Running head: STAFFING AND COMPENSATION PLAN 1 STAFFING AND COMPENSATION PLAN 2 Staffing and Compensation Plan Student’s Name Institution Course Date Staffing and Compensation Plan Walgreens continues to command a huge market share in the industries where it operates. To continue keeping abreast of other competitors, the company must develop a robust staffing and compensation plan geared towards attracting and retaining talented employees. Such a plan should reflect the desires of employees at the management/executive level as well as those on the subordinate level. In order to be successful, Walgreens must address a number of staffing needs that warrant immediate attention. The company also needs to rethink its compensation package and benefits offered to employees in order to increase the motivation and job commitment (Bailey, Mankin, Kelliher, & Garavan, 2014). The purpose of this report is to identify some staffing needs at Walgreens and propose a compensation plan that can help the company to sustain its competitive advantage. Staffing Needs Walgreens is currently short of certified pharmacy technicians particularly in the brick-and-mortar retail stores. These professionals contribute the success of the company in various ways. They work directly under the pharmacist’s supervision to deliver excellent customer service and dispense quality patient care (Bacon, 2014). They also assist pharmacists in accomplishing various responsibilities that include filling prescriptions, stocking shelves, inventory control, bookkeeping tasks as well as administrative tasks. In most stores, the company also lacks experienced business systems analysts who are responsible for infusing technological solutions and aligning IT with organizational goals to solve business-related problems. Hiring professionals qualified in the abovementioned fields and providing them with periodic in-the-job training can go a long way in addressing the staffing needs of the company (Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, 2016). In this undertaking, the company should prioritize hiring a diversified workforce. Currently, Walgreens disproportionately hires non-Hispanic whites or Caucasians in a majority of its top leadership positions. Women executives are also few in the company’s management team (Bacon, 2014). In the contemporary world, the society is increasingly becoming multicultural in aspects such as race, gender, socioeconomic status, religious orientation, physical ability, and immigration status among many other personal attributes. Hiring diverse employees to meet the staffing needs can go a long way in fostering a culture of inclusivity within the organization (Bailey et al., 2014). Compensation Plan for the Organization The compensation plan for Walgreens will vary depending on the seniority and position held by the employ.

1. Running head: STAFFING AND COMPENSATION PLAN
1
STAFFING AND COMPENSATION PLAN
2
Staffing and Compensation Plan
Student’s Name
Institution
Course
Date
Staffing and Compensation Plan
Walgreens continues to command a huge market share in the
industries where it operates. To continue keeping abreast of
other competitors, the company must develop a robust staffing
and compensation plan geared towards attracting and retaining
talented employees. Such a plan should reflect the desires of
employees at the management/executive level as well as those
on the subordinate level. In order to be successful, Walgreens
must address a number of staffing needs that warrant immediate
attention. The company also needs to rethink its compensation
package and benefits offered to employees in order to increase
the motivation and job commitment (Bailey, Mankin, Kelliher,
& Garavan, 2014). The purpose of this report is to identify some
staffing needs at Walgreens and propose a compensation plan
that can help the company to sustain its competitive advantage.
Staffing Needs
Walgreens is currently short of certified pharmacy technicians

2. particularly in the brick-and-mortar retail stores. These
professionals contribute the success of the company in various
ways. They work directly under the pharmacist’s supervision to
deliver excellent customer service and dispense quality patient
care (Bacon, 2014). They also assist pharmacists in
accomplishing various responsibilities that include filling
prescriptions, stocking shelves, inventory control, bookkeeping
tasks as well as administrative tasks. In most stores, the
company also lacks experienced business systems analysts who
are responsible for infusing technological solutions and aligning
IT with organizational goals to solve business-related problems.
Hiring professionals qualified in the abovementioned fields and
providing them with periodic in-the-job training can go a long
way in addressing the staffing needs of the company
(Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, 2016). In this
undertaking, the company should prioritize hiring a diversified
workforce. Currently, Walgreens disproportionately hires non-
Hispanic whites or Caucasians in a majority of its top
leadership positions. Women executives are also few in the
company’s management team (Bacon, 2014). In the
contemporary world, the society is increasingly becoming
multicultural in aspects such as race, gender, socioeconomic
status, religious orientation, physical ability, and immigration
status among many other personal attributes. Hiring diverse
employees to meet the staffing needs can go a long way in
fostering a culture of inclusivity within the organization (Bailey
et al., 2014).
Compensation Plan for the Organization
The compensation plan for Walgreens will vary depending on
the seniority and position held by the employees. It will reflect
compensation for directors, senior managers, and other
employees at the firm. Phillips and Gully (2015) contend that
the overall objectives of the compensation packages should
include attracting and retaining talented employees including
executives, rewarding outstanding performance by the
employees, and aligning or linking the interests of employees to

