Walmart Shareholders

14 • Walmart Shareholders • 6.2.2019 Having Problems Wearing Your CPAP? Our office provides a dental appliance that opens your airway at night and treats sleep apnea without a CPAP. This treatment is covered by most medical insurance companies and Medicare. Call us today to find out how to improve your sleep. It could be as simple as wearing a dental appliance. Dr. Berley is the only dentist in Northwest Arkansas that is Board Certified in Dental Sleep Medicine. Diplomate of American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine Ken Berley, DDS 5417 Pinnacle Point Drive Suite 200 | Rogers, AR 479-254-0200 www.DrKenBerley.com Tuesday-Saturday: 8AM-9PM Sundays: 8AM - 2PM Closed Mondays 3575 W Wedington Dr, Suite 3 Fayetteville • 479-313-7646 thesouthernfoodco.com https://www.facebook.com/southernfoodcompany/ @southernfoodco @SouthernFoodCo NORTHWEST ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF REPORT Walmart Inc. is testing a new store employ- ee structure that could result in fewer middle management jobs, but give those workers more pay and responsibility. The retailer has already started testing the initiative called Great Workplace in about 75 stores, mostly its smaller-format Neigh- borhood Markets, Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg said in May. It planned to expand the test to more than 50 of its much larger su- percenters in a few months, Lundberg said. At the supercenters, though, the new team model will be implemented in only two departments per store. "This gives us a chance to understand what works and what can work better before decid- ing what our next steps should be," Lundberg said in an email. The new structure leaves store managers in place, but assistant store managers and depart- ment managers may apply for the new posi- tions. The second-tier roles, called "business leads," earn a starting salary about 10% higher than the salaries of assistant store managers. Their responsibilities include managing the store's finances and hiring. Under the business leads are the team leads, who supervise small groups of front- line employees. Team leads' pay starts at about $18 an hour. Assistant store managers and department managers in test locations who choose not to apply for one of the new jobs may apply for another position in their stores or ones nearby, Lundberg said. If they do apply for the new roles and aren't selected, they may apply for other jobs in the store or take severance pay. "We are testing the idea to create a sim- plified structure, multifunctional roles and a team-based way of working … creating more ownership for associates and empower our hourly associates with more decision-making responsibilities," Lundberg said. A copy of the implementation guide posted on social media describes the Team Environment Kit each team lead receives. The kit includes a whiteboard on which to jot information such as employee assign- ments and other items to cover in daily team meetings. The kit also includes "Attitude Cards" for the team leads to carry with them and share with team members. These are meant to reinforce desired behaviors — be bold, be an owner, be open and be kind. A reward system is used in which em- ployees earn blue stars for completed as- signments. After employees earn several blue stars, they'll receive a silver star. Sev- eral silver stars earn an employee a gold star, which can be tied to an incentive set by the store's leaders. An example of such an incentive, according to the implementation guide, could be "having lunch with the store manager, or someone on the market team." Melissa Love, a Walmart employee and a leader of the employee advocacy group United for Respect, released a statement that said Walmart "has once again com- pletely missed the mark when it comes to addressing the real issues faced by hourly associates, focusing on superficial changes that make for good PR. Tens of thousands of employees still can't get the hours they need to make ends meet, while companies like Amazon, Costco and Target are giving their veteran employees real raises. "If Walmart is serious about making this a great place to work, we need more than gold stars — we need livable wages and enough hours to provide for our families." Walmart last year raised its base starting pay to $11 an hour. According to its web- site, the average, full-time hourly wage is $14.06. The retailer has more than 4,700 stores in the U.S. and employs more than 1.5 million people. Walmart tests new work hierarchy Restructuring to cut middle manager jobs, raise pay

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