Big box retailers looking to open stores in urban neighborhoods often have different considerations to take into account vs. when moving into upscale suburban locations. Limited space for building along with more expensive rents and higher crime rates, for example, make store size and security higher priorities in urban areas.
Another consideration is employee welfare. According to a Los Angeles Times article, Target found that associates in stores in Compton and other urban locations faced challenges that could be quite different than those of its workers in other stores.
Before moving into Compton, Target was aware of its reputation for gang violence, drugs and numerous other social ills associated with extreme poverty. What it didn't really see coming was how it would affect those individuals who made up its workforce.
"There was domestic violence, teenage pregnancy. We've had situations where team members were homeless and living in their cars but still coming to work," Alice Reyes, head of human resources at the Compton Target, told the Times. "More than half of my day was dealing with team member concerns -- 'What should I do, where should I go?' They needed someone to talk to, someone who would listen."
Target made the decision to go out and get someone to help associates with their problems. In stepped ComPsych, a company that provides workplace counselors, and Saundra Edwards.
Ms. Edwards, or Miss Saundra as she is known at the store, spends two days a week at the Compton Target. She told the Times her job is "not about giving advice, it's about giving assistance."
One case where Ms. Edwards provided assistance was with a sales clerk who worked at another Target and feared for her safety from a former boyfriend. Issues with the man caused her to miss work and almost cost her the job at Target. Ms. Edwards, learning of the situation, helped the woman find space in a women's shelter and arranged for her to move to the Compton store. Since then, getting to work has not been an issue.
"Last year was terrible and it's better now," the woman told Ms. Edwards. "I didn't know who to talk to. When you're going through things, you don't want to take them to work and dump all over someone."
Target's Compton store was the second in the chain to hire a social worker. Today, the chain has 69 stores with social workers and those locations showed a 17 percent improvement in attendance.
"Our Compton store has been a great success story," Gregg Steinhafel, chairman and CEO of Target, told the Times. "I'm confident that learnings from our three years in Compton will prove extremely beneficial as we continue to expand."
Discussion Questions: Are there lessons for other chains from Target's experience with social workers? Would this approach also be effective in locations in areas outside of urban areas?