It is expected that in 2007, Wal-Mart will move many of the 1.3 million workers from predictable shifts to a flexible scheduling system in which the shifts will be determined by the number of customers in stores at any given time.
Some other companies who have adopted the flexible scheduling of their workforce include: Payless ShoeSource Inc., RadioShack Corp. and Mervyns LLC. In Payless the system is expected to be operational in 300 of the 4000 stores by the end of January 2007. The software system is designed by Kronos Inc., and it tracks individual store sales, transactions, units sold and customer traffic in 15 minute increments over seven weeks. The data is compared to that of the previous year before scheduling workers.
These scheduling systems, while potentially helpful for the retailers and customers, may not be such a welcome change for the workers. Unpredictability in work schedules mean one is expected to be "on call" to take care of customer surges. There could also be potential adverse implications on worker salaries.
Souce: "Wal-Mart Seeks New Flexibility in Worker Shifts," by Kris Maher, WSJ, Jan. 3 2007, pp. A1 & A11.