MEGATHREAD 2018-2019 Store Modernization Megathread

[OPINION] How do you feel about these changes?

  • I like them.

  • I dislike them.

Results are only viewable after voting.
can't touch this said:
Imagine being corporate with galaxy brain degrees, deciding to wipe out TEAMS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BECOME EXPERTS AT DOING A THING FROM EXPERIENCE and then being utterly mind blown when everything goes completely to shit. If being smart is this overrated then Iā€™m glad Iā€™m stupid.
Click to expand...

People: are experts at job

Corporate: Let's cut them.

everything goes to shit

Corporate: Pikachu Face.jpg
 
Highly adaptable/functioning TL's that stay with the company (not coached and termed out or quits due to pressure) will need to LEAD at an ETL level vs being task driven. ETL's will need fo LEAD at an STL level and STL's will lead from a distance to ensure all the required moving parts under the new plan are going as planned. There will be no allowed deviation from HQ's charted op model. Target doesn't care about what you think. You are either on board or not - there's the door. 4 hour shifts are meant to eliminate deadweight. The thought is to have 1 amazing TM work 7-8 hours in their department. We can only afford to have the best. Just ok TM's have to go. Dedicated Business Owners must be that. They'll be setting their owns pogs, doing their own pricing, own everything. What's up for debate now is the backroom that's why the OP model was delayed. IMO DBO's should own their own backroom aisles do their own backstock purge and pulls but others feel differently and think DBO's should be guest facing vs back of the house... still requiring a backroom team. We shall see what the powers that be decide at HQ.
 
POGTL said:
We can only afford to have the best. Just ok TM's have to go. Dedicated Business Owners must be that. They'll be setting their owns pogs, doing their own pricing, own everything
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With wages going up, the best people will not be found here with this kind of pressure.

And just how do you expect this to get done when most TMs are either not even getting 3 shifts/20 hours per week, or barely getting that? This might work in stores with adequate staffing, but not all stores will be like that. My store is running a skeleton crew and it doesn't matter how amazing the TMs are when it's a 2000+ piece truck and you have 8-12 Flow TMs working that day at an absolute max of 5 hours per person, WHILE servicing guests and pushing what is almost always an enormous amount of pull from the backroom. If it were not for the guests you could ALMOST get away with this sort of staffing.
 
flow4areasonuno said:
With wages going up, the best people will not be found here with this kind of pressure.

And just how do you expect this to get done when most TMs are either not even getting 3 shifts/20 hours per week, or barely getting that? This might work in stores with adequate staffing, but not all stores will be like that. My store is running a skeleton crew and it doesn't matter how amazing the TMs are when it's a 2000+ piece truck and you have 8-12 Flow TMs working that day at an absolute max of 5 hours per person, WHILE servicing guests and pushing what is almost always an enormous amount of pull from the backroom. If it were not for the guests you could ALMOST get away with this sort of staffing.
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Well it's Q1... everyone is in the same boat... If you've been with Target longer than a year and are not used to this idk what to tell you. It gets better...
 
POGTL said:
Highly adaptable/functioning TL's that stay with the company (not coached and termed out or quits due to pressure) will need to LEAD at an ETL level vs being task driven. ETL's will need fo LEAD at an STL level and STL's will lead from a distance to ensure all the required moving parts under the new plan are going as planned. There will be no allowed deviation from HQ's charted op model. Target doesn't care about what you think. You are either on board or not - there's the door. 4 hour shifts are meant to eliminate deadweight. The thought is to have 1 amazing TM work 7-8 hours in their department. We can only afford to have the best. Just ok TM's have to go. Dedicated Business Owners must be that. They'll be setting their owns pogs, doing their own pricing, own everything. What's up for debate now is the backroom that's why the OP model was delayed. IMO DBO's should own their own backroom aisles do their own backstock purge and pulls but others feel differently and think DBO's should be guest facing vs back of the house... still requiring a backroom team. We shall see what the powers that be decide at HQ.
Click to expand...
4 hour shifts canā€™t be a way to eliminate dead weight, unless my storeā€™s goal is to only have team leads working and then training a whole bunch of new people. 4 hour shifts are the new 8 hour shifts.
 
