Packs in Action
Innovation! Innovation! Innovation! Each month we’ll be highlighting some of the great projects that Packs are working on and the results of their work.
- The Portland Rose Pack is partnering with local rental and property management groups to increase the sales of appliance clearance and end of life items by creating package deals and awareness. This program will provide a “First to know Five Star referral program” newsletter to give customers who are in the market for these kind of items frequently a heads-up to potential deals. Their goal is to increase awareness in our appliance offerings and increase sales of items before final markdowns.
Next steps: They have applied for a test SKU last month to track sales of the product in their program.
- The Iowa Pack realized that many recently promoted full-time employees were unaware of the benefits they were eligible to receive and decided to test a simplified benefits summary tool to increase employee enrollment in benefits—which in turn increases job satisfaction and retention. Not only will their project increase employee satisfaction and retention, but it will also save on the cost of reprinting manuals.
The results: In coordination with the corporate HR department, a one-page summary of benefits was created which can be found in eGo at: Total Rewards tab> Reward Communications Tools dropdown> linked to PDFs. They are also driving awareness of the summaries through “smart friends” within the stores to help co-workers with common benefit’s questions.
Here’s what members of the Pack had to say: “Employees who are enrolled in ESPP become shareholders of Best Buy and an owner of the company. That brings a different level of engagement and interaction with the customer and ultimately revenue and profit to Best Buy. We want our employees to OWN THE STORE!”
- The New York Snow Pack has the big goal to reduce female turnover in District 54 by looking at the unique needs of women in the district and offering a 5-month training program designed to provide meaningful development through networking, business acumen training, sales technique best practices and mentoring.
Next steps: The Snow Pack will be hard at work measuring the results of this program by looking at female turnover numbers from participants and throughout the district. They know that female turnover is a controllable expense for the stores—and that improving female retention in D54 over the course of a year could potentially save the district a lot of money.
According to the Gallup Organization, 93% of employee engagement is explained by whether or not the associate feels that they can make a difference.
- The Minneapolis W.I.N.E. Pack hosted a give back in June at the Best Buy corporate office. They invited members and guests to bring baby soap, wipes, newborn or preemie diapers, and other newborn necessities to donate to Bundles of Love. Bundles of Love is a charity that makes baby clothing and bedding for sick and needy newborn and premature babies. They donate these in a "bundle" to local hospitals, women's shelters and clinics with the goal that no newborn goes home from the hospital without something to wear. The Pack was able to collect 20 bottles, 587 diapers, 21 onesies, 32 bottles of baby soap/shampoo/baby powder, and much more! Great job W.I.N.E. Pack!
- The G.R.A.N.D. Pack in Grand Rapids has had a busy summer organizing a two-day summer camp for kids at their local Boys & Girls Club. Approximately 60 employees, representing all 10 stores in D49, volunteered their time to teach the campers about technology and how to stay safe online. The campers and volunteers had a great time, the Pack is submitting applications for a total of 10 Tag Team Awards (individual and group) that will be divided between the Boys & Girls Club of Grand Rapids and the Grand Rapids Public School District. Congrats to all involved. Check out the video to the event here: http://therapidian.org/best-buy-employees-volunteering-pays-big-boys-girls-club-members
Check out how the WOLF Packs are driving business results, value and local growth via Pack Innovations on the Knowledge Marketplace. Please go the ETK Homepage, click on Applications, then click on Knowledge Marketplace or http://spbestbuy.com/ret/innovate/Pages/Home/aspx Type in “WOLF” in the advance search button at the top of the page. There are 6 pages of WOLF experiments!
Learnings from Omegas and Gammas—Our Female Consumers
July was a busy month for Omegas with final presentations on July 19th in Tampa, July 20th in Orlando and July 22nd in Minneapolis. Here’s what these female consumers shared with us:
- 36 Tampa-area women recently completed their 90-day Omega program in which they were asked to ideate around the connected world. They divided into team focusing on PCs, Home Theater, Services and Gaming. Their great ideas ranged from separating gaming by genre/rating to allow parents to feel comfortable that their young children wouldn’t accidently see Rated M content to creating better home theater bundles targeting women.
- The Orlando Omegas were given the topics of the Connected World, Appliances, Home Theater and Mobile. Not only did they provide an abundance of ideas, but they also got to work planning events in their local market. One team hosted a test event for 150 women in the community to teach them about technology, while another team has an event planned for August 19th to showcase Home Theater technologies.
