Question

Case: Happy and Healthy Talent Transformation at Walgreens Walgreens has served its pharmacy customers for over 100 years in its 13,000 worldwide retail stores at “the corner of happy and healthy.” The company is facing major changes in its core business model due to technology innovations and changing customer shopping preferences. Many transactions that once took place in a retail outlet now occur online. The focus has shifted to putting the customer at the heart of everything. Data and analytics are used to forecast demand for a wide range of products, and then supply chain professionals work backward to determine how to obtain the goods that customers will want. The transition to a customer-driven supply chain approach requires Walgreens to become more analytical and agile. This is placing greater pressure on the HR function to recruit and retain the necessary talent. Distribution center managers today need not only strong operational skills but also the capability of working collaboratively across functions. Prior to the digital revolution, distribution centers ran two shifts Monday through Friday to support store demand. In today’s environment, those centers are now operating 24/7 with line employees working in a lean team-based environment that is focused on continuous improvement. General managers and team leaders now work variable shifts so that they can connect with all team members from time to time. Working off-shifts and unpredictable schedules creates recruiting difficulties for the company. Further, experts in supply chain favor living in urban centers rather than remote locations outside of the city. One of the ways that Walgreens HR staff addressed these staffing issues was to identify colleges whose graduates tended to take jobs in operations rather than corporate supply chain functions. They increased their presence on campus to ensure that students would identify appropriate supply chain operations jobs at Walgreens. Another key element to their staffing plan involved an internship program. Recruiters targeted colleges and universities located near each of the company’s nine distribution centers. They paid visits to each campus, connected with instructors in the supply chain programs, and promoted internship opportunities that would provide meaningful, relevant work to students. In its first year, the company hired 27 interns who were assigned a continuous improvement project. Another emphasis in Walgreens talent management efforts is to identify individuals with analytical and planning skills to ensure that in-demand products are always in stock and available to customers. Supply chain professionals use sophistical software solutions and synthesize information from a variety of sources to make important inventory decisions. This segment of the company is looking for connections to universities that specialize in supply chain analytics. Current employees who graduated from those schools play an integral role in career fairs and linking up with student clubs and organizations in the field of supply chain. Finally, Walgreens is working to enhance its reputation in the professional community. An evening event held at the Chicago-based Walgreens University showcased the company’s supply chain programs to individuals already working in the profession. Curriculum at the corporate university includes many courses on the tactical, strategic, and leadership skills needed in the new world of supply chain demands. All of the elements of Walgreen’s talent management approach are aimed at finding and growing the talent needed to become a best-in-class supply chain organization.

Footnote Questions:
1. What are other ways that Walgreens can improve its image as a leader in supply chain considering it is competing with companies like Amazon? How can Walgreens differentiate itself to become attractive to hard-to-find supply chain experts? 2. What additional development would be important to retain supply chain interns and professionals who join the Walgreens team?

Text: S. Valentine, P. Meglich, R. L. Mathis, & J. H. Jackson. (2019). Human resource management (16th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Answer 1