Category: Employee Benefits
Grocery Industry HR Survey 2025: Key Insights for Regional Retailers
Posted by Humaculture®
September 18, 2025
With grocery prices up ~25% since 2020 and labor shortages intensifying, regional grocers need innovative workforce strategies to stay competitive. At Humaculture®, we’re excited to launch the Grocery Industry HR Survey 2025, designed to deliver actionable insights for regional grocery stores (5–1,500 locations) facing grocery HR challenges like turnover, rising costs, and policy shifts.
Why Participate in the Grocery Industry HR Survey?
The Grocery Industry HR & Benefits Survey uncovers correlations between HR practices, total rewards, and outcomes like employee retention, productivity, and labor cost management. By joining, you’ll gain:
- Exclusive Benchmarking: Compare your practices to industry trends.
- Actionable Insights: Address labor shortages in the grocery industry and optimize employee retention in grocery stores.
- Industry Leadership: Contribute to a report shaping grocery industry benefits trends.
Take the Grocery Industry HR Survey 2025 now.
Addressing Grocery HR Challenges in 2025
Regional grocers face unique pressures:
- Economic Shifts: New tariffs and inflation increase costs.
- Labor Shortages: Immigration policies risk short-term workforce gaps, raising labor costs.
- Competition: Big-box stores and discounters challenge market share.
- Consumer Trends: Private-label products hold over 20% market share with near-universal adoption, demanding agility.
Our survey explores regional grocery workforce strategies for:
- Attracting and Retaining Talent: Competitive compensation and benefits.
- Boosting Productivity: Training and workplace culture initiatives.
- Managing Costs: Balancing wages with operational efficiency.
Learn how our total rewards philosophy leads success in a grocery setting.
Engaging with the Grocery Industry
Humaculture® is committed to driving industry-wide impact by sharing insights at key grocery events where HR and workforce topics take center stage:
- Grocery Impact 2025 (November 5-7, Orlando): Focused on “The Power of People,” featuring sessions on leadership, talent development, and innovative HR strategies.
- Groceryshop 2025 (September 28–October 1, Las Vegas): A hub for grocery innovation, including discussions on tech-driven workforce solutions and supply chain impacts on labor.
These events align with 2025 HR trends like skills-based hiring, AI integration, and financial wellness programs—key areas our survey addresses. Join us to spark conversations on empowering regional grocers.
Survey Highlights
- Quick and Confidential: 25-30 minutes, anonymized responses.
- Comprehensive: Covers compensation, training, culture, and grocery industry benefits trends.
- Incentives:
- Executive summary and benchmarking report.
- Recognition in an upcoming Humaculture® whitepaper.
- Personalized report via a follow-up meeting.
Join Us to Shape Grocery HR
Take the Grocery Industry HR Survey 2025 and share on LinkedIn or X with #GroceryHR to drive industry change. For questions, contact any of our team members:
| Steve Cyboran | CEO, Consulting Actuary, Chief Behavioral Officer |
| Wes Rogers | President, Humaculturist® |
| Paula Labian | Former CHRO, HAC/Whole Foods |
| Marc Jones | Former CEO, HAC |
| Sam Martin | Former CEO, A&P, SVP Operations, Wild Oats Market |
FAQ: Grocery Industry HR Survey 2025
- What is the Grocery Industry HR Survey?
A 25-30 minute survey addressing grocery HR challenges like turnover, labor costs, and benefits for regional grocers. - How can regional grocers benefit?
Gain benchmarking data and actionable insights for employee retention in grocery stores. - Is it confidential?
Yes, responses are anonymized, ensuring candid feedback.
Humaculture® is a registered trademark of Humaculture, Inc.
Hidden Opportunities, A Strategic Compliance Series
Hidden Opportunities Overview
In this webinar series we explore ways organizations can go beyond basic compliance and improve their “organizational soil” through a strategic response to the No Surprises Act and the Transparency in Coverage regulations. Our goal is to help organizations create a competitive advantage. Does it make sense to expend limited resources to merely comply with the law and regulations, or is there a way to strategically “design the compliance away” while differentiating the employee value proposition?
