Archived VM TL

[ClearanceMaster]

Source?

Sorry, we have already heard remarks all of this thread that are unsubstantiated and they don't contribute at all to VMLs coming here to get insight into their role or share experiences so far.
While we all get that tenured members have seen a lot of changes over their time, none of you seem to be the decision makers behind these initiatives, so unless you have classified information it is just conjecture.

While I certainly don't think MBTM hours will be funded much after holiday, since the need isn't there, the VML role will be there especially since the more drastic changes to presentation and merchandising directives begin in 2016. Will the role be there next holiday? Who knows, the exact responsibilities will certainly change as does anything in retail. I don't work with the idea that "I'm a goner" attitude. We are all at-will.

1.) Never said the position was going away. Just this idea you think the hours are going to pop up out of anywhere. Your hours are coming out of the STLs "bank" or are being taken from elsewhere.

My source: price accuracy went through a pilot phase where they said they would add payroll into our team for having increased workload working during the busy part of the day (11-730). We got it for... 2 weeks? Then nothing.

And I actually have been contributing to the thread.. but when someone like you trys to tell me my leadership is lazy because they don't want my VML wasting payroll by closing, for what reason does she need to close? Regardless of what target wants to happen.. our closing team is skeleton. They will not be informing them of style or brand opportunities during a closing shift. I guaran-damn-tee it. And if they did they will be blown off and nobody will care because they're too busy trying to zone and cashiering.

 

[ClearanceMaster]

@sher merchandise brand team member.

 

[skyclad]

Skyklad- have you- like me- shopped some of the other stores and said to yourself" wow once all the vm roles are settled in- are the folks in this store in for a rude awakening!"?

Not really.

I knew that the store could look better and was missing out on potential sales (empty fixtures, poor merchandising in A&A, etc), but I wanted to get the whole picture instead of jumping down the team's throats. I have never seen coming in with judgment guns blazing working for anyone. I spent most of my training within the other teams in the store and learned what our strengths were (we have an amazing in-stocks and plano team) and taking it from there. After all, it is just one person so if you don't have the team's support it will be harder to get directives accomplished as well as their buy-in for the what the vision is. There are some things that will take a lot longer to get up to standard, but overall the team is working well together and 'gets it'.

As is with many of the VMLs I have spoken with in the field, this isn't their first experience in the retail rodeo. I've been in this situation before and the type of reaction that happens is typical (almost feels as though scripted like a bad rpg) and there is always pushback. If it were me in their shoes, I would be skeptical too considering the stories that have been shared on the forum about their tenures at Target. However, if their tenures have solely been just with Target or another big box retailer, they don't have the field experience to relate to the type of merchandising changes that are coming to the stores.

 

[tellmeaboutatime]

Let me explain this to you Target is not now and it never will be a high end boutique or a French based company (although the latter was debated vigorously a few years back). This is a discount retailer. No amount of lipstick on this pig is going to turn into anything else. On paper the hours may be there. However once the hours are given to the stores they are distributed to the needs of the business. What that means to the VML is you may have your 40, but there is now no sale floor. You will be pulled to do team projects. Two words SMART HUDDLES. Those extra 40 hours you speak of will be eaten by the flow team.Currently there are 16 hours given to the C9 area, 20-40 hours given to the shoe brand, and 20 given to the cosmetics brand. These too are dedicated hours to be reimbursed at the end of the fiscal month to stores. In theory these hours are extra too. In reality they aren't. Although these team members may be scheduled in the area, the rest of the sales floor is depleted to allow that. I will not tell you what your responsibilities on paper are. I will tell you that as a team member, remember you name tag looks just like the STL and the Cart Attendants your first priority is the guest. Bottom line is payroll must come in on budget. If that means cutting the heck out of other areas to look good on paper, they will do it.

 

[ClearanceMaster]

Recommended: not mandatory.



