Hormel Foods Corp. was recognized among the Best Places to Work for Recent Grads by Experience Inc., the nation’s leading provider of career services for college students and alumni. The Best Places to Work for Recent Grads list, now in its third year, recognizes 20 employers from across the country that demonstrate excellence in recruiting, hiring and retaining young professionals.

Hormel Foods was selected for this list due, in part, to its attractive compensation and benefits package, as well as the opportunity for career growth and diversity. With its extremely high employee retention rate, Hormel Foods was able to demonstrate its ability to attract and keep top talent. Currently, more than 60 percent of current employees have been employed at Hormel Foods for more than five years.

“We are honored by this recognition as one of the country’s top employers for recent graduates, as this reaffirms our commitment to hiring talented individuals and then providing the tools, environment and opportunity to build rich, diverse lifetime careers,” said Larry C. Lyons, director of human resources at Hormel Foods.

Experience’s Best Places to Work for Recent Grads was developed in conjunction with Yahoo! HotJobs. The survey ran from September 2009 through November 2009, garnering responses from nearly 200 corporate recruiters and employers from across the country. In March 2010, the field was narrowed to 50 companies and then 20 companies were selected based on hiring and retention practices, benefits, training programs, growth opportunities and starting salary.

Source: Hormel Foods Corp.

Wendy's/Arby's results Q1 sales dragged down by Arby's

First-quarter results for Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc. were below Wall Street expectations, due largely to underperformance from Arby’s, Forbes reports.

"The Wendy's business appears to be on track, but the Arby's gap with the industry seems to be growing wider and that's a problem," says Sara Senatore, senior analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. "It's not clear yet if they've turned the corner on Arby's, or if it's even possible to do that."

The company reported a loss of $3.4 million, an improvement from last year’s $10.9 million loss. Sales rose 1.4 percent to $784.2 million, up from $773.2 million. The results were, however, shows of the Wall Street expectation of $835.2 million in sales. Sales in the Arby’s division fell to $252.7 million, from $285.7 million last year, with a same-store sales drop of 11.6 percent. By contrast, sales at Wendy's restaurants increased to $584.7 million, from $578.2 million.

The results came a day after Hala Moddelmog was named president of Arby’s Restaurant Group. "Having someone new at the head of the business will be an important determinate on how they will do," Senatore says.

Source: Forbes