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South Dakota Retailers Association
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  • Advocacy
    • Video Updates
    • SDRA Advocate
    • Legislative Tracker
    • Legislative Lineup
    • Political Donations
    • Legislative Research Council
  • Education
    • ServSafe Training
    • ServSuccess Training
    • ProStart
    • ProStart Weekend
    • Scholarships
    • Seminars & Webinars
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Annual Meeting
    • Best Bagger Competition
    • Employment Law Seminars
    • Golf Tournament
  • Business Resources
    • Retail Prophet Magazine
    • Employee Retention Credit (ERC)
    • Tax Information
      • Sales Tax Report Municipal
      • Sales Tax Report State
    • Workforce
      • 15 Workforce Tips
      • $1000 Workforce Incentive
      • Employer Resources
      • Training and Credentials
  • Membership
    • Join Us!
    • Member Services
    • Membership Awards
    • Member Directory
    • Member Login
  • About Us
    • Meet Our Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Where It All Started
      • Past Presidents
    • Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Contact Us

EMPLOYER RESOURCES

​Finding workers is a real challenge for Mom & Pop businesses across South Dakota. Prior to the pandemic, our state’s unemployment rate was about 3.3%; now it’s 2.8% and falling. HELP WANTED signs are ubiquitous in store fronts across the state.  Some businesses are scaling back hours, or not opening dining areas, or offering cash incentives to would-be employees just for showing up to an interview.

There are more than 24,000 jobs listed on the state jobs website, and with less than 1,500 South Dakotans collecting unemployment and fewer individuals overall in the workforce, finding help for your business is going to be a continuing challenge.
Before you Hire
Who to Hire | Available programs
After you Hire

Workforce Tips for Employers

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The June/July Retail Prophet is all about workforce! View the video to learn more about what's inside the latest issue. Visit sdra.org/prophet to view the issue.
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View the video for a few tips from Executive Director Nathan Sanderson on recruiting and retaining employees in your business.

BEFORE YOU HIRE

 
​ADVERTISING
Regardless of where you advertise a job opening, make sure the notice is welcoming to all qualified applicants, and that you aren’t limiting applicants based on discriminatory reasons such as race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age (40 or older) or genetic information. 

While you may want to include the number of hours per week the job entails, don’t state that it is a permanent position, as that may imply the person is guaranteed they will hold the job until they choose to leave.
WHERE SHOULD I POST MY JOB OPENING

SDWorks is a wonderful local resource for businesses and applicants. Post a job, search for candidates, view layoff and closure services, report new hires, and even view services available for South Dakota employers.

Google for Jobs brings together job postings from across the web, whether they're on websites run by small businesses or job sites with thousands of listings. This helps job seekers easily find their next job directly in Search. 

Facebook Jobs allows businesses to post jobs for free on their public job board. Easily receive applications from candidates looking for work near you, and contact candidates directly on Facebook. Don't forget to post the opening on your business Facebook page as well!

Craigslist is a classifieds site and not a traditional job board. Don’t discount the oddball. Quirkiness and poor user interface aside, it has great inbound traffic and is one of the best places to advertise job openings.

Indeed is a global job board leader. It’s also a job search engine that takes job seekers’ input and aggregates all the jobs that match. Use this site to search for resumes, post jobs, and run pay-per-click job advertising campaigns that put your job at the top of your candidates’ results.


CREATE AN EFFECTIVE JOB LISTING
  • Make your business seem like a fun place to work!
  • Share the salary. Terms like "depending on experience" or "competitive wages" deter applicants from applying. It is best to provide a compensation range on your listing.
  • Include a photo! Show off your storefront, break room, kitchen, etc.
  • List your perks! Do you offer retention bonuses, paid leave, free coffee, a retirement plan - let people know! Small perks can make a big impact. 
  • End your post with a call to action - "We would love for you to apply today" or "We can't wait for you to join our team" make your applicant feel welcome from day one.
 

AFTER YOU HIRE
FINDING AND KEEPING GOOD EMPLOYEES

Training Opportunities
It’s no secret that South Dakota employers are constantly on the lookout for good employees. The trick is not just to find them, but to keep them. These days, it’s not just about money and benefits; employees are looking for more than that. Here’s a few tips that may help you to attract and keep good workers.
Treat Employees as an Investment, Not an Expense!
Turnover is an expensive proposition; weigh the cost of losing a current employee and the lack of productivity vs. the added cost of increased compensation or additional benefits.

​Consider Employing More Nontraditional Workers
​High school students, former inmates, retirees, and "gig" workers can fill many of the workforce needs for retail businesses.
​
Implement a Fresh Approach to Scheduling

A traditional work day may not be feasible for some potential employees; consider hiring two workers with flexible schedules for 20 hours/week or engage employees in setting their own hours.

Revisit Your Hiring Practices
​Few employees find jobs by responding to a sign in your store window or an ad in the classifieds section of the newspaper; CareerBuilder, Indeed, Monster, Facebook, (others) are prime forums for reaching job seekers.​
​
Be a Great Place to Work

​Do you employees enjoy coming to work? If you experience turnover issues, it may be due to management or the work environment. Be proactive in making your business attractive to employees.

Experience vs Excellence
On-the-job experience isn’t always the best predictor of who will make the best employee for you.  Rather than picking someone just because they have experience in your type of business, look at their personality.