Also, they are having stores "overspend" and then giving them the hours at the end of the month. How long do you actually think this will go on? You said it yourself.. stores have less hours this year than last year. The payroll isnt coming out of nowhere. Its being slashed elsewhere and given to the VML. So they act like they're giving us more payroll but they already cut it from us to begin with

 

[skyclad]

Let me explain this to you Target is not now and it never will be a high end boutique or a French based company (although the latter was debated vigorously a few years back). This is a discount retailer. No amount of lipstick on this pig is going to turn into anything else. On paper the hours may be there. However once the hours are given to the stores they are distributed to the needs of the business. What that means to the VML is you may have your 40, but there is now no sale floor. You will be pulled to do team projects. Two words SMART HUDDLES. Those extra 40 hours you speak of will be eaten by the flow team.Currently there are 16 hours given to the C9 area, 20-40 hours given to the shoe brand, and 20 given to the cosmetics brand. These too are dedicated hours to be reimbursed at the end of the fiscal month to stores. In theory these hours are extra too. In reality they aren't. Although these team members may be scheduled in the area, the rest of the sales floor is depleted to allow that. I will not tell you what your responsibilities on paper are. I will tell you that as a team member, remember you name tag looks just like the STL and the Cart Attendants your first priority is the guest. Bottom line is payroll must come in on budget. If that means cutting the heck out of other areas to look good on paper, they will do it.

Nobody on here is saying it will be like a high end boutique, but high volume and high standards is doable and actually is a trend in the retail industry right now. It has also already been tested in Target stores before the large roll-out. Surprise Surprise, it works. You don't seem to know much about what happens in retail, just with what is happening in your day-to-day experiences.

Do you process payroll in your store and know how the hours usable are calculated? This isn't a call-out, I am just curious, because the hours you are referring to do exist, but not where you seem to think they do as I mentioned above. They are not being taken from elsewhere, this is an additional expense the company has accepted for Q4 & 2016 and added to their budgets. The way you are responding indicates you don't know much about how this works. The hours for this year are actually more than last year (for the salesfloor) before even adding the VML "other" funded hours. Using or not using the MBTM hours doesn't affect payroll staying in the green unless you abuse it. Now, *not* using it does mean those areas don't get the attention that is funded for them (even if minimal) resulting in lost sales. Using the hours to 'pad' other payroll usage to stay green can actually be a performance documentation that can lead to termination (this is a fact btw).

Unfortunately, you don't know what you are talking about and by what you just stated again, your leadership team is actually not only lazy but negligent and won't lead them to success with this type of behavior. No amount of explanation on your part will prove it otherwise. By your logic, they can also cut out policies or even hand out discounts. I mean, if they are going to cherry pick what directives they are going to do for a company that pays them, why not? Heck, they can probably decide their own store hours and return policy!

The type of response you have is associated with the definition of insanity. Any store that keeps doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result...is insane.

 

[skyclad]

Also, they are having stores "overspend" and then giving them the hours at the end of the month. How long do you actually think this will go on? You said it yourself.. stores have less hours this year than last year. The payroll isnt coming out of nowhere. Its being slashed elsewhere and given to the VML. So they act like they're giving us more payroll but they already cut it from us to begin with

Wrong. You don't know what you are talking about at all. Also, I meant stores have more hours, I already corrected that. Payroll forwarding is something used quite a bit in retail, especially when it is something added (like a new initiative) when payroll budgets have been made in advance, which they usually are. You don't seem to have much retail experience in management.

 

[ClearanceMaster]

Wrong. You don't know what you are talking about at all. Also, I meant stores have more hours, I already corrected that.

As someone who has worked retail for 15+ years (5 in management) and been with my particular target for 7.. working closely with my Sr.Tl with regards to payroll and staffing I do know what I am talking about.. hours are down no matter how much you think you know being with target for.... a month?

 

[ClearanceMaster]

Nobody on here is saying it will be like a high end boutique, but high volume and high standards is doable and actually is a trend in the retail industry right now. It has also already been tested in Target stores before the large roll-out. Surprise Surprise, it works. You don't seem to know much about what happens in retail, just with what is happening in your day-to-day experiences.

Do you process payroll in your store and know how the hours usable are calculated? This isn't a call-out, I am just curious, because the hours you are referring to do exist, but not where you seem to think they do as I mentioned above. They are not being taken from elsewhere, this is an additional expense the company has accepted for Q4 & 2016 and added to their budgets. The way you are responding indicates you don't know much about how this works. The hours for this year are actually more than last year (for the salesfloor) before even adding the VML "other" funded hours. Using or not using the MBTM hours doesn't affect payroll staying in the green unless you abuse it. Now, *not* using it does mean those areas don't get the attention that is funded for them (even if minimal) resulting in lost sales. Using the hours to 'pad' other payroll usage to stay green can actually be a performance documentation that can lead to termination (this is a fact btw).

