Pomp, circumstance in Naperville Walmart aisles for first Training Academy

It was, in many ways, a typical graduation ceremony.

A parade of grads in caps and gowns, certificates of completion, friends and family snapping pictures.

The only difference was the location: Instead of a school, this ceremony started in the aisles of the Walmart Supercenter on 75th Street in Naperville and ended in a tent outside.

Oh, and the 50 or so grads weren't traditional students. They were hourly supervisors and department managers who had completed two weeks of hands-on training that combined experiences in the classroom and on the sales floor.

It was the first graduating class for the new Walmart Training Academy at the Naperville store, said Scott Roelfsema, academy manager. The academy eventually will serve as a training hub for 16 Walmarts in the Northwest suburbs.

The idea is simple: the supervisors meet for one week of "core training" and then a second week of classes on the sales floor that focus on areas specific to each employee.

"Providing skills training increases productivity, confidence and knowledge, which leads to greater job satisfaction, personal and professional growth, and helps make working at Walmart a smart career choice," company Vice President and Regional General Manager Dale Murphy said in a written statement.

The bottom line, Roelfsema said, is to help supervisors define "what does 'good' look like" and to stay on a "one best way" routine.

Toward that end, he said, "we delve into all the little aspects, from the day we receive it (merchandise) to the day we sell it and all the steps in between."

The Naperville location was chosen as a training center because it's already one of the company's top stores, he said. Walmart built a 2,500-square-foor addition to the facility with five classrooms that can handle up to 90 students at a time.

The company plans to offer about 200 academies across the country by the end of the year, with each training associates from other stores.

On Thursday, though, Roelfsema said the coolest part of the ceremony didn't have anything to do with selling or training and everything to do with people.

Some of those wearing caps and gowns had never been part of a graduation ceremony, he said.

"What really got to me was seeing family members going up to take pictures with them," he said. "That was really just amazing to me."