Enterprise Case Study: How 100% Tuition Reimbursement Future-proofs 沃尔玛’s Business

沃尔玛 成为新闻头条 2021年 began covering 100% of college tuition and textbook costs as a day-one benefit for all of its 1.600万美元. 员工. The company had previously charged associates of 沃尔玛 and Sam’s Club a dollar a day to participate in its 生活得更好 program and required 90 days of service prior to enrolling. The changes have been well received: Participation was more than 500% higher in 2021 than it was in 2019, 根据最新的 来自沃尔玛的数据. Employees who participate are also more engaged in their work and are being promoted sooner than their peers, 根据… 2021年的研究 Lumina基金会赞助的.

“We removed another financial barrier for our associates so that they can have access to education that they likely haven’t had in the past,贝丝·威廉姆斯-摩尔, Director of 生活得更好 at 沃尔玛, 告诉total Insights. The program allows 员工 to pursue long-held aspirations and create a better future for themselves, 她说.

It also ensures a brighter future for 沃尔玛. Investing in employee education has far-reaching benefits that can future-proof a business, such as creating a robust talent pipeline amid widespread labor shortages, 提高生产率, and seeding long-lasting goodwill.

In today’s topsy-turvy labor market, corporate leaders should take note.

Done Well, Tuition Reimbursement Creates a Robust Talent Pipeline for Hard-to-fill Roles

沃尔玛 took a precision approach to its educational partnerships, with an eye to ensuring not just the happiness of its 员工 but 沃尔玛’s own continued success.

“Our education offerings tie directly to how we’re going to grow as a business,威廉姆斯-摩尔说, noting that 沃尔玛 will invest nearly $1 billion over the next five years in career training and development for workers who want to pursue majors in high-demand areas, such as business administration, 软件工程, 供应链分析, 和网络安全. 到目前为止, business-related fields make up half of all 生活得更好 college degree program enrollments, with healthcare and technology fields gaining traction.

“We’ve been able to utilize the interests of our students, mixed with the growth areas of our business, and put together a portfolio that’s pretty extensive for our associates to choose from, no matter where they’re at in their educational career,威廉姆斯-摩尔说.

沃尔玛’s 生活得更好 program differs from some other major companies’ tuition reimbursement programs in that the 员工 may choose from 16 preapproved schools and programs and the company pays tuition upfront, meaning students don’t have to drain their own bank accounts or add debt to their credit cards then wait for reimbursement.

Educating Homegrown Leaders Cuts Hiring and Attrition Costs

As the number of 沃尔玛 员工 enrolled in the 生活得更好 program grows, so does the number of internal promotions at the company. In 2021, 超过300人,000 US 员工 were promoted to jobs of greater responsibility and higher pay. The aforementioned Lumina Foundation study found that 生活得更好 education program participants were about 80% more likely to be promoted 比未参加者.

The 生活得更好 program was created with a focus on career mobility, so associates stay and grow with the company. “We’ll be able to not only upskill and rescale folks for the job that they have today but the job for tomorrow as well,威廉姆斯-摩尔说. “It’s definitely a lever which we’re able to pull to help future-proof the workforce.”

沃尔玛 has a proven track record of advancing its own 员工. 超过 75% of 沃尔玛’s US store operations management team members started as hourly 员工. (最著名, 沃尔玛 CEO Doug McMillon got his start unloading trucks at a 沃尔玛 distribution center in Fayetteville, 阿肯色州, 当他还是个青少年的时候.)

沃尔玛 has access to one of the “biggest talent pools out there,威廉姆斯-摩尔说, and investing in its 员工’ education will “fuel the future of our business and set ourselves up to be in existence for many years to come. It’s definitely a strategic initiative for 沃尔玛, and we continue to see fantastic results from the program.”

Funding Employee Education Improves 产品ivity and Engagement—Now and Later

The Lumina Foundation study also found that 沃尔玛 员工 who participate in the 生活得更好 program perform significantly better 在工作中, not just compared to their peers who didn’t enroll, but compared to their own work history before joining the program. Employee performance ratings increased by an average of 10 percentage points within six months of enrolling, 根据这项研究.

Other data also suggests that learners make better workers. According to LinkedIn’s most recent workplace learning 报告, eager learners who engage in five or more hours of learning per week are 74% more likely to know where they want to go in their career and 48% more likely to have found purpose in their work than 员工 who spend less than an hour a week actively learning.

Investing in Employee Education Creates Long-lasting Goodwill

A bonus benefit for companies offering employee tuition reimbursement is that the organization starts to build employee brand ambassadors, 说 Sallie格利克曼的联合创始人兼首席执行官 《欧博体育app下载》! 网络 and an education expert who has worked with 沃尔玛 in the past. When 员工 do leave 沃尔玛, 她说, they’ll remember that the company helped pay for their education and pave the way for future success.

That goodwill means former 员工 are likely to recommend 沃尔玛 as a good place to work, further ensuring a never-ending pipeline of talent—and customers. “They might have a big job somewhere else now,格利克曼说, “but they’ll be 沃尔玛 customers for life.”

更重要的是, a generous education reimbursement program benefits both employee and employer at relatively moderate costs, 彼得·卡佩里说, a professor of management and the director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources at the University of Pennsylvania. Remote-education options don’t require room and board fees, and tuition-reimbursement programs are tax-deductible up to $5,每年250美元. “It’s the kind of corporate benefit that can be very generous without costing so much,他说, adding that these programs are more worker-friendly than ever, thanks to lower barriers to participation. “Now it’s easier to access because these programs are almost all online.”

In a time when companies are struggling to recruit and retain high-quality workers, offering 员工 a clear and easy pathway to career advancement is a symbiotic no-brainer. “Anytime you can do something that gets your 员工 to stick with you and feel good about your brand, 这是聪明的生意,格利克曼说. “It’s a win for the employee, it’s a win for the employer, and there’s no downside.”

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