Sam’s Club unveiled a “reimagined approach to its workforce compensation, announcing a new plan that accelerates pay for nearly 100,000 frontline associates and provides a roadmap for them to plan and pursue more predictable, longer-term financial futures.”

Under the new plan, “associate hourly wages will progress faster in their pay range, expanding the increase to between 3% and 6% based on years of service. The plan sets predictable pay increase milestones to give associates a longer-term perspective on their financial futures. With these new compensation investments, the average hourly rate for Sam’s Club associates is anticipated to be above $19.”

“At Sam’s Club, we believe delivering an unparalleled experience for our members starts with investing in our frontline associates,” said Chris Nicholas, president and CEO of Sam’s Club, in a LinkedIn post. “Until now, retail compensation has largely been about hourly wages, and it’s almost unheard of to talk about frontline associate compensation in terms of a predictable financial future—that changes for Sam’s Club starting today.”

Sam’s Club says that three of four salaried managers begin as hourly associates, and in the last five years, the number of hourly associates promoted to salaried positions has increased nearly 400%.

Sam’s Club stated that since 2019, in addition to pay, it has focused on career growth and creating more pathways of opportunity for associates by providing greater security, flexibility and convenience in their work. This includes:

• The implementation of block schedules for full-time associates to provide associates consistent weekly schedules.
• An increase in full-time associates by 11% so even more associates can reach full 40-hour weeks.
• The introduction of new technology that makes it easier for associates to understand their pay and benefits.
• The creation of workgroups to broaden departmental cross-training.

In January, Sam’s Club announced it would use AI to speed up receipt verification as customers exit the store.