In recent years, the United States grocery industry has become increasingly competitive and experienced unprecedented consolidation. In Chicago, 25 stores closed between 2015 and 2017 — bringing the total number of stores down to its lowest number since 2009. Independent, privately owned food retailers rate competition as their highest concern, followed by worries about hiring and retention. In 2017, sales declined for half of the nation’s independent grocers. Pete’s Fresh Market (Pete’s) offers a notable exception. Launched in the early 1970s as a small, full-service produce stand on the South Side of Chicago, today Pete’s has 13 stores in the city and plans to open five more in the next few years. This family-owned grocer recognizes what it takes to succeed in a rapidly changing industry. One key to Pete’s growth strategy is its partnership with Instituto del Progreso Latino (Instituto), a nonprofit organization committed to the fullest development of Latino immigrants and their families through education, training, and employment. Reimagine Retail, an initiative of the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program funded by the Walmart Foundation, explores ways to enhance job quality and improve mobility for the retail workforce. In Chicago, we partner with a collaborative of workforce organizations, including Instituto, that is testing approaches to advance and retain workers in the retail sector. We caught up with Alita Bezanis, director of organizational development at Pete’s, and Yesenia Cervantes, dean of student services and community affairs at Instituto, who were eager to share how the partnership supports growth for Pete’s — and for Pete’s workers.

This op-ed discusses how employee ownership offers a promising path forward to help the US address wealth inequality.

In Boston’s increasingly competitive hotel industry, what does it take to stay on top? The Omni Parker House, America’s longest continuously operating hotel – and proud originator of the Boston cream pie – earns its four-star Trip Advisor rating by investing in its most important asset: its people. The first step is meeting basic employee needs through generous wages and full benefits. But the key to the Omni’s exceptional customer service lies in recruitment, training, and performance management systems that empower frontline staff to make decisions, solve problems, and advance to management roles. The Aspen Institute recently spoke with Alex Pratt, Area Director of Human Resources at Omni Hotels & Resorts, a chain of 53 hotels that includes Boston’s Omni Parker House. Alex brings more than 25 years of experience in hospitality, and has achieved industry-leading retention and high employee satisfaction at the Parker House.

Hospitality ranks among America’s fastest-growing sectors, but millions of hotel workers are not reaping the rewards. Boston Education, Skills & Training (BEST) Corp. is solving this problem by providing best-in-class training that prepares workers to excel and engages hotels in discussions about the value of training. BEST was founded in 2004 as a nonprofit workforce development program focused on helping individuals develop skills and find good jobs in Boston’s hospitality industry. BEST serves nearly 500 job seekers and hotel workers each year, with training in English, computer skills, culinary skills, and industry-specific certifications like food safety. Through career coaching, BEST helps participants secure quality jobs and provides hotels with the skilled talent to thrive in an increasingly competitive industry. As the third prong of a productive labor-management partnership, BEST works closely with Local 26, the hospitality worker’s union, and its high road hotel employers. These 35 hotels pay a starting hourly wage as high as $21.43 to BEST graduates, and provide a generous benefits package, which includes career advancement training through BEST. BEST’s model programs benefit workers, hotels, and Boston’s regional economy by placing engaged employees in stable jobs. BEST reaches the working poor – particularly immigrants and people of color – and provides them with the opportunity to obtain a quality job and enter the middle class. Hotel partners report that BEST-trained workers bring the critical thinking skills and cultural competency to perform better with decreased turnover, contributing to stronger financial performance. The Aspen Institute’s interview with Alex Pratt, Area Director of Human Resources at Omni Hotels & Resorts, speaks to BEST’s vital role in preparing top talent and enabling operational excellence. The Aspen Institute recently caught up with Marie Downey, the founding Executive Director of BEST, and Joan Abbot, BEST’s Assistant Director, to learn more about how BEST partners with high road employers to prepare workers to excel in quality jobs.

This brief describes a strategy that helps connect young adults to “now jobs” that address their immediate income needs while continuing to prepare them for long-term career opportunities.

This guidebook offers an equity-based approach to research to strengthen the quality and authenticity of information used to drive decision-making. The guide addresses existing power dynamics and unintended biases in the creation of research and focuses on community members as authors and owners of information. In addition to describing seven inequities and opportunities for change in the research process, this resource provides guidance for community organizations, researchers, and funders. This resource may be particularly useful to individuals and organizations interested in centering input from community organizations, community members, and/or workers to inform job quality strategies.

This case study of a company in Milwaukee is part of an Equity in Apprenticeship series highlighting programs that use apprenticeship to extend career opportunities to historically marginalized groups. Employers and practitioners can glean lessons related to achieving equitable outcomes through apprenticeship programs.

This report details the findings of a stable scheduling study conducted at Gap stores by an interdisciplinary team of academics. During the pilot study, stores in San Francisco and Chicago implemented stable scheduling practices, including two-week advance notice, elimination of on-call scheduling, tech-enabled shift swapping, and targeted additional staffing. Findings included a 7% increase in median sales and 5% increase in labor productivity at treatment stores. This study’s findings help to demonstrate the potential business benefits of stable scheduling.

This step-by-step guide by Upskill America, an initiative of the Economic Opportunities Program, and the Institute for Corporate Productivity details the steps to change an organization’s tuition assistance program to a tuition disbursement program, providing financial support for education up-front rather than offering reimbursement after a worker has completed a program. This simple change to the structure of a tuition assistance program has important job quality and equity implications; it can make education and upskilling accessible to workers who are eager to learn but lack access to resources to pay for school. This tool is useful for employers and all practitioners who work with them to strengthen job quality.

This policy brief is designed to inform the development of paid family and medical leave policies that can reduce inequalities for workers. It provides guidance on specific elements of paid leave policies such as ideal duration, eligibility requirements, and outreach strategies. While the primary audience for this tool is policymakers, it could also be useful for businesses who are crafting or re-shaping their paid leave policies or for providers advising businesses and policymakers.