A dedicated Walmart store manager in the Dallas area has revealed the staggering amount of money he can take home each year.
Greg Harden, who has worked as a Walmart store manager for more than a decade, said he could earn up to $530,000 this year.
“I almost fainted when I found out,” she said. Bloomberg.
After suffering from high management turnover, Walmart overhauled its compensation scheme in a desperate move to retain top-level employees.
Under the new pay system, managers can supplement their base salary with stock donations and bonuses.
Their salaries increased from $117,000 a year to $128,000 a year. And managers will be eligible to receive stock grants worth up to $20,000.
Walmart store manager Greg Harden (second from right, bottom row) and his team pose for a photo. Dallas-area store generates more than $100 million in sales annually
Cedric Clark (pictured), executive vice president of store operations at Walmart. In an effort to increase retention, the retailer has enhanced salary and stock incentives for its store managers, whose individual locations employ hundreds and can exceed $100 million in annual sales.
Walmart also changed its calculation for determining a manager’s bonus. Under the new system, bonus payments largely depend on the store’s performance.
“If you hit all the targets, your bonus could be up to 200% of your base salary,” said Cedric Clark, Walmart’s executive vice president of store operations, in a note seen by Bloomberg.
So far, the new compensation package seems to be working for Walmart. According to Clark, job retention has improved and there has been a reduction in turnover rates.
He also noted that engagement scores that measure managers’ attitudes toward work have increased.
Data from Revelio Labs Inc., a human resources analytics company, corroborates Clark’s claim to some extent.
According to Revelio, over the past year, Walmart’s annual attrition rate fell about two percentage points to about 21 percent.
Managers say they can see a difference in the quality of the work environment.
“It’s been day and night,” Harden said.
Walmart decided to revamp its company culture after it became clear that its competitors had a significant advantage in retaining highly trained managers.
Walmart manager Greg Harden points to a sign during a meeting at his Dallas-area store, where he oversees about $100 million in sales a year.
Former Walmart store leader John Mincey is promoted to store manager at Walmart in Tifton, Georgia. Walmart store managers, when promoted, have accumulated an enormous amount of institutional knowledge.
Walmart Inc. Chairman and CEO Doug McMillon delivers a keynote speech during CES 2024. Since the start of the pandemic, Walmart sales have grown 30 percent
Store manager Greg Harden is capable of earning up to $530,000 a year, with the company’s restructured salary scheme designed to retain top talent.
Just a few years ago, Walmart’s manager exodus was nearly double that of other giant retailers like Home Depot and Target.
In the late 2010s, Walmart reduced its number of managers and loaded those who remained with more onerous workloads and longer hours.
Concerned about the conditions of its hourly workers, the retail giant invested billions in raising their wages, but did not pay much attention to management.
Outdated technology posed another headache for managers, who often became frustrated with the errors they experienced when trying to use their technology.
Oscar Romero, a manager at a Walmart in Calexico, California, where he oversees a staff of 550, said his day used to start with 40 minutes of paperwork.
‘I would have to review reports to see my sales. If you wanted to see the inventory, you would have to consult another report.
In addition to improved management systems, managers are also receiving better benefits, including telehealth and doula services.
According to Bloomberg, Walmart managers are asked to do a great job.
The retailer’s Supercenters are, on average, about 178,000 square feet, tens of thousands of square feet larger than Costco and Target stores. And they offer more services that managers oversee.
Body shops and pharmacies are included under the umbrella that a few managers are responsible for, and many stores have mini-warehouses in the back where hundreds of pallets of products are moved each day.
Bloomberg reported that one manager estimates he sells an entire truckload of dog food every day of the week.
John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart. Since 2021, Walmart executives have been making a concerted effort to listen to store managers’ concerns.
As inflation levels decimate the financial security of middle-class families across the country, Walmart’s low prices and frequent sales have become highly attractive to consumers, creating opportunities for managers to step up their game.
Store manager Vanessa Bennett pictured at her store in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is estimated that about 90 percent of Americans live within 15 minutes of a Walmart.
Harden oversees about 400 employees and more than $100 million in sales each year at one of the largest Walmarts in the Dallas area.
Arrive at work at 7am to get feedback from the night team and check on groceries.
Over the course of a typical day, Harden walks up to six miles through his store, checking that shelves are stocked, price tags are visible and deliveries are going smoothly.
He says he could also talk to up to 200 people throughout the day.
Before the recent top-down changes, he said he arrived at work at 5 a.m. and worked six days a week.
Since 2021, Walmart executives have been listening closely to complaints filed by store managers. “If we make it the best place to work, they will take care of the customer,” said the company’s head of store operations, Cedric Clark.
Improving the lives of employees will ultimately boost store sales, is what Clark and his colleagues believe and are seeing in real time.
Unlike some of its competitors, Walmart has seen continued sales growth since the start of the pandemic four years ago.
As inflation levels decimate the financial security of middle-class families across the country, Walmart’s low prices and frequent sales have become extremely attractive. The company plans to open even more supercenters, each of which will need a new director.
