The organization that I chose is Whole Foods Market (WFM). I chose Whole Foods Market because this is a business that was built from a small market to a huge nationwide supermarket chain that markets delicious natural groceries and prepared foods that involve local producers that help sustain communities and businesses within; and it’s a place I know and shop. Whole Foods is a national grocery store chain that specializes in natural and organic foods, some of which are produced locally.
Whole Foods is not only devoted to marketing high quality foods, they are devoted to their employees, customer service which has given them their proven success. “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet — emphasizes that our vision reaches far beyond just being a food retailer. Our success in fulfilling our vision is measured by customer satisfaction, Team Member excellence and happiness, return on capital investment, improvement in the state of the environment, and local and larger community support. (Whole Foods Market)
According to WFM’s code of conduct, “it expects all team and Board members to act in accordance with the highest standards of personal and professional integrity at all times, and to comply with policies and procedures and all laws, rules and regulations of any applicable international, federal, provincial, state or local government. (WFM) Whole Foods Market is committed to selling the highest quality natural and organic products that are available; satisfying customer needs; supporting their team members; care for the communities their stores are located in; care for the environment; and committed to the partnership/relationships with vendors. Whole Foods also realizes the importance of its worker’s. It strives for team member excellence and happiness; provides competitive wages and benefits; provides safe work environments and values each member’s value as a part of the Whole Foods team.
They have created self-directed teams for their employees that have regular meetings to help solve problems or issues and each member is encouraged to provide input, communication is a key to a successful business. Whole Foods offers stock options or stock purchase plans to its employees; provide continuous learning opportunities in an equal opportunity environment. The learning opportunities provide workers with new skill and knowledge, this provides them with the potential for advancement within the company and Whole Foods does most of their promoting from within the company.
This paper will discuss the many benefits that Whole Foods provides to their employees that gives them the opportunity to live a better life, economically, socially as well as healthy. Whole Foods Market’s mission involves several factors in its effort to provide socially responsible products to both employees and customers. Whole Foods is committed to provide a stellar work environment for its employees by providing competitive wages, paid training sessions and an extensive employee benefits package.
These benefits include medical care, dental plans, vision plans, paid time off, wellness plans; a flexible spending account that will help with costs for health care, dependent care, life and disability insurance, team member discount, 401(k), stock options and gain-sharing, in addition to many others. This is an extensive list of benefits for individuals that work for a supermarket chain and Whole Foods Market has been listed every year on FORTUNE magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For” since the magazine started the list in 1998.
As discussed Whole Foods provides many benefits to their employees such as their medical care plan, which is a PPO medical care plan and prescription plan. Employees are eligible for this benefit after 400 hours of service; after 800 hours of service full-time team member only pay a premium of $10. 00 for this benefit; and lastly after 10,000 hours of service there is no cost to the full-time employee which also covers the employees’ family members. Their dental and vision plans are also offered after 400 hours of service and available to employees and their dependants.
Whole Foods also provides the option of a flexible spending accounts and personal wellness accounts to help with any costs for eligible out-of pocket healthcare and dependant care expenses. Flexible spending accounts are available to employees after 400 hours of employee service. Personal wellness accounts are available after 800 hours of employee service, the funds are based on the years of service and any funds remaining would “roll over” at the end of the year for use in the next year.
Even though the time period to wait for these benefits is rather long, I believe that Whole Foods benefits are something that is worth waiting for. Other benefits that are offered to employees such as life insurance, disability insurance and 401(k) plans are also offered to employees after 400 hours of service. Whole Foods offer several different levels and types of life insurance coverage, all of which are available to employees and their dependants. Disability insurance is rovided to employees that have become injured or disabled and will help employees to replace a percentage of employee earnings when they are unable to work, also offered is long-term and short-term disability plans. Whole Foods also offer paid-time off plans that are based on the amount of time that the employee has worked and can be used for vacations, sickness, holidays and personal days. The company’s paid-time off policy can be used at the employee’s discretion, can be rolled over to next year and is paid out should the employee opt to leave the company.
