Best Buy is dedicated to providing accessible learning solutions for all employees, empowering them to learn what they need, how they prefer, and when it’s most convenient. This commitment is realized through thoughtful content creation and curation within our learning network. As a valued merchandising partner, you play a crucial role in shaping this learning experience.
We are actively refining our training offerings and developing innovative learning solutions for our vendor collaborations. To achieve significant impact and enhance these partnerships, our focus must be on:
- Boosting engagement with vendor content by aligning Best Buy and vendor learning strategies.
- Constructing strategies that prioritize optimal learner experiences while strengthening vendor partnerships.
- Shifting from simply selling content space to delivering immersive learning experiences.
- Emphasizing content quality and targeted learning opportunities.
This guide is designed for our current merchandising partners. It will provide a comprehensive overview of the Learning Network, covering company registration, user onboarding, and practical job aids for effective learning content curation.
Enhancing Employee Learning Experiences
Feedback from Best Buy employees highlights areas for improvement in current learning approaches. Content formats that are not effective include:
- Static, PowerPoint-style e-learning modules.
- Lengthy videos that overwhelm learners and reduce engagement.
- E-learning programs that cover too many topics or require excessive time commitments.
- Content that is overly focused on product specifications without practical application.
- Marketing-centric videos or e-learning materials.
- PDF documents primarily used for announcements rather than training.
- Difficult-to-understand or retain information within PDF training materials.
Vendor Content Guidelines: Key Details for Success
Content submission requires 5 business days for processing and posting.
All submitted content undergoes a rigorous 2-Step Review Process:
- Technology Review (by Vendor): Ensures the material is correctly formatted and technically sound.
- Sales Enablement Review: Confirms content adheres to the established content guidelines.
To maintain content integrity and fairness, vendors are prohibited from including the following in any learning content:
- Mentions of competing vendors.
- Direct or indirect comparisons between Vendor A and Vendor B.
- SKU or Product comparisons between different vendors.
- Comparisons of technologies, whether explicit or implied.
- Self-promotional claims such as “World’s best…” or “Industry leading…”.
Technical language must be precise, detailed, and verified for accuracy.
All content must be thoroughly reviewed and tested for functionality and effectiveness:
- E-learning modules must comply with SCORM 1.2 and ADL industry standards for compatibility and tracking.
- Videos should be compressed to under 20MB and utilize the H264 codec (.mp4 output) to guarantee optimal playback performance across all store environments.
ADA Compliance is mandatory for all learning content to ensure accessibility:
- Closed captioning is required for all videos, whether they are standalone or embedded within an e-learning module. Furthermore, any spoken content within e-learning modules, outside of videos, must also be captioned for inclusivity.
