Higher Salaries: Costco's Secret Weapon

The research compares two well-known and very similar retailers in the United States:  Costco and Sam's Club.

The first, Sam's Club, pays employees an average of just over $11 per hour, and between 20-50 percent of its employees quit each year for various reasons. (I found conflicting data.)

Costco, however, pays employees an average of $17 per hour and replaces between 6-20 percent of its employees each year.  After four years with the company, a Costco cashier can make $40,000 salary plus another 10 percent of that in annual bonuses.Said another way, Sams Club pays less for salary -- but up to 350 percent more for recruiting, hiring, and training expenses than Costco.

Even more impressive are the differences in sales at the two companies.  At Costco, where higher-paid employees stick around longer (and thus are probably better trained, happier, and more knowledgeable about the store), sales average$814 per square foot.

At Sams Club?  You guessed it -- just $586 per square foot.

Read it at All Business
Higher Salaries: Costco's Secret Weapon
by David Worrell
(h/t beowulf in the comments)