Diversity In Walmart Inc
Diversity in Walmart Inc.
Michael Goodwin
Abstract
The purpose of this article is an exploration into the practices, methods and implementation of diversity, inclusion and empowerment of the Walmart corporation. Various sources, ranging from trade publication, magazine and newspaper articles as well as online sources were all used to examine Walmart’s dedication to diversity in the workplace as well as the community it serves. The actions and expectations of all employees, from the CEO to the loading dock worker are examined as well as the resources available to them. Walmart’s global influence will also be examined with regards to promoting a culture of inclusion that travels through the entire supply chain from production to shelf.
Introduction
Walmart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton in Bentonville, Arkansas. Walton achieved growth by rapid expansion and lowered profit margins to achieve lower prices than his competitors.
Headquartered still in Bentonville, Walmart is now a global retailer with supermarkets, department and discount stores as well as warehouse outlets such as Sam’s Club, which offer sales in bulk. Walmart has also expanded into the health and wellness and apparel industries.
With brand names like Equate, Everstart, Bonobos, Mainstay and No Boundaries, Walmart has reached revenues of $514 Billion as of 2019 fiscal year and employs 2.2 million people worldwide.
Currently, the corporate strategy of Walmart is to be one of “Customer Centered” by having both physical “brick and mortar” outlets as well as e-commerce availability. The cornerstone of this strategy remains one of offering the lowest possible prices at all times without affecting service or quality.
Expansions into global markets also range from neighborhood markets, to superstores as well as production side itself, the goal being one of ownership of the entire supply chain.
Diversity In Leadership
The current CEO and president of Walmart is Doug McMillon. McMillon was named CEO in 2014 after more than 30 years in the company. Beginning as a teenager offloading trucks, McMillon worked his way up the ranks as the CEO of Sam’s Club from 2005-09 and Walmart International from 2009-14, when he was named CEO of Walmart Inc itself.
McMillon was named to head the Business Roundtable in 2020, an organization of industry leaders that address and confront modern issues of the business community. McMillon was also named to the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board.
McMillon was named by the National Retail Foundation as their “Visionary” for 2018 by spearheading change in the retail industry.
“We strive to be a purpose-driven company, and we work to make every day easier for busy families.” McMillon said (NRF Press Release, 2017)
McMillon publicly opposed Arkansas HB1228, or the “Religious Freedom” bill that was criticized as discriminatory against LGBTQ people.
Saying the bill “threatens to undermine the spirit of inclusion present throughout the state of Arkansas and does not reflect the values we proudly uphold”, McMillon and many others took a public stand against what they viewed as discrimination.
Ben Hasan, Senior VP and current Walmart Diversity Officer began in the Walmart Tech sector, specializing in India and Mexico. Hasan also spent 11 years at Dell computer specializing in technology.
During a Diversity Business National Summit, Hasan was the keynote speaker and highlighted that diversity instrumental in a company’s growth.
“Everyone must be included to be successful” he said to the crowd of industry leaders. (Diversitybusiness.com)
Hasan’s initiatives are currently coupled with McMillon’s in expanding Walmart’s initiatives in diversity and inclusion.
Finally, Kathleen McLaughlin is the president of the Walmart Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Walmart brand. She also serves as the Sustainability Officer of Walmart itself.
McLaughlin believes that economic opportunity to historically underrepresented communities can be achieved by high paying jobs but also sourcing. Aiming to advance front line workers to career positions, McLaughlin’s programs have invested $2.7Billion in training and education for employees (Markle)
Resource Measurement
When Director of Operations Brock McKeel witnessed a virtual reality Oculus Rift headset being used to train the University of Arkansas football team, the idea was formed to use the technology to train Walmart employees (WSJ, 2014)
Using a virtual reality system , the aim was to remove any bias from the scoring of an applicant. By removing the human component of the grading scale, the aim was to increase diversity. Available in 200 locations and to 150,000 employees, the VR program runs simulations from customer service to “Black Friday” scenarios to test the subjects ability to handle high stress situations (TechCrunch.com 2017)
Another way Walmart attempted to promote inclusion in their corporation was to institute a culture of inclusivity in Walmart itself. With CEO McMillon taking public stances concerning the Arkansas bill, he also came out after shootings at Walmart stores that were suspected to be politically motivated (Walmart Press Release) in El Paso.
“As it becomes clearer that the shooting in El Paso was motivated by hate, we are more resolved than ever to foster an inclusive environment where all people are valued and welcomed” McMillon wrote in a letter posted on Linkedin.
Steve Bratspies along with eight senior leaders of Walmart form a special “Inclusion Council” that were specifically chosen for innovation. From a diverse background in both ethnicity and gender, the council adheres to the commitments laid down in 2017 regarding Walmart Policy: the CEO Champions for Change, CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion and the Paradigm for Parity.
Education
Walmart uses so called “Walmart Academies” to promote a corporate philosophy of teamwork and diversity in actual classrooms with computer labs and audio visual equipment to rival many actual schools.
With an average $1 per hour raise given upon completion of the usual 3 month program, the focus is to rebrand Walmart as a community based employer as opposed to simply another corporate giant (Forbes.com 2016) The curriculum of the academy is meant to give skills and development in business centered areas as well as exposure to a wide variety of different perspectives the student will encounter in both professional as well as personal life.
