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We’re proud to be a people-powered company – and our strength comes from the combined commitment of our more than 134,000 teammates working across more than 1,500 locations nationwide. We’re committed to continue investing in our people, advancing a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion to make our already strong teams even stronger in future.
Our Approach
We’re passionate about fostering a family culture of care, trust and respect, with an equal focus on the growth of our teammates and company. From coast to coast, our teammates are driven by our shared purpose as a family nurturing families.
Our Employee Value Proposition outlines the pillars that uphold our belief that a job should inspire a teammate to do and be more:
Realize your potential
Opportunity is open to everyone. Our leaders emerge from across the company and across the country. Your first job with us is just the beginning.
Be your best
We want you to love coming to work. It’s about feeling like you are part of the team and eager to take on new challenges and have an ongoing interest in learning. Energized teammates are inspired to be creative and try new things, helping us all to be our best.
Make a difference
Community is a team effort. That’s why we get involved locally to nurture the neighbourhoods that support us while giving back to the communities where we operate. And why we extend our responsibility to sustainability and the support of local businesses.
Join our family
At Empire and Sobeys Inc., we want everyone to feel like family. Employee rewards and recognition programs are designed with safety, respect and fairness in mind. We care about each other and it shows.
Growth and development is a critical way we support teammates to realize their full potential, which in turn helps us better serve our customers and deliver on our business strategy. Every year we encourage our teammates to set annual development goals. And every year we invest in role-based training to onboard our new teammates and to assist those moving to new roles or adopting new processes. We’re proud of our efforts to retain our teammates and provide job growth, and many teammates join our business and have long and fulfilling careers. As well, the majority of frontline teammates’ compensation is above minimum wage, and throughout the pandemic we invested more than $110 million in Hero Pay and Lockdown Bonuses.
Other ways we empower our teammates include:
- Recognition and Growth: We recognize teammates for their commitment through annual awards and recognition programs, including the Value Champions award for teammates who live our values every day in their work, the President’s Awards, the Quarter Century Club for long-serving teammates, and retail scholarships.
- Growth and teammate development, including support for teammate growth in a career that fits their lives:
- Robust programs to support teammates who would like to grow careers in retail leadership, including department manager, store manager and franchise owner programs
- Education assistance and scholarship programs
- Management training and development
- Specialized training to support in role development
- Comprehensive benefits: Our benefit offerings include:
- Flexible coverage, tailored to a teammate’s personal needs, including enhanced parental leave benefits
- Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP), which provides professional counselling, legal and financial consultation, and more, for teammates and their families
- Employee Purchase and Discount programs
- Career site: Our career support services include:
- Supporting teammate growth in a career that fits their lives
- Seeking teammates who share our values and are creative, hard-working and enthusiastic about making a difference for our customers
Taking care of our teammates includes prioritizing their health, safety and wellbeing, both in normal times and during challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic.