Unfortunately, you don't know what you are talking about and by what you just stated again, your leadership team is actually not only lazy but negligent and won't lead them to success with this type of behavior. No amount of explanation on your part will prove it otherwise. By your logic, they can also cut out policies or even hand out discounts. I mean, if they are going to cherry pick what directives they are going to do for a company that pays them, why not? Heck, they can probably decide their own store hours and return policy!

The type of response you have is associated with the definition of insanity. Any store that keeps doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result...is insane.

Actually all stores do what you stated, besides deciding store hours.. welcome to target

 

[ClearanceMaster]

But going back to the thread at hand and not this rubbish. my VML officially starts this week. I'm going to post pictures of just how much is done. Guarantee it won't be 40 hours worth of anything. And she's actually been in retail for 30+ years.. over 20 in softlines so we will see.

 

[Rarejem]

I have been with Target for more than 15 years. It has been my experience that when hours are added for a new team they are kept intact for about one year. After that, only the TL hours are "guaranteed" hours. Assigned tm's (not TL) will be assigned to other tasks on a regular basis and, while their core roles will not necessarily change, their job will. The last new team added was the Instocks team. Initially, we had 120 hours added. It is now a total of 60-70 hours and part of those are used for softlines brand tm. They do not do any of the Instocks team work anymore. They used to help with scanning research in softlines, but don't anymore. They hours are still given to the brand tm, but the workload has become part of the Instocks team. I think that this position is an important one, but it will be very interesting to see how the team itself evolves. I actually do not see much about how the VMTL is leading a team yet. There has been talk at our store about a VM team, but I have seen no implementation other than using brand tm (which has resulted in a bit of chaos with regard to our softlines dept. as the work that they previously did there has not been reassigned nor have additional hours been allocated). Any input from the VMTL as to how the team aspect of this will be implemented?

 

[LadyCynide]

My VMTL has been actively making an effort to get to know me over the last few days, and I honestly appreciate it. We even got to have a couple of good laughs yesterday as she helped me finish up my Halloween costume (I went as a prostitute, so it was interesting.) it's nice to see her finally starting to loosen up.

I still have yet to see her do much of anything specifically related to her position, but if she keeps evolving like this, I have hope that maybe she'll get there.

Still not a HUGE fan, but at least her attitude has shifted enough where I can work with her without feeling the need to slap her.

 

[ClearanceMaster]

I have been with Target for more than 15 years. It has been my experience that when hours are added for a new team they are kept intact for about one year. After that, only the TL hours are "guaranteed" hours. Assigned tm's (not TL) will be assigned to other tasks on a regular basis and, while their core roles will not necessarily change, their job will. The last new team added was the Instocks team. Initially, we had 120 hours added. It is now a total of 60-70 hours and part of those are used for softlines brand tm. They do not do any of the Instocks team work anymore. They used to help with scanning research in softlines, but don't anymore. They hours are still given to the brand tm, but the workload has become part of the Instocks team. I think that this position is an important one, but it will be very interesting to see how the team itself evolves. I actually do not see much about how the VMTL is leading a team yet. There has been talk at our store about a VM team, but I have seen no implementation other than using brand tm (which has resulted in a bit of chaos with regard to our softlines dept. as the work that they previously did there has not been reassigned nor have additional hours been allocated). Any input from the VMTL as to how the team aspect of this will be implemented?

Only the top stores got an actual team from what I understand. Thats why I declined the softlines brand position they we're giving me because it was supposed to be a VM position

 

[Penrose]

It's not a bad idea to use non-human characters as mannequins. I'd like to see that happened. Some people are not comfortable with human image, give them dinosaurs and crocodiles, that should shut them up.

 

[ClearanceMaster]

My VMTL has been actively making an effort to get to know me over the last few days, and I honestly appreciate it. We even got to have a couple of good laughs yesterday as she helped me finish up my Halloween costume (I went as a prostitute, so it was interesting.) it's nice to see her finally starting to loosen up.

I still have yet to see her do much of anything specifically related to her position, but if she keeps evolving like this, I have hope that maybe she'll get there.

Still not a HUGE fan, but at least her attitude has shifted enough where I can work with her without feeling the need to slap her.

It would have been nice to actually have a vml before Halloween. That would have definitely driven sales for softlines/seasonal. But alas, home is more important I guess.