Walmart also encourages leadership in the field of diversity by sponsoring internships for both the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (Roll Call.com 2018). With $2Million in grants given, Julie Gehrki, VP of Programs stated:
“At Walmart, our commitment to diversity spreads beyond our stores” While also endowing $500,000 to the UNCF, Walmart is also planning a partnership with Path Forward, who’s goal is to assist women reentering the workforce after family leave.
Another effort Walmart engaged in was the development through the Walmart Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation named TRUE Northwest Arkansas. $25Million was given in the form of grants and support for start-up businesses to encourage new development of diversity in Walmart’s own backyard. With a focus on training, developing and reporting on the status of inclusion in the region, the project was developed to promote diversity on a large scale in a relatively small area (Talk Business.net, 2018)
“This region is already diverse, we need to focus on inclusion and make Northwest Arkansas the inclusion capital of the world,” Ben Hasan, chief Diversity and Inclusion officer at Walmart said.
Alignment of Management Systems
The Racial Equity Institute was brought in by Walmart to train 30 upper level executives of the company as well as 40 other business leaders in the Northwest Arkansas community to advance the goal of inclusion and diversity.
Meant to foster an atmosphere of recruitment and promotion of a wide variety of different backgrounds, the REI was selected because of its status as an outside observer.
Outreach for recruiting was also achieved by focusing on gatherings of traditionally underused communities in the technology and information industry. The Grace Hopper Celebration, a gathering of women in the technology field that boasts 20,000 visitors was attended. The focus being on recruiting female candidates in the tech field into executive and leadership roles into Walmart. The Reaching Out LGBTQ MBA Business Grad Conference (ROMBA) conference was also attended to find LGBTQ business school graduates. Many Walmart executives attended and were also speakers at both events.
Walmart also used Associate Research Groups to address the questions, concerns and thoughts of traditionally marginalized communities. The African American Business Resource Group, Asian Pacific Associates Network, Hispanic Latino Associate Research Group, inABLE (representing those with physical disabilities), Pride (LGBTQ), Tribal Voices Native American Group and the Women’s Resource Council are all such groups. Formed with the goal of advising the president of Walmart by way of a selected “Champion”, these groups also autonomously develop programs. The C.O.M.P.A.S.S. program by the African American Business Resource Group focuses on mentoring African American employees as does the Padrino program for the Hispanic Latino Associate Resource Group. The Asian Heritage initiative focuses on Walmart’s Asian cuisine products and the Beyond The Rainbow program focuses on LGBTQ employees and issues.
Follow Up
Walmart instituted the Inclusive Leadership Expectations program to reinforce diversity goals. 77,000 employee’s annual performance evaluations were made to include mandatory courses in; Unconscious Bias, LGBTQ Ally training, Values Based Decision Making Workshops and Sexual Harassment and Prevention. Team leaders would also be required to mentor two subordinate employees, host a mentoring circle or participate in a program of mentoring.
In house legal counsel would now be tasked with holding outside legal to the same diversity standards as Walmart employees. Walmart legal teams would ensure that any legal teams would include women of color in the decision making and leadership roles as opposed to simply doing paperwork (Big Business Law.com)
Finally, Walmart would hold annual Diversity and Inclusion reports open to the public on their online homepage. Reports included a breakdown of all aspects of the Walmart employee roster. From executives to technicians, all facts and figures were presented in an easy to read format.
Global Efforts
With the Women’s Entrepreneurship Development Program, 75 businesses owned and operated by women were invited to train in business with the goal of making them successful and competitive in their markets (Supply Chain Dive.com)
The Women in Factories Program also endeavoured to teach life skills to 60,000 women in developing markets along with teaching another 8,000 in leadership roles focused in Latin America, Asia and Bangladesh (H.R. Resource Management International Digest) With the goal of “Giving them the confidence they need to take control of their lives and their futures” the project focuses on bringing women into stronger roles in both business and cultural life.
Further inclusion efforts include LGBTQ efforts in Japan, where gatherings were held to inform and educate business associates with the challenges and perspectives of LGBTQ employees. In Canada, LGBTQ pride parades were held to raise awareness as well. The Walmart Without Borders initiative in Central America also focused on LGBTQ and women’s roles in business leadership.
Group Ranking
Keeping in mind the size of the company, and how bureaucracy tends to move slowly, if at all, Walmart is doing “Good” in a ranking of diversity and inclusion efforts. Not long ago, Walmart was synonymous with all that was wrong with the faceless corporate giants that decimated communities with little regard for anything but the bottom line. Being able to address such a wide variety of communities of and sheer number of employees is a task in and of itself. Keeping in mind they are doing this while attempting to keep a competitive business model while answering to shareholders, the results are impressive.
Recommendations
The above mentioned efforts and programs are all beneficial both in regards to corporate morale as well as ease of operations. Legal issues and lawsuits are also avoided by confronting any potential misunderstandings or bias. As such, the only real recommendation would be to keep up current efforts with technological advancements and ease of communication up the chain of command.
Final Comments
With its sheer size and ability to control all aspects of the supply chain, Walmart can serve as a beacon as to how a company can foster an environment of diversity, inclusion and empowerment in a business setting while still being profitable, dynamic and trend-setting in other aspects of business. The purpose of a business is indeed to maximize profits and return investment potential to the shareholder, but if this can be done while also maximizing the potential of under represented groups, so much the better. This seems to be the current goal of Walmart and in doing so they may set a trend in the business community that has a ripple effect, which could raise the bar for years to come.
