The New York Times this morning has a story about Walmart’s Manager Academy, to which it flies store managers from all over the country with the goal of teaching them that “Walmart’s success is possible only if the store managers take care of their workers and the customers and community where they operate.”
Context from the Times story:
“Over the years, Walmart — the largest private employer in the United States with 1.6 million workers — has been accused of being more focused on the bottom line than the people in its stores. In lawsuits and through unsuccessful union campaigns, Walmart workers have said the company’s business practices have been detrimental to their physical, mental and emotional health.”
Here’s an anecdote about one of the lessons taught in Manager Academy:
“On a stormy afternoon in Bentonville, Ark., a Walmart regional manager recounted a story about a moment when his humanity came up short.
“He was 24-year-old store manager anxiously trying to get his workers to set up Halloween merchandise displays. Instead, the workers were gathered around the televisions in the electronics department. It was the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.
“‘Why are we over here not setting up Halloween? Why is it not done yet?’ he recalled saying. He didn’t fully understand what was happening until a worker tearfully laid into him, explaining that she had relatives in New York City.
“‘I didn’t take a minute to survey the room to understand the ramifications of my words and my actions,’ the former store manager, David Seymore, now a regional vice president at Walmart, told his listeners. ‘I grew up really fast that day’.”
KC’s View:
I don’t think there is any question that historically, Walmart’s focus on bottom line productivity and efficiency has taken a toll on employees. But it seems evident that when CEO Doug McMillon talks about “adaptive retail,” he may be talking about technology and format, but he also understands the role that front line employees play in the equation.
Around here, ther term that I like is “culture of caring.” That’s something to which every retailer should aspire, especially at a time when there is so much competition, employees have so many choices, and bricks-and-mortar retail differentiation still depends on actual human beings. Which means that companies themselves have to be human.
The post Walmart Provides Managers With Compassion Lessons appeared first on MNB.
View Original Article
