Wal-Mart has decided that it will use computers to match store traffic to the number of workers it has in its stores. The idea is novel, but its puts the burden on the retailer’s workforce to show up only when its is needed. And, leave when it is not. Other chains, including RadioShack, have similar systems.
A number of Wal-Mart’s employees will not be "on call" the way that doctors are. The major difference is that doctors are paid more for their trouble.
The move by Wal-Mart is seen as a way to increase productivity and make the customer experience better by having the number of employees needed to service rises in store traffic.
The system has a certain genius all its own. It can move workers out of the stores when traffic dips, and balances productivity at the big retail chain squarely on the backs of its lowest paid workers.
The systems does have the chance of back firing. It is just the kind of employee flogging that a new Democratic Congress would love to challenge as an "unfair" labor practice.
Wal-Mart takes a fairly big gamble with the move. If it works, it could substantially improve margins at a time when same-store sales are falling apart.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.
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