Job Performance of Best Buy Company essay

Introduction

Best Buy Co., Inc. was initiated in the year 1966 by Richard M. Schulze. The company under research is among the most successful multinational retailers of computing, electronics and mobile phone products, appliances, entertainment products and other related services. The company owns retail stores, call centers and it performs online retail business using a wide range of brand names such as BestBuyMobile.com, BestBuy.ca, and BestBuy.com among others (Mathis & Jackson, 2010). Best Buy Company is currently the biggest retailer of electronics in Canada and the US and it is valued at approximately $20.5bn and the annual revenue generated amounts to around $40bn. The paper seeks to study Best Buy Company’s job performance and programs incorporated to enhance it.

Best Buy Company has many employees working on either full-time or part-time basis in more than 1000 stores. A couple of years ago, the company established some changes in its work schedules. Best Buy Company introduced the use of more flexible hours in its stores and headquarters instead of focusing on fixed hours. The program was referred to as ROWE – Results Only Work Environment (Mathis & Jackson, 2010). The project was incorporated in Best Buy Company in 2005. It was aimed at making employees accomplish their tasks, not just meet the clock hours. In order to implement this policy, both managers and workers needed to identify performance outcome expectations as well as evaluate all jobs. This policy was intended to ensure employees accomplish their tasks to meet the set targets, and not merely spend working hours. The employees could work when and where they wanted provided they met the set targets.  

 

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The human resource payoff of ROWE had a significant effect because it led to maximization of employees’ satisfaction. In addition, the program contributed to higher morale among employees because it played a key role in striking balance between life demands and workplace. In addition, ROWE promoted higher performance among managers because it focused on results, but not simply on regulations and training schedules. With regard to managers and employees with personal interests and family responsibilities, ROWE project played a key role in providing proper work-life balance (Mathis & Jackson, 2010). This is because employees could work from home or any other place provided they could accomplish their tasks on time. For instance, the program enabled employees to perform their work at any location by use of advanced technology.

Furthermore, ROWE program was extended to stores managers and employees and this played a major role in ensuring that adequate salespersons were available to serve a wide range of customers. The policy enabled Best Buy Company to attain a turnover rate of 60% and also helped in the recruitment and retention of store employees. Therefore, this program helped in reducing employees’ job turnover rate and improved customer service (Mathis & Jackson, 2010).

In 2013, Best Buy Company terminated the ROWE project. As a result, now most employees are required to work for 40 hours every week, though corporate managers have the right to accommodate some employees if need be. According to the company management, the termination of ROWE program was imperative because it was important to consider how work was done rather than considering just results. In addition, having workers in the workplace helps to connect and collaborate on ways to enhance business operations.

During the same period, Best Buy Company chief executive officer, Hubert Joly, focused on reconstructing the company and sustaining its delicate financial recovery. In addition, the company’s management fired 400 corporate employees, with the aim of saving approximately $150 million for the company.

In conclusion, ROWE program was very imperative in promoting job performance since it acted as a motivating factor to employees and it increased employees’ job satisfaction. However, lack of close monitoring of employees’ work and performance would result to provision of low quality services or poor job quality.