O.C. Firm’s Turnover Tactic

Employee turnover, with the training costs it involves, is a major problem for business, especially those firms whose work force is heavy with new employees on the low end of the wage scale.

Carl Karcher Enterprises, operator of the Carl’s Jr. fast-food restaurant chain, has launched a test program in Orange County that could help ease that problem for both employer and employee. The plan is to provide employees with financial help for college and trade-school tuition, books and mileage, and with financial aid to family members as a unique added benefit.

Others firms have experimented with a variation of the idea. But the Karcher approach will be different in that the firm, which expects to make tuition aid available at all 500 outlets next year, plans to prepay all or a portion of it so that employees can start school at once rather than waiting for the money to accumulate, something that many people with low paychecks and tight budgets find difficult to do.

The plan has a potential not only for helping cut the expenses of high employee turnover but also for helping young people realize their potential. Carl Karcher, who built one small stand into a fast-food empire, is one business executive who realizes the value of education. He never went beyond the eighth grade. His awareness and support will make it possible for many others to take advantage of the educational opportunities he missed.