Target invests an additional $200 million in employees in recognition of service over this unusual past year.
In case it wasn't obvious last summer when Target rolled out a $15 minimum starting wage across the country for employees, this is a company that understands that frontline employees are essential. This week, Target announced that employees would be receiving another recognition bonus. Specifically, all hourly employees, in stores, distribution centers, or offices, who worked during the holiday season will be receiving a $500 bonus in their upcoming check. Other employees, such as store directors, distribution center leaders, and executive team leaders, are also receiving bonuses between $1,000–$2,000.
This isn't the first or even the second such bonus Target has given team members since the start of the pandemic. Target gave $200 bonuses to frontline team members last October and gave $200 bonuses to hourly employees and performance bonuses to store, distribution, and executive leaders last July. Target also provides many employee benefits, including free access to virtual doctor visits, free counseling, and mental health support, and paid leave for vulnerable employees (those over 65, pregnant, or with underlying health conditions). Target provided free backup childcare for US-based team members during the pandemic and has waived its absentee policy for the time being.
When Target announced they were raising their starting wage to $15 last July (something they'd previously committed to achieving by the end of 2020), Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell was quoted saying, "In the best of times, our team brings incredible energy and empathy to our work, and in harder times they bring those qualities plus extraordinary resilience and agility to keep Target on the forefront of meeting the changing needs of our guests and our business year after year ... Everything we aspire to do and be as a company builds on the central role our team members play in our strategy, their dedication to our purpose and the connection they create with our guests and communities.”
Target is committed to the health and well-being of their employees, and they are putting their money where their mouth is to prove it.
What do you think of Target's policies, starting wage, and employee recognition? Let us know in the comments.