A Couple More Ideas for the Late Sam Walton's Company

My memory is terrible. I am not exaggerating, ask anyone that loves me and they will tell you that I cannot remember squat. Normally, at least one of my palms is covered in messages and things that I don't want to forget. Sadly, that doesn't always help. But one thing I do remember is when Walmart used to be a great place to work. It offered many chances that other companies didn't, and it gave quite a few people the opportunity to go further with their life then they ever thought possible. If you work for the Happy Hoe Down of Retail for very long, you start to pick up their jargon. One of the big ones that the Walmart crowd likes to use is opportunities. As in they won't say, "You did a really crappy job on that zone." What they will say is, "You have a lot of opportunities with the zone that you just did. Perhaps you want to take another look at it and try again." I am not kidding, I have heard this exact wording come out of more than one manager's mouth. I guess it is nicer way of telling someone that they did a crappy job, but the problem is when euphemisms become the norm, and it covers up what is going on. An example of that would be when Walmart explains that they have " affordable comprehensive insurance coverage" for their associates. This would be a lie. What they have are some insurance choices, and those are getting worse and worse. One of the plans that they have offered has a three thousand dollar deductible! Granted, the premiums are very low, but so what? Who has three thousand dollars that they can just liquidate in case they are in an accident? Not many of the people working for you-know-who, I can tell you that. I remember the first open enrollment when they offered this particular "plan." Even the back office associate whose job it was to explain all the choices was hesitant. She said more than once, "This is coverage in the barest minimum. Having this is insurance in name only. Think very hard before you choose something like this, okay?" So if the people who are selling it can't even endorse it, how bad must it be? Even with my bad memory, I know I have touched on the topic of Walmart doing away with the "coverage" they offer and integrating those folks into other jobs. BlueCross and BlueShield only administers the coverage, they don't actually provide the insurance in question. That would be like McDonald's only serving the hamburgers, not really cooking them for you. Then why bother? Again, I know I've said this before, but why doesn't Walmart just shop that insurance out to the local agents in the area, and let the associates vote on which company they want to award the job to. A win-win, associates get decent coverage at an affordable rate, and some lucky, hardworking insurance company gets a pool of over one hundred potential customers. No one loses in a deal like that. Another "opportunity" for Walmart would be the way they award promotions and allow associates into the management program. Instead of doing it in house, why doesn't Walmart set up a group of associates who travel from store to store and evaluate the personnel who are applying for a particular job promotion or to enter the trainee program? They could even integrate some of those insurance folks who were replaced when the insurance got outsourced? It would be a great chance (or opportunity if you will) for anyone who wanted to travel and see more of the company, wouldn't it? And, best of all, the people applying for these positions would have a more fair chance. Instead of the job going to the associate who kisses the best butt, the associates could actually have a fair and unbiased evaluation of their skills! How cool is that? But again, these are all just suggestions, aren't they? Until more managers start reading this and agreeing with it, about the only option that you have would be to bring it up at the next grassroots meeting. If they let you. Good luck. let me know if it works, and you can thank me later.