I have read that some of these test districts have TLs getting keys to the store. just wondering if this is true with the Op Model. I know some flex format stores have all seniors except for the STL. I also read the senior TL position goes away and that includes the dollar that you would have for the key. Has anyone else heard of TLs getting keys?
 
no nix nein said:
4 hour shifts canā€™t be a way to eliminate dead weight, unless my storeā€™s goal is to only have team leads working and then training a whole bunch of new people. 4 hour shifts are the new 8 hour shifts.
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4 hour shifts are a way to be able to (in theory) schedule only during peak hours and cut payroll expenses, as well as keep TMs from getting health insurance (Target is self insured, and incurs more of the costs for TM healthcare,) plain and simple. When we rolled it out everyone was told that "studies" showed TMs are only productive for 4 hours, and then productivity declines, and that's why it happened. Which is still a stupid thing to tell people.
When this rolled out to us, there were no allowances for "good" TMs to work 8 hours shifts, because we can't put ourselves in a position to play favorites and run the risk of getting called out for discrimination, and all the good ones quit immediately, so the assertation from people saying this was to "cut dead weight" is laughable in a market like mine, and should have been to anyone who put this forward to roll out to stores.
Many stores went from a good, functional team, to a staff full of 16 year olds who slack off for 4 hours because they don't work enough to feel obligated to finish anything.

This might be a great idea (for the company bottom line) in areas where jobs are so scarce that good TMs can be cowed into doing whatever, but in areas like the Midwest where there's an intense worker shortage, who exactly is looking for a job that wants open availability, wants you to work 4 hour shifts 3-4 random days a week in the middle of the day, offers no benefits, and requires you to take on TL level task work like being a "dedicated business owner" at what Target is currently paying?
Being a cashier at the local grocery store pays the same or more (and in some areas, as much as TLs make...) and the pay difference between expectation levels for Target TMs aren't really worth it, either.

It's interesting that the leaders who really put on the pressure for "only the best" "do whatever is right for the business" "I only want TMs that will do exactly what we say no matter what" are typically in small specialized areas, too. The areas that are most often allowed to cherry pick from applicants and existing employees, while the other areas struggle to hire or hire TMs that just bring everyone else down.
 
Sloth said:
TLs won't be receiving ETL pay, and ETLs won't be receiving STL pay. Target takes their own motto too seriously.

Do they really think that just one person can set their own pogs and do their own pricing in addition to doing everything else? If the idea is that you need 8 hours to get everything done on normal day, how is it expected that you'll be able to do sets and pricing in addition to your tasks that normally take 8 hours without needing more time?

And there are a lot of areas in the store. I imagine some TMs will be stuck with more than one area, as there aren't enough to cover every fillgroup. And what happens when the TM that covers an area is scheduled off more than one day in a row? Does their work just not get done? What happens when their area's workload increases heavily because of transition? Just one person can handle toys outside of Q4 -- not so much during. What area gets neglected to bolster toys?
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The idea as it exists currently in SL, is you are in charge of a "zone" that's a sort of arbitrary combination of departments. So, right now someone might be girls/infants. They need to do all freight, backstock, POGs, price change, VMGs, etc.
This sounds better on paper because, instead of having a set amount to do in one day, you have all week to finish everything (except freight, that's daily still.)
In practice, this means you might have 40+ hours of VMG workload, 10+ hours of price changes (in addition to everything else you need to do) and have a TM in charge of organizing and completing it that is working 12-20 hours right now.
The reasoning behind this "ownership" is that if someone does the same area every single shift, they'll be familiar and do it faster. And this is totally true! Except, no amount of familiarity is going to shave 50% or more hours off the expected time the task takes.
Now add on the fact TMs and TLs will be doing this workload during "peak hours" when the store is busy, guests need a lot of help, lanes need to be backed up, and "all day zone" becomes more time consuming. And that they're demerching aisles and shoving around giant wall segments during those peak hours, and losing time waiting for people to not be in the way.
It's been crazy demoralizing, and the few TMs who were willing to live up to the new expectations are giving up very quickly under the pressure.

I want to reiterate that I've REALLY like this job so far, and I'm absolutely willing to try new things to keep the company afloat where I'm able, but we've been trying this for quite a while at our store, and it's been soul crushing.
I've never seen the shelves as empty as they have been since we've started this. Never seen so much stuff go clearance out of the stockrooms without being stocked before.
It's honestly terrifying.
And I'd STILL stick around and try to contribute positively in any way I could, because I'm loyal and knowledgeable, except we've been misled about what our schedules would look like upon getting hired, and are being forced to change them to something that's not only severely undesirable for the pay, but impossible for the majority of us... and leadership cannot provide a valid reason for why we're doing so other than "we've been told we have to."
 