 

[tanner6116]

Well folks here are 2 examples of why VMLs are vital to put into the stores- do these look brand right to you?

 

[ClearanceMaster]

Well folks here are 2 examples of why VMLs are vital to put into the stores- do these look brand right to you?

No Tanner, it does not look brand.. but this is why we have HL tms to zone that. While they are pushing cafs, doing fast service, covering electronics. Now I want to see what YOU can do to that aisle to make it different than what a HL tm could have zoned it to.

 

[ClearanceMaster]

You can't just show something that's not zoned. Show something that is zoned but there is a way that you can make it better. Something that 2 Hard lines tms couldn't have done (because you're getting paid almost twice the average tm)

 

[Penrose]

Display a large photo of people having a good time in a sporting event - smiles while wearing the sports outfits. After all, we are not just selling a product, we are selling "experience".

 

[ClearanceMaster]

Youre right @Penrose , im sure we have some kind of football picture in Home.. or How about just making sure the header up top is facing the right way. Like why does the jets merchandise have a nfl header on the right.. but it looks like it's merchandised on the left. Flip the header. We usually have jets pillow pets. Merchandise that in there. if we jave any jets in the back...Truly make it a "fan central" and not just a "fan apparel central" that's what I expect done in their position

 

[sigma7]

Well folks here are 2 examples of why VMLs are vital to put into the stores- do these look brand right to you?

The first is just a zone that hasn't been touched for at least a couple days. The second is awful and there is no reason why anyone should've done that. That is somebody's pet project that is in no way company direction or company approved at all.

I will just say, Sales Floor TLs should have some visual merchandising skills. Softlines flow should have some visual merchandising skills. Brand tms are great, but the VML should spend time investing in SFTLs and softlines flow tms. Softlines flow tms especially.

 

[ClearanceMaster]

Definitely @sigma7 I hope mine spends some time with our softlines flow and teaches them how to go get the correct fixtures from the room instead of cramming too Much on what's there. It says clearly in the apparel training guide to utilize shoulder bars And faceouts when you have high inventory. My flow team will just cram it on the stepdowns or a faceout thats not extended and it looks horrible.

 

[PlanoBitch]

Well folks here are 2 examples of why VMLs are vital to put into the stores- do these look brand right to you?

I am not a VML however I did think about going for the position for awhile. As a SRTL I redo Fan Central frequently when I am LOD. I take everything off and re-merchandise it because I can't stand how it looks. It doesn't need a VML just someone to have some spare time to take care of it.

I agree that it is great to have a focus on these things and if utilized correctly it will be good for the company however what I can see happening is the same thing that happens to all of us like others have posted. It's a truck day meaning there is no sales floor TM's scheduled until 430pm and there are abandons pilling up for HL and SL, no cart attendant because hours are so low and we have no carts, fast service at the front at both the registers and SB, caf pulls pilling up in the backroom because there is a huge truck and flow is behind so they aren't pushing them and once again there is nobody on the sales floor, mini seasonal/seasonal needs to be PTMed and we need to push d-code out of the backroom, and we have to do our daily 4x4's. So what is going to happen? Same thing that happens to my teams - we get pulled to do all of the above leaving us behind in our workcenters. The extra payroll they are giving back to stores (which will stop after awhile and we will have to figure out where to cut from other workcenters) for the VML will be useless because the rest of the store is drowning and they will be pulled to assist with the fires around the store.

 

[PlanoBitch]

Nobody on here is saying it will be like a high end boutique, but high volume and high standards is doable and actually is a trend in the retail industry right now. It has also already been tested in Target stores before the large roll-out. Surprise Surprise, it works. You don't seem to know much about what happens in retail, just with what is happening in your day-to-day experiences.

Do you process payroll in your store and know how the hours usable are calculated? This isn't a call-out, I am just curious, because the hours you are referring to do exist, but not where you seem to think they do as I mentioned above. They are not being taken from elsewhere, this is an additional expense the company has accepted for Q4 & 2016 and added to their budgets. The way you are responding indicates you don't know much about how this works. The hours for this year are actually more than last year (for the salesfloor) before even adding the VML "other" funded hours. Using or not using the MBTM hours doesn't affect payroll staying in the green unless you abuse it. Now, *not* using it does mean those areas don't get the attention that is funded for them (even if minimal) resulting in lost sales. Using the hours to 'pad' other payroll usage to stay green can actually be a performance documentation that can lead to termination (this is a fact btw).

