This case is about a revolutionary workplace program called the Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) which was introduced and subsequently withdrawn at the retailer Best Buy. The ROWE was introduced in the year 2003 by two executives in the HR department of the company. Best Buy faced severe attrition of its employees due to the demanding work environment which was prevalent at the company. Under the ROWE, flexible work scheduling was introduced and managers were encouraged to trust their employees. Employees were given full autonomy to choose their working hours as long as they could show their productivity. The program showed good results and led to a 90 percent decline in attrition accompanied by a 35 percent increase in productivity. Despite the good results that the program gave to the company, the ROWE was discontinued in 2013. The discontinuation of the program was part of a turnaround strategy introduced by the company's new CEO, Hubert Joly. Joly was of the view that making the employees work together was more crucial than just delegating key tasks to them
Notes
Case code: HROB164
Title from resource description page (viewed May 26, 2015)