Any advice on this?

[JohnSmith1234]

So I reported my team lead for unfair and rude behavior in the work place and asked to be transferred positions. My store director said that it seemed like I was taking it personally and denied my request. And after having received retaliation from my team lead and asking for some support from my team members to report it to HR, I ‘coincidentally’ get a counseling for my spreading bad morale in the workplace. Now I can’t transfer stores when I move or anything else. Any advice, tips, loopholes?

 

[rog the dog]

So service and culture are huge focuses for stores in 2021. The coaching / cca for lowering morale doesn't surprise me with the new culture initiatives the company is driving.

Your store director and HR both siding with the Team Lead on the issue should signal that maybe he/she's not in the wrong. Outside of any obvious unfair discrimination, or blatant harassment, I wouldn't take this any further.

Unfair and rude behavior is also very vague. Him or her setting what may seem like unmeetable expectations or hassling you for petty things is likely things he/she is being told to simply get done.

Either get with the program or get out is essentially what you're being told.

 

[JohnSmith1234]

I appreciate your response. I know there is lots of drama and backstabbing that goes on at this store that I work out. I would be as well as to say this particular team lead does not address her female employees in such a way, nor does she yell at them behind closed cooler door, or spread rumors about them. I have yet to file a formal complaint with HR but this isn’t her first offense like this, you would think my store HR representative would be more open-minded to the fact that I and several other team members either have this problem or have witnessed it. I would like to leave her other offenses vague for prying eyes, if you know what I mean.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Document all events

 

[commiecorvus]

Don't be too surprised if you find yourself getting a lot more pressure to perform at even higher levels very soon.
Probably in very specific areas that you can be written up for so they can performance you out.
Unless you are a major league badass of a worker, they are going to want you out of the way.
So like @Hardlinesmaster said document everything and watch your back.

 

[JohnSmith1234]

Don't be too surprised if you find yourself getting a lot more pressure to perform at even higher levels very soon.
Probably in very specific areas that you can be written up for so they can performance you out.
Unless you are a major league badass of a worker, they are going to want you out of the way.
So like @Hardlinesmaster said document everything and watch your back.

Yeah I’ve seen that before too. I had planned to transfer out by the end of May, but I suppose I’m looking for a new job just in case I don’t last that long.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

It depends if you are seasonal or not.

 

[Far from newbie]

I’m sorry your team lead treated you unkindly. ‘Rude and unfair’ isn’t detailed enough for us to take a side. Know that everyone is under pressure and under stress - even though that is not an excuse, under those conditions it’s an explanation how ‘rude’ happens. Please try to be more understanding and supportive.
Did you point out to the TL that the interaction bothered you ? Clearing the air with her first, before involving HR would have been more productive.

Document future instances with exact details to provide if you are talked to again. Don’t embellish - facts only. Witnesses are always beneficial.

General Rule of thumb: get along. No one wants to work with a ‘difficult” player. We are a team with the same goal. You don’t need to be friends, just don’t make enemies. Stop ratting, sharing problems, encouraging others to complain. Show up on time, be a team player, helpful, do as you’re told, without pushback, follow the rules, punch out on time, Give no one ANY reason to find fault.

‘Obviously it was no coincidence that you were couched. They don’t want a trouble maker and that is what you are making yourself.
Going forward, be cautious your own toxic behavior and you should be fine.

 

[Black Sheep 214]

Sorry that your team lead is unfair and rude to you and that your SD is acting like a jerk. ASANTS, but neither of these things are rare at Spot these days. Some leaders apparently prioritize covering their ass to actually fixing problems, so killing the messenger is SOP. Unfair as it all is, you are likely on the way to be performanced out, so you might want to update your resume and start looking for a new job where you will hopefully be treated better. Good luck!
Incidentally, Spot built this dog-eat-dog culture on the corpse of Fast, Fun and Friendly, and high morale died along with it. Cracking down on dissent or force feeding the kool-aid won’t improve it.


Which will be never...

 

[Tessa120]

nor does she yell at them behind closed cooler door, or spread rumors about them.

For those saying that no one doing anything may mean the lead is in the right or that it's just conveying expectations or that pressure means rude is understandable, how can anyone think yelling at someone inside a cooler is an acceptable level of rudeness and the person doing the yelling should be understood and supported by the person being yelled at in the cooler.

