Wal-Mart tests policy in Fort Smith

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Wednesday that it is fulfilling a commitment that Bill Simon, president and chief executive of the company’s U.S. stores division, made in January to provide employees with more transparency in shift scheduling, aimed at allowing workers to choose more hours and expand their knowledge of store operations.

The company said it is piloting a program in Fort Smith and in Denver to provide employees with information about available shifts throughout the store, not just in their departments. Available shifts are posted and employees are to be notified within 24 hours if they will get the shifts they request.

The new approach, the company said, will enable employees to earn more, transition to full-time status and expand their knowledge of the overall business. That, in turn, will benefit the company as well as employees, spokesman Kory Lundberg said.

“It’s making the stores stronger, it’s making associates stronger,” he said. “And because they are available to fill shifts across the store, they become a more valuable employee for the company.”

Thai-hoc Nguyen, an employee at the Wal-Mart supercenter on Zero Street in Fort Smith, said in a telephone interview that he welcomes the chance to broaden his knowledge of store operations, which could potentially lead to a better-paying position with more responsibility. Wal-Mart provided Nguyen for an interview.

“This is a great opportunity to learn how each department takes care of employees,” he said. “Each department is different. I have the chance to learn hardware, men’s apparel, fabrics, mixing paint.”

His goal, he said, is to eventually land a job at Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville.

Wal-Mart said in a news release that it is testing an online version in which employees can view available shifts and request work from their computers or smart phones. The pilot program launched Feb. 1. It will be rolled out to more stores in July and expand to all of its U.S. stores by the end of October, the company said.

Wal-Mart’s announcement came the same day that critics of the company targeted 150 stores in more than 20 states with protests, putting pressure on the retailer to offer workers sufficient working hours to support their families.

“Workers are still saying that they’re not seeing changes,” said Zoe Bridges-Curry, a spokesman for Making Change at Wal-Mart, a union-funded advocacy group. “Workers are still saying that they’re not seeing any changes.

Wal-Mart’s stock closed Wednesday at $78.03 a share, down $1.06 or 1.34 percent, in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The stock has traded between $57.18 and $79.50 in the past year.

Business, Pages 25 on 04/25/2013

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