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

沃尔玛 成为新闻头条 2021年 开始全额支付大学学费 课本费用是所有学校的第一天福利.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 计划，并要求在注册前90天的服务. 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, 沃尔玛“生活得更好”的主管, 告诉total Insights. The program allows 员工 to pursue long-held aspirations and create a better future for themselves, 她说.

这也确保了沃尔玛有一个更光明的未来. Investing in employee education has far-reaching benefits that can future-proof a business, 比如在劳动力普遍短缺的情况下建立一个强大的人才管道, 提高生产率, 播下持久的善意.

在当今混乱的劳动力市场中，企业领导人应该注意到这一点.

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

沃尔玛对其教育合作伙伴关系采取了精确的方法, with an eye to ensuring not just the happiness of its 员工 but 沃尔玛’s own continued success.

“我们提供的教育直接关系到我们作为一家企业将如何发展,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, 比如工商管理, 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, 随着医疗保健和科技领域的发展.

“我们已经能够利用学生的兴趣, 与我们业务的增长领域相结合, and put together a portfolio that’s pretty extensive for our associates to choose from, 无论他们处于教育生涯的哪个阶段,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.

培养本土领导者可以降低招聘和人员流失成本

随着参加“生活得更好”计划的沃尔玛员工数量的增长, 公司内部晋升的次数也是如此. In 2021, 超过300人,000名美国员工被提升到责任更大、薪水更高的职位. The aforementioned Lumina Foundation study found that 生活得更好 education program participants were about 晋升的可能性要高出80% 比未参加者.

“生活得更好”项目的创建重点是职业流动性, 所以员工会留下来和公司一起成长. “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.”

沃尔玛在提升自己的员工方面有着良好的记录. 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.)

沃尔玛拥有“世界上最大的人才库之一”,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. 这绝对是沃尔玛的战略举措, 我们继续从这个项目中看到惊人的结果.”

资助员工教育提高生产力和敬业度——现在和将来

The Lumina Foundation study also found that 沃尔玛 员工 who participate in the 生活得更好 program 表现明显更好 在工作中, 不仅仅是与没有入学的同龄人相比, 但与他们加入项目前的工作经历相比. Employee performance ratings increased by an average of 10 percentage points within six months of enrolling, 根据这项研究.

其他数据也表明，学习者会成为更好的员工. 根据领英最近的职场学习 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.

投资员工教育创造持久的商誉

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 以及一位过去曾与沃尔玛合作过的教育专家. 当员工离开沃尔玛时, 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, 进一步确保源源不断的人才和客户. “他们现在可能在别的地方找到了一份重要的工作,格利克曼说, “但他们将是沃尔玛的终身顾客.”

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 沃顿商学院人力资源中心主任 at the University of Pennsylvania. 远程教育不需要食宿费用, 学费报销计划最高可抵税5美元,每年250美元. “It’s the kind of corporate benefit that can be very generous without costing so much,他说, 他补充说，这些程序比以往任何时候都更有利于员工, 这要归功于更低的参与门槛. “现在更容易访问，因为这些课程几乎都是在线的.”

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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