Wondering what the Women's Leadership Forum (WOLF) has been up to recently? Read below for the latest updates, including:
- Did you know?
- Spotlighting You!
- WOLF Packs
- Talent Readiness Program Update
- Connecting with Female Consumers
- Social Media
- WOLF Friends and Family offer for November
Did you know?
When it comes to doing your holiday shopping, are you a shop-in-advance person or do you want until the last minute?
According to a recent 2011 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, nearly 40 percent of consumers have already started their holiday shopping and another 40 percent said they will begin shopping in November, while the rest plan to wait until the last minute!
The same survey also says that holiday shoppers plan to spend an average of $704.18 on gifts and other seasonal items this year.
*Source: National Retail Federation conducted by BIGresearch
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.
BIG thanks to Michelle Reitan for her assistance as we hosted 24 Omegas (female consumers) from Tampa and San Diego at the Best Buy Corporate Campus in October. Omegas traveled to corporate for a two day stay, providing insights to Best Buy Mobile leadership on how to better attract female consumers through Facebook, Friends and Family incentives and the Happy 24 program. (See related story "Connecting with Female Consumers" below for more information about the Omega work and presentations.)
WOLF would also like to thank Danielle Snook for her help and support for the VOCE content that was utilized in the WOLF Pack October curriculum.
Thank you to everyone who supported the WOLF work in October!
WOLF Packs
WOLF's strategic priorities are to increase female's in the talent pipeline and to grow female market share for the company.
In order to gain optimum impact, the Pack Curriculum was set up to engage each Pack to innovate around how to capture Female Market share locally.
Leadership Development has also been a primary focus for Packs this year as well as gaining a deeper understanding of targeted business areas.
WOLF partnered with the Innovation and Leadership Development Team to educate our Packs on the innovation process, and the utilization of Knowledge Marketplace. There are currently multiple WOLF Experiments in progress on the Knowledge Marketplace focused around the following topics: Appliances, Best Buy Mobile, Community Involvement, Connected World, Leadership Development and Services.
Thanks to all of the local leaders, corporate support teams, the innovation leadership development team, and others who have assisted the Packs over the course of the year in their innovation work.
If you are interested in learning more about the Innovations and work that the WOLF Packs continue to work on, please visit the Knowledge Marketplace. Specific results from the Pack innovations will be highlighted in upcoming Employee News. Stay tuned!
Talent Readiness Program Update
WOLF Talent Readiness Participants Engage at T5 HLM:
T5 WOLF Talent Readiness Program participants from FY '11 and FY '12 had the opportunity to put their program learning into action during the recent T5 all-territory Leadership HLM in Columbus, Ohio. TRP participants deepened their Enneagram skills as they facilitated T5 leaders through the Territory's focus on People, Partnerships and Profitability. During his kickoff message, Ray Sliva, T5 TGM, relayed his commitment to a world class culture of people to (1) grow the business and (2) enable the dreams of employees and customers. Through several working sessions, T5 Leaders participated in Enneagram modules of self discovery to understand their type, as well as Communication and Conflict modules. The goal of the content is to understand ourselves enough to positively impact "how we are" in daily interactions that matter.
The Enneagram is a personality system that illuminates the nine different architectures of the human personality. In the Talent Readiness Program, participants first engage in understanding their Enneagram type or style as we learn and engage in practices focused on Self Awareness and other key Social and Emotional Intelligence arenas.
Connecting with Female Consumers
Earlier this year, WOLF partnered with Best Buy Mobile to launch Omega chapters in San Diego and Tampa. This group of almost 70 female consumers spent three months working to help Best Buy Mobile better understand how they can attract more female consumers through Facebook, Friends & Family incentives and their Happy 24 program. The three month program culminated with 24 of these Omegas traveling to Minneapolis Oct. 25-26 to present their insights and final recommendations to the Best Buy Mobile team. Bringing these Omegas to corporate to share their ideas was so beneficial as leaders from training, strategy, merchandising, etc. were present to hear the voice of the female consumer.
"The ongoing relationship that BBYM has with WOLF is very beneficial. Bringing the Omegas to campus so that the BBYM team was able to learn directly from our female consumers is a great example of how the WOLF team is willing to innovate with and serve the business in unique ways." - Rosalind Chevreuil, Senior Director BBYM
"...insights from the Omega group where not only well thought out but also relevant to the future success of our business." - Farid Khansarinia, VP Retail BBYM
The Omegas left Minneapolis even further appreciating Best Buy as not only their new retailer of choice, but many also asked how they could become employees of Best Buy!
As a result of the Omega program, female consumers are learning more about the products and services we offer at Best Buy. As they participate in the 90 day programs, they become educated, and as a result of us listening to their insights and ideas, they also transform from consumers to customers and loyal brand advocates. Next month we will have survey results from all five chapters around the country this year, and will share measurement around Likelihood to Recommend (LTR), Emotional Connection to the Best Buy brand, and the Likelihood to Consider Best Buy as their primary shopping destination for their CE needs.
- This year, over 175 women participated in the 90 day Omega chapters
- Omega Chapter cities FY '12: Des Moines, Nashville, Denver, San Diego and Tampa
Recently, one of our Minneapolis Omega Alumnae joined the Best Buy team, working at the corporate office. Through the Omega program, women not only learn more about the products and services we offer, but they also learn more about the company as a whole. Through this process, we've had various Omegas apply for roles at local stores in cities where we've held Omega chapters, resulting in several hires. And now, we have one that works on campus as well.
If you'd like to learn more about the Omega program, please contact Heather.Petri@bestbuy.com.
Social Media
Connecting with Female Bloggers - WOLF at Women Venture:
WOLF was a proud sponsor at this year's Women Venture's event held in Downtown Minneapolis October 14. Women Venture is a nonprofit dedicated to helping women achieve economic success and prosperity.
WOLF partnered with the New Business team to host a booth featuring new health and wellness products during the event. Attendees who stopped by were able to look at new products, learn from experts and fill out a survey on their likelihood to purchase these products from Best Buy.
"For our new health department, currently testing in three stores, there are many questions we'd like to answer. Working with Wolf and Women's Venture gave us access to free customer opinions about the products outside of a Best Buy store setting. We were able to identify which products to feature and channel preferences to determine where to invest our capital." - Zac McQuistan, Experiment Lead - New Business
To learn more about the work Women Venture is doing, visit http://www.womenventure.org/index.cfm. To partner with WOLF to reach women at an upcoming event, contact Nicole.Johnson@bestbuy.com.
Did you know that WOLF is on Facebook and Twitter?
WOLF utilizes social media platforms to connect the network, share informative articles and communicate the latest news and events for WOLF @ Best Buy.
Join the discussion by "liking" us on our Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/WOLF-Best-Buy/377474947779. Follow us on Twitter: @BestBuyWOLF.
WOLF Friends & Family Offer for November
WOLF Friends & Family offers are an important way to introduce customers to items they may not even realize we sell. This month, WOLF is promoting RocketFish iPad 2 accessories - with great four great products 25-40% off! The offers can be found on the WOLF website at www.BestBuy.com/WOLF.
We are also advertising this special offer on mom blogs locally and through special ads on Yahoo in select cities. Feel free to pass the offer along to your friends and family!
The WOLF Friends & Family program was created to help business teams reach female consumers in a new and exciting way. We post the offer on our website and promote through our WOLF social media-and encourage the network to do the same. If you're interested in connecting with female consumers with a WOLF Friends & Family offer, please email Elizabeth.Pedersen@BestBuy.com.