- The 5th Chapter of Minneapolis Omegas and the 1st Chapter of Minneapolis Gammas. They presented on Home Theater, Appliances, Musical Instruments and Best Buy Mobile. The highlight for many in the room were the presentations made by the Gamma Girls, young ladies who spent the past 90-days innovating for Best Buy and who showed tremendous poise, creativity and passion for Best Buy!
Not only did these women provide us with great insights but also have become loyal shoppers. Here’s what some of they had to say:
“We buy, renovate and rent houses. We used to buy all of our appliances at Home Depot, but now we are buying them all from Best Buy.”—Orlando Omega
“I am was intimidated and had no idea what you offered at BBY. Now I do and am a loyal shopper.”—Tampa Omega
“I feel more educated and less intimidated. I want to come in your stores now!” --Tampa Omega
“Ellen is still bouncing off the walls. She is so excited that a big corporation like BB would ask what she thought and then follow up with such high praise. She asked me this morning if it really happened and do I think "that guy" will really follow up with them. Thanks for doing so much in helping these girls build amazing self-esteem!”-Minneapolis Gamma Mom
What is the Talent Readiness Program?
You may have read recently about WOLF’s new Talent Readiness Program. The design of this program is decidedly different from anything we’ve tried at this scale. Program participants are learning through the power of a Connected World, using technology to enable real-time learning, development and the competencies required to lead. Learning through a combination of EQ – Social & Emotional Competency; IQ – skills and knowledge; and Experience – the wisdom that comes from watching others and living the challenges of leading.
The program consists of a personal observation journey, hands-on workshops/training, online modules, local expert shadowing, manager and advisory interactions. It also includes small Learning Communities, where participants learn from each other by sharing their respective leadership journeys.
Currently participants are immersed in the second Quarter’s work of Self Management. The EQ portion of the program is executed in a layered process, building each quarter on top of the previous quarter. Starting with becoming aware of who you are in the moment – your actions, reactions, and the outcomes of those interactions is the foundational work. Then comes Self Management, building on your ability to now see yourself in moments and experimenting with various ways of responding to situations in service of better outcomes and your leadership ideal. The following two quarters will focus on Connecting and Enabling others.
"The Talent Readiness Program allows me to describe Best Buy as a World Class Organization dedicated to developing talent from within. When you already work for a company such as Best Buy with competitive wages, benefits and financial wellness, this program gives us a recruiting advantage. An advantage not only to other retailers but to big corporations. For me personally it has enhanced the way I manage and broken down barriers with my team on their leadership behaviors. The true power to continue to move this company forward is in harnessing the employee's intellect and the Talent Readiness Program gives us the tools to do just that." Johanna Dempsey, GM Store #197
Geek Squad Summer Academy
Geek Squad Summer Academy continues a fantastic summer by engaging Junior Agents across the country and picking up some great press along the way—with 41 media placements in 2010 so far! Check out a story at: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/enjoy-this/Girl-Scouts-Go-Tech-97105264.html
This summer camps have been completed in Chicago, Minneapolis, San Antonio, Washington D.C., Santa Clara, Denver, El Paso, Las Vegas, Tampa, Philadelphia, Compton, Cleveland, Boston, Portland, Charlotte, Buffalo, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Des Moines, Atlanta, Virginia Beach and in Caguas, Puerto Rico!
Here is what some of the parent’s are saying about the camp experience.
“Just wanted to let you know that my daughter had a blast at Geek Squad this week! The first day she texted “It's lots of fun and the leaders are funny!” The second day: “We just built a computer...in under forty minutes! Can you believe it?! It was sooo much fun! :P wanna do it again!”
“Each day at pick-up I’d get a rundown of all the activities detailing what she worked on and learned. It really proved that learning and fun do mix. At home she shared the photos she took and song she created…how nice to have the flash drive! I love when she gets excited about her activities and is proud of accomplishments. This was one of the first day camps that she exclusively shared positive comments…no complaining or whining about anything!”
“She enjoyed all the classes, but definitely her favorite was PC Build. It had never occurred to her that she could actually build a PC and doing so has sparked a curiosity and interest that might not have happened without Geek Squad. She posted her success on Facebook, texted friends & family about it and tells everyone she can about building a computer. I’m not quite ready to have her take apart our home computer, but I’ll look for one that she can tinker with!”
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to visit their website at www.geeksquad.com/summeracademy email SummerAcademy@GeekSquad.com
WOLF Conference FAQs
Last month we announced the changes in this year’s WOLF conference as we connect with territories to integrate into local events. You can look at a list of FAQs regarding these local events on our website at http://www.wolfatbestbuy.com/packs/news/conference-faqs.
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 visit www.BestBuy.com/WOLF.
