Walmart renews commitment to associates, makes ‘significant’ change to name badges

Fayetteville, Ark. -- Walmart U.S. on Wednesday announced that it is making a small but “significant” change to its employee name badges as part of its renewed commitment to associates.



“I'm proud to say that we're bringing back ‘Our People Make the Difference’ on our badges. These words are just as important today, and to our future, as they ever were,” said Walmart U.S. COO Judith McKenna.



McKenna spoke to nearly 3,000 associates from around the country as part of the week-long events surrounding Walmart’s annual shareholders meeting. A 20-year associate who became COO of Walmart U.S. in December, McKenna has spent a lot of time in the stores listening and said she is hearing that associates, while excited about the changes they are seeing with pay, training and scheduling, also want leadership to reduce the complexity that has gradually been added to store jobs.



Every associate in the U.S. stores will have the new badge by the end of the year.



“You told us we've made it harder for you to do what you do best, which is serving our customers. Your feedback is helping us understand how we support you better and remove the distractions that get in your way,” said McKenna. “Taking care of our customers begins with taking care of you. It's that simple. My commitment to you is that we will continue to listen, and, more importantly, act on what we hear.”