Archived What would you do if you could change target at will?

[vinmanmanalapan]

You know what I hate about the call out policy and this should be a standard. If somebody is scheduled for 5 days and they constantly call out 2 days every week they work 5 days why don't they cut their hours to 2 or 3 days and give the hours to somebody else that is willing to work? It doesn't make sense at all. You know how many times people call out in my store and they do nothing about it at all. Also if you are calling out after the 2 hour threshold they should force that person to come in but they don't. I do understand if it's a life emergency situation than sure that's fine but if you are constantly doing it on certain days they should make them come in if it's after the 2 hours.

Judging by the replies here, why doesn't target enforce callout policies. At my store, it's open season for anyone to miss as much work as they please....i don't even think no call no shows are regularly followed up on? What's the scoop on this? Is target afraid to fire because they would have to pay unemployment?

 

[vinmanmanalapan]

There is a lot of favoritism and it sucks. I am a team all to myself since I don't like favoritism and I bust my butt to do whatever I can but some people have their favorites and I wish it wasn't like that.

This is more of an ideal than a policy that can be enforced, but how about a little cohesion in the Team Leads? And the ETLs? Our management teams are broken up into cliques with all sorts of gossip and drama....ridiculous.

 

[rio de generic]

What a good Topic!

1. Honor the code of open door policy- Cant tell you how many horror stories of violation of confidence have occurred at my store, enough to inccure a strong level of distrust

2. Hire from within- So much good talent, its downright criminal that a no nothing graduate can come in and get a good job while you bust your butt for years and get nothing

3. More hours- Short staffing so ETLs can get bonuses hurts the guest and is antithesis of Target

 

[commiecorvus]

Was kind of holding off on posting to this because I couldn't decide if I wan't to do a 'real' world list or a what really should be done list.
Gonna go with the what really should be done but just won't ... ever, no way, never.

1) Pay a living wage (I'd settle for a temp. starter wage of 2.00 over local average then whatever the local living wage is at 120 days per second stipulation)

2) Give people who have proven to be reliable (not called, been late, etc for 120 days) 40 hrs a week

3) All corp management must work in an average store picked at random for at least four weeks every year (as a TM and in different departments)

4) Anybody who designs signs, fixtures or focals has to come and build them after the boxs' have been smashed during shipping, with guests bugging them every 5 minutes and in the standard jam packed fixture rooms.

5) Nobody can be hired for an ETL position straight out of college (interning does not count). You must have at least been a TM and a TL first.

6) Every ETL must take training in how to lead people including disability awareness'

7) Quit making campaign donations to ... well anybody. Stop putting money into a system that is corrupt and screwed up enough already.

8) Cap all corp exec. salary's and other revenue flow.

9) Reduce expansion into other country's (I love you Canada but ...) and hire enough people to make customer service something other then a joke.

10) (this space reserved for other things as I think of them)

 

[Softlines Owns My Soul]

merit based hours already exist...they're not supposed to, but it's human nature.

 

[redeye58]

Make perks something tangible & meaningful.
When they had the fit rebate, I know I (& other TMs) went to the gym regularly. When that ended, there wasn't as much incentive & we eventually dropped the membership because there weren't as many programs for my boys.
Discounts for concerts, car rentals, vacations, etc don't really do much for us because we can't afford it or it's not something my family is into.

 

[Jettajunky]

I agree with everything said!

 

[GlobalTargetTM]

What I would do If I were in charge of Target corp

1. Separate performance evaluations and pay raises. The two don't actually belong together. Performance evaluation determines whether or not you have a job or get a promotion. Pay raises should be be yearly based on inflation, competitive with the area, and also include a portion for merit. They should also be allowed to occur at anytime, especially after you have championed a change that has benefited the company greatly. (This isn't an original idea, it's what the company I work for does now and it is AWESOME for morale)

2. All employees held accountable for their actions.

3. Eliminate Team member/team leader positions. Executive as a term goes away. There are simply managers and regular employees.

4. Increase regular employee responsibilities AND pay to slightly above current starting team leader level. $9-$14 an hour. Decrease Management pay to $30,000 - $45,000 starting based on experience in the industry. Bonuses based on profitshare.

5. All salaried employees have a standard 40 hour work week with 1 weekend per month off. (saturday and sunday)

6. Overtime during christmas season ONLY and reserved for the employees with the best performance evaluations. Working hard during the holidays and being at the top productivity wise should be rewarded.

