Transforming Happy, Healthy Talent at Walgreens Walgreens has served its pharmacy customers for more than 100 years in its 13,000 retail stores worldwide at “the corner of happiness and health.” The company is facing major changes to its core business model due to technological innovations and changing customer purchasing preferences. Many transactions that once took place at a retail point of sale are now done online. The focus has changed to putting the customer at the center of everything. Data and analytics are used to forecast demand for a wide range of products, and then supply chain professionals work backwards to determine how to source the goods that customers will want. Transitioning to a customer-driven supply chain approach requires Walgreens to become more analytical and agile. This is putting increased pressure on the HR function to recruit and retain the necessary talent. Today's distribution center managers not only need strong operational skills, but also the ability to work collaboratively across functions. Before the digital revolution, distribution centers operated two shifts from Monday to Friday to meet store demand. In the current environment, those centers now operate 24/7 with line employees working in a small team environment that focuses on continuous improvement. General managers and team leaders now work variable shifts so they can connect with all team members from time to time. Working out of shift and unpredictable hours creates recruiting difficulties for the company. Additionally, supply chain experts prefer to live in urban centers rather than remote locations outside the city. One of the ways Walgreens' human resources staff addressed these staffing issues was to identify universities whose graduates tended to accept jobs in operations rather than corporate supply chain roles. They increased their presence on campus to ensure students identified appropriate supply chain operations jobs at Walgreens. Another key element of its staffing plan involved an internship program. Recruiters targeted colleges and universities located near each of the company's nine distribution centers. They made visits to each campus, connected with instructors in supply chain programs, and promoted internship opportunities that would provide meaningful and relevant work to students. In its first year, the company hired 27 interns who were assigned a continuous improvement project.Another emphasis in Walgreens' talent management efforts is identifying people with analytical and planning skills to ensure ordered products are always in stock and available to customers. Supply chain professionals use sophisticated software solutions and synthesize information from a variety of sources to make important inventory decisions. This segment of the company is looking for connections with universities that specialize in supply chain analysis. Current employees who graduated from those schools play an integral role in career fairs and network with student clubs and organizations in the supply chain field. Finally, Walgreens is working to improve its reputation in the professional community. An afternoon event held at Chicago-based Walgreens University showcased the company's supply chain programs to people already working in the profession. The corporate university curriculum includes many courses on the tactical, strategic and leadership skills needed in the new world of supply chain demands. All elements of Walgreen's talent management approach aim to find and grow the talent needed to become a best-in-class supply chain organization.

Footer Questions:
 1. What other ways can Walgreens improve its image as a supply chain leader considering it competes with companies like Amazon? How can Walgreens differentiate itself to become attractive to hard-to-find supply chain experts? 

2. What additional development would be important to retain interns and supply chain professionals who join the Walgreens team?