3. the overall strategic goals of the company. For executive
compensation, the overall plan will include a base salary
of $1,295,833 yearly, an annual performance bonus
of $1,150,052 and long-term incentives of $8,918,921. Key
elements of the executive compensation program also
encompass long-term equity incentives that comprise of 40%
stock options, 35% performance shares, and 25% restricted
stock units.
Compensation is also an important consideration for lower level
employees including certified pharmacy technicians, on-site
pharmacists, pharmacy cashiers, business system analysts, and
distribution centers staffs among other employees similarly
enjoy a lucrative compensation package. For many of these
employees, the hourly pay will range between $12-23 depending
on factors such as years of experience, position held, and shift
schedules (Phillips & Gully, 2015). When factoring in
additional compensation and bonuses, these employees can
expect to make a total pay of $35,000-45,000 annually. They are
also eligible for other incentives including stock options.
Employees who work for at least 30 hours per week are
additionally eligible for paid time off, using funds slashed from
executive compensation to cater for the remuneration of
subordinates (Schencker, 2018).
Description of Benefits Offered
Providing an assortment of benefits is critical for improving
employee morale and reducing turnover intentions (Bailey et
al., 2014). Some of the most notable benefits provided to
employees include paid time off (PTO) including holiday and
disability PTO, profit sharing plan through the 401K packages,
employee stock-purchase plan, voluntary personal accident and
life insurance, dental, health, and vision insurance, and
company paid health insurance. Other benefits offered by
Walgreens based on factors such as position, team member
level, and length of employment include flexible spending

4. accounts (FSA), employee purchase program, employee
discount, child care, transportation benefits, and free flu
shots/travel consultation (Walgreens, 2019). The company
additionally offers and aspires to continue offering on-the-job
training and other professional development opportunities for
all employees at the organization.
Conclusion
Staffing and compensation are important components that all
organization must take into account when formulating their
strategic plans. Even though Walgreens has continued to
register exponential growth and increased revenues over the
decades, it nevertheless has some staffing needs that it should
address in order to cement its position as industry leader.
Moreover, the company needs to come up with a robust
compensation plan and a responsive benefits program, as all of
these contribute directly to improving the morale, commitment,
and satisfaction of employees.
References
Bacon, J. (2014). America's corner store : Walgreens'
prescription for success (3 ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Bailey, C., Mankin, D., Kelliher, C., & Garavan, T. (2014).
Strategic human resource management (3 ed.). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission. (2016, July).
Meeting the staffing needs of your business. Retrieved from
https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2016/07/py/mrc-
employer-brochure.pdf
Phillips, J. M., & Gully, S. M. (2015). Strategic staffing (3 ed.).
London: Pearson Education.

5. Schencker, L. (2018, November 18). Walgreens cuts manager
bonuses following employee benefit changes. Chicago Tribune.
Retrieved from https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-
biz-walgreens-cuts-bonuses-1110-story.html.
Walgreens. (2019). Benefits & Total Health. Retrieved from
https://jobs.walgreens.com/benefits
Running head: WALGREENS STRATEGIC HRM PLAN
1
WALGREENS STRATEGIC HRM PLAN
2
Walgreens Strategic HRM Plan
Student’s Name
Institution
Course
Date
Walgreens Strategic HRM Plan
Founded in 1901 in Chicago by Charles R. Walgreen, Walgreens
has managed to grow exponentially over the years, earning it
the accolade of the largest drugstore retail chain in the United
States. The company has managed to register the exponential
growth through embracing innovative strategies including
emphasis on quality production and exceptional service care,
massive investment in research and development (R&D), strong
leadership, and vibrant marketing strategies. Having a strong
human resources department has also contributed directly to the
success of Walgreens. To this end, the company’s HR goals
align with and support the overall organizational goals. These