7. All employees receive 2 15 minute breaks and 1 30 minute lunch regardless of level in the organization, they are uninterrupted. Customer have an issue? A regular employee is trained and empowered to fix it. They want to speak to a manager? Empowerment, the employee can say they are the manager of that area (ex: guest service) It's about customer perception. If all else fails, have an extra LOD at all times or have a regular employee trained to fill in as LOD including a small pay boost for the extra responsibility. (they don't get a full set of keys or any keys depending)

8. Bring back specialists, but require them to really know the products they are selling. Pay commensurate with performance and sales. Not commission, but a bonus based on sales split equally between the team members that were present that day. Performance evaluations and department transfers used to keep the hardest workers as the highest earners.

9. Get rid of mini seasonal, move automotive to mini seasonal, expand electronics. Carry desktop PC's, Notebooks, and components. Have a specialist available to answer questions.

10. Staffing is customer first. All stores should be made 24 hour operations with a smaller set of hours spent open to the public. ULV stores are only open 10am-9pm. All other stores are open 8am to as late as midnight depending on volume and traffic patterns. Prototype 24 hour super targets in areas with a 24 hour walmart supercenter and high volume. Move task loads onto overnight hours, keep smaller everyday tasks as leftover for sales teams to perform as they have time. Schedule a floater or two to cover as needed. In general, increase staffing on sales floor, reduce cashiers by adding automated express checkouts, reduce flow 50%, Give flow 8 hours to perform duties, have smaller truck unload team to unload during the day and setup the overnight flow for success.

11. Lastly, all employees must do a self evaluation. It should list all accomplishments during the current quarter, wins/opps, and a self review where you rate your own performance. It also should include a list of goals that you will accomplish before the end of the new quarter that is starting. Management will also do one for the regular employees and compare as part of evaluation. Meeting or exceeding goals is how performance is rated. Goals should be realistic, and of moderate difficulty. The idea is that everyone is accountable for improving the company and guest experience. Currently Target doesn't have much of a binding system.

 

[talan123]

I'd be ok with this if there were Jack Daniels available next to the Diet Coke at Target Cafe.

I'm nothing if not flexible.

 

[3LetterDevil]

I'd be ok with this if there was Captain available next to the Diet Coke at Target Cafe.

Fixed that for ya 😉


Sorry, couldn't resist based on rarejem's sigline 😉

 

[bulldoggirl1]

Let's see:
1. Give the team enough/functioning equipment to do their jobs properly
2. Make the extra 10% off Archer Farms/Market Pantry a permanent part of the discount
3. Add a guaranteed reward for guests who take the survey. Example: Guest takes survey, they are still entered in the drawing for the $5000 gift card, but also get a coupon for $5 off a future purchase or something like that.
4. ETLs must work at least a few shifts in each work center that they are supervising prior to getting the job
5. Have someone capable of accessing and viewing the security cameras at all times. We've had guests come in and say they got someone else's order rung up on their bill and had to tell them "Oh you'll have to come back tomorrow when our security team member is here." Not only is it bad guest service, it's like an invitation to steal.

 

[nib]

Great post suggestions. I definitely think an improvement in the recognition program would be nice. I also agree with your idea of allowing team members to become cross trained so they have more job security and a better opportunity at getting more hours to quality for all the different benefits. I also agree to bring back the Specialist role which is the equivalent of a Department Supervisor/Mgr role, and make all of thos roles Regular employee class so those Specialists could get Tuition Reiumbursement, all 6 National Holidays, and and extra week of vacation and an extra day of personal hours, and make the average hour requirement only 19.5 like TL's and above, then reduce the time in position waiting requirements to 3 months instead of 6. Anonymous feedback is a MUST! Employees need to be given the freedom to know their comments or suggestions won't be held against them, so having a comment or suggestion box that is anonymous would be a great idea! I believe both the employees and guests need to be surveyed and all data that can be collected to determine the core issues of the problems be determined then corrected. I think we should go back to have cash registers in pretty much every department, certainly sports, electronics, jewelry, pharmacy, and even the seasonal section. Great suggestions! Don't forget to share these suggestions on your next Best Team Survey, and the Let Us Know Program (on eHR) and Benefits.Feedback@target.com, and the Employee Relations and Integrity Hotline!

Lets assume that you have all the interaction roles of an ETL and the store manager won't be a total ************ (like they all are) and block anything good you try to do. I know that's a pretty gigantic assumption.

