Archived Open Door Policy

[pellinore]

Remember that Target tells us over and over again that they have an open door policy...and if there are concerns we are to feel free to talk to leadership. Yes, usually they are meaning store level or district level. Well, this is a time and situation where I'm choosing to go to an open door that just happens to be the door of the CEO. So, keep this in mind as you look at my other two posts....don't be afraid to let me know the proper address.
In the end, Brian Cornell is just another individual...when he wakes in the morning, just like the rest of us, he has bed head. The only difference between Brian and me is that he can help me to solve a problem in a timely manner.

 

[Planosss]

I don’t think he can help you, if I knew your address I’d call the police on you. You seem unhinged and possibly wanting to harm this “Brian Cornel”
I think admins @commiecorvus @Formina Sage💯 should look into this, I don’t want this to turn into another case of “someone should’ve said something”
I am being dead serious. Please look into this person and report him/her to the authorities.
Its not normal behavior.

 

[commiecorvus]

I don't think there is anything at all 'unhinged' about how @pellinore is feeling.
My approach on being fired was a little different which was to get lawyers and the labor board after Spots ass but it was no different in reasoning.
You get fired for a bullshit reason, you want some recompense, someone to listen.

I suspect, however, that in this case there is nothing that will help.
Spot has dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's.

There is nothing wrong with giving voice to your frustrations but they won't listen.

 

[Planosss]

Ok, just an innocent post of seemingly threatening nature then.

 

[jackandcat]

This does raise an interesting question: how many of us actually feel like Target's open-door policy means we are actually welcome, as individual TMs, to schedule an appointment to meet with executives, such as district or regional leaders higher up in the chain-of-command?

 

[Overadecade]

This does raise an interesting question: how many of us actually feel like Target's open-door policy means we are actually welcome, as individual TMs, to schedule an appointment to meet with executives, such as district or regional leaders higher up in the chain-of-command?

"Open door policy" just means you're free to complain to your HR or your SD, and they're free to laugh at you behind your back when you leave.
There should be a poster somewhere in your building outlining the "policy" and showing TMs who both those leaders are.

As illustrated by every walk ever, most district or higher leadership flat out refuses to talk to lower level employees.

 

[jackandcat]

"Open door policy" just means you're free to complain to your HR or your SD, and they're free to laugh at you behind your back when you leave.
There should be a poster somewhere in your building outlining the "policy" and showing TMs who both those leaders are.

As illustrated by every walk ever, most district or higher leadership flat out refuses to talk to lower level employees.

Yes, our store has a poster with pictures and names of our SD and HR-ETL. It doesn't have details of the open-door policy. Even though on a surface level Target depicts all of us as being part of the same team, you are right in that upper-level folks won't talk to lower-level folks. Maybe this approach works out well and allows senior leaders to concentrate on core priorities. The downside risk is that lower-level folks often have insight into real problems which tend to get filtered out or overlooked by their direct-reports like ETLs. Ask people at Boeing who knew about the serious software issues on the 737-MAX, lower-level people knew about these problems long before the tragic massive deaths on the Ethiopia airliner. Ask people at General Motors about the company's cover-up, over many years, of serious known ignition-switch problems on the Chevy Cobalt. My intent is not to dramatize or demonize leadership issues - all organizations have these - but to ask a basic question about why an "open door policy" exists on paper but not in reality.

 

[seasonaldude]

To be honest, I've never had an issue going to my SD and HR-ETL with issues. They're nice. Talking to them has resulted in substantial, positive changes to my work center. But, I always frame it as: this is what we're doing, it's resulting in X issue, if we did things this other way that I have in mind, we'd get better results. I don't complain to them about TLs, other TMs, or anything to do with modernization because they can't change corporate policy.

 

[jackandcat]

Personally, I have gone to the STL and HR-ETL on several occasions and they've appreciated my input. The original post here was somebody who took the "open door policy", as written in the team member handbook, to mean that you could talk to higher-ups anywhere in the chain-of-command about work-related concerns or worries (not necessarily to rat on co-workers). There may be organizations where that's literally the case, but I think at Target it's an ideal that makes the company look "progressive", rather than being day-to-day reality. An argument could be made that allowing unrestricted communication between lower-level and upper-level staff could be disruptive and doesn't really help get work completed either by corporate managers or by store-level hourly TMs. I do think Target's "open door policy" is more of an idealistic myth than a reality, but whenever possible do communicate with your immediate leaders (in stores, the STL/SD or ETL-HR) and be grounded, calm and businesslike to the best of your ability. For the most part, your leaders won't bite your head off and they would much prefer hearing from you personally than receive a scathing complaint from the Hotline, from which they might react much more harshly.

 

[Overadecade]

To be honest, I've never had an issue going to my SD and HR-ETL with issues. They're nice. Talking to them has resulted in substantial, positive changes to my work center. But, I always frame it as: this is what we're doing, it's resulting in X issue, if we did things this other way that I have in mind, we'd get better results. I don't complain to them about TLs, other TMs, or anything to do with modernization because they can't change corporate policy.