6. HR goals have included maintaining a diverse workforce,
prioritizing ongoing training of employees, and emphasis on
employee development. The company also maintains responsive
performance appraisal systems and incentive structures. This
strategic HRM plan will provide a succinct description of
Walgreens, highlight results of a SWOT analysis, identify some
HR goals, outline alignment of these goals with the company’s
strategic plan, and document an organizational hiring goal to
improve the sustainability of the company.
Summary of Organizational Description
Charles R. Walgreen founded the company in 1901 in Chicago.
By 1926, the Walgreens had expanded to more than 100 stores
throughout Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin
(Walgreens.com, 2019). Currently, the company is the largest
drugstore retail chain in the United States. At the core of
Walgreens’ business is their pharmacy. The company
specializes in a variety of consumer goods including beauty care
and personal care products, convenience foods, household
products, photofinishing, as well as prescription and over-the-
counter medication. Bacon (2014) acknowledges that in addition
to its well-established pharmacy stores, Walgreens also operates
its Health and Wellness division that runs in-store clinics and
its Health Services division that offers prescription drugs and
medical health plans. As of 2018, the company had over
240,000 employees and 9,560 drugstores across all 50 states,
Washington D.C., U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico
(Walgreens.com, 2019). The vision of Walgreens is to become
“America’s most loved pharmacy-led health, wellbeing and
beauty enterprise” (Bacon, 2014, p. 8).
SWOT Analysis
Walgreens has a number of strengths that it can capitalize on in
order to enhance its sustainability. Nevertheless, the company
also has some internal weaknesses that it needs to address while
exploiting available opportunities and mitigating potential

7. threats. A major strength pertains to the strong financial
standing of the company. In the 2018 fiscal year, Walgreens
registered revenues of $131.5 billion, an operating income of
$6.4 billion, and a net income of $5.1 billion (Walgreens.com,
2019). With such a strong financial standing, the company can
be able to make massive investments in research and
development (R&D) in order to improve the quality of their
product and service offerings.
Another major strength that Walgreens enjoys stems from its
engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
For example, it has a program for combating childhood poverty
through donations that it makes on the Red Nose Day annually
(Walgreens.com, 2019). Other initiatives have included liaising
with the United Nations Foundation to fight diseases such as
HIV and cancer. In addition, the company has shown great
commitment to environmental protection through using
sustainable production processes. Kotler & Keller (2016) assert
that engagement in CSR initiatives can enable companies such
as Walgreens to sustain a strong brand image. The other
strengths enjoyed by Walgreens include diversity and
inclusivity of its workforce as well as strong brand recognition.
In spite of the aforementioned strengths, Walgreens also has
some inherent weaknesses. One weakness comes from the
organic approach to growth taken by the company. Rather than
buying other chains and building from there, Walgreens’
approach emphasizes on building their own drugstores from the
ground (Bailey, Mankin, Kelliher, & Garavan, 2014). This has
restrained the company from having a larger market share when
compared to competitors such as CVS. Another weakness
emanates from inconsistent implementation of in-store formats
at different locations. Poor social media reach coupled with
limited presence in other markets are the other weaknesses that
Walgreens faces (Bacon, 2014).
Walgreens can exploit various available opportunities in order