  • Does the job involve serving customers? Go for a person with a cheerful attitude who likes to be around people and can multi-task.
  • Does the job involve sitting behind a desk all day every day, with little contact with others? Look for a person who is content to work alone.
If the personality doesn’t suit the job, chances are they won’t stick around.
 
Give Them a Meaningful Challenge
Today's employees want a job that means something, along with a chance to learn and grow. Instead of automatically asking experienced employees to tackle a project, hand it over to a young employee and let them know you trust their judgment and ability. They may not do it the same as your long-time staff, but younger workers can offer you new perspectives and fresh ideas, and they just might bring in new customers as a result.

 
High Praise Indeed
Employees respond to genuine praise. If someone has done something well, let them know you see it and appreciate it. Maybe they were patient and professional with a surly customer. Maybe they spruced up your store by picking up trash in the parking lot or tidying up merchandise without being asked. Maybe they came up with an idea for a promotion. Acknowledge it one-on-one as well as giving them public recognition, such as mentioning it in a staff meeting.

 
Rewards for a Job Well Done
If possible, find ways to thank and reward your employees – either individually or as a group - with something other than a financial bonus.
Some ideas include:
  • Hand-written notes of appreciation
  • Tickets to a sporting event, concert, play or movie theatre
  • A paid afternoon off
  • Giving a donation to the charity of the employee’s choice
  • Paying for their membership in a gym for a month
  • Springing for a class they want to attend (many courses are available online if you don’t have local programs available)
  • Renting an employee their dream car for a day or hiring a limousine to bring them to and from work on a day when their car is in the shop
  • Taking your staff out to dinner;
  • Throwing a staff party just for the fun of it
 
Be Flexible
Does a person absolutely have to be on-the-job 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, or can two people split a shift? Perhaps a person with children in school would like to work from 8:30 to 2:30. An early bird may like to come in early in the morning, but not want to work in the afternoon when their energy level ebbs. A parent might not want to work past 4:45 so they can pick up children from daycare, get home and make dinner. A student might not want to start working until 4:00. Someone else might like to work 10 or 12 hours a day, four days a week. Find out from your employees what their ideal hours would be, and see if you can accommodate those preferences.


South Dakota Minimum Wage

SD Labor Market Information Center
The minimum wage is annually adjusted by any increase in cost of living, as measured by the Consumer Price Index published by the U.S. Department of Labor. 
​

NON-TIPPED EMPLOYEES 
As of  Jan. 1, 2023, the minimum wage for non-tipped employees in South Dakota is $10.80/hour.
 
TIP CREDIT (TIPPED EMPLOYEES) 
​As of Jan. 1, 2023, the hourly minimum wage for tipped employees is $5.40/hour.

The employer must make sure the employee's tips plus hourly wage are equal to, or greater than, the current minimum wage and must keep a record of all employee tips.

ANNUAL INCREASE 
South Dakota's non-tipped minimum wage will be adjusted on an annual basis, increasing at the same rate as the cost of living as measured in the Consumer Price Index published by the U.S. Department of Labor. The amount of the increase will be rounded up to the nearest 5 cents. State law provides that the minimum wage cannot decrease.


STATE MINIMUM WAGE POSTING 
There is no state statute requirement for the following state minimum wage posting; it is provided as a courtesy and for informational purposes only.

2021 State Minimum Wage Posting (effective Jan. 1, 2021)  — English | Spanish

Retail Employment Impacts

South Dakotans have a great work ethic. Our state consistently has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation. In March, 2019, South Dakota’s unemployment rate was at 2.8%, the third lowest in the nation (just above North Dakota and Nebraska).

According to the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, a total of 451,000 people were employed, and 13,200 were unemployed. 52,400 of those people were employed in retail trades, and 47,700 in the leisure and hospitality fields.
 
Retail, hospitality, grocery and service workers are vital to South Dakota. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics information from May 2018 shows how many people were taking home paychecks from some of those jobs:
42,590 - food preparation and serving-related occupations* 
15,970 - retail salespeople
13,080 - cashiers in sales and related occupations
8,800 - customer service representatives  
4,170 - maids and housekeeping cleaners
3,230  - first-line supervisors of retail sales workers
2,680 - landscaping and groundskeeping workers
2,030 - hotel, motel and resort desk clerks
2,000 - automotive service technicians and mechanics
1,590 - parts salesperson
1,400 - amusement and recreation attendants

1,150 - pharmacists + 1,350 pharmacy technicians + 40 pharmacy aides
1,060 - heating, ac and refrigeration mechanics and installers
942 - cosmetologists and hair dressers
790 - farm equipment mechanics and service technicians
720 - counter and rental clerks
630 - automotive body and related repairers
610 - butchers and meat cutters
610 - printing press operators
470 - tour and travel guides
370 - bakers​​
​320 - ushers, lobby attendants and ticket takers
300 - tire repairers and changers
*Including chefs, cooks, food service managers, bartenders, waitstaff, fast food counter attendants, dishwashers, hosts and hostesses and other positions. This is 41,760 food prep and serving-related + 830 food service managers.
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320 E. Capitol Ave.  |  Pierre, SD  57501  |  Phone: (605) 224-5050
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