Dive Brief:

• Pilot Co. has launched a new a new employee engagement program aimed at incentivizing its travel center workers, drivers and other staff to go above and beyond on the job, according to an email from the company.
• Through the Fueling Recognition program, in-app points are awarded for exceptional work or for hitting a number of employee milestones in terms of performance and tenure, said Jamie Landis, vice president of team member experience at Pilot, in an email. Points are redeemable for prizes. 
• Fueling Recognition, which was unveiled May 1, is the latest initiative from Pilot’s Team Member Experience department that was created in 2022.

Dive Insight:

In a challenging labor environment for convenience stores, Pilot’s Fueling Recognition program is the latest in a variety of employee- retention perks that the Knoxville, Tennessee-based company has launched over the last year. Other programs from the Team Member Experience department include fuel discounts for employees, improved technology and a new onboarding program. 

“Recognition is a key driver of desired team member behaviors, increases work environment positivity and results in team members feeling more valued,” Landis said. “To measurably drive behaviors that improve the team member and guest experience, we decided to create Fueling Recognition.”

The main thrust of Fueling Recognition is a system through which workers can earn points to spend on prizes, such as gift cards, electronics, Pilot merchandise and concert tickets. They also can redeem points for donations to charity.

Company leaders also can award points to workers they see going above and beyond, or just doing an exceptionally good job at their given tasks.

“This could mean a leader in our corporate office visiting a store and rewarding points to a maintenance team member for keeping the fuel islands and showers spotless or a leader in a store recognizing a team member at our corporate office in appreciation for their support,” Landis said.

Milestones and recognitions that award employees points include completing onboarding, reaching employment anniversaries, winning regional sales contests and passing driver safety inspections. 

Fueling Recognition also functions as a sort of in-house social media outlet, allowing for peer-to-peer recognition, leader notes on excellent work and even less work-related aspects, such as birthday messages.

Pilot worked with human resources services company Awardco to build the program, which includes elements for the many different jobs in Pilot’s ecosystem — from store workers and corporate employees to plant workers and drivers.

“It was an exciting challenge to launch reward and recognition programs that cover all 30,000 of our team members in their unique roles,” Landis said. “Through this new program, we are building a culture of recognition into the everyday flow of work.”

Pilot operates more than 750 c-stores and travel centers in 44 U.S. states and is the largest travel-center chain in the country by location count.