Introduction
Walmart is an international retail company that includes a chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets. Established by Sam Walton in 1962, the company headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, while having 11438 stores in re than 27 states of the world. There are 2.2 million employees, 75 percent of whom started working as hourly associates, and 215,000 people were recently promoted to jobs with higher responsibility (Company facts 2019).
Walmart’s total revenue was estimated at $ 514.4 billion in 2019 (Company facts 2019). The official website (corporate.walmart.com) of the company clarifies Walmart’s mission as follows: to help families around the world live better by providing a wide range of products (Our business 2019). Target, Costco, Amazon, and Kroger are the competitors of Walmart.
The hierarchical functional organizational context implies vertical management and authority. Such an organization is useful to implement strategic decisions systematically and capture a greater share of the market. The structure of Walmart is also characterized by function-based departments, such as human resources, information technology, marketing, et cetera. For instance, the solutions taken at the leadership level are transmitted to regional departments, and the local managers explain them to associates. However, the low-level employees cannot adjust the working practices, which is caused by long-lasting communications and approvals.
Kline (2017) states that the company struggles to offer its employees adequate pay. In turn, Mourdoukoutas (2018) pinpoints that Walmart fails to improve customer experience since it pays insufficient attention to employee satisfaction. In other words, the identified employees need training to enhance their level of workplace experience, thus positively impacting the overall performance of the company.
This paper will target the sales associates, who report to store managers, working at Walmart and responsible for daily operations and interaction with customers. Taking into account that these employees provide customer service, answer their questions and organize products, their job satisfaction cannot be underestimated. The analysis of the available evidence shows that the target staff faces low workplace satisfaction, which is complicated by a lack of properly established and promoted corporate culture. More to the point, the fact that Walmart operates in various countries prioritizes the need for adjusting the training process to the local culture. The practices adopted in the US can be unacceptable in some African countries, for example. In this connection, the needs of employees will be explored in detail, resulting in a training plan with delivery and evaluation stages.
Design
To identify the needs of salespersons working for Walmart, three stores were selected. Since the assignment aims to analyze employee needs, it was decided to employ the qualitative instruments of examination. First of all, the managers of these stores were contacted and asked to contribute to this analysis. After receiving their informed consent in a written form, the questions for interviews with staff were prepared. The method of interviews was chosen due to its simplicity of implementation and the relative popularity among employees (Sung & Choi 2014). Nevertheless, such disadvantages as potential dishonest answers, differences in understanding were also taken into account while interpreting the obtained results.
To make the learning needs analysis more comprehensive, observations were conducted in all three stores from the perspective of a mystery shopper. The latter implies that the researcher visits the shops, makes purchases, communicates with staff, and documents this experience. Within recent years, the use of mystery shopping became a widespread and effective means of evaluating service quality and providing feedback to employees.
The usual behavior of employees in the communication with a hidden customer is an undeniable advantage of the described method. The fact that mystery shopping can cover only a small sample size as well as the need for additional methods for performing the learning needs analysis is the drawback. In the process of conducting the analysis, such challenges as employee resistance, some unwillingness to cooperate, and a lack of understanding of questions were notified.
Based on the analysis methods identified in the above paragraphs, it was revealed that two learning needs are faced by Walmart employees: low employee satisfaction (worker motivation) and poor customer service due to weak enterprise culture. The interviews with employees and the observation of their daily behaviors about customers and managers showed that 60 percent of the staff has a low level of job satisfaction, and 40 percent fails to properly provide customer service. Even though the company made some efforts to improve the situation, its “3.2 total remains below the 3.3 company rating across all 700,000 companies on Glassdoor” (Kline 2017).
The detailed examination of the underlying reasons for such results revealed that employees have different perceptions of the company’s mission and their contribution to the overall success. Many of the interviewees noted that they just want to spend their working day and go home, which demonstrates that they do not feel engaged in the corporate culture. A lack of understanding of how their work impacts Walmart customers were also expressed in the identification of the workplace as impersonal, standardized, unnecessary to improve, and poor relationships between the team members.
The two-factor theory of motivation-hygiene by Herzberg is beneficial to better understand the core of the identified employee needs. The process of satisfaction – a lack of satisfaction is mainly influenced by factors related to the content of labor (Alfayad & Arif 2017).
For example, the factors internal to the work matter: recognition, responsibility, the prestige of the job, the possibility of career advancement, and prospects for professional growth. Based on this theory, one can state that if employees have a feeling of dissatisfaction, the manager should pay paramount attention to the factors causing dissatisfaction and do everything possible to eliminate it (Vijayakumar & Saxena 2015; Kotni & Karumuri 2018). After a state of lack of dissatisfaction has been achieved, it is important to focus on bringing into action motivating factors that ensure job satisfaction and subsequently achieve high labor results.
