"FreshDirect, an online grocer in the New York City area, delivers food daily to homes and businesses. A source of competitive advantage is purchasing food directly from farms, dairies, and fisheries. Delivering rather than stocking food in a store also reduces costs and improves freshness because each type of food can be kept in its opti- mal climate. Each day’s orders are assembled between 11 p.m. and 11 a.m. A few years back, FreshDirect, which employs over 2,000 people, realized that it was experiencing turnover rates of over 200 percent. Since then, it has reduced turnover to 75 percent, with a goal of 50 percent. Specific methods that have helped reduce turnover include the following: ? ? ? ? ?? Focusing recruitment efforts in neighbor- hoods that allow easy commutes. ? Providing support to new employees who are adjusting to working at night and in the cold. ? Offering better benefits, such as an upgraded break room, better meals, and improved medical coverage. ? Tying a portion of managers’ pay to turnover rates in each department."
This inset box briefly addresses how FreshDirect (an online grocer) reduced their turnover rate of over 200 percent to 75 percent. After summarizing the information from the inset box, the students could be asked the following questions: (1) Is it realistic to tie a portion of the managers’ pay to turnover rates in their departments? (2) What behaviors might FreshDirect be expecting from managers when a portion of their pay is linked to turnover rates in their departments? (3) Should managers be held responsible for turnover that is not directly attributable to organizational factors (e.g., family moves, illness, internal transfers, etc.)? (4) How could employee reasons for turnover be tracked if some types of turnover will not be affected by managers? Make sure you do outside research and elaborate. Do it in the order listed. Label each section of your paper with these topics. Make sure you provide a reference page.