One HR strategy that was recently implemented by the HR managers of Walmart is that it had raised wages of the daily earners of the store more than the state and federal minimum wage. In May of 2015, the company decided to pay its lowest paid workers about $9 an hour, which is almost $ 2 above the federal minimum wage. Also, supporting this move is the decision to provide schedules to their employees in advance, and even the workers in the lower groups of the hierarchy are to receive skills training. This strategy creates value for the organization as the employees are motivated to become more productive at their jobs, and thus they become more efficient and the total labor expense is said to be maximized (Buss, 2015).
The company may be doing this in order to change the public perception that since it is a low-cost retailer, it also pays its workers the lowest wages in the industry. This was formerly an ethical issue for the company – it did not pay reasonable wages despite the enormous sales it made all over the world annually. Thus with the move to increase the pay of the lowest-ranking workers, the company hopes to negate the perception that it is implementing unethical practices in their workplace. The realignment of the pay scales of the company is the first move to compensate its employees commensurate to their tasks, and thus this move addresses the issue of ethics on the question of pay. Aside from trying to change the perception of the public, the company hopes to retain their workers. As the retail industry grew at a rate of about 4.1% in 2015, there are expectations that this growth rate will increase even more (Thau, 2015). Thus the competition in the industry will be very stiff, and retailers may jostle for the qualified and skilled workers. By increasing the lowest wages in the company, it hopes to attract more skilled workers to its fold. When it is able to attract skilled and capable workers, it can train these employees to occupy higher positions such that they can also become more effective and productive in their positions. This is a sign that the company believes that its human resources are its greatest assets, and that it should implement strategy to enhance their skills and retain them in the firm.
References
Buss, D. 2015. A Look at Walmart’s HR Strategy from the Inside Out: Would it Work for your Company? Retrieved from: http://chiefexecutive.net/a-look-at-walmarts-hr-strategy-from-the-inside-out-would-it-work-for-your-company/
Thau, B. 2015. Forecast: Retail Industry to Generate Strongest Growth in Four Years. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarathau/2015/02/12/forecast-retail-industry-to-generate-strongest-growth-in-four-years/#5809a8a76677
