I was hired by Walmart in April as a temporary part time employee. In nine months, they have to make a decision on whether to convert me to full time, part time permanent, or let me go. That date is around New Year’s day. Since I am unlikely to make it that long, I have been thinking about where Walmart will rank among my many employers.
Companies talk about their open door policies, but they mean different things to different employers. At the bottled water company I worked at for 20 years, we had a bottler/forklift driver ask the Secretary of the corporation how she kept her job in derogatory terms. The CEO of the corporation was standing right next to her when it happened. The story that got out was the CEO wanted the guy fired and the management team refused because the guy was telling the truth. He got into a lot of trouble for the way he said it but kept his job. Their idea of an open door policy was you could say almost anything to anyone as long as you were right.
At my last job before Wallyworld, the company had an open door policy, but chain of command could not be broken, and the location manager always kept the door locked. At Wallyworld, the managers’ office is always open, but no one is in the office. They are scattered around the store, and even at a smaller store, finding one is a matter of luck. At the cabinet company I worked at when I first moved to Kansas, the foreman would refer you to the person who could get things done for you or answer your questions ,who was usually not the manager in charge. If I look confused when someone mentions Open Door Policy, this is why.
Footyfried 