Walmart Begins Holiday Supply Chain Hiring Spree

 

It’s not even autumn yet, but the world’s largest retailer is already looking the deck the halls of its supply chain in anticipation of the holiday season. Walmart hopes the addition of 20,000 full- and part-time Supply Chain professionals will help it maintain an edge over competitors like Amazon during the busiest shopping days of the year.

The Seasonal Supply Chain: Challenges Ahead

The nation’s biggest private workforce will grow thanks to more than 250 hiring events at Walmart and Sam’s Club facilities across the nation on both September 8^th and 9^th. Open positions range from freight handlers and lift drivers to managerial roles along Wal-Mart’s supply chain.

In addition to stiff competition from other e-tailers and retailers, Wal-Mart faces complications from the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic and labor shortage. The virus has slowed down manufacturing, shipping, and other essential supply chain stages for more than a year and these issues (along with related congestion and volatility) look certain to continue into 2022.

Standing Out in the Search for Supply Chain Talent

Last year, Walmart responded to unprecedented digital demand by hiring around 20,000 employees to full and part-time jobs. This was the organization’s first significant holiday hiring spree in a half decade. In-person shopping has become safer and more popular in the last year as vaccines have helped to mitigate infection risk, but online retail promises to define the holiday season yet again.

Walmart is touting competitive salaries (averaging $20.37/hour) as well as several new benefits. The organization has begun offering new bonuses to warehouse staff and covering education costs for certain employees. Beginning in October, Walmart will incentivize prospects and employees alike to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by offering an additional bonus. Many competitors are offering similar perks. Amazon, CVS Health, and Walgreens Boots Alliance have all announced plans to boost wages for new employees and Target operates a college program of its own.

Experts suggest they’ve all got their work cut out for them as 2021 draws to a close. Brian Devine, the Senior Vice President of ProLogistix, a staffing firm whose clients include retail giants like Walmart and Target, sounds particularly pessimistic. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, he remarks, “There’ssimply not enough human beings to fill all the open positions.”

What Do Candidates Want? 

With a huge number of open positions to fill, organizations ranging from small businesses to titans like Walmart are hard at work trying to learn what leading candidates want and equipping themselves to offer it.

Across industries and experience levels, leading candidates tend to want many of the same things:

• Flexibility: One-size-fits-all approaches are anathema to results. Employees know this, which is why they develop their own strategies for addressing common tasks and overcoming obstacles. Organizations claim to believe this, but all too often ask candidates and employees to operate within rigid systems that stifle innovation and tarnish morale. 
• Opportunity: Nobody wants a dead-end job. Even long-time employees won’t hesitate to leave if they get a sense that they’re bound to be stuck in the same position forever. To stand out, organizations need to regularly consult their people to ensure they’re offering a variety of responsibilities and providing adequate room for everyone at every level to grow. 
• A Sense of Purpose: Professionals want to know that their actions at work have an impact and that their employers have a positive effect on the world at large. Survey data regularly shows that younger professionals in particular are eager to work for mission-driven organizations that do more than just talk the talk when it comes to critical issues. 

Staff Your Supply Chain

Looking for temporary Procurement and Supply Chain hires to meet seasonal need, support major initiatives, or explore a new category? Corcentric’s recruiting and staffing experts may be able to help. Check out this case study describing an engagement with a North American pharmaceutical leader.