4 ms·

>the kind of people who value that are unlikely to stop shopping at Walmart because of the negative PR Walmart isn't worried about losing the people shopping a

by lev99 8y ago

>the kind of people who value that are unlikely to stop shopping at Walmart because of the negative PR Walmart isn't worried about losing the people shopping at Walmart. They just need to continue to sell cheap food, clothes, and household things in order to keep them. Walmart has always promoted from within. I bet very few people have worked part time in Walmart for 1+ year while going to college for a business degree and not been shortlisted for a promotion. The college subsidy will give them more managers with ground floor experience. Walmart is very concerned about how to grow their customer base. You see this with the 2day online shipping, site to store, and their grocery pickup program. The increase in wage is a direct attempt to increase employee retention and attract better employees. This is about growth, not loss prevention.

mieseratte 8y ago
> Walmart has always promoted from within. I bet very few people have worked part time in Walmart for 1+ year while going to college for a business degree and not been shortlisted for a promotion. The college subsidy will give them more managers with ground floor experience. This was my immediate first thought, retention and loyalty. A few months ago my mother retired from Wal-Mart after working as a manager for 30+ years, and I've heard all the "fun" stories. Just about every trope regarding lazy, slack ass workers who routinely no-call-no-show, get fired, then somehow rehired six months later is true. There are good employees, to be sure, but they're greatly outnumbered by the unmotivated, and unwilling. I see this as a way to pull in and retain driven employees, no different than a software company sponsoring scholarships at a university and simultaneously offering internships / future employment. You'll select for the more driven, hard-charging folks and, hopefully, engender a positive opinion of your company in the eyes of the recipients.
- gowld 8y ago
  > lazy, slack ass workers who routinely no-call-no-show, What about the lazy, slack ass management that routinely yank hours, refuse to give full-time hours that offer health insurance?
  - mieseratte 8y ago
    Having come home for the holidays to find mom was scheduled on Christmas Eve on a weekday despite being the weekend manager, I'm not exactly fond of Wal-Mart's managerial practices. Those folks bank on you not saying a word when a "glitch" puts you on for the day you already had approved off. It's not always everything, but having a manager who was once in the shit usually makes a big difference. Hopefully this program will get more folks who have worked their way up the ranks and know what works so there's better, more informed, and more compassionate management at the store level and higher.
    - lev99 8y ago
      Walmart has a long history of preferring candidates that have a history of being in the shit. Bad managers cost the store in no call no shows, short retention, and disgruntled employees. Managers that have experience in the store can train faster, have higher empathy towards those they manage, and have a deeper understanding of the day to day operation of the store. Working for Walmart isn’t a fantastic experience, but promoting from within is a great practice they have.
scruple 8y ago
> Walmart has always promoted from within. I bet very few people have worked part time in Walmart for 1+ year while going to college for a business degree and not been shortlisted for a promotion. A close friend of mine from high school started worked at Walmart while attending University. Interestingly enough, she was a business undergrad and, as you suggest, she was shortlisted to management before even finishing her undergraduate degree. She went on to get an MBA and went corporate within Walmart and is still there today, nearly 20 years later. > The college subsidy will give them more managers with ground floor experience. Given the above anecdote, I wonder if their decision to subsidize college is just tied to how grossly expensive an undergraduate degree is today vs. yesteryear. In any event, they will continue to pull managers from the "competent" pool of employees internally and get good PR at the same time.
- gowld 8y ago
  > tied to how grossly expensive an undergraduate degree is today vs. yesteryear. It's not. One of the 3 colleges in this new program is Univerity of Florida, which charges $6,381/yr, before substantial financial aid offering. https://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=943 https://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmp...
  - lazyasciiart 8y ago
    That's great, but ten years ago it charged half that much. https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/tuition-and-fees https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/tuition-and-fees
- lev99 8y ago
  Having spent time in Bentonville AR (population 30,000 and home of Walmart HQ) myself her story is common.
chiefalchemist 8y ago
To say nothing of the fact that employees are also customers. Give them more money and there's a good chance it never leaves the building.

by lev99 8y ago

mieseratte 8y ago

> Walmart has always promoted from within. I bet very few people have worked part time in Walmart for 1+ year while going to college for a business degree and not been shortlisted for a promotion. The college subsidy will give them more managers with ground floor experience. This was my immediate first thought, retention and loyalty. A few months ago my mother retired from Wal-Mart after working as a manager for 30+ years, and I've heard all the "fun" stories. Just about every trope regarding lazy, slack ass workers who routinely no-call-no-show, get fired, then somehow rehired six months later is true. There are good employees, to be sure, but they're greatly outnumbered by the unmotivated, and unwilling. I see this as a way to pull in and retain driven employees, no different than a software company sponsoring scholarships at a university and simultaneously offering internships / future employment. You'll select for the more driven, hard-charging folks and, hopefully, engender a positive opinion of your company in the eyes of the recipients.

gowld 8y ago
> lazy, slack ass workers who routinely no-call-no-show, What about the lazy, slack ass management that routinely yank hours, refuse to give full-time hours that offer health insurance?
- mieseratte 8y ago
  Having come home for the holidays to find mom was scheduled on Christmas Eve on a weekday despite being the weekend manager, I'm not exactly fond of Wal-Mart's managerial practices. Those folks bank on you not saying a word when a "glitch" puts you on for the day you already had approved off. It's not always everything, but having a manager who was once in the shit usually makes a big difference. Hopefully this program will get more folks who have worked their way up the ranks and know what works so there's better, more informed, and more compassionate management at the store level and higher.
  - lev99 8y ago
    Walmart has a long history of preferring candidates that have a history of being in the shit. Bad managers cost the store in no call no shows, short retention, and disgruntled employees. Managers that have experience in the store can train faster, have higher empathy towards those they manage, and have a deeper understanding of the day to day operation of the store. Working for Walmart isn’t a fantastic experience, but promoting from within is a great practice they have.

scruple 8y ago

> Walmart has always promoted from within. I bet very few people have worked part time in Walmart for 1+ year while going to college for a business degree and not been shortlisted for a promotion. A close friend of mine from high school started worked at Walmart while attending University. Interestingly enough, she was a business undergrad and, as you suggest, she was shortlisted to management before even finishing her undergraduate degree. She went on to get an MBA and went corporate within Walmart and is still there today, nearly 20 years later. > The college subsidy will give them more managers with ground floor experience. Given the above anecdote, I wonder if their decision to subsidize college is just tied to how grossly expensive an undergraduate degree is today vs. yesteryear. In any event, they will continue to pull managers from the "competent" pool of employees internally and get good PR at the same time.

gowld 8y ago
> tied to how grossly expensive an undergraduate degree is today vs. yesteryear. It's not. One of the 3 colleges in this new program is Univerity of Florida, which charges $6,381/yr, before substantial financial aid offering. https://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=943 https://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmp...
- lazyasciiart 8y ago
  That's great, but ten years ago it charged half that much. https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/tuition-and-fees https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/tuition-and-fees
lev99 8y ago
Having spent time in Bentonville AR (population 30,000 and home of Walmart HQ) myself her story is common.

chiefalchemist 8y ago

To say nothing of the fact that employees are also customers. Give them more money and there's a good chance it never leaves the building.