For example, a knowledgeable horticulturist may use the high temperatures of the summer season, which are a normal part of the environment just as law and regulation are a normal part of the business environment, to solarize the soil. This is a low cost and simple process of spreading a plastic sheet over an area of soil to trap and intensify the sun’s energy. It is a process that works well to destroy weed seeds and pathogens. Similarly, a knowledgeable Humaculturist® can employ techniques to leverage laws and regulations to strategically improve the organization. This webinar series seeks to identify some of these techniques.
The topics from the series include:
| Hidden Opportunities: No Surprises Act |
| Surpassing Mere Compliance – Including Reference Based Pricing |
| Preserving the Harvest…Leveraging HSAs |
| Hidden Opportunities: Transparency |
| A “Dope” Response to Pharmacy Transparency |
| Mental Health Parity…A Lucid Approach |
| Pest Management, Minimizing Plan Losses through Fee Disclosure |
Available Support
We are available to support you in your strategy, design, compliance, financial, and monitoring needs. Our team includes experts in organization design, actuarial science, clinical, and legal can guide the process to achieve optimal behavior. Please contact us.
Optimal Behaviors: Making Optimal Behavior the Natural Choice
Optimal Behaviors Overview
Watch this webinar series to see how we explore ways organizations can incorporate research-based, practical approaches to create the conditions where Optimal Behaviors are the natural choice. Optimal Behaviors are those that are the most beneficial to the individual as well as the organization.
Horticulturists consider the impact of the conditions in which plants are grown (e.g., climate, soil structure, space and fertility, arrangement, companion planting). Growth and productivity improve when the context of each dimension is appropriately addressed. Expertise from fields like botany and soil sciences provide the successful horticulturist with the information to do their jobs well.
Similarly, Humaculturists® consider the Seven Dimensions of Humaculture® to employ knowledge solidly “rooted” in science for the best results. Behavioral Research Applied Technology Laboratory (BRATLAB), Virtuositeam’s research arm, set out to answer some crucial questions related to understanding changes in behavior and habit creation:
- Which habits really matter, and to what degree, to the three biggest hidden drivers of sustained performance at work, human health, happiness, and security?
- How do we support people to practice these habits in a way that they experience as easy and natural, and that leaves them feeling highly engaged with their employer?
Four Powers Model of Change
The result: the Four Powers Model of Change. This model helps organizations create a thriving culture by leveraging this key distinction: how people THINK they behave and make decisions, versus how they ACTUALLY behave and make decisions. Four Powers is based on behavioral theories and validated research, behavioral research laboratories, and BRATLAB’s own extensive field testing. BRATLAB looked across industries to find the influence techniques that have been successfully used for years to shape employee and customer behavior.
The topics from the series include:
- Introduction: “Creating the Conditions for Optimal Behavior”
- Spaces Context: “Grow a Willow in a Desert? The importance of Spaces”
- Context of the Self: “The Complexity of Each Person”
- Systems Context: “The Systems that Govern Behavior”
- Social Context: “How People Influence Each Other”
- Harvest Time: “Reaping the Fruit of Optimal Behaviors”
Prior Series
- Hidden Opportunities, A Strategic Compliance Series
- People Development: A Humaculture® Perspective Series
Available Support
We are available to support you in your strategy, design, compliance, financial, and monitoring needs. Our team includes experts in organization design, actuarial science, clinical, and legal can guide the process to achieve optimal behavior. Please contact us.
Webinar Replay: Social Context: “How People Influence Each Other”
Watch a replay of the fifth webinar in Humaculture, Inc.’s “Optimal Behavior: Making Optimal Behavior the Natural Choice” to learn why and how the Social Context within an Organization impacts performance and well-being and how it can be used to grow capabilities, inspire motivation, overcome barriers, and resist temptations to lead to Optimal Behavior.