Employee learning is important to improve staff performance through training to strengthen awareness of and engagement in corporate culture. A higher level of knowledge and skills is likely to enhance customer service and employees’ job satisfaction. A person cannot be happy with work if management does not care about him or her. Employees need understanding and attention to their unique qualities on the part of management. Failing to see the connection between the work and the satisfaction of another person or group of people, an employee cannot be happy for a long time; therefore, training is required for both of the identified needs.
The learning needs identified in the previous paragraphs require a set for training sessions to ensure an appropriate understanding of the materials to be provided to employees. Each of the three sessions will be based on a particular format of training, such as a webinar, group discussions, and shadowing, which will be conducted in the given sequence (Table 1). The latter will make sure that the staff receives necessary materials, discusses them in a group, and applies them in practice.
The learning transfer refers to the ability of an employee to successfully use knowledge and skills for the job. In this connection, the given sequence of training sessions will improve this ability and make the entire process of learning logical and structured. Upon the completion of the training program, learners should be able to understand, value, and a part of Walmart’s corporate culture, and job satisfaction (motivation to work) should increase.
Table 1. The sessions of employee training at Walmart.
Webinars are an online alternative to training for employees of enterprises. On the one hand, they allow companies to save on travel expenses and conference support for in-person events (Martin, Kolomitro & Lam 2014). On the other hand, they increase the speed of transferring skills and obtaining information necessary for employees to perform their functions (Haritha & Reddy 2017). Along with other advantages, the opportunity to record webinars for reuse makes this form of corporate training rather attractive for companies. Among the disadvantages of webinars, one may note technical problems, along with a lack of environmental control and body language.
The core tasks that are covered by the introduction of webinars are standardized distance learning for mass professions, pre-and post-training support for the educational process, organization of experience exchange, and collection of best practices. The training content available at the company for training needs is to be adapted for training in a webinar format, which is expressed in dividing the material into shorter modules and developing skills in a full-time format.
First of all, it is critical to decide who will conduct the webinar in the stores of Walmart. It can be an external trainer or the internal company educator, such as an experienced internal employee, mentor, or full-time corporate trainer. If the company does not provide for an internal corporate trainer, the role of a training mentor can be transferred to the immediate supervisor, senior manager, or HR manager (Suhasini & Suganthalakshmi 2015).
The way the webinar will be organized largely depends on the functionality of the chosen platform (Malik et al. 2015). The participants should be able to ask questions during the presentation in the chat, and for the speaker not to be constantly distracted by them, it is better to start the webinar with greetings, clarifying the rules, and indicating the time of questions and answers.
Presentation slide show, webcam broadcasting, a common board, screen sharing, video, and surveys compose the main functions of the webinar platforms. Depending on its capabilities, one can track the activity of participants and record an event. Before buying a platform, one should check the technical specifications of a corporate communication channel as this will determine the possibilities of using the entire set of functions of the selected web class. Walmart supports the intention of its customers to enhance their skills and competencies, assisting with funding (Education benefits policy 2018). Accordingly, the development of an individual webinar platform can be considered for using it across stores in different countries.
Many companies are gradually coming to the understanding that a corporate training system cannot be built solely on a full-time or distance format. There is a need to use various tools and, as a result, blended learning programs for employees should be designed. In addition to the webinar, the subsequent session is to be based on the method of group discussion that revitalizes the learning process and activates the cognitive activity of the audience (Sessa & London 2015).
It also allows the trainer to manage the collective opinion of the group, referring to it to persuade and overcome negative attitudes and erroneous opinions. The effect of the discussion is achieved only with the correct selection of questions for the discussion and purposeful management, as well as the use of computer-based training systems. One can also offer to analyze and discuss specific situations and material that can serve as the training task: for example, a short educational video.
During the group discussion, the educator is to give individual examples in the form of situations or illustrations and invite learners to briefly discuss them, followed by a brief analysis and conclusions. Trainees are to analyze and discuss these micro-situations in cooperation, with the entire audience. In turn, the teacher should try to increase the participation in the discussion by using the issues addressed to individual employees, especially those who are not active (Ford 2014). The paramount objective of this session is to present different opinions to develop the discussion, trying to direct employee’s attitudes in the right direction (Valleala et al. 2015). Relying on the correct statements and analyzing the wrong ones, the trainer should unobtrusively yet convincingly lead to a collective conclusion or generalization.
