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Tony Barzar started working at Costco in 1986, gathering carts in a Tucson parking lot for $5.85 an hour. Today, at 60, he’s working the register, making $32.90 an hour — and he’s a millionaire. How is this possible? It’s thanks to Costco’s employee retention policies, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The retailer pays more than almost anyone else in the business specifically to keep workers like Barzar around for decades, not months. And its policy has worked. Turnover after one year sits at 7 percent, a fraction of the retail average. The stock has climbed more than 2,000 percent since 2008, and “many thousands” of hourly workers now have seven-figure 401(k)s, according to CFO Gary Millerchip.
For Barzar, the benefits go beyond the paycheck. When his wife, a former Costco bakery employee, was diagnosed with stage 3 brain cancer last year, his health plan covered all three of her brain surgeries, with a specialty co-pay of just $25.
He’s been asked to become a supervisor more than once. He keeps saying no. He likes working the floor, talking to customers and mentoring newer employees. “This is my calling,” he said.