CEO winds up in session with workers

Saturday, June 7, 2014

FAYETTEVILLE -- Wal-Mart Chief Executive Doug McMillon was walking the north concourse at Bud Walton Arena on Friday, nearly 30 minutes after the retailer's annual shareholders meeting ended, when he found himself in an impromptu meeting with employees.

Most of the 14,000 in attendance had cleared out by then, but a few Wal-Mart workers recognized their new leader and asked him to pose for a photo. McMillon obliged, briefly chatted and then began walking toward one of the four luxury boxes where investor question-and-answer sessions were being held.

McMillon, who got his start with the company as an hourly worker in 1984, made it a few more feet before another employee photo request. He posed, then asked a question that would set off a nearly 15-minute exchange with a group that included current employees and activists.

"What could we do better?" McMillon could be heard asking a trio of workers who traveled together from stores in North Carolina.

Word quickly spread that McMillon was making himself available for an unplanned visit with employees. Within a few minutes, a crowd of about 50 gathered around him and began asking questions and voicing complaints about individual stores while others expressed disappointment in the retailer as a whole.

Included in the group were members of OUR Walmart, the professional protest group that has the backing of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and is working to unionize Wal-Mart employees. After hearing a few complaints, McMillon diplomatically attempted to disengage the crowd.

"We're going to do what we can to make Wal-Mart a better company," McMillon said.

After being asked to take "one more" question, McMillon stayed for another five minutes. Some of those gathered in the crowd raised their voices to be heard by the CEO.

McMillon kept his cool throughout the exchange, which included accusations of intimidation by superiors and medical issues that weren't properly handled by management. McMillon asked individuals who complained to give him their specific store numbers -- each Wal-Mart is identified within the company by number -- and multiple times said he wanted to promote a positive culture at the local level.

"Help us figure out how to make this better," McMillon said. "Help us make this situation better."

McMillon, meeting with reporters about an hour later, described the scene as one of the many opportunities he had during his first shareholders week as CEO to gauge associate feedback.

"I just got some feedback after the shareholders meeting was over," McMillon said. "It was great."

Wal-Mart, which reported $437 billion in global sales last year and remains on top of the Fortune 500, routinely comes under criticism by some, such as OUR Walmart, for employee pay and treatment. Asked during a brief question-and-answer session with reporters about how he hoped to build on the excitement generated from shareholders week and change the perception of Wal-Mart, McMillon pointed to his own experience within the company.

McMillon worked his way up over the course of 30 years with the retailer to be named CEO in February. He replaced former CEO Mike Duke after serving five years as head of Wal-Mart International.

Asked about employee pay, McMillon told reporters that of the 1.3 million associates in the United States, fewer than 10,000 make state or federal minimum wage.

"The way I look at Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart is a meritocracy," McMillon said. "Retail jobs as an industry pay in a certain range. We pay competitively. We have to pay competitively or the market will punish us. We won't be able to attract or retain the talent we need."

Not all of the employees who interacted with McMillon were satisfied with the exchanges. Others, like the trio from North Carolina that he initially stopped to speak with said they were encouraged by McMillon taking time to visit.

"It meant everything," said Monique Savage, a Neighborhood Market employee. "You have to respect that. He wanted to know what was on our mind. We had a chance to tell him. He respects us. We respect him."

Business on 06/07/2014