Did you know?
Did you know that you can find out more about all of WOLF’s programs by watching a new video? In this video you’ll hear from many people who have been involved in the work for their own personal development or to grow their business by connecting with female consumers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vljB-GPqck&feature=player_embedded
Spotlighting You!
This month, we are spotlighting wonderful employees and WOLF volunteers who are making Best Buy a great place for women to work and shop. To honor those who have shown incredible partnership and passion for the work, we’ll be spotlighting employees in monthly communications.
We’d like to thank the fantastic team members in Nick Russo’s District in Miami, Florida. Thank you to the employees at Tropicare, Dadeland and South Beach for your warm reception into your stores. Special thanks to GMs Raul Soler, Jurgen Ugalde, and Jorge Alicea. Look for a video in an upcoming Employee News that features the district’s great innovation around small appliances.
We’d like to spotlight Fred Baer who was instrumental in helping to create and facilitate two Knowledge Marketplace Innovation Trainings in Q2 for WOLF Pack members. The training focused on the fundamentals of building a business case, problem identification, expected impact, execution plan and measurement. This training was set up to help WOLF Packs understand how to create and implement a successful innovation project for FY12. Fred’s time, expertise and support was very helpful and much appreciated!
WOLF would like to thank Todd London for his continued support with the Pack innovation work. His help with measurement accountability and visibility to the work taking place within the Packs and his insights and continued partnership are instrumental as WOLF continues to measure its impact on the associates and business results.
We would like to recognize T.D. Davis, former DM of district 44 Long Island New York and the WOLF Island Pack for hosting an Employee Skills Training and Engagment Workshop in June. WOLF Pack members led by GM Monica Cercone with the support of host of other local leaders and corporate Alpha Jeannine Nayes hosted 91 participants in a two day conference with guest speakers and developmental workshops. The workshops included topics such as understanding the PNL, interviewing skills and other leadership development topics. Their engagement and commitment to the work and each other is commendable.
Our heartfelt thanks and gratitude go to Christie Dylong, Training Senior Manager, who assisted in connecting WOLF Talent Readiness Program participants with course paths tailored to their development needs, and Augustine (Augie) Ambe, ECC Support, who brought his videography skills to bear to capture program segments for future viewing and use. They were both invaluable resources, assisting in the success of the Q2 Session of the Talent Readiness Program.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the WOLF work this month!
WOLF Packs Focus on Fundamentals
In their June meeting, the 56 WOLF Packs focused on business acumen and leadership development with a focus on professional development as well as helping Best Buy become the place for women to shop and work through their innovations!
The curriculum for June included an Introduction to Financial Health, Innovation: Implementing Your Experiment, Women ln Business: A Perspective shared by Sheryl Sandberg from the TED Conference, Increasing Your Personal Power Through Communication Skills: Elevator Speech, Affirmative Action and Good Faith Efforts Continued, Best Buy Business Education and Career Pathing: Magnolia Home Theater & Magnolia Audio Vision, Interview Skills Exercise
These topics were selected to give our employees the tools they need to become better leaders for the organization and to better serve our customers. As always, you can review WOLF Pack curriculum on Learning Lounge. All employees are invited to access this information for their own, and their teams, personal and professional development. Simply type “Pack Meeting Deck” in the search area of Learning Lounge to access WOLF Pack materials.
We surveyed our Pack members to get their unique perspectives on their Pack experience. We appreciate having such a high response rate and the passionate responses from the 772 members who completed the survey:
89.5% said they a more engaged employee because they are a part of WOLF
97.3% believe they can contribute to Best Buy’s growth through their participation in WOLF
94.3% are engaged in their Pack
90.6% said WOLF has helped them develop new skills and confidence to grow their career at Best Buy
95% said their believe their innovation projects will help grow our business with HER in mind
Here are some of the verbatims from Pack members across the country:
“Being a part of WOLF keeps me engaged at a district level and allows me to get best practices from other stores!”
“I also enjoy the educational piece around where my different career paths in Best Buy can take me.”
“I was a supervisor in Geek Squad when I initially joined the pack, now I am a GM. 4 years ago I never saw myself here!”
“Networking!!! I recently accepted a job as a transfer from Iowa to Texas, thanks in large part to networks I have built through WOLF.”
“I feel since becoming part of this pack I have more insight as to what is going on around the company as well as what is happening in my district. I also know I can make a greater impact in my store with this knowledge.”
“As a male manager it really helps me understand a different thought process and perception. I truly have learned a lot from being a part of WOLF.”
“For me, my position at Best Buy was just a part time job, and a way for me to earn some extra income. Over the past four years, it has become my full time career. Programs like WOLF are what make me proud to work for Best Buy.”
Talent Readiness Program Update
In June the WOLF Talent Readiness Program held the Q2 Session of this unique Leadership program with 128 female participants from the field and corporate. This select group of leaders gathered in Minneapolis June 14-16th to build on their Q1 Session learning around Self Awareness – the foundation of the Social & Emotional Intelligence portion of the Talent Readiness Program – and into Self Management strategies. Participants received formal instruction, practiced strategies in their small Learning Communities and discovered how solving problems by tapping into different perspectives can be invaluable in moving to productive outcomes and solutions. Participants also received the results of their 360 feedback reports completed by their peers, direct manager and direct reports, through the reputable Hay Group ESCI (Emotional & Social Competency Inventory) and direction in how to review the content to increase their leadership impact and effectiveness. Many attendees expressed appreciation for the insight and helpful nature of the 360 assessment and an eagerness to have a productive dialogue with their managers and teams. Between Quarterly Sessions all participants will continue their development through regular assignments focused on Self Management awareness, exercises and strategy practice.
Connecting with Female Consumers
Our focus on acquiring more female customers for Best Buy continues this summer with launches in Nashville, Denver, San Diego and Tampa.
If you know any women in your network that may be interested in participating in an Omega chapter in any of these upcoming cities, please have them send their name, contact information and city location to: WOLFOmegas@bestbuy.com. Women participating in the Omega work must meet the following requirements:
- Must be 21 or older
- Current or former Best Buy Co., Inc. employees are not eligible
- Spouses of employees are not eligible
As is our goal with the Omega program, we are targeting women who do NOT like shopping at Best Buy and inviting them to participate in this 90 day program in which they can share their insights and point of view in making Best Buy a better place for women to shop. With women spending $90 Billion a year in CE and no one retailer owning this business, Best Buy has a great opportunity to become the retailer of choice for female consumers.
Check out future employee news stories to hear about what we are learning from our female consumers.
If you’d like to learn more about the Omega program, please contact Heather.Petri@bestbuy.com
Connecting with Female Bloggers
WOLF and BBfB will be connecting with 3600+ top female bloggers from across the country at this year’s BlogHer conference August 4-6 in San Diego. This is a great opportunity to meet with these influential entrepreneurs and to build authentic relationships.
Beyond connecting with bloggers through their blogs, WOLF also has a blog! Check out the Best Buy: With Her in Mind Blog at http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Best-Buy-With-Her-in-Mind/The-Helper-over-Stepping-Into-Someone-Else-s-Space/ba-p/302762
If your business team is interested in working with WOLF to connect with female consumers at an upcoming event, please contact WOLF@BestBuy.com
About the Women's Leadership Forum
Best Buy's Women's Leadership Forum (WOLF) is an engaged network of women and men, employees and consumers, and non-profit partners working to make Best Buy a great place for women to work and shop. For more information or to join the network visit www.BestBuy.com/WOLF.
