Walmart Coaching Model Analysis
For this assignment, consider the organization where you currently work or an organization where you may have worked in the past as a point of reference for evaluating the coaching model and team-based performance.
(Note: You may create and / or make all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of these assignments. In your original work, you may use aspects of existing processes from either your current or a former place of employment. However, you must remove any and all identifying information that would enable someone to discern the organization[s] that you have used.)
For this assignment, consider the organization where you currently work or an organization where you may have worked in the past as a point of reference for evaluating the coaching model and team-based performance.
(Note: You may create and / or make all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of these assignments. In your original work, you may use aspects of existing processes from either your current or a former place of employment. However, you must remove any and all identifying information that would enable someone to discern the organization[s] that you have used.)
Proactive Coaching in Walmart
Employees play critical roles in helping the organization meet its strategic goals. Walmart fully understands the contribution of human capital, and it has shown this by setting in place employees’ training and performance mechanisms to help the organization meet its global expansion goals. Walmart is aware that the expansion of the organization should go hand in hand with the expansion of human resource needs. This is because, with expansion, new roles and functions will be created that demand specific abilities and skills. Walmart’s training programs are mainly designed to equip employees with essential skills while handling the daily assignments as well as adjusting to emerging job requirements in the retail industry.
Based on the Walmart training goals, the organization can be said to be using proactive coaching. Proactive coaching is defined as the process of training employees new skills about the tasks that might occur in the future (Bourg, Stoltxfus, McManus, & Fry, 2010). When this model is used, the coach allows learners to develop their approaches and ideas on how to handle the task by themselves. By using this coaching approach, Walmart challenges employees to handle the emerging job needs in the retail industry without the involvement of the coach or supervisor. When employees are trained to be proactive, they contribute their best ideas in executing the anticipated functions rather than waiting for the leader to tell them what to do.
Through a proactive coaching approach, Walmart has achieved the goals of maximizing employees’ productivity and cost-effective, high-performance training. The proactive-based performance management and training programs have been ideal in addressing some of the performance challenges and problems faced by Walmart in human resource management. The proactive strategy has been effective in adopting performance management practices that are goals-oriented. For example, performance planning is based on the three key goals: customer service orientation, decision-making and results orientation and analysis, and problem-solving (Thompson, 2017). These goals will require employees to undertake their functions without much involvement of the leader or coach. As such, using proactive coaching help employees handle specific tasks on their own.
Using customer service orientation in the performance planning, Walmart seeks to align human resource functions to the needs of the customers in the retail industry (Thompson, 2017). The human resource functions in this context are aimed at satisfying customers. The customer service orientation dimension is usually applied to employees who interact with customers on day-to-day operations. The decision-making and results orientation are important aspects of all positions in the company. Walmart views an effective decision as appropriate for optimizing organization resilience (Thompson, 2017). The analysis and problem-solving apply for the management team. The proactive culture allows managers to analyze a potential problem and suggest solutions. All three dimensions are considered in the company’s performance and management, and meeting exhibits employees’ excellent performance. The dimensions are important for planning for Walmart’s human capital performance.
The inclusion of proactive coaching in Walmart’s performance management can be voted as the reason behind the company’s exemplary performance as well as expansion. Employees can handle functions by their own, the culture that give them confidence even to handle new tasks. When proactive culture is allowed to thrive, employees confidence in approaching new tasks is improved (Bourg, Stoltxfus, McManus , & Fry, 2010). As a result, employees will have a positive approach when trying new functions, and their goal will be to deliver an excellent job, an act that leads to the generation of best ideas from the company’s workforce.
Best Practices to improve Walmart’s Performance
Current performance management in Walmart is based on the performance appraisal system. Using this system, the leaders provide feedback to the workforce on the performance. This is accompanied by feedback on how employees can improve their performance. As it stands, Walmart uses a universal employee performance system that does not take into consideration the specific needs of the individual staff. As such, the best practices to enhance performance would be coaching relationships, capabilities, and real-world practice. These practices will help Walmart to develop a tailored appraisal system that can be modified according to the individual-based performance.
