GameStop sought to empower its extensive field workforce and unify enterprise communications. However, the company’s disconnected tech stack inhibited field and corporate alignment. This fragmented technology also produced inefficiencies, cost challenges, and an inconsistent employee experience.

To tackle this and unlock enterprise wide collaboration, GameStop implemented YOOBIC as a new all-in-one solution, branding it “Main Menu.“

• Instant peer-to-peer and corporate communications via Newsfeed and direct messaging replaced email.
• Interactive mobile training boosted associate product expertise, while enabling the corporate team to track completion analytics.
• Integrated task management strengthened execution consistency across districts and stores.
• NEO’s AI capabilities accelerated content creation and boosted efficiency across training and communications.
• The streamlined platform simplified associates’ workflow to focus on customer service. 

Main Menu’s real-time insights allowed corporate to address systemic issues promptly.
By implementing YOOBIC, GameStop unified its workforce through intuitive, data-driven technology.

Challenges before YOOBIC

GameStop historically relied on four platforms for communications, work management, and training. For the corporate team, it was impossible to roll out initiatives at scale. This approach created inefficiencies that impacted operational efficiency and the employee experience. 

1) A Disconnected Workforce

“We have a large physical footprint of brick-and-mortar stores” and “15,000 of the most passionate associates,” says Matt Goodfriend, the Senior Manager of Learning and Development, who began his 17-year career at GameStop as an associate himself.

“Because we’re so spread out, it was important to create communication across all channels. And we also had a lot of blockages between our store support center and our field.” As a result, there were inconsistencies in employee onboarding and training. This made it challenging for associates to share knowledge and best practices with each other.  

2) Top-Down Communication

GameStop had multiple internal systems that made it complicated to communicate effectively with field teams. An internal blog pushed communication out but  “It was just writing and putting it out there and hoping that someone reads it,” says Clayton Wert, Manager of Internal Communications.

As a result teams relied heavily on email. “When I was in stores, there was that barrier where you would have to send an email and just wait forever for a reply,” said Bryan Perez, Store Communications Specialist.

When urgent matters needed to be addressed, picking up the phone and calling a store directly was the last resort. Busy associates were focused on helping customers and weren’t always available to answer.  This meant that critical issues took hours or days to surface and resolve.

3) Lack of Analytics

“Data was the biggest challenge before YOOBIC,” said Vince Signorelli, Senior Specialist of Content Design.

There was minimal insight into training completion rates, employee engagement, or feedback on the lessons and content being created. Signorellie had to rely heavily on PDF-focused content that was neither interactive nor mobile-friendly using their previous systems.

The YOOBIC Solution

To tackle these challenges and empower associates to deliver exceptional customer experiences, GameStop embarked on finding an integrated platform that could streamline communications, work, and learning. 

After evaluating solutions, GameStop selected YOOBIC as its platform. With Main Menu, GameStop has an all-in-one platform where associates can seamlessly communicate, complete training, manage tasks, and access company information. 

With the full suite of YOOBIC tools, Main Menu fosters enterprise alignment while reducing complexity. This unified platform eliminates the need to toggle between multiple systems, creating a simplified, associate-focused experience. 

Communicate

With YOOBIC, GameStop created a shared purpose for their employees. 

• Peer-to-Peer Discussions: Store associates nationwide can now crowdsource advice and best practices through direct messaging and in-app Communities. “They have somewhere they can go and ask questions, and they can have their peers from three time zones away, answer that question and provide that support,” notes Goodfriend.
• News Sharing: Managers deliver interactive updates via the Newsfeed to align locations. As Renae Yeakley, Manager of Engagements and Events, explained, communication became “instant” rather than delayed emails.

“Connectivity transcends the communication” notes Perez ,by enabling genuine relationships. GameStop’s workforce transformed into a community that collaborates to accomplish shared goals. “Now you can actually have that one-on-one connection with the store associate when you’re on the corporate level.”

Case Study: GameStop Has Talent

At the 2023 GameStop Store Leader conference, 3,000 associates from various levels, came together for the first “GameStop Has Talent”. 

“Think America’s Got Talent, GameStop internal style” notes Renae Yeakley, with acts from juggling knives to singing and dancing.Submissions from across the company were narrowed down and the final 5 were flown to Vegas to perform live during the conference. The winner was awarded $10,000.

Main Menu was instrumental in facilitating the contest. As Yeakley explained, “Main Menu’s been the number one place that we’ve posted it, that we’ve talked about it, that they’ve voted on it.” The final voting was also done via a Main Menu Poll. It acted as a one stop shop for conference information. 

The first winner of GameStop Has Talent went on to say “I’ve never really gotten to be on stage like that… always chase your dreams.”

Learn

With YOOBIC Learn, GameStop can build training content that matches how their associates digest information and learn best.

• Knowledge Sharing: GameStop curates their expert gaming knowledge into on-demand training modules and online resources. This content is accessible, mobile-friendly, and gamified for continuous learning. “Competition is at the heart of GameStop,” says Signorelli. “The goal is to really lift each other up through the spirit of competition and that can be done through Battles.”
• Advanced Analytics: With YOOBIC’s robust reporting, corporate gathers new insights into field execution and engagement. “Previously when I would pull reports, I’d have about two hours scheduled on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. So, we’re talking 6 hours a week. It takes 30 minutes now, if that,” says Signorelli.
  

Work

With YOOBIC it’s easy for associates to execute tasks accurately and on time. From standard operating procedures to promotional and merchandising execution, YOOBIC has created a new level of visibility to ensure tasks are completed across all stores.

• New Game Rollouts: Every time a new game is launched, associates need training on how to sell it and how the merchandise should be displayed. “Something that I really like about YOOBIC is the ability to connect Learnings in the Knowledge Base to Tasks,” said Signorelli. This makes it incredibly simple for the corporate team to create training and assign store associates with a task to complete.
• Automatic Alerts: YOOBIC allows GameStop to set up automatic alerts tied to key performance indicators, like GameStop Pro membership goals. If a store falls below target thresholds for new GameStop Pro memberships, an alert is triggered for the store manager. This real-time visibility prompts the manager to course correct quickly. The system also automatically schedules a priority visit from the District Manager to audit that location. By linking meaningful alerts to critical metrics, YOOBIC enables data-driven management and targeted coaching to help stores succeed. The platform’s automation frees leaders to focus on supporting associates versus manual monitoring.

YOOBIC NEO Beta Program

GameStop played an instrumental role in beta testing YOOBIC NEO – a revolutionary AI coach that transforms the way organizations engage, train, and communicate with frontline teams.

During the beta, GameStop leveraged NEO Assistant, an AI chatbot that provides frontline teams with instant access to accurate answers on policies, procedures, and more. “During testing, NEO Assistant was about 98% accurate in responding to associate questions. And that 2% wasn’t because of something NEO did wrong. It was because we were missing something in our documentation, and we didn’t know it,” described Goodfriend.  NEO Assistant makes company knowledge far more accessible for frontline teams, significantly reducing the need for associates to contact support.

GameStop also tested NEO Creator to transform documents into interactive eLearning courses in a fraction of the time. “Being able to take a document and generate a course in a proper L&D format — that may have taken us 15 to 20 hours before. With NEO Creator the heavy lifting is done. We just make a few tweaks, add some photos and enhancements,” Goodfriend stated. “Lessons and quizzes are 95% complete and ready for deployment within just a few clicks, significantly streamlining the content creation process.”

Overall, NEO delivered on its promise of boosting efficiency. “The majority of the admin work is done,” summarized Goodfriend. By participating in the beta program, GameStop got a valuable head start in evolving its frontline experience with new cutting edge technology.