When Otis Scott was a college student of business, he had a conversation with his professional mentor that changed the direction of his life.
“I wanted to be a corporate lawyer and eventually become a judge,” said Scott, now regional senior human resources manager for Walmart.
Scott’s mentor, a corporate lawyer (now deceased), asked him why he wanted to take that career path.
“I told him that I wanted to stand up for people and make an impact on people’s lives,” Scott said. “He funneled me into the HR world. I asked him, ‘Isn’t all they do is hire and fire?’ He said, ‘No it’s so much more than that.’”
“I feel I am doing what God wanted me to do. I get to see my payday everyday with the way I help someone.”
As a HR manager, Scott thinks daily about workforce planning, talent growth, succession planning and community involvement, he said.
“Diversity and inclusion are a huge part of the Walmart’s culture,” Scott said. “One of the things that I love about Walmart is that we really pride ourselves on making sure that we are part of the community, not just a store in the community.”
Scott said Walmart takes its responsibility in the community seriously.
“We are one of the companies that walk the walk, not just talk it,” he said. “In my role, I do anything I can to help leverage diversity and to keep it in the forefront of our minds – because I understand that it’s a thread in our culture. You can look inside our stores, our companies and the choices of where we have stores, and you can see that we understand the power of diversity.”
Scott grew up with his mother, Doris Waldron, in Cleveland, Ohio. His father died before he was born.
“I had a grandfather who stepped up and became Dad instantly,” Scott said. “That’s what has instilled success in me. It was never about success having to do about material things. Success, as my grandfather would put it, is what makes your heart feel good.”
His grandfather, Rev. Richard Johnson, has been a minister all of Scott’s life. He has three children, Brianna, Otis and Deshaune Scott.
“I am a young African-American professional that is very cognizant of understanding the shoulders of which I stand on,” he said. “I understand the impact of the role that I’m in – not just professionally but personally as well. I get up everyday to live up to those expectations.”
Scott has been in St. Louis for three years. He said that the region is filled with diversity and with people who want to learn more about other cultures.
“There are so many things that make us diverse,” he said. “You have a lot of people who are growing themselves in knowledge of what makes us different. We are still learning. We are in the stage of really exploring ourselves and growing ourselves, from my perspective.”
For Walmart, he said that being inclusive is just as important as being diverse.
“It’s not just diversity, it’s diversity and inclusion,” he said. “One doesn’t go without the other. They go hand in hand in our company.”
