Best Buy values the power of our people and that value helps shape the way we run our business. We believe our company's growth is driven by our employees. That is why we invite them to bring their unique talents and skills to work every day to make contributions that fulfill our customers' technology and entertainment dreams. As we aspire to be a global champion for human ingenuity and opportunity, we think our employees are at the head of the class, providing leadership for our industry, our customers and our communities.

 

Diversity and Inclusion

First and foremost, Best Buy believes a diverse and inclusive environment is critical to finding and keeping the right talent to meet the needs of our employees and customers. With that in mind, we sponsor what we call Employee Business Networks (EBN), which are groups based on an interest in and support for a common dimension of diversity such as age, race, gender or sexual orientation. These groups are common at many corporate headquarters, but few major retailers sponsor them in their field organizations; we currently have 76 EBN chapters across U.S. stores.

The EBNs provide opportunities for education, networking and personal development for our employees. For our company, they have become a valuable resource for recruitment, retention, and marketing to consumers. An example of this is WOLF @ Best Buy (our women's leadership forum) which is a vast network of Best Buy employees and female consumers who work tirelessly to help Best Buy build strong women leaders. We recognize that if we want Best Buy to be a place where women want to shop, we first need to be a great place for women to work, lead and pursue career opportunities. First launched in 2004, we are very proud of the success of WOLF @ Best Buy. For example:

  • Over five years, more than 30,000 employees have engaged with WOLF @ Best Buy and its programs
  • From fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2009, recruitment and hiring of female employees in U.S. stores increased from 31 percent to 35 percent
  • From fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2009, companywide turnover in U.S. stores reduced by16 percent - while female turnover reduced by 18 percent.

As we look forward, employee engagement will continue to be core value and priority for Best Buy. We will continue to invest in our employees and encourage their participation in the development of our business. We will further develop our model of accountability for diversity practices and programs, we will consult with business partners to identify potential drivers of inclusion and we will expand our efforts to make employee innovation a reality through investments in technology, processes and training.