Walmart CEO explains what are the most coveted skills and points for store managers

Walmart welcomed more than 300 experts in work and representatives of other companies participating in the WorkForce initiative on Thursday, adjustment, a development project and stable jobs depending on what people know how to do the university.

The retailer has already launched its own training and certification programs for employees to meet Walmart’s needs for truck drivers and maintenance technicians, two roles for which American companies say they do not recruit quickly while experienced commercial people are retiring.

Walmart says that it plans to offer a similar AI skills program next year thanks to a new collaboration with Openai, the company behind Chatgpt.

The Associated Press sat with the CEO of Walmart, Doug McMillon, at the sprawling headquarters of the company in Bentonville, in Arkansas, to speak of the AI ​​and the American workforce. The interview was published for more clarity and length.

AP: What is your opinion on the overall health of the labor market, given uncertainty about prices and the economy?

McMillon: I would say about a state of equilibrium. Turnover numbers drop. I remember what happened during the pandemic and in relation to this experience, things seem much more stable now. I think that the pace of change on the job market is simply more and smaller.

AP: What are the most important factors affecting Walmart workers? Fear of AI, or their pay checks not following the pace of inflation?

McMillon: We continue to invest in wages. So I think it helps some, and this process will continue. Regarding AI and the future of employment, I think that for the most part, our people are enthusiastic about it because they have seen new tools that they receive that improve their work. This helps them take fewer measures.

And our sales are increasing so much. I think people are optimistic about the future of what their lives can look like.

AP: What work could be eliminated or added due to AI?

McMillon: I think nobody knows how it will be playing exactly. And the way it does me is that, essentially, each work changes. And I think the best way to think about it is to become “released”. So, how can I look into the role I have, whatever this role, to adopt new tools, to exploit them and to make things better than they would have been otherwise?

As I look in our company, we have everything, from stores to stores to the partners of the supply chain. Of the 2.1 million people (worldwide), something less than 75,000 of them are home office jobs. All others work in a store, a club, a distribution center. And I think these jobs change more gradually. We will always want to serve customers and members with people. Change with regard to home office jobs probably occurs more quickly.

AP: When will you have a clearer idea?

McMillon: I don’t know there will be a time when we will all have clarity. I think that the way for all of us to approach it, especially here at Walmart, is just in a very transparent, honest, human, simple way, to talk to people in real time of what we learn and what we do and why we do it. This is how we plan to direct through it.

AP: Do you think AI will result in fewer workers at Walmart?

McMillon: One of the largest areas of change in the last decade is linked to the partners who operate in our stores, by choosing delivery and collection orders for our customers. And we have something north of 200,000 people doing this job, and yet we have roughly the same (total) people working in Walmart Us

How did we do this? Other tasks and other jobs have changed, which allowed us to create new jobs that have paid more and have fewer older jobs that have disappeared. I hope that what will happen by leading to this subject is that there will be advantages and disadvantages, but the net will end up being even more people because we have more ideas on how to grow.

AP: In your opinion, what are the most coveted skills?

McMillon: The first thing that comes to mind is store managers. Being a store manager is an excellent job and such difficult job. And it’s a work that pays well, and it pays well for a reason. You interact with the community with a large number of people. You have a large number of partners. You have major sales numbers to deliver. And these skills that the store manager has is both human and technical. I think the skills we have as human beings are precious. They have always been, and it will be even more true in the future.

AP: Why are there shortages in roles like maintenance technicians?

McMillon: To a certain extent, it is a lack of conscience. I think most Americans probably do not know what a technology is doing that helps take care of our stores and clubs and that we can help them learn to be a technology. The same is true for our drivers. So we need to pass the word so that people know that there are excellent jobs.

AP: Do you think Walmart will be able to fill gaps such as the narrowed immigrant swimming pool?

McMillon: We have been able to do so so far, and I expect that we will continue to find great people who want to join the company and our rolling rates are declining, which is useful.

AP: What is the criticism of this initiative focused on skills based on skills?

McMillon: I think that when we all work to learn and sail in the future towards a world where AI holds its promise, the best way to do it is to work together and share information and learn together. This will accelerate our ability to get ahead of this so that we can do a better work of definition of our partners to succeed. And that is ultimately what we are trying to do. The change in the world will occur. Our choice is to lean, to learn (and) to help direct, so there are better results for all the people involved.

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