Group discussions provide the fullest possible use of the experience of the audience, contributing to their better assimilation of the material obtained. Bridger (2015) states that it is not the teacher who tells the learners how it should be, what is right, and they develop evidence and substantiate principles and approaches collectively. For example, listeners have described the conflict situation in the interaction with a customer, and the group is invited to find the mistakes made by the salesperson, either indicating the qualities that distinguish successful service provision or finding the strategies to improve motivation to address this situation. Group discussions may present such challenges as individual domination of some learners and compromising decisions.
To develop engagement in Walmart’s corporate culture, it is essential to focus on the concept of cultural intelligence. Developed by Earley and Mosakowski, it refers to the ability of a person to effectively interact with representatives of different cultures, recognize unfamiliar and ambiguously interpreted signals, and obtain the necessary knowledge about cultural characteristics (Moeller 2015; Thomas et al. 2015; Simpson 2016). By mastering this competence, employees will be able to anticipate the consequences of communication and interaction with different customers and behave constructively in this context (Bele 2016; Bücker et al. 2014). In a broader sense, cultural intelligence should be understood as the ability to comprehend unfamiliar contexts and adapt to them.
The third session is to be devoted to translating knowledge and skills studied into practice. Shadowing training is currently actively used in Europe and the US; namely, 71 percent of the UK-based companies actively use it in their work (Marlowe, Brown & Zheng 2016). The method of shadowing implies that an employee becomes the “shadow” of a more experienced specialist for some time. The former should observe the process of work, participate to negotiate, and performs easy tasks. Most importantly, asks questions to learn the basics and more detailed responsibilities for future work. After such training, learners show greater zeal for the profession and adequately assess their abilities and level of professionalism. Among the drawbacks of this method, there can be a lack of comfort, long working hours, or workplace setup.
This method of training is applied at various levels of staff, from low-level workers to the leaders of a company. In the case of Walmart, the employees already know their job responsibilities, but it is required to improve their motivation and cultural engagement. The company should offer these employees to become the “shadow” of the current leaders within 2-3 days (Jaworski et al. 2018). Playing the role of the “shadow” of the leader, the employee observes and records all working and personal moments. It will allow accumulating information related to the features of the position, determine how knowledge and skills should be used, what tasks are to be set for, and how they will need to be addressed (Aruna & Anitha 2015; Suibhne & Finnerty 2014). After performing the necessary observation, employees are to draw conclusions and provide a report on them.
Delivery
To make sure that employees will properly learn new materials and adopt the relevant skills and knowledge, it is important to prepare them in advance. Clear instructions should be sent to the participants of the training, with a detailed explanation of its purpose. A good idea of the program content, tone, and expected outcomes should be identified before the sessions. It should also be clarified that this training aims to positive changes, which will benefit both the team members and the company. No punitive measures can be applied to those who will show a relatively low level of mastering the program content since the process of increasing motivation and loyalty to the company is a long-term practice.
Another critical preparation issue is associated with the physical environment of the place that is selected for training. Since the first session implies an online format, the webinar platform should be chosen or designed and adjusted, if necessary. For the second session, the trainer should observe the room in advance and establish its size for equipment and all the participants. It is possible to recommend choosing a horseshoe-style room layout due to its ability to encourage interaction between learners. The lighting should be appropriate, and the room should have a projector with remote control, a whiteboard, speakers, and a lectern. In addition, ventilation, accessibility, distractions, and refreshments should also be considered. The third session is to be conducted directly in the workplace, and no specific adjustments will be required.
Considering the content of the training program and the goals to be pursued, it seems to be beneficial to select a trainer-focused delivery style. One of the key aspects of involvement in the person’s ability to influence what is happening in the organization. This opportunity in the broadest sense includes both offering improvements to the workflow and determining the program of staff development. It is difficult to overestimate the participation of employees in the formation of the training agenda, but the trainer of the company plays a key role in matters of enhancing staff skills and job satisfaction increase.
Speaking of trainers, it is necessary to understand that they are not only and not so much engaged in the actual conduct of training. In addition to routine tasks, the trainer determines the training program, coordinates it with the general development program of the company, evaluates the results, and makes the necessary adjustments. To change people’s behavior, it should be remembered that the training involves the active work of three parties: the trainer, the trainee (training participant), and their managers: before, during the training, and after it. The trainer delivery style provides the chance for experiments and decision-making improvement.