Overadecade said:
In practice, this means you might have 40+ hours of VMG workload, 10+ hours of price changes (in addition to everything else you need to do) and have a TM in charge of organizing and completing it that is working 12-20 hours right now.
The reasoning behind this "ownership" is that if someone does the same area every single shift, they'll be familiar and do it faster. And this is totally true! Except, no amount of familiarity is going to shave 50% or more hours off the expected time the task takes.
Now add on the fact TMs and TLs will be doing this workload during "peak hours" when the store is busy, guests need a lot of help, lanes need to be backed up, and "all day zone" becomes more time consuming. And that they're demerching aisles and shoving around giant wall segments during those peak hours, and losing time waiting for people to not be in the way.
It's been crazy demoralizing, and the few TMs who were willing to live up to the new expectations are giving up very quickly under the pressure.
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This this this. Coming back into Target, I'm glad I had the background I did from before, but none of that is helping with this new stuff. They didn't have to show me how to zone, complete pulls, or backstock. I've been so frustrated that I haven't been able to finish tasks...and no wonder, there's no hours or team to do it.

I remember when the wave zone was a thing for awhile. We started off with our own areas, but then it was better to zone as a team. Then it became too social and we got assigned areas again. It worked and then didn't. Or didn't work and then did.

I fully agree with the "ownership", but if you're someone like me that only wants to work max 15 hours a week (due to school and other commitments) and have been getting 1 or 2 four hour shifts, it doesn't work. I don't have an assigned area. I just end up in HL somewhere or I get the occasional cashier shift. (Side note: Front end is NOT allowed to complain to me about not getting hours up there. I posted my cashier shift and no one took it, but that's another story.) I can't take ownership of an area when I'm constantly moved about or barely work.

Grocery piles up like mad, and I just don't understand it...

During peak hours, I can't push truck, complete pulls, fill endcaps, zone, fill guest requests, AND help at the lanes. I have started to become lax on bringing up defectives or trying to put tickets on items, and I'm one of the few that still does these things. I can't remember the last time I zoned ANYTHING. Target was supposed to be a "leave work at work" type of job, but I leave so many times feeling like I didn't do anything all night (even though my step tracker says otherwise). And now eventually backroom will go away, so then what?

I already know I can't survive on just Target this summer, and am hoping to find employment elsewhere. Or that some random life thing will happen and I can put in my two weeks again. Maybe the hours will improve, maybe it will start to click, but right now it's very difficult...
 
Overadecade said:
When we rolled it out everyone was told that "studies" showed TMs are only productive for 4 hours, and then productivity declines,
Click to expand...

Did anyone at corporate think about the fact that those studies focused on people in offices? There's a huge fucking world of difference between "get the truck done" and "make sure you put the new cover sheet on the TPS reports". Office work is boring and non-engaging and there's tons of nonproductive distractions available to break up the monotony.
 
Backroom81 said:
Did anyone at corporate think about the fact that those studies focused on people in offices? There's a huge fucking world of difference between "get the truck done" and "make sure you put the new cover sheet on the TPS reports". Office work is boring and non-engaging and there's tons of nonproductive distractions available to break up the monotony.
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Many of our newer team members are unproductive the moment they punch in.
 
OldSchoolVet said:
Many of our newer team members are unproductive the moment they punch in.
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To which I mostly blame the process and lack of hours. It's hard to motivate people to do 12 hours of work in just a 4 hour shift when they know the reward is just another 4 hour shift with the same expectations. You certainly don't get motivated when you ask for guidance and the response is "Figure it out".

Not only that but when Target expects prospective hires to have open availability but only gives them random mid-day shifts that are nearly impossible to schedule a second job around, the quality of those people are going to drop like a rock. The good ones are going to jump ship as soon as they find something more steady.
 
band_rules16 said:
I remember when the wave zone was a thing for awhile. We started off with our own areas, but then it was better to zone as a team. Then it became too social and we got assigned areas again. It worked and then didn't. Or didn't work and then did.
Click to expand...
I always like HQ's refusal to admit something didn't work, and leadership's refusal to admit that a new process is failing. I'd love to hear the panicked response of someone asked HQ why, if this new process is so much better than the old ones, why the old ones were done for so many years. "Uh... well... you see......."
 
