutions company that delivers the ingredients for a better life through food wholesale and grocery retail. We're a diverse and growing Fortune 400 family committed to the success of those we serve – our customers, our store guests, our communities and our own Associates. SpartanNash's People First culture is foundational to our cultural identity, Our Winning Recipe™. People First means that investing in our approximately 17,000 Associates is the first investment we make as a company. It's also the first filter through which we make decisions. The success of our strategic direction and its execution is in the hands of our people. That's why our People First culture is so important. Our Associates work diligently on the frontlines and behind the scenes to ensure our stores remain open, shelves stay stocked, products are safely delivered, and our military heroes have the food they need. As we cultivate an environment in which Associates can do their best work, we are building the foundation for a thriving business.

2. What kind of professional development and growth opportunities are available to employees? How does your company support career advancement?

At SpartanNash, we create meaningful experiences and growth opportunities, inspiring careers for a better life. We are committed to seeing every Associate succeed, and we invest in people based on performance and potential. Starting on day one, our goal is to create a consistent Associate Career Experience, where Associates understand goals and expectations, and career conversations happen regularly. As a People First company, we offer a combination of online and in-person training and development courses. We've partnered with industry-leading organizations including DiSC, Korn Ferry and Skillsoft to deliver high-quality development experiences for every Associate. In addition to having 24/7 access to on-demand content through our human resources system, Associates engage in a variety of instructor-led programs, virtually and in-person. Topics range in scope, from deepening technical skills such as financial literacy to enhancing and broadening soft, interpersonal skills.
We also continued to refine our SpartanNash University leadership development programs. We enhanced our selection criteria, centralized communications to support efficiency and clarity, began re-aligning courses to define competencies, and used feedback from program graduates to improve the overall impact of the programs.

3. How does your company ensure transparency and open communication between management and employees, fostering a sense of trust and belonging?

Building a long-term People First company culture requires well-coordinated, strategically focused communications covering all aspects of the company's retail, distribution and supply chain operations. With Associate engagement as a top priority, the SpartanNash Executive Leadership team (ELT) continues to embrace in-person experiences and meetings to drive culture, trust and belonging. Each quarter, SpartanNash hosts a Town Hall where all 17,000 Associates are invited to hear directly (either virtually or live in person) from the ELT. We also offer a playback video option for Associates who are in the field to watch when it's convenient for them. Town Halls create a platform for ELT presentations, live "info-tainment" and open mic questions from the audience.
Last year, the company's People First commitment was deepened through the introduction of our enterprise-wide newsletter, ThePeople First* Digest*. This new communication platform is an invaluable tool allowing the leadership team to engage Associates across SpartanNash in a dialogue about complex and important topics including pay, benefits, Associate Resource Groups (ARGs) and more. Additionally, we addressed Associates' feedback across several initiatives, including expanding our diversity and inclusion initiatives to also include a focus on equity and belonging, and updating our milestone anniversary celebrations to more meaningfully recognize the years that Associates contributed to the company. This responsive approach to Associate feedback, combined with our consistent and proactive evaluation of Associate benefits, fuels SpartanNash's People First culture, driving metrics that keep SpartanNash as one of the nation's greatest workplaces for diversity.

4. How does your company handle feedback and suggestions from employees? Is there a system in place for employees to voice their concerns or ideas?

In 2022, SpartanNash relaunched its annual Associate Engagement Survey, administered by external vendor Peakon to ensure Associate anonymity. The survey was sent to all active Associates, enabling the Company to measure, understand and improve key drivers for Associate engagement. Following the Associate engagement survey, Peakon compiled all confidential responses, and the Executive Leadership Team developed survey action plans for their teams. Associates were invited to team meetings to discuss their area's results. In Q4 2022, these plans were implemented by teams, with efforts continuing throughout 2023.
Additionally, our ELT members go out in the field each month, visiting our retail stores and distribution centers. At each location, they recognize top performers, share the company's vision for moving ahead and answer Associate questions. These events create personal connections and provide transparency into the company's performance.

5. How do you approach fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within the organization?

SpartanNash believes that Diversity & Inclusion drive value for our Associates, shareholders, customers and store guests. As part of our People First culture, we lead with inclusion and strive to create an environment where Associates are valued and empowered to support each other, our business objectives, customers and the communities we serve. Having Associates who reflect the diverse communities we serve means we can better connect with our store guests and provide a better customer experience. As part of creating a culture of belonging, we listened to our Associate's feedback and added "Equity" and "Belonging" to our Diversity & Inclusion work. These important additions opened meaningful discussions about what it means to give everyone the individual tools they need to succeed, and highlighted the way our Associate's uniqueness is accepted and celebrated. Creating a culture that not only embraces but highly values diversity in backgrounds and experiences helps every Associate feel like an important part of Our Winning Recipe™.

6. What strategies have you implemented to ensure an inclusive workplace culture?

We are a company with a long history of investing in inclusive workforce development initiatives, collaborating with community training and education partners and advancing the development and promotion of Associates diverse by gender, race/ethnicity, disability and veteran status.
We have two Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives embedded in the company's long-term Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) goals, which include: 1) Increase the combined females, people of color and veterans in management (supervisors and above) by 10% and 2) Hire an internship class that will be 61% diverse (by females, people of color and veterans) annually. Hire 300 interns with the intent to convert as many as possible to permanent roles.

7. Can you share examples of successful diversity and inclusion programs or initiatives that have positively impacted the company culture?

We recently re-launched four Associate Resource Groups that are designed to help promote connection, education and belonging: 1) SN Vets – Veterans' Network 2) RISE (Relationships, Innovation, Success and Engagement) – Young Professionals' Network 3) WIN (Women's Impact Network) – Women's Network and 4) TIDE (Total Inclusion, Diversity & Equity) – Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) Network. Each Associate Resource Group has an individual leadership team and ELT sponsor to drive connection. Creating a culture that not only embraces but highly values diversity in backgrounds and experiences helps every Associate feel like an important part of Our Winning Recipe™.

8. How do you address unconscious bias in hiring and promotion processes?

The HR team is dedicated to ensuring we live and evolve Our Winning Recipe™ and our Associates and leaders demonstrate our core behaviors and operate by our code of conduct on a daily basis. To reach our goals for increased diversity in the workforce, we've added new tools and practices to our recruitment process. We partnered with a vendor platform to post jobs, send messages and sign up for recruiting events/career fairs. This platform gives us access to more than 12 million students and alumni across 90% of the top educational institutions in the U.S.
We introduced Text-to-Apply, where a candidate can apply via a mobile device in 30 seconds or less, and we shortened our application process to two minutes or less. We also attract top talent by providing competitive starting wages across the supply chain starting at $19 an hour, and $13 an hour for the majority of entry-level retail positions, with benefits available in 30 days or less, and a 401(k)-eligibility period of 30 days.

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