Archived No More VMTL?

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MiracleWorker

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I was pulled into the office today and told that my position as a vmtl is no more. I’m now a visual merchandising team member. Had this happened to anyone else?
 
I think my pay stays the same. It’s just a little embarrassing to be demoted.
 
Um I actually work very hard. I was in charge of domestics, I pushed freight, zoned, hopped on the registers when needed, ran the fitting room when needed, AND did all the visual merchandising in the store.
 
Not saying @vmtlnewbie, you don't because you stated you did, but from the threads on this site, the majority of VMTL we had only stayed in Softlines. Most of the tasks assigned to them I've seen covered by either a tm, TL or an ETL. Just sayin
 
This was discussed in the paygrade thread. Most vmtls don't even have a team so them being a senior tl minus LOD shifts was a joke.

The only change for you since you get to keep your pay is you can't do interviews anymore and you can't coach team members. Other than that it has no effect on you. Our vmtl is whining it about it too.

Just show up and do your job. Crying about your demotion when 75% of us have been screwed on raises is barking up the wrong tree
 
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I saw it coming. VMTL was a new thing that had just started when I was hired and started business college. From day 1 I was kind of perplexed why so many other areas had lost TL headcount or general coverage yet we were having a VMTL. To this day I can't really understand the position. The points of it all to me stood as something I'd expect all my TL's and brand team members to focus on. I'd even expect the regular experienced TM's to be able to perform the duties of a VMTL.

That said our VMTL does bust her butt however she's always been the first to admit she is always the first one bored who runs out of work to do for her position so she does a lot of presentation team work and supporting other work centers where needed. I'm pretty close with our VMTL - our store hasn't gotten the green light for removing the position but we and she knows its coming. I do know her pay wont be changed. She doesn't really mind the change from what shes told me. She's a full time college student and will be moving when she graduates in December 2018 anyway.

I understand having a VM TM's but never understood the idea behind a VM TL. Definitely felt like we could see more efficiency with the TL position elsewhere.
 
HRZone said:
This was discussed in the paygrade thread. Most vmtls don't even have a team so them being a senior tl minus LOD shifts was a joke.

The only change for you since you get to keep your pay is you can't do interviews anymore and you can't coach team members. Other than that it has no effect on you. Our vmtl is whining it about it too.

Just show up and do your job. Crying about your demotion when 75% of us have been screwed on raises is barking up the wrong tree
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Quoted for Truth.

I think what pisses me off more than most is that this is praised in the media, but behind curtains, this is probably the downright meanest things I have seen this company do to its CORE TEAM, in the 5 years I have worked here.(individuals who have no "Team", but are trusted to handle every single TM that will ever work for Target (HR TMs). An Absurd amount of work, only to get shat on by your Co-Workers and often your own Company, and having to fight other Departments battles for them (Signing Specialist). Or having all the Vendor product in the store come through you, as well as everything that is going out (Receiving). Or a GSA, who 4 years ago the same position was GSTL.

I am sure I am forgetting a few more too.

But literally it is the backbone of the store, whether you know it, or not.
 
sabria said:
I saw it coming. VMTL was a new thing that had just started when I was hired and started business college. From day 1 I was kind of perplexed why so many other areas had lost TL headcount or general coverage yet we were having a VMTL. To this day I can't really understand the position. The points of it all to me stood as something I'd expect all my TL's and brand team members to focus on. I'd even expect the regular experienced TM's to be able to perform the duties of a VMTL.

That said our VMTL does bust her butt however she's always been the first to admit she is always the first one bored who runs out of work to do for her position so she does a lot of presentation team work and supporting other work centers where needed. I'm pretty close with our VMTL - our store hasn't gotten the green light for removing the position but we and she knows its coming. I do know her pay wont be changed. She doesn't really mind the change from what shes told me. She's a full time college student and will be moving when she graduates in December 2018 anyway.

I understand having a VM TM's but never understood the idea behind a VM TL. Definitely felt like we could see more efficiency with the TL position elsewhere.
Click to expand...

If you have worked for target for 3+ years, you saw this coming right when it was announced that VML was a thing. The problem was, the new VML's didn't.
 
As a softline TM who did pricing , pogs ,VA , and salesplanner , I can tell you that VM(TL) position in my store is a wastes of payroll !
As a TM we have to fix everything that she does ... she finds everything confusing , never has the time to finish a task ... we have 2 3 tier carts full of fixtures that had deemed unnecessary to put away
 
If I kept the same pay and 40 hours I wouldn't mind at all taking a demotion for less responsibilities.

But I can also see how some (especially external hires) would be upset. Some took the job because the pay was good. Others took it because they like to be a leader (or supervisor) and have those responsibilities. Now everything is changing for them. This will cause some people to quit in my opinion.
 
Everyone needs to chill out and think about how you would feel if you were called into the office one day out of the blue and told that you were being demoted. I assume it's similar to how it felt when specialists were eliminated.

Yes, VMs won't lose out on pay, but in this case leadership could have handled that a bit better. The position isn't even called Visual Merchandisng TM, it's just Visual Merchandiser, which is a somewhat independent position who should be reporting to an ETL (like the PMT).
 
On6 said:
If I kept the same pay and 40 hours I wouldn't mind at all taking a demotion for less responsibilities.