#1: Team member rewards. I would get rid of the retarded "Team Hero" crap that's COMPLETELY arbitrary, and rely on two direct feedback methods to instead pick someone worthy: Team Members _AND_ Team Leaders. I would have two separate categories for those picks, and different sorts of prizes for both groups.

#2: Back up my team members for enforcing Best Practice! I don't care how belligerent the guest, company policy is company policy, and you can damn well shop elsewhere if you don't like our policies.

#3: NO BARCODE, NO SALE. PERIOD. GODDAMN.

#4: I would ALLOW team members to transfer departments and cross-train (my present store does not let TM's transfer departments without years of arguing. Literally years).

#5: EVERY department would have a dedicated specialist that people could consult for ASSURED accurate knowledge. Specialists would be provided with all relevant equipment needed to provide said information, like full internet access on a wireless device.

#6: Direct in-store feedback to poll overall employee attitudes in an ANONYMOUS manner that are given monthly to determine /employee satisfaction/, with an option to provide feedback, just like the Guests.

#7: Guest survey takers that rate poorly will be required to leave a mandatory descriptive comment as part of their negative rating. No exceptions.

#8: Electronics registers are Electronics only. No exceptions. At all. I don't care if it's one item. Which brings me to the next part.

#9: Having EXCESS cashiers is better than having a SHORTAGE of cashiers, and the EXCESS cashiers can be used to assist the sales floor as opposed to the REVERSE, which is a horrible scenario for everyone involved.

#10: Target would be reformed to be a cooperative, which means long-term employees would get a solid stake in the company and its direction.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

10% on red cards.

 

[Rock Lobster]

10% on red cards.

Or at the very least, do 10% for the signup purchase and 5% on every other purchase....

 

[Red11]

I would give team members back some dignity and respect. This crap of cutting everyones hours to the point they lose benifits on purpose needs to end, I would rather just take a layoff then go through this stressing about what I can do to get more hours garbage. Target runing there stores with as small a crew as possible lately is driving me nuts as well, all the guest complaints I see are not enough team members on the floor to help, I have to wonder how long Target can go like that. And all employees have to work 2 weeks of flow/backroom before moving on to other possitions.

 

[TargetOldTimer]

Fantasy wish list;

Roll back the clock to 1983 when this was the best company to work for...

Real World;

1. I would get rid of EVERYONE zoning for 2 hours EVERY day. Come on guys, I already got cut 10 hours this week, this signing lady has a schedule to keep!

2. Every planogram would list new, deleted or keep fixtures. I hate having to guess if I should store a fixture for a year, just to be sure it doesn't come back again.

3. Every planogram would list street signs by part number.

4. ISM for softlines would DELETE their signs in the system!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5. Mandatory for management to allocate signing adjacency hours to SIGNING!

6. Every stl/etl must hang 1 FOS signing kit unassisted at least once.

7. Get rid of the worthless Weekly Signing Workload Report. Duh, if you just replace every 3x5 display sign when the planogram is reset, you have worked the report.

8. Bring back the specialist title and the holiday pay we lost.

 

[nib]

The list of things that need to be done if we could is limitless. First, give equal benefits to everyone. If etl's get date of hire benefits, then every should. If stl's get date of hire vacation accrual, then everyone should. If management gets christmas (or any time of the year) bonuses, that same percentage should be given to everyone. If whatever supervisor or manager gets tuition reiumbursement, everyone should. Things need to be on an even playing field with equal opportunity for everyone.

Great post suggestions. I definitely think an improvement in the recognition program would be nice. I also agree with your idea of allowing team members to become cross trained so they have more job security and a better opportunity at getting more hours to quality for all the different benefits. I also agree to bring back the Specialist role which is the equivalent of a Department Supervisor/Mgr role, and make all of thos roles Regular employee class so those Specialists could get Tuition Reiumbursement, all 6 National Holidays, and and extra week of vacation and an extra day of personal hours, and make the average hour requirement only 19.5 like TL's and above, then reduce the time in position waiting requirements to 3 months instead of 6. Anonymous feedback is a MUST! Employees need to be given the freedom to know their comments or suggestions won't be held against them, so having a comment or suggestion box that is anonymous would be a great idea! I believe both the employees and guests need to be surveyed and all data that can be collected to determine the core issues of the problems be determined then corrected. I think we should go back to have cash registers in pretty much every department, certainly sports, electronics, jewelry, pharmacy, and even the seasonal section. Great suggestions! Don't forget to share these suggestions on your next Best Team Survey, and the Let Us Know Program (on eHR) and Benefits.Feedback@target.com, and the Employee Relations and Integrity Hotline!

