Verizon is raising the minimum salary of store and service employees, adds sign-on and weekend bonuses
The largest US carrier Verizon announced that it will be raising the minimum wage of its customer service, retail specialists, and inside sales employees to $20 an hour, building on the extra incentives it introduced for retail staff earlier in April, and catching up to T-Mobile's $20/hour bump back in December.
Verizon's wage increase is valid for both new as well as existing employees who currently receive less than $20/hour, but new retail hires and assistant managers in tight labor markets will also be receiving a sign-on bonus. In addition, bilingual assistant managers and those who work during holidays or on Sunday, will be receiving "premium pay differentials" now.
The move comes after retail giants like Walmart or Walgreens also increased the minimum wage of their employees in order to compensate for the rampant inflation as well as keep their people happy amidst the recent "Great Resignation" phenomenon that saw a record number of Americans quit their jobs in search of something better.
While the carrier "is consistently ranked as one of the best places to work, was named to the Forbes World's Best Employers and Forbes Best Employer for Women in 2021, ranked #18 on 2022 LinkedIn's Top U.S. Companies, and scored 100% on the 2022 Disability Equality Index," reports Verizon, its seemingly drastic minimum wage increase comes with some caveats.
For instance, you will be earning $20/hour at Verizon as a starting point but that is only "when base salary plus target commission are combined," so hitting your sales quotas remains the important metric. T-Mobile base salary raise back in December was accompanied by similar conditions, and, now that Verizon has raised its minimum wage, AT&T could follow the other two as well. According to Krista Bourne, Chief Operating Officer for Verizon, the reason for the wage increase is to remain a preferred place to work:
Our V Teamers give their best day in and day out to support our customers with all of their needs, which is why we want to make sure we support them as well. These changes are the direct result of employee feedback and will help us remain an attractive employer in this competitive environment. I'm confident these changes will help us attract and retain the very best talent, and allow us to continue to improve our customer experience.
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