At Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, the well-being of our associates is our highest priority. From the health and safety of our teams, to their compensation and career growth, we are making significant investments to continuously improve our associate experience.
We are committed to maintaining a safe environment for our associates and customers and ensuring our stores comply with all health and safety regulations. We have implemented a robust approach to safety in our stores and distribution centers. Over the past year, we launched a Comprehensive Approach to Store Safety (CASS) by elevating a safety-first culture and investing in people, technology, training and support.
Our Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) department leads a cross-functional CASS team focused on workplace safety, workplace violence prevention, safe and clean operations, compliance and preventative training. As part of CASS, we launched our store Safety S.P.E.E.D. initiative and checklist to provide associates with the appropriate training and resources to focus on Stacking heights, Pathways being clear, Extinguishers being clear, Electrical panels being clear and Doors being clear. We also launched our Safety Hotline to provide associates with a confidential tool to report any unsafe conditions.
We are equally committed to advancing the wages of our associates, which is why just this past year, we invested more than $360 million in wage increases across the organization, and we continue to increase hourly wages for store associates and field personnel.
We take a 360-approach to how we care for our people, with robust benefits plans that address our associates’ physical, mental, and financial wellbeing. Our full-time associates receive:
- Enhanced benefits including subsidized health insurance
- Tuition assistance
- 401(k) matching programs
- Paid parental leave
We also have a variety of programs designed to support our associates through our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), such as financial guidance, legal services and work-life support, and a college scholarship program to support the children of associates.
Our Associate Relief Fund offers financial support to those associates who experience extreme financial hardship due to unexpected events such as a natural disaster, family loss, illness, or family-member job loss. In addition, we offer our associates access to general and job-specific training programs, including opportunities for associates to participate in leadership development, and advance their skills in the areas of communications and computer technology. Our part-time associates are also offered a wide range of resources, information and support on a voluntary and optional basis including medical, dental and vision plans, daily pay, and assistance through our EAP.
We want to offer a meaningful career path for associates who seek the opportunity, and we regularly assess our programs and benefits to invest in our team’s potential. This focus on talent resulted in more than 63,000 promotions in fiscal 2022.
Read more about our ongoing commitments to our people in our new Corporate Sustainability report.