 

[commiecorvus]

Fantasy wish list;

Roll back the clock to 1983 when this was the best company to work for...

Real World;

1. I would get rid of EVERYONE zoning for 2 hours EVERY day. Come on guys, I already got cut 10 hours this week, this signing lady has a schedule to keep!

2. Every planogram would list new, deleted or keep fixtures. I hate having to guess if I should store a fixture for a year, just to be sure it doesn't come back again.

3. Every planogram would list street signs by part number.

4. ISM for softlines would DELETE their signs in the system!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5. Mandatory for management to allocate signing adjacency hours to SIGNING!

6. Every stl/etl must hang 1 FOS signing kit unassisted at least once.

7. Get rid of the worthless Weekly Signing Workload Report. Duh, if you just replace every 3x5 display sign when the planogram is reset, you have worked the report.

8. Bring back the specialist title and the holiday pay we lost.

This

and this again

 

[Miguel]

exactly!

This

and this again

 

[nib]

The list of things we would all want to do is probably longer than any kid's Christmas list!

Great post suggestions. I definitely think an improvement in the recognition program would be nice. I also agree with your idea of allowing team members to become cross trained so they have more job security and a better opportunity at getting more hours to quality for all the different benefits. I also agree to bring back the Specialist role which is the equivalent of a Department Supervisor/Mgr role, and make all of thos roles Regular employee class so those Specialists could get Tuition Reiumbursement, all 6 National Holidays, and and extra week of vacation and an extra day of personal hours, and make the average hour requirement only 19.5 like TL's and above, then reduce the time in position waiting requirements to 3 months instead of 6. Anonymous feedback is a MUST! Employees need to be given the freedom to know their comments or suggestions won't be held against them, so having a comment or suggestion box that is anonymous would be a great idea! I believe both the employees and guests need to be surveyed and all data that can be collected to determine the core issues of the problems be determined then corrected. I think we should go back to have cash registers in pretty much every department, certainly sports, electronics, jewelry, pharmacy, and even the seasonal section. Great suggestions! Don't forget to share these suggestions on your next Best Team Survey, and the Let Us Know Program (on eHR) and Benefits.Feedback@target.com, and the Employee Relations and Integrity Hotline!

 

[nib]

very true!

The list of things that need to be done if we could is limitless. First, give equal benefits to everyone. If etl's get date of hire benefits, then every should. If stl's get date of hire vacation accrual, then everyone should. If management gets christmas (or any time of the year) bonuses, that same percentage should be given to everyone. If whatever supervisor or manager gets tuition reiumbursement, everyone should. Things need to be on an even playing field with equal opportunity for everyone.

 

[keynesian]

-only hire for 40 hour a week positions. If you want TM's to stick around, give them a reason
-change payroll timing from being by the hundredth of an hour to being in at least tenth of an hour (6 minute) increments
-mandate Point of sale ordering for all regular, non transition items, and zeroing out before any item can be re sent to a store from the warehouse
-set aside permanent MPG aisles/fixtures in every department (right now RTW is ALL clearance where I am)
-hold accountable people at the warehouse for mispicks and for sending items to the wrong store (it happens with ridiculous frequency)
-when training flow team members, ENSURE THEY KNOW HOW TO PUSH ACCURATELY, NOT JUST QUICKLY
-when training zoners, ENSURE THEY KNOW HOW TO ZONE ACCURATELY, AND NOT JUST MAKE IT "Look full", there are more zone outs at any given time than there are actual outs
-when something goes to "active-ncf" or "discontinued" status please do not leave it on there for longer than a month before upgrading it to at least "clearance 15% off"
-when something goes to "active-ncf", "discontinued", ""clearance", or "sell: $0.00 (price change salvage)" status please, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, do not put that DPCI on a NEW POG! and please no NOF on new pogs either!
-when auditing pogs please check the measurements and facings, and please correct them when they're wrong. if it says 10 facings when it actually fits 20, or only 5, let somebody know that!
-please hold backroom team members accountable (regular backroom and backroom day) for keeping like items together, even if it means rearranging locations. Our backrooms would have so much more space if all team members followed this simple rule!
-hold all team members accountable for any stock they deal with! no leaving random vehicles around without explanation EVER!
-take inventory more than once a year, and please do it accurately. there are more errors in that store than can be corrected in a day!
-get rid of the TVs in the breakrooms. I know you don't want TMs to talk to each other at all for fear of unionizing, but for the love of god let us build up some camaraderie, thanks to people like you unions are deader than a door nail in america
-allow all TMs to work their way up the ranks, it does nothing for morale for us to see idiot 20somethings running the show when they're are plenty of experienced people who know twice as much as they do
-maintain more floor space for the highest volume dpci's, so that we've not constantly pulling it out of backstock for guests and through cafs
-sweep items whether they're in full cases or not, inventory we don't need is still inventory we don't need
-organize trailers when loading them. if you know you're sending a full allotment of seasonal transition then toss it all in at once, maybe even on a single trailer. put pipos and palletized items on last, and please palletize bulk items when sending them
-crosstrain everybody in everything

