pratikkk

MP Guru
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG), d/b/a Walgreens (without an apostrophe), is the largest drugstore chain in the United States of America. As of March 31st, the company operates 8,169 drugstores across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1901, and has since expanded throughout the United States, Walgreens is currently headquartered in the nearby suburb of Deerfield, Illinois.

Walgreens provides access to consumer goods and services and pharmacy, health and wellness services in America through its retail drugstores, Walgreens Health Services division and Walgreens Health and Wellness division. Walgreens Health Services offers pharmacy patients and prescription drug and medical plans through Walgreens Health Initiatives Inc. (a pharmacy benefit manager), Walgreens Mail Service Inc., Walgreens Home Care Inc., Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy LLC and SeniorMed LLC (a pharmacy provider to long-term care facilities). Walgreens Health and Wellness division includes Take Care Health Systems. Walgreens has 7,600 drugstores as of September 30, 2010.

Walgreens needed a medium to facilitate communication with a very diverse group of 150,000 employees spread across the United States in stores, distribution centers and corporate offices. While a plethora of publications exist to target various groups within the organization, Walgreen World is the capstone publication. This one “voice” is important because it unites employees, which builds pride in the company. And, as every business communicator knows, respect and appreciation for one’s company boost morale, which affects performance.

We also needed a publication to communicate our company’s culture. Walgreens is in a period of intense growth – last year we hired almost 12,000 new employees – and understanding the culture of one’s workplace helps people do their jobs better and increases employee retention.

In the past, Walgreen World has drawn employees together and passed on the company’s values by tugging its readers’ heartstrings. However, most of our store managers – and many other employees – tend to be focused on the bottom line. Hence, in 2002, we faced the challenge of using practical information to draw readers into our publication without losing the magazine’s heart.

Walgreens sent out their benefits update for May 2009. In big letters it said “Combining Good Business Practices with Caring for Our People”, which would lead you to believe they are going to improve employee benefits. Instead it was about how they are taking away employees retirement medical and prescription drug plans. This will not just affect people who have just started but many who have been with Walgreen’s for years. People who had been promised these benefits are now having them taken away. One of the comments in the paper was, “Our goal is to reallocate our money to provide benefits to the greatest number of individuals at Walgreens.” Does that mean the CEO, board members, and the upper levels or management?! Hey Walgreens for a business that promotes families you do a really bad job for your employees!!!

It only stands to reason, then, that with 104 years of outstanding pharmacy service under its belt, Walgreens' people have been exemplary. From the clerks manning the cash registers at the company's more than 5,000 drug stores to the pharmacists dispensing prescriptions and helpful advice to thousands of patients a day, Walgreens has risen to the top of the chain drug industry on the strength of its personnel.

The first-rate customer service the company's staffers deliver every day has led the editors of Chain Drug Review to name Walgreens Retailer of the Year for 2005.

As perhaps the company that best fits the title "America's Drug Store," Walgreens employs nearly 180,000 people in its stores in 45 states and Puerto Rico. The company added 15,700 jobs last year and expects to increase its ranks in the coming years as it strives to open its 7,000th outlet by 2010.

As the drug chain continues to grow, its financial performance continues to improve. Fiscal 2005 marked Walgreens' 31st consecutive year of record sales and earnings, and while its stock price bounced around a little near the end of the year, it continues to be seen by many on Wall Street as one of the best long-term investments in all of retailing.

Executives say that as much as the strategies developed at the company's headquarters here are driving Walgreens' prosperity, it still comes down to those in the stores to make management's plans work.

"It's the talent, tenaciousness and determination of our people, something that passes from generation to generation of Walgreens employees and something not easily replicated by competitors," says chairman and chief executive officer Dave Bernauer when asked about the keys to the company's success.

The relationship between Walgreens and its store-level associates is a two-way street. The company's generous benefits plan and such programs as profit sharing have helped make it an attractive employer.

In fact, Walgreens has one of the highest employee-retention rates of all retailers. Its store managers have on average 12.6 years with the company, district managers average more than 20 years, and store operations vice presidents nearly 30 years.

"Walgreens doesn't have a single store manager, district manager or operations vice president who didn't start his or her career as a store employee," a spokesman for the chain notes.

And with the old adage "Good help is hard to find" being proven true time and again, the company has taken several steps to ensure that it gets the most from its associates and retains its most talented workers.

With the right personnel in place throughout the company, Walgreens has remained on the cutting edge in all aspects of chain drug retailing. For example, it has been diligent to get control over its inventory to ensure that it carries the right items.

"Over the past two years we've made a conscious investment in payroll to provide faster, friendlier customer service and in inventory levels to assure we're stocking the merchandise people want," Bernauer remarks. "Balancing the costs and benefits of these investments is tricky, and we've tipped further on the cost side than is necessary to maintain good service and in-stock levels."

Walgreens is also working to make certain that its store-level people are well trained.

The company's Emerging Leader program, for instance, prepares store managers who are seen as having the potential to move up the corporate ladder.

"It provides exposure to district manager responsibilities as well as developing leadership, strategic and motivational skills," the spokesman says. "This program supports our policy to promote from within, which differentiates us from most competitors." Walgreens' training is not limited to management, however. The company also offers programs for photo specialists, service clerks and pharmacy technicians, combining on-the-job training with computer-based programs that stress the essentials of customer service.

By always putting the needs of its customers first, Walgreens has set the standard for all other chain drug retailers and community pharmacy operators. On the pages that follow, Chain Drug Review takes a look at a representative sampling of the people who make Walgreens what it is and some of the ways in which the company is raising the bar for the entire industry.
 
Why Employee Retention is important

1) Employee are the pillar of organisation

2) They are the source of revenue

3) They are the backbone of the company
 
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