Whole Foods Business Intelligence Report

Whole Foods Business Intelligence Report Whole Foods: Business Intelligence Report Whole Foods: Business Intelligence Report Human Resources Whole Foods utilizes a human resources department that works in order to implement strategies and policies relating to the management of its workforce. The company is well-known for its team-based operations and employee-oriented work culture which are considered main factors in why Whole Foods has risen to such a high level of success within the industry.

The human resources department at Whole Foods seeks to decentralize the standard employee model in order to tailor fit each of its facilities in terms of its specific community presence and employee makeup. One of the facets of Whole Foods human resources that sets it apart significantly from its competition is the core value associated with team building within employee communities.

The HR department notes in its annual business report that it seeks to not only "study the effect of leadership on culture and within the working community" but "study how internal team building and competition can contribute towards creating a 'culture of excellence'" that Whole Foods strives to continue to achieve and maintain (Business Report 2009). With each store contains an average of ten self-managed teams, each of which is responsible for one aspect of the store's operations such as bakery goods, beer/wine/cheese, nutritional products, meat, supplements, etc.

These specific operational teams are kept separate from a team of customer service representatives and a team of cashiers, allowing that each employee holds a skill-set and knowledge base completely specific to his or her team rather than other companies whose employees work on a broader store-wide basis.

At Whole Foods, employees are play a crucial part in both the operations and management of the company itself and receive significant benefits, voting on all company-wide initiatives, maintaining a full say in who they work with, as each new employee must receive a 2/3 vote to make it past the probationary period, maintaining a salary book in every store under its "no secrets" management policy, holding 94% of company stock options, and having 100% of medical expenses paid for as a full-time employee under plans they themselves have selected.

Clearly this isn't the average grocery store in terms of employee relations and satisfaction. Finances In this fiscal year alone, with the company's third quarter ending in early July, Whole Foods has earned a revenue of $5,354,173 with a profit of $1,875,058 (Consolidated Quarterly, 2011). As of June 7, 2011, the closing share price was listed by Nasdaq at $56.99. With more than 300 stores in North America and the United Kingdom, Whole Foods boasts over 54,000 employees and is slated to continue growing.

Cindy McCann, Vice President of Investor Relations noted in her May 4, 2011 press release that share prices were on the rise, saying: "These are the strongest overall results we have reported in the past five years. Our solid execution is generating consistent cash flow, and with our long-term debt now fully repaid, we are considering other uses for our growing cash balance, including accelerating our growth,.