Unfortunately, you don't know what you are talking about and by what you just stated again, your leadership team is actually not only lazy but negligent and won't lead them to success with this type of behavior. No amount of explanation on your part will prove it otherwise. By your logic, they can also cut out policies or even hand out discounts. I mean, if they are going to cherry pick what directives they are going to do for a company that pays them, why not? Heck, they can probably decide their own store hours and return policy!

The type of response you have is associated with the definition of insanity. Any store that keeps doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result...is insane.

I think I can try to explain what every one else was saying about payroll with this example.
Take Planogram.
Adjacency calendar says POG workload is 155 hours
Sales Floor hours are 100, 50 for SL and 50 for HL.

Total store payroll cannot support giving all those hours to those teams so what happens.
POG team only gets 1o0 hours and has to figure out how to finish the other 55 hours on their own or the ETL's help set.
SF doesn't get their workload hours so the SFTL's have to set during their time and hope they finish or ETL's have to set.

We have all seen this happen more times then we can remember so we can see this happening to the VML too. Yes, you will get 40 as a TL but when they stop adding the hours to the original forecast (with what you are saying they are giving hours from Q4-2016 but what about 2017?) this can happen. Just because Target says POG gets 155 hours and the sales floor needs 100 doesn't mean that is what will happen. The STL needs to look at the store as a whole and decide where the hours go. If they are good at what they do they take into account everything that is going on in the store and make the right decisions based on their store.

Another example is if the DC decides to send 5 trucks instead of the planned 4 trucks that we already forecasted for we have to find a way to payback those hours for the extra truck, Target doesn't give us more payroll because there was an add. That means cutting anywhere, sending people home early, telling people not to come in, and running bare bones all because they added us a truck. Either that or they decide that whoever is scheduled on the added day is now pushing the truck and not doing their workload. This has happened to my teams a few times. We were told we have an add so we are going to push all day leaving POG a day behind on workload and PC a half day behind because we were pushing for 4 hours out of the 8 that we were scheduled.

 

[redeye58]

You don't seem to know much about what happens in retail, just with what is happening in your day-to-day experiences.

And those day-today experiences include seeing hours being siphoned off from other areas according to immediate needs of the store. Extra truck coming this week? ETL goes around to every other work area telling TLs to shave off 20-30 hours (per area) for flow.
But hey, we're just long-time veterans who see this all. the. time.

Do you process payroll in your store and know how the hours usable are calculated? This isn't a call-out, I am just curious, because the hours you are referring to do exist, but not where you seem to think they do as I mentioned above. They are not being taken from elsewhere, this is an additional expense the company has accepted for Q4 & 2016 and added to their budgets.

Which has been done every time there's been a new role introduced.
This year we barely made it through Q1 because of draconian cuts following Q4. Q2 we expected to see a trickle of hours return: didn't happen. Q3 we expected to see some kind of increase for BTS: only a modest increase for flow despite blowing through the roof in sales. At TL meetings, they kept asking about when we could see hours increase. They were told "This is the 'new normal'". We're A vol but running on hours for a store several tiers lower.
At this point, veterans knew payroll was being banked for something & here it is.

The way you are responding indicates you don't know much about how this works. The hours for this year are actually more than last year (for the salesfloor) before even adding the VML "other" funded hours. Using or not using the MBTM hours doesn't affect payroll staying in the green unless you abuse it. Now, *not* using it does mean those areas don't get the attention that is funded for them (even if minimal) resulting in lost sales. Using the hours to 'pad' other payroll usage to stay green can actually be a performance documentation that can lead to termination (this is a fact btw).

It's also a fact that Target seldom enforces performance violations regarding store payroll usage.
If the store isn't bleeding, it's leading.

Unfortunately, you don't know what you are talking about and by what you just stated again, your leadership team is actually not only lazy but negligent and won't lead them to success with this type of behavior. No amount of explanation on your part will prove it otherwise convince me otherwise. By your logic, they can also cut out policies or even hand out discounts. I mean, if they are going to cherry pick what directives they are going to do for a company that pays them, why not? Heck, they can probably decide their own store hours and return policy

Fixed that for you.

The type of response you have is associated with the definition of insanity. Any store that keeps doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result...is insane.

Welcome to Target.