Café Valley invests millions in wage increases and talent development

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Café Valley invests millions in wage increases and talent development

16 Jun 2021

Joanie Spencer

Since 2008, Joanie Spencer has covered the retail and wholesale sides of the baking industry.
Serving associations such as the American Society of Baking (ASB) and BEMA, Joanie is also in demand as an industry presenter on bakery operations and trends. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Rockhurst University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

When she’s not running or playing soccer, Joanie spends her time with her husband and 11-year-old son.

PHOENIX —Café Valley, a leading ready-to-eat bakery brand, announced a significant investment in employee wages by increasing starting pay to $15 per hour, effective June 6, and also investing $7.2 million to raise the pay scale at its US production plants. The company is currently seeking 400 new team members between its Marion, IN, and Phoenix production facilities.

This commitment is part of the company’s broader strategy to minimize turnover while enhancing loyalty among employees to enable firmwide recruitment and retention.

“At Café Valley, we firmly believe in maximizing opportunity for our workforce,” said Brian Owens, CEO of Café Valley. “Like many companies, we continue to face a challenging hiring environment as a result of the pandemic. We’re committed to our team members and will continue to provide competitive pay and advanced training programs to enrich the employee experience.”

“We're committed to our team members and will continue to provide competitive pay and advanced training programs to enrich the employee experience,” said Brian Owens, CEO of Café Valley.

As part of this investment, Café Valley is rolling out its fast-track career pathing program to cultivate ownership and opportunity. The program allows entry-level staff to follow a promotional path from production team member to, in some instances, supervisor in training in about a year. Throughout that year, staff members have the opportunity to earn pay increases, which can take an hourly rate from $15 per hour to as much as $20 per hour.

“We’ve established new onboarding programs with intention and are dedicated to providing a culture of support and achievement,” said Donna Lane, VP of human resources. “By linking the new pay increase with dynamic talent programming, we intend to create valuable, accessible career paths for current and prospective employees.”

Interested candidates should visit the Café Valley careers page on its website. Applicants take part in a formal screening before receiving an invitation to interview for a position. Upon receiving an offer, team members can benefit from competitive compensation packages, referral bonuses and vaccination incentives.

Café Valley also offers a $1,500 employee referral bonus and a loyalty increase every year for the first five years. For more information on careers, visit www.cafevalley.com/careers.

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