8. to sustain a competitive edge. First, opportunities exist for
expansion into other markets, most notably the emerging
markets such as China, Brazil, and South Africa (Holbeche,
2012). These countries have economically empowered and huge
populations. Walgreens can be able to increase its market share
and revenue through opening more drugstores in these regions.
Another important opportunity is exploiting social media
platforms more for marketing purposes. Platforms such as
Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace can be able to reach a wider
target clientele at relatively low costs (Kotler & Keller, 2016).
In addition, the company can be able to get invaluable feedback
from the aforementioned platforms that it can use to make
product and service improvements.
Noteworthy, a major threat that has the potential of
undermining Walgreens’ sustainability is increased competition
from other industry players. According to Bacon (2014), the
main competitors include CVS Corporation and Rite Aid. These
competitors have implemented vibrant strategies including
strategic acquisitions to solidify their business operations.
Walgreens must similarly come up with innovative strategies in
order to keep abreast of the industry competition. The company
also faces threats from the surging number of mail order
pharmacies and global economic downturns that may undermine
the spending and purchasing powers of consumers, thereby
affecting company sales (Bacon, 2014).
Human Resource Goals that Fulfill the SMART Criteria
Coming up with realistic human resource goals that fulfill the
SMART criteria can enable Walgreens to work towards the
attainment of its organizational goals. The following are the
best strategic HR goals for Walgreens to implement:
· Increase the percentage of employees from the current 69%
who achieve at least 85% of their annual performance targets
within the next 2 years

9. · Provide advanced training to all employees on aspects such as
customer service, diversity awareness, and cross-cultural
communication within the next 6 months with the aim of
increasing customer engagement and satisfaction by 60%
· Open at least 15 foreign subsidiaries with fully functioning
HRM departments in emerging economies in the next 1 and half
years
Alignment of Human Resources Goals and Strategic Plans
The Human Resources goals of the company are indeed in
perfect alignment with the strategic plans of Walgreens. The
company’s strategic plan places immense emphasis on employee
performance in order to improve service and product delivery.
Bailey et al. (2014) affirm that in order to achieve this goal, the
company must perform comprehensive performance appraisals
to identify employee strengths and areas of weakness that might
require further improvement. Walgreens in its strategic plan
also emphasizes on its commitment to continue developing a
diverse workforce. This certainly aligns with the HR goal of
providing ongoing training on areas such as diversity awareness
and effective cross-cultural communication. Such training can
also place the company in a better position as it embarks on its
international expansion endeavors (Holbeche, 2012).
Proposal for an Organizational Hiring Goal
Because Walgreens has ambitions of expanding its operations
into other markets, it should come up with a hiring strategy that
incorporates selection, recruitment, and retention of employees
from the targeted markets in order to achieve its strategic goals
and objectives in the international operations. This is especially
true when considering hiring for top management positions.
Bailey et al. (2014) reiterate that putting local staff on these
management positions can endow companies such as Walgreens

10. with numerous advantages and opportunities, most of which
come from the vast experience of the local leaders and their
strong leadership experience in the local context. In addition, as
compared to expatriate managers, local managers in the targeted
destinations will be much more in touch with the local culture,
market, and trends, thereby helping Walgreens to identify the
unique needs that they need to meet in order to remain
competitive in the market (Holbeche, 2012). Training and
employee development programs should be a major priority for
the company as it deliberates on its international expansion and
hiring of local employees.
Conclusion
Walgreens has managed to register exponential growth ever
since its inception in 1901. Some of the factors that have
contributed to this success include strong emphasis on
innovation, effective leadership, emphasis on CSR initiatives, a
strong brand image, quality of products and services as well as
emphasis on inclusivity. The HR goals for the company have
also been in perfect alignment with the strategic goals/plans of
the company. Nevertheless, Walgreens has some inherent
weaknesses and threats that may undermine its sustainability.
Addressing these potential threats and weaknesses can go a long
way in increasing the competitiveness of the firm. The main
opportunity that the company can exploit to improve its
performance is international expansion. Coming up with
ingenious hiring strategies, for example hiring talented, local
management staff will be critical in the success of the company
as it pursues this goal.
References
Bacon, J. (2014). America's corner store : Walgreens'
prescription for success (3 ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Bailey, C., Mankin, D., Kelliher, C., & Garavan, T. (2014).
Strategic human resource management (3 ed.). Oxford: Oxford

11. University Press.
Holbeche, L. (2012). Aligning human resources and business
strategy (1 ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (3
ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
Walgreens.com. (2019). About Walgreens. Retrieved from
https://news.walgreens.com/fact-sheets/about-walgreens/