During the program delivery, the trainer should employ feedback to the time point and reach both strong and weak points of learners. Feedback must be given personally, especially negative ones, but outstanding achievements that have made a significant contribution to the common cause can be voiced before colleagues – during the analysis of the work done. Employees will grow rapidly only when there is a well-thought-out feedback system in the team.
To improve the understanding of learners, both materials and feedback can be partially visualized by designing presentations, short videos, or using other tools. It is of great importance to support the employees in difficult work situations, giving them tips on how they can improve and saying thank you for participating in the projects and initiative. This approach will allow the employee to see the big picture of his or her capabilities and begin to think and propose different options. In addition, the program participants can be asked to provide their feedback on the impact of training, the contribution of the trainer, and lessons learned.
Passive learning methods include lectures and seminars; they do not imply a response from the student, so the perception of information largely depends on the desire and motivation of the employee. For groups, it is better to employ an active method of staff training: in this case, it should involve the active participation of each respondent, and the trainer should all of them. Business games, brainstorming, and other collective work tools require maximum concentration.
However, there is no strict division since some learning methods are transitional options that combine independent perception of the material with subsequent active use in the group. In case of a conflict in a group, it is the responsibility of a trainer to identify the reasons and suggest solutions. If there will be a significant division between low and high contributors in the group, the latter should be asked to allow the former to ask and answer.
Evaluation
The assessment of training results is an integral part of the program implementation as the awareness of outcomes allows understanding the training points to be enhanced, eliminated, or adjusted. Evaluation can also be regarded as the process of improving decision-making practices and knowledge levels within the organization (Beevers & Rea 2016). The evaluation planning process should contain the identification of its scope, timeline, the selection of a model, and preparation of assessment instruments. About Walmart, it seems to be useful to apply Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels theory to review the results from different perspectives.
In the middle of the 20th century, Donald Kirkpatrick proposed a conceptual approach to the evaluation of training programs, which later became a classic. This system is used to detect changes in the behaviors of employees in the workplace. While getting competent feedback is a paramount task in business training, Kirkpatrick’s system allows understanding how differences in behaviors affect the organization, how the employee behaviors changed, whether they like training or not, what they plan to do with new knowledge, and so on (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick (2016).).
The key advantage of this theory is that it is a systematic approach to assessing the success of training based on four levels: reactions, learning, transfer, and results. The difficulty of measuring the third level along with the unwillingness of some employees to undergo an assessment procedure or work with trainers is the limitation.
At the first level of reaction, one should try to learn how the initiative participants react to the education they receive. It is important to know how they will use the acquired skills and knowledge (Kennedy et al. 2014). Response sheets, reaction questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups are viable approaches for addressing the matter. The second level of learning will involve a broader evaluation of the participants’ degree of learning, formation of new connections, and overall change in knowledge and attitude (Aluko & Shonubi 2014). To quantify the progress in learning, specially designed questionnaires, exercises and tests are to be used. The tools necessary for assessing the second level of the model are a test for knowledge of the material studied, a sheet of skills testing, or it can be an assignment for action plan development.
The transfer is the third level that is useful to reveal whether the behaviors of participants have changed after the training and whether they apply any of the acquired skills and knowledge in their workplace. A behavior checklist or a review seems to be beneficial for this level (Diamantidis & Chatzoglou 2014).
The following questions can be used in the review test: whether new knowledge was obtained; how much work behaviors have improved as a result of training; how much they were able to apply training in their work; if they still have not succeeded, et cetera. Ultimately, the fourth level of results is a summative evaluation to assess the outcomes in terms of cost savings or output enhancements. One should stress that the participants will be the primary cause of any changes that occur, such as improvements in sales, quality, or productivity.
The proposed training evaluation is to be implemented within two months after the education completion. When analyzing the results, the specific issues that are related to a specific level should be assessed. The extent of learning transfer and learning objectives met, including employee job satisfaction and cultural engagement, are to be taken into account. The findings of the evaluation will be documented and sent to the store managers and the chief management, which, in turn, should be explained to the lower-level employees.
Conclusion
This paper focused on the examination of Walmart employees’ learning needs and proposed a training program to improve their knowledge and skills. It was revealed that staff faces such challenges as low job satisfaction and a lack of engagement in the company’s corporate culture. Even though Walmart tries to introduce new initiatives for its employees, there is still much to be done to enhance the situation. The program included three consecutive sessions: a webinar, group discussion, and shadowing. The consideration of training delivery should focus on feedback, preliminary staff preparation, physical environment check-up, and group management. Ultimately, Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels was proposed for the evaluation purposes.
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