Nicholas has come a long way since he got his first job as a Walmart cashier when he was 16 years old. Eleven years later, as Walmart’s Divisional Learning and Development Manager for the Northeastern United States, his early career is still fresh in his mind.
Having worked in electronics, customer service, accounting and associate training, he knows the entire operation well, which makes it easier to create programs that facilitate learning and growth for all Walmart associates.
73% of Walmart's store management team started as hourly associates.
As Nicholas says, “The great thing about Walmart is I have had the opportunity to do different jobs, learn new things, and meet great people...all while working for the same great company.”
Staying with Walmart and working up in the company is something Nicholas shares with many of his fellow associates. Just last year, for example, more than 138,000 hourly store associates were promoted to new positions within the company.1 In fact, 73% of the current Walmart store management team started as hourly associates.2 For an associate to see how far hard work, talent and ambition can take them with the company, all they have to do is look around.
1 Walmart HR Analytics & Data Analysis, February 1, 2009 - January 31, 2010
2 Walmart HRInsight Data: Walmart U.S., January 2010
3 Corporate Fact Sheet, March 2010
4 Corporate Fact Sheet, March 2010
Of course, there are also the financial benefits of working at Walmart. Walmart provides good jobs with competitive pay and benefits. For example, our average, full-time hourly wage for Walmart stores is $11.75 and is even higher in urban areas.3 And in 2009, Walmart awarded approximately $2 billion to U.S. hourly associates through financial incentives, including bonuses, profit sharing and 401(k) contributions, along with hundreds of millions of dollars in merchandise discounts and contributions to the associate stock purchase plan.4
Not all associates will rise as fast as Nicholas, but the opportunity is there for all. Where you start out is no indication of how far you’ll go. Nicholas Qualman is living proof. To learn more about where Walmart associates are going and what they’re doing to improve their communities, visit Walmartcommunity.com.
