Wal-Mart rolls out new staffing software to hone peak-hour scheduling

Dive Brief:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., under pressure from labor groups and policy makers to offer workers more rational, predictable schedules and cut down on last-minute calls to work, is rolling out a new system called Customer First Scheduling to more efficiently staff stores, Reuters reports.
Customer First Scheduling, developed in partnership with JDA-owned workforce software company RedPrairie, is rolling out across all 650 small-format Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market locations across the U.S. The system prioritizes scheduling for peak shopping hours by calculating foot traffic and sales data from every department in the store, then assigns staffers accordingly.
Customer First Scheduling is imperfect from both retailer and worker points of view, however: It doesn’t always suggest staffing at critical times and workers may not see much benefit, especially when it comes to accruing overtime hours, Reuters notes.

Dive Insight:

Algorithms in software are helping retailers cut costs through efficient staffing—a practice known as “just-in-time scheduling.” They are also making life difficult for workers who are trying to manage their households, attend school, work additional jobs or earn enough money to get by.

Cities, states, and the federal government are all taking up the issue. Vermont and San Francisco are among the locales that have already enacted laws giving workers the right to predictable work schedules and time off, known as the “right to request.” New York is considering similar legislation. On the federal level, members of both houses of Congress have introduced the Schedules That Work Act.

The challenge for retailers is to staff stores at times of heavy traffic and ease up on staffing during off-peak hours. For Wal-Mart in particular, it could improve working conditions, which—along with the company’s relatively low wages (even in retail)—have brought the company much bad press.

Improving its reputation as a place unfair to its employees could be a boon to Wal-Mart's efforts to appeal to wealthier, more urban customers. These customers often look askance at companies known for being unfair to employees, sometimes choosing instead to spend their money at retailers that are transparent with their treatment of workers.

To those ends, Wal-Mart is investing $2.7 billion on pay and benefits and has led major retailers in raising minimum wages to $10 per hour. The new scheduling system could also help, Reuters reports. But the moves don’t go far enough, according to the worker advocates who have been angling for such changes for years.

"For workers who have been speaking out, protesting and fasting for $15 and full-time hours, today’s announcement represents a hard-won victory, but without increased pay or additional hours, it falls short of what most associates need to support their families, and or what is needed to improve customer service," the labor group OUR Walmart said in February in response to Wal-Mart's efforts to implement fixed schedules, flexible shifts and other options.