Do traditional workplaces reward long hours instead of efficient hours? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have a workplace in which employees could work however and whenever they wanted to as long as they did their work? Well, that’s the approach Best Buy tried.¹¹³ And this radical workplace experiment, which obviously has many implications for employee motivation, was an interesting and enlightening journey for the company.

In 2002, then-CEO Brad Anderson introduced a carefully crafted program called ROWE—Results-Only Work Environment. ROWE was the inspiration of two HRM managers at Best Buy, Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson. These two had been asked to take a flexible work program in effect at corporate headquarters in Minnesota and develop it for implementation throughout the company. Although that flexible work program had had some stunning successes, including high levels of employee engagement and productivity, there was one significant issue. Those involved in the program were perceived to be “not working.” And that was a common reaction from managers who didn’t really view flexible work employees as actually doing work because they didn’t show up at work during the “traditional” hours. The two women set about to change that impression by creating a program in which employees would be evaluated on what they accomplished—their “results only”—not on the amount of hours they spent working.

The first thing to understand about ROWE was that it wasn’t about schedules. Instead, it was about changing the work culture of an organization, which is infinitely more difficult than changing schedules. With Anderson’s blessing and support, they embarked on this journey to overhaul the company’s corporate workplace.

The first step in implementing ROWE was a culture audit at company headquarters, which helped them establish a baseline for how employees perceived their work environment. After four months, the audit was repeated. During this time, Best Buy executives were being educated about ROWE and what it was all about. Obviously, it was important to have their commitment to the program. The second phase involved explaining the ROWE philosophy to all the corporate employees and training managers on how to maintain control in a ROWE workplace. In the third phase, work unit teams were free to figure out how to implement the changes. Each team found a different way to keep the flexibility from spiraling into chaos. For instance, the public relations team got pagers to make sure someone was always available in an emergency. Some employees in the finance department used software that turns voice mail into e-mail files accessible from anywhere, making it easier for them to work at home. Four months after ROWE was implemented, Ressler and Thompson followed up with another culture check to see how everyone was doing.

So what results did Best Buy see with this experiment? Productivity jumped 41 percent, and voluntary turnover fell to 8 percent from 12 percent. They also discovered that when employees’ engagement with their jobs increased, average annual sales increased 2 percent. And employees said the freedom changed their lives. ROWE reduced work-family conflict and increased employees’ control over their schedules. ROWE employees didn’t “count” how many hours they were at work but instead focused on getting their work done, however many or few hours that took. For them, work became “something you do—not a place you go.”

Despite the positive aspects of the program, Best Buy’s current CEO, Hubert Joly, decided to eliminate the flexible work environment associated with ROWE. Now instead of being able to work whenever and wherever they choose, most corporate staff will be required to work traditional 40-hour weeks in the office. And Ressler and Thompson? Well, they now own their own HR consultancy practice, which promotes the ROWE idea to other companies.

1. What might be the challenges for managers in motivating employees in a program like this? 

2. Does this sound like something you would be comfortable with? Why or why not? 

3. What's your interpretation of the statement that "Work is something you do not a place you go"? Do you agree? Why or why not?