In May, Otis Scott became Walmart’s regional human resources director for the entire state of Missouri, including East St. Louis and Kansas City, Kansas, but excluding Branson and Joplin.
In his new position, he oversees 30,000 hourly workers and 5,000 managers in more than 130 stores. He spends a lot more time working on strategy.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about diversity and inclusion in any strategy, from promotions to retention,” said Scott, who was previously Walmart regional manager of human resources. “In any project, I’m always thinking, ‘How can I infuse inclusion into our strategy?’ That’s my job.”
Walmart just opened new “neighborhood markets” in Kansas City, he said. When Walmart enters into a community in his area, he makes sure that it has a diverse workforce.
“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.”
Walmart’s mission is “Save money. Live better.” Scott said that since he has become director, he has truly come to love that statement even more. Every morning, he tries to apply that mission to his employees’ lives.
“I want them to know Walmart cares,” he said. “So what does that look like today?”
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 with 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.
“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 four 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.”
