With more than 1.6 million employees in the United States, Walmart is working to overcome workforce challenges and avoid talent wars. The retailer hopes to develop the next generation of leaders by offering free college education and employee training at its academy.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon began his retail career as a seasonal summer worker unloading trucks at a Walmart distribution center. Walmart US CEO John Farner began his career at Walmart as an hourly employee at Store 100’s garden center in Bentonville to earn extra money as a college student.
“David Glass used to say that anyone could build multiple careers within Walmart because of its size and scale, but it also means that Walmart is one of the fastest growing advertising businesses in the country. “That was before we became a half-trillion global company with third parties that are logistics service providers, fintech partners, healthcare providers and technology powerhouses,” says Scott, affiliate partner at retail consultancy Macmillan Doolittle.・Mr. Benedict said.
Mr. Benedict also spent 20 years at Walmart and Sam’s Club and 10 years at other retailers.
Walmart is the largest private trucking company in the United States, with more than 13,000 drivers. However, competitive recruitment of new drivers continues to be a challenge for all airlines. Fernando Cortez, Walmart’s senior vice president of transportation, said the company internally considered hiring a new class of drivers in 2022 in a pilot program called Fleet Development, which would represent a major shift. It is said that he brought it.
Starting in early 2022, Walmart will enroll supply chain employees in Dallas and Dover, Delaware, into a 12-week training program to earn commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) and earn money as Walmart personal vehicle drivers. We have started offering opportunities to apply. Up to $110,000 for the first year. Cortez said that last year, 56 employees in supply chain roles graduated with CDLs to become Walmart fleet drivers, and the program cost nothing.
Walmart asked veteran drivers to teach course materials and supervise new trainees. Earlier this year, Walmart expanded its driver training program with plans to train 256 more drivers, including in Bentonville. The new class of driver trainees came from stores, distribution centers, fulfillment centers and transportation operations within a 50-mile radius of participating businesses whose employees applied for the program.
“This program is beneficial to our employees, allowing them to take the next step in their career journey without having to leave the company. For Walmart, it allows us to continue investing in our talented team of employees. , this is a win. Our fleet continues to deliver every day, so this is a win for our customers and members,” Cortez said.
Walmart announced this summer that 191 employees completed the Associate to Driver program and received CDLs to start driving at Walmart. Starting next year, any employee who lives within 250 miles of a transportation branch can apply for the program, Cortez said.
Ashley Milacek was one of the first store employees to graduate. Since Milacek started working at Walmart 185 in Sanger, Texas, in 2014, she has held five jobs, including on the front end, night shift, and at an online grocery store and general store, Cortez said. That’s what it means. When she heard about this opportunity, she signed up without hesitation to earn more income for her family.
Ronnie Suggs, who worked at Walmart before serving several tours of duty in Iraq, said he found Walmart when he was down on his luck when he eventually became homeless. He returned to work at Walmart Distribution Center 6094 in Bentonville and joined the Associate to Driver program when the retailer was hiring veterans.
Walmart recently announced that it is imposing degree requirements for some roles at its corporate headquarters. The move is part of a series of adjustments Walmart has made to compensation and workforce requirements.
“We are rewriting job descriptions for campus jobs to take into account the skills people have in addition to the degrees they hold,” Walmart executives said in a blog post. “This creates a binary choice for applicants: To get the job, you have to either have a relevant university degree, or you can get the job through past experience or other forms of learning. ” …While a degree should be part of the equation and may even be required in some cases, there are also roles that don’t require a degree at all, including in corporate headquarters. We have a lot. ”
Benedict said Walmart’s willingness to expand its pool of applicants is positive. After all, he says, if job seekers want to graduate from college, Walmart will pay for it.
“This type of investment in talent can pay dividends for years. Walmart has made great strides in pay levels in recent years, and when you add in benefits and education benefits, it’s reducing turnover.” No wonder,” Benedict said.
Walmart also said it is streamlining job titles across its internal staff, but these changes are job titles only. Walmart also announced that, in some cases, it will reduce salaries for new employees at Walmart Corporation and Sam’s Club beginning in November. Walmart said the amount of stock options granted to employees will remain largely unchanged, but may increase in some cases. Approximately 4% of employees will also see reduced stock option grants to equalize compensation across regions. Walmart said companies that expect to see cuts will also receive equity grants as part of the adjustment.
Walmart has changed its hourly starting pay structure for entry-level employees such as cashiers, personal shoppers, stockers and self-checkout helpers to match the hourly rate paid to employees working in departments throughout its stores. Walmart has standardized starting hourly wages across stores and by region. Walmart said the new pay structure will allow new employees to take on a variety of duties and improve staffing throughout its stores. More than 50,000 Walmart employees received raises because their wages fell below the new minimum wage.
Benedict said retailers and others were forced to raise starting wages during and immediately after the pandemic because of a tight workforce. He said Walmart will learn to raise wages and invest in training, which will allow for faster promotions and lead to better pay and better employee retention.
“I think Walmart looked at what its competitors were paying in their respective regions and saw an opportunity to standardize starting salaries in stores, clubs, and home office support. “They tend to focus on diversification across salary levels. But they tend to provide training from day one and promote from within, so starting salaries are usually much lower than average salaries,” he says. added.
Lorraine Stomski, Walmart’s vice president of learning and leadership, said the pay package and education and training opportunities are attractive even in a tight labor market.
Since Walmart launched the Live Better U education program in 2018 in partnership with Guild Education, about 7,000 employees have graduated, Stomski said. In most cases, that equates to a promotion or a raise. She said her most popular research areas are business, healthcare and technology, which have seen a significant spike during the pandemic.
Editor’s note: supply side section Talk Business & Politics focuses on the companies, organizations, issues, and individuals involved in providing products and services to retailers. Supply Side is managed and sponsored by Talk Business & Politics. Firebend.