Walmart's Commitment to Associates?

Walmart's Commitment 

to

Associates?

If you are a Walmart Associate, you probably already know about how Walmart has promised raises for 500,000 of it's United States associates. Before I continue I want to give you a copy of the handout which should have been made available to all associates in the US.

"Hundreds of thousands of associates of all levels will receive a raise this year" -Walmart 

Here it is:

Before I get into some things to consider, take the time to watch a local news spot from Bentonville Arkansas (Walmart Corporate Headquarters is located in Bentonville Arkansas).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjVa6hSlq2A

Hopefully, you took the time to read the handout. First off, lets not get our hopes up. A pay raise would be amazing, but we need to analyze some things and ask some hard questions. Consider these things:

Not everyone is getting a raise!

1. Keep in mind, this handout is basically giving you a timeline. All of these things mentioned in the handout will not be happening all at once.
2. Be conscience of District Managers and Store Managers. More employee pay means less on their bottom line at the end of the year. This handout says nothing about more hours or hiring more associates per store. You could find yourself working fewer hours with even less help (If that is even possible).
3. Be aware of the fine print, wherever it may be. Walmart stores will probably find loopholes around increasing pay for it's associates because of their bottom line at the end of the year.
4. The working environment will probably be more strict. The coaching policy will probably see more rules added to it making it even more difficult for associates to promote or transfer stores.
5. Always do your research! Don't always listen to Walmart Corporate. Get the facts from as many sources as possible to see what's really going on.
6. It may not be bad at all... Everything could improve; however, associates who have been working at Walmart need to be treated like individuals, like human beings. Problems are solved when more associates are hired and each associate is allowed to focus on the jobs they were hired for. As of now, associates are not getting payed enough for how much they are asked to do.

Here are the facts:

• Walmart has 2.2 Million associates around the world
• Walmart has 1.3 Million associates in the United States
• Only 500,000 out of 1,300,000 U.S. associates will be getting a raise
• Only 38.46% of all U.S. associates will be getting a raise
• Only 5 out of every 13 U.S. associates will be getting a raise

Walmart is testing the waters to see if pay raises will make a difference in customer satisfaction, which basically comes down to the bottom line. It seems like these pay raises are just an experiment for the time being. I'm sure they will expand it to the rest of the company if it works; however, don't get too excited. Walmart is known to make changes. Don't be surprised if they continue to do so.

Walmart Company Statistics: 

Statistics taken from WolframAlpha: 3/18/2015



Walmart Coachings: There is hope!

Walmart’s “Coaching” Policy

    If you are a Walmart employee, odds are you have come across Walmart’s coaching policy, or maybe you have been coached yourself. You might have questions about how the coaching policy actually works. Hopefully, this will help fill in the blanks.

Here are some questions that you need to be asking yourself:

1. What is a coaching?
2. How does it affect me as a Walmart employee?
3. Can I bounce back after a coaching?
4. How does Walmart’s disciplinary policy differ from other major retailers?

If you have further questions, please check out this link: http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Walmart-RVW153121.htm

Now, since this is a blog I am going to be moving on to my personal opinion. After your second coaching, the company freezes you in your current position for a year. This means you can't promote, you can't transfer stores, or switch your job in your current store (from my understanding you can switch jobs at this point, only if it is a pay grade below your current position). You aren't even aloud to get a copy of your own coaching, detailing why management issued your coaching in the first place; however, management does inform you what you are being coached for, you just don't have access to their comments and your own discipline records. If you do try to acknowledge your interest in another position of a higher pay grade on the Career Preference Dashboard, located on the Walmart Wire, (Even if you have already passed the leadership assessment) the in-store website will inform you that you have an active coaching and will not allow you to continue. This can be quite heartbreaking, especially if a member of management has already come to you personally, to ask if you were interested in the position in the first place.

A coaching can be a very aggravating event, especially after #2. Though you do have to stick it out for a whole year; once that year is over, you get a fresh start and those coachings are not held over your head for the rest of your career. I suppose that Corporate Walmart theorizes that if an employee can stick with it for a whole year, that employee should be motivated not to repeat his actions that got him coached in the first place. I do believe that coachings should last only 6 months. A year is unheard of with most other companies. I wonder if corporate employees are held to the same standards, or if they get a clean pass for knowing the right people. It's hard to say, but I have placed it upon myself to grow with this company and help others do the same. I love the challenge retail work provides; not many people can stick with it before moving to another company. I don't agree with everything Walmart does; however, if you come to work on time, do your best and learn the system, it's pretty easy to move up the ladder. If Walmart is reading this, I hope they consider moving the time employees are frozen from one year, to six months, or maybe find another way for an employee to break out of that coaching if that employee works for it. I enjoy and take pride in my work, but I also care for the people I work with. I want this blog to be helpful for all Walmart employees.

Take your first verbal coaching as a time to reflect on what you need to improve and fix it. Try not to dwell on if your manager was right or wrong. A good manager will never punish a good employee for doing his job the right way. Just do your best to be at work and be there on time. Give 110% and everything will be okay.

Thank you for reading!

Update:

If you are interested in looking for a new job and you are not at all happy with the company that you are working for, you can get a better job. I recently read this book that really speaks volumes to how you not only deserve a decent job, but its within your reach. Check out this book on Amazon below:

A Brief Guide to the Modern Job Market

Let me know if you got anything out of it too. It's good for discussion.