One Overlooked Reason Walmart Gave Workers Raises

Walmart recently announced that it would spend more than $1 billion this year to raise workers’ pay, improve the way their hours are scheduled and provide better training.

The company framed this as something it was doing for its employees and in response to the improving job market.

But there’s another, urgent reason that Walmart needs to spend more on its workers. The retailing giant needs people to start buying more stuff at Walmart stores. To make this happen, those stores need to be well staffed with happier workers. This is both common sense and proven by a body of research from business professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and elsewhere.

Even more significant, she said, those retailers thoroughly train their workers. For example, all workers at Trader Joe’s know how to operate the cash register and how to stock the shelves; they’re all conversant with the products on offer. That improves customers’ experience, which is likely to lead them to buy more stuff. Here in New York, it’s why we’ll stand in line for a long, long time to buy Trader Joe’s products (low prices help, too).

A good job is about more than just good pay, Ton said. A smart labor strategy means offering good pay and well-structured work. It means recognizing that employees aren’t just a sunk cost; they’re human beings who can boost your bottom line.

Ton said, “There is a way to operate a business so that everybody wins.”

The Huffington Post