Why are Kwik Trip employees passionate about the company? Here are four good reasons.

There's no question that Wisconsin has a special relationship with Kwik Trip.

From online fan groups to incorporating stores into special occasions like weddings, customers' passion for the La Crosse-based chain of convenience stores is unmistakable. But look deeper and you'll find the same passion among the company's 36,000 employees.

Kwik Trip has been recognized as a Top Workplace in southeastern Wisconsin for 13 consecutive years. The company, which now employs 4,000 people at 81 southeast Wisconsin locations, ranked ninth this year among the survey's 20 largest employers.

Here are four reasons why Kwik Trip is consistently named one of southeastern Wisconsin's top places to work.

Good people create great workplaces

Kwik Trip is picky about who puts on the company's uniform. Very picky.

The company gets about 200,000 job applications a year, and hires between 8% and 10% of those applicants, company spokesman David Niemi said.

The screening process considers honesty, integrity, respect, a commitment to excellence, hard work and the ability to work with other people. Creating teams with those sorts of shared qualities and values helps employees feel connected to their jobs, their store and the company, Niemi said.

"When you find 30 or 40 people with that kind of values it's noticeable," Niemi said. "That's the magic sauce, find the right people and then support them."

The nearly 1,600 Kwik Trip employees who responded to the Top Workplaces survey frequently cited teamwork among their co-workers and managers, and a sense of belonging, among the reasons they liked their jobs.

At Kwik Trip, employee support, workplace culture begin at the top

Company leadership has been dedicated to setting a tone that employees matter for more than three decades.

It began with CEO Don Zietlow, who retired at the end of last year. Zietlow was known for visiting stores in uniform, insisting that employees be referred to as co-workers, and spreading the message that each employee matters and makes a difference.

“People are our No. 1 asset,” Zietlow said when he announced he would retire. “There’s more to a job than pay. You need to feel like you are making a difference. That’s our mission, and that’s what our coworkers do every day.”

That won't change now that his son, Scott Zietlow, is running the company, Niemi said.

"With Kwik Trip being a family-owned business they really take the family part seriously and make sure everyone is treated like their own family," one employee said.

A sense of ownership solidifies connection to Kwik Trip

Having a stake in the success of the company certainly helps.

Don Zietlow recognized that early on and followed through with consistently making sure the first 40% of the company's pretax profits went to employees through profit sharing and contributions to retirement accounts.

"They just, literally, put their money where their mouth is," Niemi said of the Zietlow family. "They'll keep maybe 5% and the rest goes to building new stores and capital improvements pay in taxes. But the biggest chunk of all goes to the workers every year. It's amazing."

Other benefits include health insurance for full-time workers and access to three company health clinics and associated wellness programs and preventative care for all employees.

Employees who responded to the survey also cited flexible scheduling as a key benefit of working at Kwik Trip.

A Kwik Trip job can become a career

To understand the opportunities at Kwik Trip, consider this: Three people promoted in the past year to vice president started in entry level jobs.

And it's not just in the executive suites. Most store and district leaders, Niemi said, also started with work behind the counter.

"We're blessed," Niemi said. "Our turnover is less than a third of what what's out there in the industry. Our seasonal workers come and go — they're college kids, and they're part timers — but we have a lot of co-workers that hang with us because there's a loyalty and a built into being valued."

Several survey respondents talked about their desire to pursue a career at Kwik Trip.

"I feel included and valued by my management team and peers. I look forward to work every day, and feel as though I have a strong potential for a career here for years to come," one employee said.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kwik Trip has been a Top Workplace for 13 years running. Here's why.