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Focus on Retail: Best Buy Connects with Customers
August 01, 2007
By Lorri Freifeld
Faced with training approximately 100,000 retail employees, John Congemi has his work cut out for him, especially with a mandate of "providing complete end-to-end solutions for our customers." And that's not all. As the senior manager, retail training & development, Best Buy, explains, "We need to strike a balance between training on product knowledge and training on soft skills to ensure our associates are empowered to build relationships with our customers and connect with them in personal and meaningful ways. This enables our associates to meet their unique needs 'in the moment' and provide solutions that customers may not have even realized existed."
To achieve this aim, Best Buy utilizes a blended learning approach. Retail associates attend a two-and-a-half-hour instructor-led training session as a team approximately once per month. They meet in the stores before or after business hours to train on the latest products, services, drive times, and issues concerning their department. "During this time, employees engage in role-play scenarios to practice interacting with customers and apply what they've learned," says Congemi, whose 45-person department is responsible for all retail leadership and line-level training in Best Buy stores. "Employees also complete e-learning courses available on our learning management system on a regular basis. They're scheduled to take these courses immediately before and after their shifts." Congemi says Best Buy currently is testing some alternative training options, as well, including audio modules that allow associates to interact with products while listening to instruction through headphones and a "Sims-style interactive video game that allows associates to practice interacting with virtual customers in a risk-free environment."
Because of the nature of Best Buy's business and exposure to technology, the retailer's sales associates are very open to technology-based training, Congemi says. "We launched a new learning management system last year and maintain a large library of interactive electronic-based courses. Because of our retail associates' comfort with technology, we're also empowered to co-create material with them. They are given the opportunity to share their best practices and expertise with other associates countrywide."
To ensure retail associates are well educated and empowered to meet customers' needs, Best Buy launched a training certification program for several departments. "This work involves thorough job analyses, content development mapped carefully to job requirements, and the validation of all test items," explains Congemi, a nine-year training veteran. "Associates are assigned to learning paths based on their current level of knowledge in their department and then must earn their certification by completing targeted training and passing-related assessments."
"To say there's a lot of change in the consumer electronics industry is an understatement," Congemi adds. "All of our Home Theater associates must be well educated about the upcoming over-the-air broadcast changes taking place on February 18, 2009, for example, to ensure they can answer our customers' questions about the change. Our associates are always one step ahead, so they can help customers make the best choices based on their lifestyles and needs."
When benchmarking its training success, Best Buy's first priority is ensuring success with its customers. Training initiatives are analyzed against customer satisfaction scores to ensure that the training is being utilized to help retail associates best meet customers' needs, Congemi notes. "We measure customer satisfaction and engagement through a Web-based survey issued at our point of sale (POS). Weekly updates allow the stores and our training team to track their progress, identify opportunities, and use customer insight as a critical input into business planning and training development."
The retailer also evaluates the return on investment for each training initiative and looks at revenue or margin comparisons. "One other source of benchmarking success is the feedback from our employees," Congemi adds. "We want our retail associates to enjoy training and seek their input and feedback on a regular basis."
If Congemi had unlimited funding for training, the first thing he says he'd wish for is more contact with Best Buy's retail associates. "We stay engaged through field leadership, conference calls, and surveys…but it would be nice to have more face-to-face time with the employees. Unfortunately, that's just not practical with 800-plus stores."
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