Whole Foods also offers leaves of absence when needed and plans that are both state and federally mandated programs, such as Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Team Member Discount • 20% off of all purchases made at any Whole Foods Market location • The discount card is provided on your first day of employment • Spouses and eligible domestic partners may also receive a card Leaves of Absence To balance team members’ needs, we offer numerous types of leaves of absence in addition to those that are federally and state-mandated. Gainsharing
Our Gainsharing program is similar to profit-sharing plans employed by other companies, with one important difference: Gainsharing rewards those factors that team members have most control over, like productivity, scheduling and customer service. • Most retail store team members are eligible to participate in our Gainsharing Program • Non-retail facilities may participate in Gainsharing or a similar incentive compensation program • Incentive bonuses for Store Team Leaders and Associate Store Team Leaders are based on the Economic Value Added (EVA®) program Banking and Other Benefits Direct deposit available for your convenience • Special debit card program available as alternative to direct deposit • Credit union membership offered at most locations • Online and phone access to a wage and employment verification and W-2 reprint service Team Member Stock Purchase Plan • Team members may purchase shares of Whole Foods Market common stock at a discount off the fair market value through automatic payroll deductions. • Full- or part-time non-seasonal team members are eligible to participate after 400 service hours Team Member Stock Option Plan
Whole Foods Market’s board of directors grants options to eligible Team Members every year through its broad-based stock option plan. • Full- or part-time non-seasonal team members are eligible to receive a leadership grant each year at the discretion of their regional president • Full- or part-time non-seasonal team members with more than 6,000 service hours are eligible to receive a service hour grant each year • Options are non-qualified stock options; the size of the grant and availability are determined each year by the board of directors Team Member Emergency Funds
If a team member experiences an unforeseeable emergency, we have programs that can offer assistance. • Store and Facility Emergency Funds (funded by voluntary team member paycheck deductions – usually $1) • Paid Time Off (PTO) Donations (from team member to team member) • Global Team Member Emergency Fund (funded by the company for major disasters) Top of Form The company tries to provide a rewarding work environment by offering its Team Members (employees) competitive wages, paid trainings, transparency and access to all its financial books, including its annual individual compensation report, and discounted stocks for purchase.
Whole Foods also pays 100% of the employee benefits package, which includes flexible options such as a debit card-based personal wellness account. Since 1998, Fortune has consistently listed the company in the top 100 of its list of Best Companies to Work For, and ranked it number five overall in 2007. 3 Community relations at the local and international level are supported in several ways. The company periodically holds CommUnity Giving Days, or 5% days, where the local stores donate 5% of net sales to a local or regional organization.
This is part of the corporate promise to donate at least 5% of total net sales to charities. The company has also donated food to food banks and promotes environmental stewardship by utilizing local composting facilities. 4 Internationally, the company sponsors the Whole Planet Foundation, partnering with established groups such as the Grameen Trust and ProMujer, to make grants and loans to people in countries from which Whole Foods buys products. 5 Whole Foods seems to be doing more than just paying lip service to the values that qualify it as a socially responsible company.
It has taken definitive steps toward meeting the standards it claims to uphold and has been recognized by the market for successful elements of its overall value proposition. While this case study looks specifically at the product standards and the company’s internal compliance monitoring, the brand that Whole Foods wants to create, the brand that can demand higher prices in its stores, hinges on trust that these other promises are kept. Does this commitment translate to trust for the quality of the products it sells in its stores?
Supporting Team Member Excellence and Happiness Empowering Work Environments Our success is dependent upon the collective energy and intelligence of all of our Team Members. We strive to create a work environment where motivated Team Members can flourish and succeed to their highest potential. We appreciate effort and reward results. Self-Responsibility We take responsibility for our own success and failures. We celebrate success and see failures as opportunities for growth. We recognize that we are responsible for our own happiness and success. Self-Directed Teams
The fundamental work unit of the company is the self-directed Team. Teams meet regularly to discuss issues, solve problems and appreciate each others’ contributions. Every Team Member belongs to a Team. Open & Timely Information We believe knowledge is power and we support our Team Members’ right to access information that impacts their jobs. Our books are open to our Team Members, including our annual individual compensation report. We also recognize everyone’s right to be listened to and heard regardless of their point of view. Incremental Progress
Our company continually improves through unleashing the collective creativity and intelligence of all of our Team Members. We recognize that everyone has a contribution to make. We keep getting better at what we do. Shared Fate We recognize there is a community of interest among all of our stakeholders. There are no entitlements; we share together in our collective fate. To that end we have a salary cap that limits the compensation (wages plus profit incentive bonuses) of any Team Member to nineteen times the average total compensation of all full-time Team Members in the company.