Presenters
- Steve Cyboran, ASA, MAAA, FCA, CEBS, actuary and strategy consultant
- Wes Rogers, Humaculturist® and strategy consultant
- Colin Bullen, ASA, behavior change actuary
- Hanlie van Wyk, behavior change consultant
Objective
In this fifth session in our series on Optimal Behavior, we explore how the Social Context influences behavior and change. To achieve Optimal Behavior, attempts to change require the support of People along the way. The powerful influence of our friends, families, colleagues, bosses, and social connections is around us all the time. In the workplace, change rarely happens unless there are early adopters who visibly engage in the new behavior for others to copy – acting as a role model for the desired Optimal Behavior. These early adopters, who are known by many names including ‘Change Agents’ or ‘Champions’, provide an energy that Inspires Motivation while demonstrating to People like them that change is possible, which builds confidence. Companies successfully moving toward Optional Behavior will connect People to build willpower and make very clear the expectations of everyone involved. Finally, new ways of behaving should be reinforced by creating a new corporate hero archetype who succeeds by demonstrating Optimal Behaviors, not others!
“It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Social Context Key Takeaways
Join us to learn:
- How ineffective organizations fail to:
- Understand the power of social connection
- Create conditions to make connections natural
- Reinforce the messages to keep people on track
- How effective organizations:
- Leverage social contagion and champions
- Create opportunities for natural interaction
- Celebrate early adopters and share willpower
Watch
Watch the Optimal Behavior: Social Context: “How People Influence Each Other” via Rumble or YouTube.
Available Support
We are available to support you in your strategy, design, compliance, financial, and monitoring needs. Our team includes business and human relations leaders, finance experts, actuaries, clinicians, behavioral health experts, pharmacy experts, and legal resources to guide you through the strategy and compliance process. Please contact us: [email protected].
Voluntary benefits & captives: A new paradigm of transparency & control
Join us on Thursday, March 28 from 1:00 to 1:30 CDT for Employee Benefit News’ Web Seminar “Voluntary benefits & captives: A new paradigm of transparency & control.”
Presenters
- Steve Cyboran, ASA, MAAA, FCA, CEBS, actuary and strategy consultant
- Amy Hollis, CEO/Founder at Employees First
- Erik Sossa
- Mimi Leonard
- Allison Itami, Principal at Groom Law Group
Objective
Today, employers face increasing pressure to reduce costs while increasing the value of Total Rewards in an effort to elevate employees’ wellbeing. In this ever-challenging benefits landscape, there is a ground breaking innovation – the pairing of voluntary benefits with captives. This new approach offers exciting solutions, particularly for large-market employers, but first, but it is critical to understand and evaluate the potential opportunities and pitfalls.
Hear from industry leading benefits experts to learn more about…
- the market forces driving these emerging solutions
- the foundational basics – why deliver voluntary benefits through a captive?
- the best practices for evaluating whether these solutions are a “fit” for your organization
- expectations for the future
- why you may not have heard about these solutions until now
Watch CEO Present on “Excess Mortality: A Peek Under the Iceberg”
Watch a replay of the Insurance Collaboration to Save Lives (ICSL) presentation on “Excess Mortality: A Peek Under the Iceberg” in which our CEO, Steve Cyboran, ASA, MAAA, FCA, CEBS participated. Steve discusses possible causes leading to an increase in mortality and morbidity post COVID-19, how we can use proactive health risk mitigation to respond, and what the returns may look like.
Presenters
- Steve Cyboran, ASA, MAAA, FCA, CEBS, CEO, Consulting Actuary, Humaculture, Inc.
- Josh Stirling, Founder of Insurance Collaboration to Save Lives, Insurtech Advisor, Board Director and Former #1 Ranked Insurance Analyst
- Valerie Chezem, ASA, MAAA, Assistant Actuary, Everence®
- Mary Pat Campbell, FSA, MAAA, Vice President, Insurance Research, Conning
- Teresa Winer, FSA, MAAA, Actuary, Office of Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner, Georgia
Objective
At the ICSL, dozens of industry executives have been developing a plan to help insurers proactively address the tragedy of on-going 20% increased mortality since 2020. Excess mortality and morbidity is a problem for our industry, and society. The ICSL brings together insurers to work together to solve it. Learn more about the impact we can make in the video. Steve Cyboran presents at 27:31.