 

[MrT]

I can tell you right now as a Team Lead we are pushed to have every single time frame managed. I give my team an hour for reshop/ zone. I need to check in in an hour. There pull should take 45 minutes to pull and push, then i need to check in in 45 minutes. There freight is supposed to take 2 hours then i need to check in in an hour to make sure they are on track and in another hour to make sure its done. Say they have a 5 hour shift. There work is 4 hours then i need to make sure they have another hours worth of work. Maybe i have them help someone that has too much workload, set a sales planner, or do there pricing. Everything is documented on a productivity tracker sent in to my ETL and sent to the SD. Likely shes going to have to email them to DSD. It can definitely seem pushy and targetting, especially since spots expectations are more of a blanket for every area. Repacks for Stationary are going to take longer then Toys but both have the same expectation which is dumb. I do my best to try and help but its out of my hands if they can't get it done. Its not how i want to manage my team but i don't have a choice. I can see another purge happening soon because we have already lost some good tms. In my area 15 dollars an hour is basically minimum wage so they just leave for another job thats not as stressful. We constantly had talks in out TL meeting that we need to make sure we are treating our team nicely and making working here as enjoyable as possible, then they decide to do this which just adds pressure. I feel bad but im going to do what i have to do. Sorry for the long rant. Im not trying to say your TL wasnt in the wrong but just know that this pressure is coming down from much higher then your TL or even your store.

 

[happygoth]

I can tell you right now as a Team Lead we are pushed to have every single time frame managed. I give my team an hour for reshop/ zone. I need to check in in an hour. There pull should take 45 minutes to pull and push, then i need to check in in 45 minutes. There freight is supposed to take 2 hours then i need to check in in an hour to make sure they are on track and in another hour to make sure its done. Say they have a 5 hour shift. There work is 4 hours then i need to make sure they have another hours worth of work. Maybe i have them help someone that has too much workload, set a sales planner, or do there pricing. Everything is documented on a productivity tracker sent in to my ETL and sent to the SD. Likely shes going to have to email them to DSD. It can definitely seem pushy and targetting, especially since spots expectations are more of a blanket for every area. Repacks for Stationary are going to take longer then Toys but both have the same expectation which is dumb. I do my best to try and help but its out of my hands if they can't get it done. Its not how i want to manage my team but i don't have a choice. I can see another purge happening soon because we have already lost some good tms. In my area 15 dollars an hour is basically minimum wage so they just leave for another job thats not as stressful. We constantly had talks in out TL meeting that we need to make sure we are treating our team nicely and making working here as enjoyable as possible, then they decide to do this which just adds pressure. I feel bad but im going to do what i have to do. Sorry for the long rant. Im not trying to say your TL wasnt in the wrong but just know that this pressure is coming down from much higher then your TL or even your store.

Lordy, day shift has it so much worse than night shift. Other areas have it so much worse than Style too. We have our struggles and frustrations for sure, but I don't have anyone breathing down my neck.

 

[Rastaman]

We heard at the beginning of the year every action of every TM should have a time expectation attached to it. My ETL and SD had a meeting with all the TLs saying we should spend our entire shift setting timelines and following up.

Truly a sad commentary on what Target is like now. No wonder people are quitting left and right 😳

 

[Far from newbie]

These time constraints are ensuring guests are ignored
- after all, if DBO’s have 1 hour to complete a task they will certainly NOT help a guest for 15 minutes or back-up cashier for 30 !

 

[Dead and Khaki]

Micromanaging me makes me panic, second-guess my judgement on every move I make, and ultimately take longer to complete tasks.

 

[Times Up]

Micromanaging me makes me panic, second-guess my judgement on every move I make, and ultimately take longer to complete tasks.

And feel like crap because they assume you aren't capable of doing your job without riding your ass.

 

[Jenim12]

These time constraints are ensuring guests are ignored
- after all, if DBO’s have 1 hour to complete a task they will certainly NOT help a guest for 15 minutes or back-up cashier for 30 !

Agreed. My leadership team wants a goal time on every vehicle based off the number of cases on each. "Oh that's a 22 minute boat? Why did it take Joe Shmoe 25 minutes to push it? Helping guests is not an excuse for taking so long. Joe should be able to multitask. Get this in workday ASAP"

 

[Dead and Khaki]

Having to do all this while masked has to have choked productivity at least somewhat over the past year. Having to exert more effort to perform the same tasks, having to stop and rest more frequently...are they cracking the time whip because they've noticed less work getting done per hour in all stores and DCs, and they think it's because we're all just loafing?

 

[NotCynicalYet]

Don't gossip and backstab and plot about your leaders and complain about performance management. You won't win that one, you'll just make yourself miserable. You take up so much of your leadership's time that you are hurting the shopping experience for the guests. Find a better outlet and just do your job well.