Coaching Relationship
The coaching relationship is based on understanding the person being coached. The coach focuses on understanding the motivations and goals of the employee. In return, the coach communicates their desire as well as the positive attributes to the trainee, which can be their strengths. By creating a coaching relationship, Walmart will help the human resource team to modify job objectives, goals, specifications, and responsibilities according to the strengths of the employee. The coaching relationship will also act as motivation since the employee is appreciated by being shown their positive side, which they can use to perform better. The aspect of motivation in this practice will help Walmart to overcome employee tardiness and low morale, which are some of the performance problems faced by the company, as outlined by (Thompson, 2017).
Capabilities
Capability practice dwells mainly on providing guidance and advice on how employees can improve their behavior and performance. The practice, when used in Walmart, it will be effective in providing employees with on job-learning opportunities. Walmart allows employees to explore new functions arising in the retail industry. Therefore, supporting employees through guidance will help them to handle new tasks with ease and confidence. Walmart aims at maximizing the sales revenue, and this will be achieved if the workers are provided with the appropriate support. As such, through the capabilities practice, human resource management should advance support through guidance and advice to the sales team to increase employees’ productivity.
Real-world Practice
This practice involves allowing people to share solutions to potential solutions and their plans to achieve development goals. It also helps people to establish and develop opportunities to explore their capabilities. Walmart should focus on understanding individual needs and matching them with organizational and industrial needs. It should also offer employees training and learning platforms that will help them to meet their development goals. For example, by availing employees with training programs, seminars, and workshops outside the organization, Walmart will help them to improve their abilities, skills, and knowledge.Five Best Practices to Maximize Team-based Performance in Walmart
Team-based performance focus on holding the team accountable for the results rather than specific individuals (Laing, 2016). Walmart undertakes performance appraisals for both team and individual workers. Walmart can maximize team performance by adopting several practices as outlined below:
Set individual and team-based goals
Setting goals for specific individuals that align with the common goals of the team helps to eradicate the problem of freeloading (Laing, 2016). The transparency in this practice will help the company in promoting the culture of accountability, honesty, and fairness, which form part of the company’s core values as presented by (Mission Statement Academy, 2019)
Creating Achievement-Based and Agile Teams
Having short-term teams with specific goal helps the entire team will align its efforts towards achieving that goal. By using an agile approach, the practice will allow Walmart to utilize different talents and skillset among its employees, and in return, advance the company’s culture of innovation.
Create Team-Management Relationship
Allowing constant networking and relationship between the team and the management will help in guiding the team on how to handle a challenging task. When applied in Walmart, this practice will help to create job training opportunities and lead to the development of leaders within the organization. By using this strategy, Walmart meets its on-job-training goal that is usually availed to employees in managerial positions.
Match Team Goals with Performance Plan
The setting of team goals should, along with the performance plan. Sale revenue increase short-term goals in Walmart will be effective in measuring the team’s performance. With a performance plan in place, the team will have a clear path through which they can meet the sales target.
Encourage Continuous Feedback
Providing feedback frequently to the management will help in determining whether the team is on the right course of action. The feedback will be used to determine any possibility to adjust goals to match the actual performance. It is also an opportunity for teams to receive feedback about the performance as well as areas in which they need to improve. Intervening early to correct the mistakes will help to meet Walmart’s goal of high performance.
References
Bourg, J., Stoltxfus, W., McManus, S., & Fry, P. J. (2010). Proactive coaching for employee development and improved business results. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 21(10), 1005-1016.
Laing, A. (2016). What is Team-Based Performance Management, and How Does it Work? Development Practice Note, 1-3. Retrieved from https://effectivestates.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Team-Based-Performance.pdf
Mission Statement Academy. (2019, July 12). Walmart Mission And Vision Statement Analysis. Retrieved from https://mission-statement.com/walmart/
Thompson, A. (2017, January 28). Walmart’s HRM: Training, Performance Management. Retrieved from http://panmore.com/walmart-human-resource-management-training-performance-management