It's nice when it's like that.
On the other hand, I've been through periods with the company where such blatant favoritism went on at the highest levels, you'd have been a fool to even try and discuss things with them.

 

[Far from newbie]

I returned to this site today to post a question to anyone involved in HR and saw this thread before I posted. Interesting that a 6 month old thread is re-ignited on the very day I need it as my question concerns Targets Open Door Policy also.

My question was:

Does the Open Door Policy include: ‘complaining about other TM/ratting on other TM/ranting about other TM/sharing with HR hearsay ?

I’m concerned that our ETL HR puts too much stock into pure ‘hearsay/gossip/rumor/tattle-tales and information received that cannot be substantiated/proven.

I understand that they may be trying to ‘verify’ information . But.....if three different tm’s all tell you they ‘heard’ something, would that make it TRUE ? I certainly hope not, because it IS possible those 3 are the ones agreeing to fabricate.

I don’t want to be any part of a lynch mob against an innocent tm.
I don’t think it is proper for HR to ask me to confirm what someone ELSE OVERHEARD.

Am I wrong to think that Open door should be to talk about YOURSELF, NOT OTHERS ?

Should HR investigate he said/she said claims, or shut them down ?

 

[seasonaldude]

I returned to this site today to post a question to anyone involved in HR and saw this thread before I posted. Interesting that a 6 month old thread is re-ignited on the very day I need it as my question concerns Targets Open Door Policy also.

My question was:

Does the Open Door Policy include: ‘complaining about other TM/ratting on other TM/ranting about other TM/sharing with HR hearsay ?

I’m concerned that our ETL HR puts too much stock into pure ‘hearsay/gossip/rumor/tattle-tales and information received that cannot be substantiated/proven.

I understand that they may be trying to ‘verify’ information . But.....if three different tm’s all tell you they ‘heard’ something, would that make it TRUE ? I certainly hope not, because it IS possible those 3 are the ones agreeing to fabricate.

I don’t want to be any part of a lynch mob against an innocent tm.
I don’t think it is proper for HR to ask me to confirm what someone ELSE OVERHEARD.

Am I wrong to think that Open door should be to talk about YOURSELF, NOT OTHERS ?

Should HR investigate he said/she said claims, or shut them down ?

SOLIDARITY. Don't rat.

 

[Far from newbie]

Obviously some don’t know any better. Or think they will get some relationship with HR for “sharing/filling them in”, I don’t know what good they think will come of it. My main issue is ; should HR really listen or shut it down ??

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

My current ETL HR is super nice and I feel comfortable talking with her. Sometimes I’ll just peek into her office to vent. Tbh I’d probably feel more comfortable talking to her than my own etl.

 

[jackandcat]

I returned to this site today to post a question to anyone involved in HR and saw this thread before I posted. Interesting that a 6 month old thread is re-ignited on the very day I need it as my question concerns Targets Open Door Policy also.....My question was: Does the Open Door Policy include: ‘complaining about other TM/ratting on other TM/ranting about other TM/sharing with HR hearsay?

Like many organizations, there will be times when misunderstandings occur between co-workers, as well as when somebody has a real question about whether something a co-worker is doing is considered okay with company policy or ethical rules. A good HR professional will be able to diplomatically and tactfully listen to feedback, and objectively evaluate whether it's just a personal axe-to-grind with another TM or whether this issue should be looked into. In that respect, my store has had a lot of turnover in ETL-HR people over the years I've worked at Spot, but all of them have appreciated my time in bringing concerns to their attention. In a very few cases, I've asked about things I've seen other TMs do (or not do) and ask if these are consistent with store and company policy and ethics rules. It's not a matter of "ratting out" co-workers, it's asking if something I am seeing repeatedly is okay or if it poses a problem for the store. (All too often, it does pose a problem and they find ways of dealing with it without singling out a particular individual TM).

Other than those situations, I seldom talk with our STL/SD or HR-ETL other than brief polite greetings. This isn't my primary job or main career goal, but I do honestly take great pride in performing the Guest Advocate job very well.

 

[Antennae]

Open door policies are a scam to get rid of people.

 

[jackandcat]

Open door policies are a scam to get rid of people.

In some smaller organizations open door policies can help identify and problems early on before they become major headaches for the company. For these policies to work, you gotta have real trust among all levels of the organization and an honest sense that we're all in this together. When the lowest level clerk works in the same building, eats in the same cafeteria and parks in the same parking lot as the company president and other executives and managers, and they see each other around the building at various times or even know each others' names, this open door policy can work fairly well.

Sadly as organizations become larger, or are acquired by bigger companies (big fish eat the little fish). The quasi-family feel of a smaller organization with a shared passion for success changes into a more hierarchical bureaucracy, workplace relationships are more formal and there isn't the same level of trust.

 

[WildFire]

Does anyone actually have the Open Door Policy HandBook Link? I've looked all over, and for some reason, I can't find it.

 

[Black Sheep 214]

At this point in the Modernization of Spot, better safe than sorry...