Key Takeaways
- Through May of 2023 US mortality continues to be 20% high for ages 15 through 45
- There are underlying health conditions leading to excess mortality
- Insurers and employers can have impact that makes financial sense
- There are innovative ways to improve financial results
Presentation
Watch the presentation:
Available Support
We are available to support you in your strategy, design, compliance, financial, and monitoring needs. Our team includes business and human relations leaders, finance experts, actuaries, clinicians, behavioral health experts, pharmacy experts, and legal resources to guide you through the strategy and compliance process. Please contact us: [email protected].
Insurance Collaboration to Save Lives (ICSL): Upcoming Actuarial Presentations
Watch our CEO, Steve Cyboran, present at the following events.
Description: Excess Mortality – A Peek Under the Iceberg
Everyone is attentively watching the current excess mortality and morbidity crisis unfolding. We think it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Join our cross-industry team as we share a proprietary analysis of U.S. and global public health data digging into the underlying problems. Discover the iceberg of health problems underlying the elevated death and disability we see playing out in the bottom line. Can anything be done to slow this train? Risk mitigation strategies for insurers will be explored, with an invitation for participants to exchange ideas within the group. This will be a combination of presentation, panel, and Q&A discussion with multiple presenters including actuaries and other industry experts.
By the end of these sessions, attendees will understand:
- An up-to-date perspective on the current excess mortality and morbidity crisis
- Insight into the myriad of underlying health conditions
- Innovative ideas to improve financial results
Country Relevance: Non-Nation Specific
Experience Level: All levels
Presenters
- Steve Cyboran, ASA, MAAA, FCA, CEBS, CEO, Consulting Actuary, Humaculture, Inc.
- Josh Stirling, Founder of Insurance Collaboration to Save Lives, Insurtech Advisor, Board Director and Former #1 Ranked Insurance Analyst
- Valerie Chezem, ASA, MAAA, Assistant Actuary, Everence®
- Mary Pat Campbell, FSA, MAAA, Vice President, Insurance Research, Conning
- Teresa Winer, FSA, MAAA, Actuary, Office of Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner, Georgia
August 23 11-12:15 EDT: SOA Life Meeting
- Venue: New Orleans Marriott, 555 Canal St New Orleans, LA 70130-2349
- Conference Page: https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/events/2023-life-meeting/
- Agenda: https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/events/2023-life-meeting/#tab-agenda-selected
September 11 10:30-11:30 EDT: Society of Insurance Research
- Venue: The Westin Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
- Conference Page: https://www.sirnet.org/ConferencePage
- Agenda: https://www.sirnet.org/Agenda
September 14 2-3 EDT: SOA Life Meeting Virtual Event
- Location: Online
- Conference Page: https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/events/2023-virtual-life-meeting/#overview-selected
- Agenda: https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/events/2023-virtual-life-meeting/#tab-agenda-selected
October 25 10-11 AM EDT: 2023 SOA ImpACT Conference
- Venue: Indiana Convention Center, 100 S Capitol Ave Indianapolis, IN 46225
- Conference Page: https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/events/2023-annual-meeting-exhibit/
- Agenda: https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/events/2023-annual-meeting-exhibit/#tab-agenda-selected
November 7 12:30-1:30 PM EST: 2023 SOA ImpACT Conference Virtual
- Venue: Online
- Conference Page: https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/events/2023-virtual-impact-conference/
- Agenda: https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/events/2023-virtual-impact-conference/#tab-agenda-selected
Available Support
We are available to support you in your strategy, design, compliance, financial, and monitoring needs. Our team includes business and human relations leaders, finance experts, actuaries, clinicians, behavioral health experts, pharmacy experts, and legal resources to guide you through the strategy and compliance process. Please contact us: [email protected].
Houston Business Coalition on Health Conference Presents The Value of Alternative Medical Facility Healthcare
Join the Houston Business Coalition on Health (HBCH) for its annual meeting where HBCH will be outlining the value of alternative medical facility healthcare. Our CEO, Steve Cyboran, ASA, MAAA, FCA, CEBS will be facilitating a session during the meeting.
