Walmart’s New Approach to Scheduling, Flexibility

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By Jennifer Parris

It goes without saying that employers want to use their workers to the best of their abilities, including maximizing when they can (and can’t) work. But for many organizations, employees might find themselves “shift insecure,” meaning that they aren’t sure when they might be called in to work.

They might even be called in at the last minute to cover a shift.

But Walmart is looking to change all that. As the nation’s largest private employer, Walmart is launching a new scheduling program that is designed to give employees more control over their work schedules—and their lives. The new system, called Customer First Scheduling, can electronically pinpoint the busiest shopping times for Walmart stores and then schedule staff according to that information. This program launched in all of the 650 small-format neighborhood markets in July, and eventually Walmart plans to use the system nationwide.

“The needs of customers are changing and so are the needs of associates, who want more control and ownership of their schedule and better visibility into available hours,” Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg told FlexJobs. “Walmart’s new scheduling program is designed to get the right people in the right place at the right time to better serve customers.”

For both Walmart as well as its employees, the new system is a win-win. Not only does it ensure that each store has enough employee coverage to help during peak shopping hours, but some employees will have the ability to set fixed schedules with the same hours and days for up to six months.Currently, Walmart associates without fixed schedules receive their schedules 17 days in advance, so they know 2-1/2 weeks ahead of time when they will (or won’t) be working. Employees will only be scheduled during their true availability (the times they told the store they are available to work each week) and will need to show up and report to work those shifts they are scheduled for.

Walmart’s new scheduling system, called Customer First Scheduling, can electronically pinpoint the busiest shopping times for Walmart stores and then schedule staff according to that information. This program launched in all of the 650 small-format neighborhood markets in July, and eventually Walmart plans to use the system nationwide.

How could this affect other businesses? Well, when Walmart implements new initiatives, other big businesses tend to notice. Case in point: when Walmart raised its minimum wage for its lowest-paid workers, retailers such as Target and Costco followed suit. And Starbucks has announced that it will not only raise minimum wage, but also create a new scheduling system that will grant workers more hours.

In the age of flexible work, Walmart’s new scheduling system seems to be a big step forward. It allows employees to have greater control over their schedules by avoiding last-minute call-ins or the ability to have a fixed schedule for workers who want one. This can help them feel less powerless at work. And in turn, the scheduling system can help aid in employee retention, which is often a sticking point for large retailers. It will be interesting to see what sort of effect Walmart’s latest initiative in improving employer-employee relations will have on other companies in the future.

Read on for additional flex work news, and connect with FlexJobs today to discover a better way to recruit remote talent!