Sha Farley

 

 

Farley is currently the vice president of human resources for Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. In this role, she leads field HR efforts for the leading membership warehouse club with 646 locations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Farley, who has more than 15 years of experience in the practice of human Resources, has a bachelor of arts in sociology from Vanderbilt University and a master’s in human resources and labor relations from the University of Illinois.

 

Farley joined Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. as senior director of human resources in the Global People Division supporting finance in April of 2011. She was promoted in June 2012 to her current position, leading the work to support in-club associates across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Along with her team of 54 HR professionals, she is working to shape the future in-club talent strategy while also managing day-to-day human resource practice and associate relations.

 

Prior to joining Wal-Mart, Farley spent 11 years in the healthcare industry working for Pfizer Inc. She grew up in Macon, GA and has a passion for philanthropic efforts.

 

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CAREER WORLD

How does Sam’s Club reach out to recruit a diversified workforce? Are there any new initiatives in place?

 

SHA FARLEY

A diversified workforce has been identified as both a business imperative and competitive advantage. Sam’s Club understands this notion, and this is why we apply a three-pronged approach to ensuring that we are creating the best opportunity to obtain a workforce that reflects the various communities we serve.

 

First, we practice our Every Day Low Cost operational model by utilizing social and professional networking sites to learn more about candidates who may be passive in nature, and therefore not familiar with the opportunities our company has to offer.

 

Second, academic institutions continue to play a vital role in building the next generation workforce. As a result, Sam’s Club targets various educational institutions to build partnerships to help us staff our clubs and our headquarters environment in Bentonville, AR.

 

Third, to recruit highly seasoned talent, we partner with professional organizations with diverse membership bases.

 

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CAREER WORLD

How does Sam’s Club interact with professional organizations that foster diversity and inclusion?

 

SHA FARLEY

Sam’s Club interacts with professional organizations in a variety of ways. Both Sam’s Club and Walmart partner with Women of Color for STEM talent, ALPHA, and the National Association for Black Accountants for Finance related competencies, and the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers, to grow the analytical skill sets needed to run multifaceted, complex business operations.

 

Sam’s Club also utilizes our recruitment strategy to work with Divine 9 African American fraternities and sororities, Enactus, and the Opportunity Funding Corporation. We sponsor events and programs as well as hire associates from these organizations.

 

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CAREER WORLD

Does Sam’s Club sponsor employee resource groups to bring together employees to share their collective experiences?

 

SHA FARLEY

Yes. Our Associate Resource Groups lead in the space of diversity and inclusion not only within the walls of Sam’s Club and Walmart, but in our communities where we live, work, and enjoy life together.

 

Diversity of thought drives innovation. We are able to exceed our members’ expectations when we best understand them. Our Associate Resource Groups leverage various cultural experiences, thoughts, and innovative ideas to educate and motivate our associates and our business while keeping our members at the heart of all that we do.

 

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CAREER WORLD

Does Sam Club attend diversity job fairs and target specific colleges through on-campus career fairs?

 

SHA FARLEY

Sam’s Club and Walmart collectively attend many job fairs at numerous colleges and universities. Institutions of higher learning like Cheyney University, Lincoln University, the University of Arkansas, Harvard, Spelman College, the University of Texas, and the University of Illinois are a few of our key schools. We also harvest talent from organizations like the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Opportunity Funding Corporation, which provide us with the opportunity to interact and recruit diverse students ranging from the Washington, D.C./Maryland area to the Louisiana and Oklahoma geographies. We attend major jobs fairs for these organizations/institutions as well as a plethora of other diverse academic institutions.

 

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CAREER WORLD

What advice can you offer to college graduates as they begin their job search; what qualities does Sam’s Club look for in job candidates?

 

SHA FARLEY

My advice to college graduates as they begin their job search is to identify companies that have values that are consistent with your personal values. Do your homework on the companies you are interested in working for to include recent media and financial posts. Early in your career, be willing to take any role that will give you experience, exposure or an education in the business.

 

The top qualities we look for in candidates seeking a career at Sam’s Club:

• Respectful to self and others

• High Integrity

• Great work ethic/willingness to learn & grow

• High humility and service orientation

 

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CAREER WORLD

What advice can you offer new employees in their efforts to move ahead in your company?

 

SHA FARLEY

• Be a student of the business.

• Put your head down and do great work; it will get noticed.

• Quickly learn the rules of engagement and cultural norms, then model them.

• Blend in before you stand out.

• Be innovative and willing to take risk.

 

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CAREER WORLD

What is the outlook for jobs in the retail/wholesale clubs industry?

 

SHA FARLEY

Well I can’t speak for the industry as a whole, but what I can share with you from the Sam’s Club and Walmart perspective is this:

 

• Next year, we will hire 500,000 new associates in the U.S.

• We’ll put over 10,000 through management training, with over 70% being promoted from within.

• We’ll hire over 700 college interns next year between corporate, stores, and clubs.

• Our store/club general managers for Walmart and Sam’s Club receive a base salary + bonus package between $100-200k annually.

 

For an industry perspective, I would recommend you visit the National Retail Federation (NRF) website to get valuable industry insights, such as:

 

“Retail is the nation’s largest private sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy.” The following link is to a very recent article about retail industry jobs and pay:

 

https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/universityof-georgianational-retail-federation-study-debunksmyths- surrounding

 

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CAREER WORLD

How can our readers post their resumes online for career opportunities at Sam’s Club?

 

SHA FARLEY

We would encourage your readers to visit careers.walmart. com, click on the Sam’s Club banner, and check out all the wonderful career opportunities available at Sam’s Club.