Best Practices

Best Buy Co., Inc is a multinational retail corporation that specializes in technology and

entertainment products and services (http://pr.bby.com). The company is committed to growth

and innovation and has operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, China and Mexico

(http://pr.bby.com). The Best Buy Company also consists of several brands and partnerships that

include the Geek Squad, Napster and etc (http://pr.bby.com). The company employs 180,000

employees throughout its retail stores, call centers, and web sites (http://pr.bby.com). The vision

of Best Buy is “we make technology deliver on its promises” (http://pr.bby.com). The company

also prides itself on being customer driven, which involves focusing on the customer and

providing them with an enjoyable experience with technology (http://pr.bby.com). Hence, the

company has shifted its focus from simply providing products to providing exceptional services

and addressing the needs of its customers . (http://pr.bby.com)

Since Best Buy believes in servicing its customers and providing the best services, it

must have a talented workforce. After all, it is the employees that will help sell the products and

bring them to life to the customer. Hence, it is clear why Best Buy also invests heavily in the

training and development of its employees. It is this commitment to training and development

that has allowed the company to continue to grow and remain competitive. This report will

discuss why Best Buy has been ranked in Training Magazine’s Top 20 for employer-sponsored

training and development and how the organization’s training and development programs

expenditures have contributed to its competitive edge.

The company was not always ranked a top company in training. According to Kump

(2005) it was not until after the company decided to change its direction after realizing it was

losing customers due to its workforce lack of knowledge of its products....