Best Buy has found a way to make sure it has experienced and knowledgeable temporary help for the holiday selling season. It is taking employees out of headquarters and moving them into stores.
Everyone from CEO Brad Anderson to folks working in the accounting department will be out in stores wearing the company's blue shirts. They will pull four-hour shifts during the season to help regular workers stock shelves, wait on customers and take care of other tasks.
Headquarters' people, known as corporate support volunteers, are currently being trained for what will face them come Black Friday and into the weeks leading up to Christmas.
The company launched this program not only to support stores but to make sure everyone within the organization stayed in touch with the chain's customers.
"We need to make sure that the (corporate) people who are not in the stores as often have a connection with customers,' spokesperson Dawn Bryant told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Best Buy expects to hire up to 25,000 temporary employees for the holidays.
Discussion Questions: What do you think of Best Buy's corporate support volunteers program? How effective do you think it will be in helping them better understand not only consumers, but the experience of workers in the company's stores?