How Walmart and Albertsons Are Tackling the Digital Talent Wars
Walmart, which recently announced its global tech corporate team will grow by 25% after a hiring spree, has also been much more public about the initiatives they’re developing, both in-house and with their partners. “People join companies because of the projects they work on and the problems they get to solve,” he said. “I think Walmart traditionally has not made as much communication or shared what we're doing. But, obviously, in today's time, we've been much more open” about them.
Albertsons Companies is not only taking pains to ensure its company culture is evolving to become a better and more inclusive working environment, but they’re also prioritizing individual growth, said Chris Rupp, EVP and chief customer and digital officer. This includes both formal and in-the-field training to provide employees with more responsibilities and experiences.
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“We're becoming more intentional about helping people chart where they want to go next by figuring out what experiences and exposures will help them grow and develop,” she said.
Soohoo noted that he’s spending a lot more time on skip-level meetings to better understand associates’ needs, especially the remote-only ones who joined the company during the pandemic. “Many of our associates if they’ve only worked on Zoom, my take is they know how to do a task, but they may not know how to actually do a job.”
Helping associates understand that change is constant is also crucial in getting them to stick around and succeed, as is getting them to embrace the notion that their career paths can’t be the linear path they’ve traditionally seen, he said.
These feedback loops are critical in today’s work environment, agreed Rupp, including facilitating them at scale in order to communicate with a large number of people quickly: “You have to make sure you’re not leaving people behind in the change you’re trying to drive.”