Workforce Management

Pleasanton, Calif. - Safeway was selected to receive the 2013 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the nation's highest honor given to employers for exceptional support of National Guard and Reserve employees.

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, an office of the Department of Defense, announced the 15 award recipients on Tuesday.

Walmart isn’t the first place that comes to mind as a destination for professional business attire so at first blush it was a bit odd to see the company affiliated with a group called Dress for Success Worldwide.

That said, there is more to Dress for Success than meets the eye which is why Walmart, in keeping with its female empowerment objectives, contributed $500,000 to the organization with week. The funds were presented during a special event held in conjunction with the Walmart Northwest Arkansas LPGA Championship.

Food Lion store manager Charles Inman got a big surprise on Monday when some folks from the Brussels-based home office of parent company Delhaize Group showed up at his store.
 
Inman was selected from more than 3,400 Delhaize Group store managers to receive the company’s Store Manager of the Year award and company officials decided to surprise Inman with a ceremony at his store in Clayton, N.C.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl’s plans to open a new customer service operations center in Dallas in late spring 2014. The two-building, three-story, 240,000-sq.-ft. facility will support the company’s growing Kohl’s Charge program as well as Kohls.com.

The company's e-commerce site reached $1.4 billion in sales last year following three consecutive years of more than 40% annual growth.

Washington, D.C. -- U.S. retailers added almost 28,000 new jobs in May, according to statistics from the Department of Labor. This followed 20,000 new retail hires in April.

Restaurants hired another 38,000 people last month.

New retail and restaurant hires helped drive the addition of 175,000 total new jobs to the U.S. economy in May.

Toano, Va. -- Lumber Liquidators, the largest specialty retailer of hardwood flooring in North America, announced the appointment of Sandra C. Whitehouse as senior VP chief human resources officer, effective later this month.

Whitehouse most recently served as chief human resources officer for Earthbound Farm. Previously, she led the human resources department at Orchard Supply Hardware.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will hold its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Friday, June 7, including an executive update by president and CEO Mike Duke.

As many as 14,000 global Walmart associates are also attending the event, most arriving in time for elaborate pre-meeting activities. "Our success is only possible because of the hard work and dedication of our 2.2 million associates around the world,” said Susan Chambers, executive VP global people, at Walmart.

Redmond, Wash. -- Nearly half of employees report that social tools at work help increase their productivity, but more than 30% of companies underestimate the value of these tools and often restrict their use, according to a study by Microsoft Corp.