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Walmart has seen improvements to manager retention, turnover, and engagement following the introduction of a new compensation plan in January 2024, a company EVP has stated.
Under the new policy introduced in January, managers at the retail giant received a bump to their base salary, jumping from an average of $117,000 to $128,000.
Bolstered by annual stock grants of up to $20,000 per year, and a new bonus structure that allows managers to earn up to 200% of their base salary, a manager can now theoretically earn a total compensation of over $500,000.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the company also looked to improve manager work-life balance through technology that reduces busywork and offered new benefits such as telehealth and doula services.
Walmart made the improvements in a bid to cut down the attrition rate for store managers. According to data from Revelio Labs, the rate nearly doubled that of competitors such as Home Depot and Target a couple of years ago. Two ex-managers told Bloomberg that after a swathe of management cuts in the late 2010s, managers who kept their jobs were left with long working hours.
Other issues included outdated technology, with another manager describing the old scheduling software as “absolutely awful.”
Attrition of store managers is costly to employers such as Walmart, given the complexity of their role. When store managers depart, a vast amount of institutional knowledge is lost.
Walmart compensation bump: Good for managers, good for the business
Cedric Clark, Walmart’s EVP of Store Operations, told Bloomberg that the new initiatives to improve pay and reduce busywork have boosted retention, lowered turnover rates, and increased manager engagement scores.
Clark did not share the exact figures, but Bloomberg, using Revelio data, found that Walmart’s annual attrition rate dropped by around two percentage points in the last year.
“I almost fainted when I found out,” said Greg Harden, a Walmart manager at a store in Grand Prairie, Texas, who stands to earn as much as $530,000 in 2024. He added that the difference has been “night and day.”
Harden, according to his interview with Bloomberg, works ten-hour shifts, speaking to around 200 people and walking six miles. But before the changes, he admitted he worked from 5 am six days per week.
Clark believes that the improvements to manager compensation and work-life balance will be good for business. “If we make it the best place to work, they in turn take care of the customer,” he stated.
A manager at a store in Dallas says the new structure has increased the motivation to improve sales. “I’m in control,” they told Bloomberg. “I’m focused on growing the business and controlling profit.”
