This article is the third in a four-part series focusing on labor issues affecting the grocery industry. The first two articles can beviewed hereandviewed here。

Over the past few years, technological innovation has been a focal point in the grocery industry. Now, robots are navigating the aisles of hundreds of stores nationwide. Many retailers have introduced mobile self-checkout, and a few, such as Kroger and Walmart, are leading the way in autonomous vehicle delivery.

Retailers have often relied on third-party companies when advancing these technological improvements. However, Marc Rousset, a partner at the retail consulting firm Oliver Wyman, told Grocery Dive that if retailers plan to elevate their in-store technology and e-commerce platforms to new levels, they must invest in their own technology talent.

This is easier said than done. The technology labor market is growing rapidly, but demand is equally high, with companies across industries hiring quickly and competing for top talent with lucrative salaries and benefits. According to a report from the IT industry association CompTIA, 104,000 new information technology jobs were added last month, marking the fourth consecutive month of growth. In August, tech companies hired 11,400 employees, 70% of which were for technology-related positions.

Since the Great Recession, the number of graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields has continued to increase. According to data from the Public Policy Institute of California, California alone had 35,000 STEM graduates between 2016 and 2017, an increase of nearly one-third compared to the 2010-2011 period.

Experts say these graduates and many others are willing to work for companies other than top-tier firms—provided the conditions are right and the company can position itself as an attractive workplace.

"I think the grocery industry is attractive because in many other sectors, people don't have the same growth rates or the same career advancement opportunities. Join us, prove yourself, and you can move up quickly," Mike Molitor, vice president of e-commerce at Raley's, told Grocery Dive.

Competing with FANG

Rousset noted that grocers are competing for tech talent with industry giants like Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google (collectively known as "FANG"). These well-capitalized companies offer competitive salaries, interesting work environments, career development paths, and skills training—and are often located in or near major cities.

To attract more in-house tech talent, Rousset suggested that grocers could embrace trends such as remote work. Many grocers are not located in cities attractive to tech talent, and remote work options can remove that barrier.

The new generation of the workforce is accustomed to remote work. According to a FlexJobs survey, remote work has grown by 44% over the past five years, and 85% of companies confirmed that productivity has increased due to flexibility. Currently, no food retailers are on FlexJobs' list of the "Top 100 Companies for Remote and Flexible Retail Jobs."

Remote work may suit certain retail technology roles, but not others, such as hardware construction and in-store testing. Another way grocers can reach potential employees is by establishing technology divisions in major cities. For example, Albertsons, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, operates a technology division in San Francisco.

"We've been fortunate to attract several talents from different startups and other established retailers to help us grow," Narayan Iyengar, senior vice president of digital and e-commerce at Albertsons, told Grocery Dive. "What we pitch to them is that food is one of the largest industries, everyone has to eat, and the industry is undergoing fundamental transformation. If you paint a big picture, showing vision and ambition, I think that resonates with many of the digital and tech workers who choose to join us."

Rousset said FANG is the top choice for most graduates in technology-related fields, but these job opportunities are actually limited. He pointed out that grocers can enhance their image by emphasizing their rich consumer data. "Really selling the opportunity from a data science perspective might be the best way to attract more talent."

Molitor, who worked at Kohl's, PetSmart, and Victoria's Secret before joining Raley's, said he pitches software developers and other tech workers on the opportunity to be part of the early stages of a digital transformation in the industry. He believes all the demand for FANG jobs is a kind of "bandwagon syndrome," and some promising professionals want to move away from that mindset. "The key is whether that person identifies with our mission and values, and the idea of doing something different. At those traditional places, they're just one of many software developers."

Nevertheless, compensation still matters, and grocers often have budgets for salaries and benefits that are far smaller than those of tech companies. But Rousset said retailers must make competitive offers and strategically plan their tech talent strategies. "In an era where we see more value being extracted from better technology, analytics, and insights, you have to invest in human capital. You can't solve this problem by tightening your belt."

"What we pitch to them is that food is one of the largest industries, everyone has to eat, and the industry is undergoing fundamental transformation."

— Narayan Iyengar, senior vice president of digital and e-commerce at Albertsons

A place to work and play

Walmart, which has invested heavily in retail technology innovation in recent years, told Grocery Dive that finding tech talent is a top priority for the retailer. "Overall tech recruiting is a high priority, and our internal teams of engineers, data scientists, and other technical experts have grown significantly," a company spokesperson said in an email.

To attract more tech talent, Walmart has launched several initiatives aimed at boosting interest and competing with top companies. One is what Walmart calls a "returnship," an internship program for technology professionals who have taken extended leave for reasons such as raising children, caring for parents, or medical reasons. This 16-week program is open to men and women with at least five years of professional experience. Most positions in this program are in product management, software engineering, and data science and analytics.

"We have had more than 30 women successfully complete the returnship program at our Silicon Valley office, and three-quarters of them were retained as full-time employees," Bobbie Grafeld, vice president of people at Walmart Labs, said in a press release.

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Walmart

Retailers are also borrowing from tech companies' playbooks by creating dedicated workspaces designed to foster creativity and collaboration. In June, H-E-B, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, opened an 80,000-square-foot technology center in Austin. Its individual workspaces feature an open office design, with dedicated open collaboration areas and more than 50 meeting rooms. Additionally, there is a coffee bar serving locally roasted coffee, lounges, a wellness center, a gym, a climbing wall, showers, and bicycle parking. The company also offers shuttle service between its San Antonio headquarters and the Austin tech center.

Hy-Vee describes its newly opened technology center near its headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, as a space that fosters "creativity and collaboration," according to the Des Moines Register. The space features a Starbucks coffee shop, walking paths around the building, Xbox and PlayStation gaming tables, a collaboration space modeled after the TV show "The Big Bang Theory," meeting rooms named after video games, a basketball court, and games like billiards and foosball.

Doug Baker, vice president of industry relations at the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), said these workspaces are inspired by Google's famous Mountain View campus. Baker explained: "It's hard to get young millennials to come to the middle of a cornfield in Des Moines, Iowa, unless they have ties there, so Hy-Vee offers perks they're interested in."

Baker added that grocers are also partnering with university technology programs. Last year, Kroger partnered with the University of Cincinnati to operate an R&D lab within the university's 1819 Innovation Center. Kroger is responsible for equipping the lab with resources, engineers, and software developers, working alongside University of Cincinnati faculty.

In addition to innovating for its own stores, Kroger operates Sunrise Technology, which creates and licenses store technology for other companies in the industry. Kroger Technology lists its goal on its LinkedIn page as becoming "the most valuable technology organization in retail," and was named one of the best places to work in IT by Computerworld last year.

"Retailers are trying to get involved earlier, hoping to attract students before they decide where to start their careers," Baker said. FMI is helping grocers advance these initiatives. The institute takes food retailers' CIOs to partner universities, engages with students, and promotes the grocery industry as an attractive workplace. Baker explained that FMI's programs also allow the industry to learn from academic institutions. "What I've always tried to do is bring the industry to academia, rather than bringing academia to the industry. Help them understand that it's not just cashiers, meat cutters, or produce clerks, but the entire ecosystem that supports the industry."

FMI currently has six partner universities, and Baker said they are willing to work with any university interested in helping the grocery industry.

In addition to recruiting efforts, grocers can offer bonuses, flexible working hours, wellness programs, and continuing education. Most importantly, experts say, retailers need to view technology as part of their culture, not just an add-on. Rousset said: "Grocers are naturally cautious and often have a dogmatic attitude toward technology. To leverage technology, you have to be agile. You can see these trials and tests happening. You still need to change the mindset of the workforce."