Angel Santoyo – Los Banos, CA

For This Associate, Practice is Proctoring (Near) Perfection

Whether practice really makes perfect is still up for debate. But it’s a debate that Walmart associates around the world are willing to engage in, as they work toward new skills – and new opportunities, too.

Angel Santoyo is a replenishment team lead at Store 2117 in Los Banos, California. And when it comes to all things Walmart, he’s had plenty of practice.

Angel has seen the Walmart Academy from all angles, first as a facilitator and then again while training for his current role as a team lead. He says that for him, the experience is all about getting better so he can do more.

"The Academy is a wonderful place for us, for any associates, to learn," Angel said. "They want to upskill us, and we in turn want to do more for the customers."

Though that upskilling is just about doing more for the customers. Angel says it’s also about learning to better serve the associates who he works with every day. That’s where he says he found the biggest value in his time teaching with the Academy and in his time learning from it.

"For me, something that was so important was learning to communicate well," Angel said. "When it comes to communicating with the team, 20 to 25 people is a big charge, and so having the communication skills and a means to talk about the core company values is huge."

Beyond learning more about how to communicate, Angel also credits the Academy with helping understand what to communicate. In essence, it all comes down to One Best Way.

"Having that One Best Way background knowledge gives you such an advantage in equipping your associates with the skills to work in the departments we deal in every day," Angel said.

Ultimately, the Academy has given Angel the opportunity to keep practicing. Whether as a facilitator, or the person leading the team, Angel stands as an example that while we can’t know if practice really makes perfect, it sure seems to push us in the right direction.