 

[davidbeez]

-only hire for 40 hour a week positions. If you want TM's to stick around, give them a reason
-change payroll timing from being by the hundredth of an hour to being in at least tenth of an hour (6 minute) increments
-mandate Point of sale ordering for all regular, non transition items, and zeroing out before any item can be re sent to a store from the warehouse
-set aside permanent MPG aisles/fixtures in every department (right now RTW is ALL clearance where I am)
-hold accountable people at the warehouse for mispicks and for sending items to the wrong store (it happens with ridiculous frequency)
-when training flow team members, ENSURE THEY KNOW HOW TO PUSH ACCURATELY, NOT JUST QUICKLY
-when training zoners, ENSURE THEY KNOW HOW TO ZONE ACCURATELY, AND NOT JUST MAKE IT "Look full", there are more zone outs at any given time than there are actual outs
-when something goes to "active-ncf" or "discontinued" status please do not leave it on there for longer than a month before upgrading it to at least "clearance 15% off"
-when something goes to "active-ncf", "discontinued", ""clearance", or "sell: $0.00 (price change salvage)" status please, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, do not put that DPCI on a NEW POG! and please no NOF on new pogs either!
-when auditing pogs please check the measurements and facings, and please correct them when they're wrong. if it says 10 facings when it actually fits 20, or only 5, let somebody know that!
-please hold backroom team members accountable (regular backroom and backroom day) for keeping like items together, even if it means rearranging locations. Our backrooms would have so much more space if all team members followed this simple rule!
-hold all team members accountable for any stock they deal with! no leaving random vehicles around without explanation EVER!
-take inventory more than once a year, and please do it accurately. there are more errors in that store than can be corrected in a day!
-get rid of the TVs in the breakrooms. I know you don't want TMs to talk to each other at all for fear of unionizing, but for the love of god let us build up some camaraderie, thanks to people like you unions are deader than a door nail in america
-allow all TMs to work their way up the ranks, it does nothing for morale for us to see idiot 20somethings running the show when they're are plenty of experienced people who know twice as much as they do
-maintain more floor space for the highest volume dpci's, so that we've not constantly pulling it out of backstock for guests and through cafs
-sweep items whether they're in full cases or not, inventory we don't need is still inventory we don't need
-organize trailers when loading them. if you know you're sending a full allotment of seasonal transition then toss it all in at once, maybe even on a single trailer. put pipos and palletized items on last, and please palletize bulk items when sending them
-crosstrain everybody in everything

Amen. I wish they would implement these bullet points at my store; it would make life so much easier and more efficient.

 

[pzychopopgroove]

If I could change target at will... I'd have to control the entire company. I'd fire everyone at corporate and promote people from store level, and those people actually know how it works and won't make ass backwards stupid policies that affect the entire company.

 

[calimero]

.

#1: Team member rewards. I would get rid of the retarded "Team Hero" crap that's COMPLETELY arbitrary, and rely on two direct feedback methods to instead pick someone worthy: Team Members _AND_ Team Leaders. I would have two separate categories for those picks, and different sorts of prizes for both groups.
.

I have to disagree on that one: get rid of it all! Where are we ? Elementary school? You get paid,do your job !

The other thing I woud like : if you get a meal for one team ( at our store ,the plano/ pricing team gets a meal at let once a week for doing exactly what they are paid for , from olive garden ,o charley's etc while the others are looking ). Get everyone in the store working the same thing ! Oh ,and the rest of the tms get store brand pizza reheated in the microwave or cold cereals !