From: hjkhjkhd@hhhh.com   
      
   The TimesJanuary 04, 2007   
      
      
   Wal-Mart to operate work rotas based on customer numbers   
   Mark Bridge and Tosin Sulaiman   
      
   Predictable shift patterns to end   
   Full-time worker numbers reduced   
      
      
      
      
   Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer and America's No 1 private employer,   
   is set to shake up the lives of its 1.3 million workers with a staff   
   scheduling system that is set to end predictable shift patterns.   
   The computerised system, called the "optimiser", is due to be implemented by   
   the end of the year and allocates staff based on the number of customers in   
   a store at any time.   
      
      
   The system also alerts managers when a worker's schedule is approaching   
   full-time. This allows the company to scale back shifts to prevent part-time   
   staff from winning permanent status and entitlement to higher wages and   
   benefits.   
   The new scheduling will affect back-office personnel, as well as cashiers   
   and the floor staff.   
   The system is likely to demand increased flexibility from workers, leaving   
   many "on call" and uncertain of their next pay packet.   
   A spokesman said that Wal-Mart was not the first retailer to use the   
   technology and added: "We are implementing it to improve the shopping   
   experience for our customers and the work environment for our associates."   
   The move will let the retail giant cut costs and boost productivity. It was   
   successful in trials last year. Other retailers using such systems include   
   Payless ShoeSource, RadioShack, the consumer electronics store, and Mervyns,   
   the department store chain.   
   Asda, the UK retailer owned by Wal-Mart, has insisted that it has no plans   
   to introduce the system that has been adopted by its owner. A spokesman for   
   Asda said that its stores operated differently from those of Wal-Mart in   
   that its employees were contracted on an hourly basis and their hours fixed   
   over a six-week period.   
   The spokesman said: "(Employees) know over a six-week period which hours   
   they are going to be working. If they are contracted to do 12 hours a week,   
   they will do 12 hours. If they are contracted to do 26 hours a week, they   
   will do 26 hours."   
   Wal-Mart said that the new system would cut queues and have a significant   
   impact on customer satisfaction. A spokeswoman said that 70 per cent of   
   customers reported better service under the system in one test last year.   
   The retailer has been repeatedly condemned for its less than generous   
   benefits packages and strained employee relations. In 2005, a German court   
   ruled that a company ban on co-worker flirting was against German law.   
   Last week, Wal-Mart estimated that December sales had risen by 1.6 per cent   
   at its American stores that had been trading for at least a year, beating   
   its forecast.   
   The retailer had expected same-store sales to be flat, or up by 1 per cent.   
   Wal-Mart and most other major US retailers will release final December sales   
   data today.   
      
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