Walmart is testing a new workplace model in 500 stores that includes higher wages for some employees, the retailer confirmed to Business Insider.
The superstore is introducing two new roles with a higher starting salary than the standard $11 an hour for Walmart employees. The team associate role starts at $12 an hour, and team leads start at $18 an hour.
The new roles are part of Walmart's "Great Workplace" model, a team-focused system that changes the way Walmart employees meet customer needs. The program was rolled out in a test phase to around 500 stores last summer.
The starting wage for other jobs in these stores is still $11 an hour.
"Our associates will increasingly be multiskilled, work in teams and be cross-trained in several functions," Walmart spokeswoman Jami Lamontagne told Business Insider in an email. "Associates will be trained and empowered to develop a broader retail expertise and by doing so have wider paths for advancement than if they had a narrower focus and skillset."
The war for talent is firing up across the retail sector as the unemployment rate hits historic lows. The US unemployment rate was 3.5% in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Major retailers like Target, Amazon, and Costco have raised their wages to keep up with the shrinking pool of talent.
Earlier this month, Taco Bell said it would test a $100,000 general manager salary and paid sick leave in certain locations.
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