When Young Le-Roque speaks up as a Best Buy Canada store leader, she knows her voice will be heard.
“When our executives come into the store and ask for feedback, it’s pretty amazing to see how fast changes happen,” says Le-Roque, who heads the Kingsway location in Burnaby, B.C.
“We’re given a voice and that helps us to have fun while being the best.”
Headquartered in Burnaby, Best Buy is Canada’s largest consumer electronics retailer, with over 160 stores across the country. It’s also the most visited multi-channel retailer, with over 250 million visits in-store and on BestBuy.ca each year.
Best Buy’s commitment to listening to its employees’ voices has not only helped it deal with the present COVID-19 pandemic, it has positioned it to grow as a “new normal” emerges. Listening led to Best Buy’s decision to keep most of its corporate employees working remotely moving forward.
“We’re one of the few companies that decided to listen to our employee base and go fully remote,” says Chris Taylor, chief human resources officer. “I don’t think there’s a bigger work environment initiative a company could undertake and we’re all super pumped.”
That shift is exemplified by Best Buy’s decision to move its corporate headquarters to Vancouver in new offices that have only half the seating capacity of its current corporate population. The majority of employees who continue to work remotely will only have to go into the office a few times a year for collaboration, team building and business updates.
Best Buy also gives employees the tools and training they need to use their voices to support each other. The “Continue the Conversation” initiative has fostered open and honest dialogues about diversity, inclusion and mental wellness.
Corporate employees facing mental wellness issues can also access a counsellor confidentially on a bi-weekly basis without going through the formal Employee Assistance Program. Coverage for gender transition, in vitro and other related health benefits has also been increased in recognition of the stress these life changes can put on people.
Employees are further supported by generous benefits like 100 per cent job-related tuition subsidies, 15 weeks maternity leave top-up pay and flexible work schedules and conditions.
The package is designed to meet the needs of individual employees, says Taylor. “We welcome people to be their unique self, and we mean that in all facets of who they are as a person – their culture, ethnicity, orientation, age, personality. Everything that makes them unique. We embrace uniqueness because we know that unique individuals make for a better team.”
To help encourage increased diversity and inclusion, Best Buy has launched a new online mentorship and accelerator program to help Black and Indigenous innovators go to market. Other initiatives include the LIFT program focused on leadership training for women.
While it drills down to the individual employee, Best Buy is still connected to the community at large. The Geek Squad partners with schools and youth groups to provide tech training. The company supported over 500 charities in 2020 and the appearance of Toy Mountain boxes in stores is a sure sign Christmas is around the corner.
The comprehensive package of support, life-long learning, two-way communication and core values like diversity and inclusion have Le-Roque convinced she’s found the career that will take her to retirement.
“What makes Best Buy so special is that they give you the tools to be a better human,” she says. “To be able to layer on more and more skills, to be enabled to be a better listener with work-life balance, all make us better human beings.”