Overadecade said:
I've never seen the shelves as empty as they have been since we've started this. Never seen so much stuff go clearance out of the stockrooms without being stocked before.
It's honestly terrifying.
Click to expand...

You too, huh? I keep noticing that there's a LOT more clearance lately...


Overadecade said:
And I'd STILL stick around and try to contribute positively in any way I could, because I'm loyal and knowledgeable, except we've been misled about what our schedules would look like upon getting hired, and are being forced to change them to something that's not only severely undesirable for the pay, but impossible for the majority of us... and leadership cannot provide a valid reason for why we're doing so other than "we've been told we have to."
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We keep getting random callouts. People are way burned out here. Even the longtimers who have been here for years are less motivated and are not giving their all. Why stress out over what you can't control? I guess is how they're seeing it.

Backroom81 said:
You certainly don't get motivated when you ask for guidance and the response is "Figure it out".
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Even my immediate supervisor (I think he would be called the flow TL?) is getting pissed. At points he is like, "The hell with it, I don't care if I get in trouble, (insert whoever), please take a lunch."

(We've been all "no lunch period" lately, as you could probably guess)
 
RightArm said:
That's because with the exception of the big areas like shoes and intimates, SL has ALWAYS handled its own sets. You're right though, SL is far more flexible in organization and yet at the same time we are being slammed with "DO IT TO VMG!!!!"
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Which is so frustrating because our newest VMG only shows one store layout, which doesnā€™t match my store. So weā€™re supposed to reset an area with much less space than it calls for, and without half of the special fixtures (like the large white walls).

My leads are getting frustrated because it looks cramped, but thatā€™s because the VMG wants us to set things vertically on white walls, but we have to spread them out onto convertibles and quads.

I really donā€™t understand the change to only showing one store format. It doesnā€™t streamline the process, it makes it where I have to invent the wheel every time we get new product because I have to figure out how to make it work ā€œbrandā€-wise without having what the VMG says I should have šŸ™„
 
Backroom81 said:
Did anyone at corporate think about the fact that those studies focused on people in offices? There's a huge fucking world of difference between "get the truck done" and "make sure you put the new cover sheet on the TPS reports". Office work is boring and non-engaging and there's tons of nonproductive distractions available to break up the monotony.
Click to expand...

I think in average 8 hour shift of mine I would say that a good 6.5 is spent doing work. There is always something to do and I really find me the I screw around for like 5 minutes at a time.
 
RightArm said:
That's because with the exception of the big areas like shoes and intimates, SL has ALWAYS handled its own sets. You're right though, SL is far more flexible in organization and yet at the same time we are being slammed with "DO IT TO VMG!!!!"
Click to expand...

At my store, believe it or not, a dedicated person from the plano team would set the softlines department, racks and all, up until several years ago! I remember our leads getting zero training for doing it, and everything looking like hell for a long time.
 
Backroom81 said:
To which I mostly blame the process and lack of hours. It's hard to motivate people to do 12 hours of work in just a 4 hour shift when they know the reward is just another 4 hour shift with the same expectations. You certainly don't get motivated when you ask for guidance and the response is "Figure it out".

Not only that but when Target expects prospective hires to have open availability but only gives them random mid-day shifts that are nearly impossible to schedule a second job around, the quality of those people are going to drop like a rock. The good ones are going to jump ship as soon as they find something more steady.
Click to expand...

It's some of that, but it's also just the way the workforce is now days and the types of people applying for these kinds of jobs.
Most of my team spends an incredible amount of clocked in time on their social media accounts, and then gossiping with coworkers about those things.
We actually recently fired a lady for being in the bathroom on her phone for three straight hours. It was crazy.
 
^ this. I am literally stunned with how much standing around talking the TMs at my store do. Softlines is, by far, the worst but then I see some people with the ear buds, actually having phone conversations while ā€œworking.ā€ I donā€™t know if itā€™s because Iā€™m older than most of my coworkers but geesh, you arenā€™t paid to stand around. Shoot the breeze for 5 minutes and then get to work!
 

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