Panel topics include:
- Independent Primary Care Clinics
- Onsite / Near Site Clinics
- Retail Clinics
- Ambulatory Surgical Centers
- Free Standing Imaging Centers
- Free Standing Specialty Infusion Centers
- Community Oncology Clinics
- Home Health Care
- Digital / Telemedicine
Event Info
Breakfast and Lunch: Included
Time: August 24, 2023 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM (CDT)
Location: 6500 Main St, Houston, TX, 77030, United States (Rice University – Bioscience Research Collaborative Building)
HBCH Employer Member: $50
Employer Non-Member: $75
HBCH Associate Member: $100
Associate Non-Member: $350
Event Link: https://coalition.houstonbch.org/ap/Events/Register/MrD6wGoP
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/houston-business-coalition-on-health/
Houston Business Coalition on Health Presents Houston Smart Network
Join the Houston Business Coalition on Health for this employer-only event (consultants may come with their client) where HBCH will be outlining the concept, timeline, and benefits for participating in the Houston Smart Network. Our CEO, Steve Cyboran, ASA, MAAA, FCA, CEBS will presenting during the meeting.
Lunch will be served!
HBCH is on the cusp of developing a Houston-based alternative to your regular health plan that provides more for less. HBCH will highlight Smart Network benefits, including better health outcomes, less cost for you and your employees, and an integrated, simple employee experience.
This interactive discussion will include:
- The urgent need for a Smart Network in Houston
- Overview of the Smart Network – a different but proven type of benefits option
- Smart Network Design Elements
- Actuarial Analysis of the Smart Network
- Local and National Provider Assessments
- How to Get Started
Presenters
- Steve Cyboran, ASA, MAAA, FCA, CEBS, CEO, Consulting Actuary, Chief Behavioral Officer, Humaculture, Inc.
- Chris Skisak, PhD, Executive Director, HBCH
- Dan Burke, VP Corporate Benefits, Turner Industries Group, LLC
- Sue Prochazka, Benefits Consultant, HBCH
- Josh Berlin, CEO, rule of three
- Ken Janda, CEO, Wild Blue Health Solutions
- Daniel Crowe, MD, Wild Blue Health Solutions
- Juliet Breeze, MD, CEO, Next Level Medical
- Cheryl DeMars, President & CEO, The Alliance
Objective
Explain the benefits of the Houston Smart Network, understand employer interests, including willingness to support financially, and learn about new Texas legislation that will be gamechanger for employers. Interested employers can contribute to the development of the Houston Smart Network, and each dollar may be matched by two major philanthropic organizations.
Event Info
Fee: Free!
Lunch: Included
Time: Tuesday, June 6, 2023 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM (CDT)
Location: 50 Waugh Drive, Houston, 77007 (United Way of Greater Houston)
Event Link: https://houstonbch.org/smart-network-overview/
Watch CEO Present on Insurance Collaboration to Save Lives
Watch a replay of the Insurance Collaboration to Save Lives (ICSL) Executive Briefing, in which our CEO, Steve Cyboran, ASA, MAAA, FCA, CEBS participated. Steve discusses how small investments can yield significant returns. Not only does preventive medical screening in this collaborative need to achieve outcomes, but it also needs to make economic sense. Return on investment can be increased by decreasing screening costs, increasing the effectiveness of screening, and targeting larger policies first.
Presenters
- Josh Stirling, Founder of Insurance Collaboration to Save Lives, Insurtech Advisor, Board Director and Former #1 Ranked Insurance Analyst
- Steve Cyboran, ASA, MAAA, FCA, CEBS, CEO, Consulting Actuary, Chief Behavioral Officer, Humaculture, Inc.
- Sven Lohse, Principal, Research at Canton & Company
Objective
At the ICSL, dozens of industry executives have been developing a plan to help insurers proactively address the tragedy of rising mortality and morbidity. Excess mortality and morbidity is a problem for our industry, and society. The ICSL is bringing together insurers to work together to solve it. Find out the impact we can make from Steve Cyboran in this presentation on slides 33-36 and at 32:46 in the video.
Presentation
You can access the slides below.
Available Support
We are available to support you in your strategy, design, compliance, financial, and monitoring needs. Our team includes business and human relations leaders, finance experts, actuaries, clinicians, behavioral health experts, pharmacy experts, and legal resources to guide you through the strategy and compliance process. Please contact us: [email protected].
