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Back to the yearly bonus issue... At the last of these meetings (this past Sunday; a mere two weeks before we are supposed to get our bonus), we found out we may be lucky to recieve 20 to 30 % of this bonus. The company also unveiled a new yearly employee evaluation that is based alot on performance numbers (instead of behaviors, like the old ones did) and how the store does as a whole. They are EXTREMELY harsh. A supervisor that was better than probably 85% of the company got only a 2 out of a 5 on this thing.
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This is in line with the way corporate employees are rated and bonused. I have someone working for me who recently came from retail, and she was shocked to get a 3 (scale of 5, with 5 being the best), instead of the 5 which she was used to getting at retail. 3 is very good performance at corporate. 4's and 5's are almost unheard of. A good rating is tough to get. You can't just be a good employee. You've got to work really hard, really develop yourself, and really try to innovate.
Bonuses should be based on store performance, not merely on personal development. The bonus has to be paid for somehow, right? Corporate bonuses are based on the performance of your overall department, not just your individual category. This should motivate everyone in the department to work harder towards achieving common goals (I'm sure this is the intent of having bonuses structured in this manner).
I've heard about certain bonuses at retail that I feel are ridiculous, like managers being bonused for keeping shrink down. I feel that in many cases this encourages dishonesty, and I've seen evidence that inventory is sometimes not properly counted at retail so that people will get their bonuses. This can cause major instock issues and causes customers to not find what they're looking for.
Blue shirts work hard, and it's always unfortunate to read negative comments about their experiences working for Best Buy. I feel I've been treated well at corporate, and I think most of my colleagues would agree that their experience has been positive. I understand, however, that working at corporate is a different ballgame. I understand why many changes have been made at retail (changing titles, reducing labor budgets at store commensurate with their annual revenue, etc.) and I can't say I disagree with them, but it is unfortunate when such changes have really negative effects on people. Retail is a tough place to be. I certainly don't plan on staying in the industry forever.
Best of luck with your job search. I'm sorry to hear that your experience with the company has been so negative.