But I can also see how some (especially external hires) would be upset. Some took the job because the pay was good. Others took it because they like to be a leader (or supervisor) and have those responsibilities. Now everything is changing for them. This will cause some people to quit in my opinion.
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I could see that happening. It is very good money compared to other retailers but without that "Lead" title it doesn't look as good on a resumé saying "Visual Merchandiser" especially if they wanted to venture elsewhere.
 
SFSFun said:
Everyone needs to chill out and think about how you would feel if you were called into the office one day out of the blue and told that you were being demoted. I assume it's similar to how it felt when specialists were eliminated.

Yes, VMs won't lose out on pay, but in this case leadership could have handled that a bit better. The position isn't even called Visual Merchandisng TM, it's just Visual Merchandiser, which is a somewhat independent position who should be reporting to an ETL (like the PMT).
Click to expand...

This sounds absolutely horrible, and I feel sorry for them.



On another note, us Signing TM's can hold a bright eyed, and bushy tailed look, at this position once VML's abandon post, (Because the title doesn't look quite right, its not the pay, but the shirt just doesn't work). And TL's would have to be "demoted" to earn more money, and who wants to do that.
 
So..... when I started approx 2 years ago, the position was a VML. Cool, I liked the role. And then.... a few months into the role, the STL informed me that I was now a VMTL, overseeing the Brand TMs. Okay... cool, no problem, I can lead a Team. And then..... just a few months ago, the STL informed me that the BTMs would report the the SLTL instead. Okay, no sweat, I can roll w/ the changes. Now, whether my title changes in the next few days, weeks, whatever; it won't change what I do all day long.
Now, I want to make a point to those that cannot see the impact a Visual Merchandiser can make. The "old" Target had absolutely NO NEED for a VM. None, nada, zip. Now, fast-forward.... Target is changing to stay competitive in a unforgiving market.
We are NOT like Walmart anymore. We are elevating our presence in the retail world. Every day that passes, we are closer to becoming a Department Store. We "look" like a Department Store: mannequins, specialty fixturing, new graphics/props, Home Innovation, "Beauty",etc. Target is finding it's own niche in the retail marketing world, and Guests are digging it !!!!! THIS is where a VM fits in. I know, because I have worked in the Department Store setting for years.
If the VM is doing their job correctly, they are helping "bridge" the gap between "Mass Merchandise Target" and "Department Store Target". Trust me, I've read all the posts about the ridiculous displays VMs have done in other stores, and I've seen some tacky "visual" pics on Instagram.....and NO, that is NOT what a good VM does. It's art+science= marketing.
 
sprinklesontop said:
So..... when I started approx 2 years ago, the position was a VML. Cool, I liked the role. And then.... a few months into the role, the STL informed me that I was now a VMTL, overseeing the Brand TMs. Okay... cool, no problem, I can lead a Team. And then..... just a few months ago, the STL informed me that the BTMs would report the the SLTL instead. Okay, no sweat, I can roll w/ the changes. Now, whether my title changes in the next few days, weeks, whatever; it won't change what I do all day long.
Now, I want to make a point to those that cannot see the impact a Visual Merchandiser can make. The "old" Target had absolutely NO NEED for a VM. None, nada, zip. Now, fast-forward.... Target is changing to stay competitive in a unforgiving market.
We are NOT like Walmart anymore. We are elevating our presence in the retail world. Every day that passes, we are closer to becoming a Department Store. We "look" like a Department Store: mannequins, specialty fixturing, new graphics/props, Home Innovation, "Beauty",etc. Target is finding it's own niche in the retail marketing world, and Guests are digging it !!!!! THIS is where a VM fits in. I know, because I have worked in the Department Store setting for years.
If the VM is doing their job correctly, they are helping "bridge" the gap between "Mass Merchandise Target" and "Department Store Target". Trust me, I've read all the posts about the ridiculous displays VMs have done in other stores, and I've seen some tacky "visual" pics on Instagram.....and NO, that is NOT what a good VM does. It's art+science= marketing.
Click to expand...

Plano team and Myself at my store, Set, Sign and, Adjust all of these. The only time we touched Mannequins is when we gained ~80 of them for our A&A Remodel.

As a Signing TM, all the Mannequins, all the specialty fixtures, all the new Graphics/Props for EVERYWHERE, come through me, and I am the one who makes sure, they get where they need to go.
 
BigEyedPhish said:
Plano team and Myself at my store, Set, Sign and, Adjust all of these. The only time we touched Mannequins is when we gained ~80 of them for our A&A Remodel.

As a Signing TM, all the Mannequins, all the specialty fixtures, all the new Graphics/Props for EVERYWHERE, come through me, and I am the one who makes sure, they get where they need to go.
Click to expand...

BigEyedPhish..... wait !!! :eek: Allow me to clarify what I meant; I am not saying that a VM does the signing, graphics, props etc...... I was using those examples to show how Target is becoming a Department Store. Target is starting to look and "behave" like a Department store.
Every Department Store has some sort of VM on their payroll: JCPenney, Macy's, Nordstrom, etc. Target jumped on the bandwagon, early in it's "Department Store infancy", and hired VMs for this reason. A good VM should be a valuable resource to each store as we morph, grow, change, etc into the next phase of retail. There's already a shift in how we merchandise in A&A..... pogs and labels are no longer necessary; and more changes are on the way.


 
Nokiddiegloves said:
When our VMTL found out she was losing her title, she decided to do half the work. Now all of SLTM are mad at her. Good times.
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As she should

No need to work really hard if you lose all your responsibility. I'd go from leading to simply telling fellow SLTMs to ask the SLTL
 
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