Archived Bye Bye MAX FSTL.... Hello MY TIME........

[researchr]

Remember when MAX rolled out? Oh you will be able to see your schedule from home and request time off within 3 months....within 6 months....it should be soon.... It is being revamped! I just want this company that currently has an IPhone app to figure out how those of us with MACs can see our checks with our computers, get to the discount website with our computers etc. For a computer savvy company they are pretty flipped stupid when it comes to Apple equipment. I know that you can access it by standing on your head and turning around 3 times on a full moon (okay kidding but to get it to work is a PITA) I just want to point and click.

On the technology subject, it would be nice if the IT team in India would figure out a way to get the PDA/LPDA to run off the stores' WiFi network instead of the antiquated bay stations in the ceiling. I asked an ETL about this and got a look that made a deer in the headlights look seem like a look of extreme knowledge.

I asked that same question..and got that same look...

 

[insiteful1]

have only heard bad things,seems that the scheduling will be taken out of the stores and generated from headquarters,don't know if it is true,but if it is then the outlook is bleak.

I seriously doubt the rollout will be smooth, but the concept of the new system is solid. Yes, the system will be doing the allocation. The allocation is based on sooooooo much more than the store prototype and day of the week. All store sales history will be inputted into the system and used for allocation. So lets use an example.

It's MLK day. Lets say its on a Monday. Since MLK day can be on different days of the week, the allocation is adjusted based on sales. Normally Monday sales will be pretty crappy, but since MLK falls on a Monday in this example, more hours will be given to compensate for the increased sales that day. Schedules will be created based on prior store sales with hundreds of factors. Day of the week. Is it a holiday? What is the workload? How many cartons are projected for the truck (based on a whole other set of data).

The logistics schedules will be the biggest change. There will no longer be a blanket XXX number of hours per truck. It will be tailored based on past store history.

It's going to very awesome IF the rollout goes smooth....I have my doubts. Corporate is looking to rollout before the end of the year, but my opinion is that in order to work all the bugs out before the holidays, it needs to be live in Aug/Sept. It's not going to be ready by then, so I would look for it a year from now. The BETA version that exists is very crude and unrefined. It has a LONG way to go before it's ready.

It's cool!

 

[RhettB]

I am not sure if I am comfortable with the system allocating hours. The STL or HR will do the allocation where I am with the present format. Most workcenters have their hours changed from what the system thinks they need. 4 weeks ago hardlines did not get any extra hours despite the workload of nearly 200 sales plans. With total need being what it typically is, you rob Peter to pay Paul when it comes to hours anyway.

 

[pfreshdude]

redeye, we are going to need so much degreaser!!! Please hurry - new software at the holidays?

HQ being in charge ? NNNOOOOOOOOooooo......

my days are numbered, I am already cut to 20 hours per week...

You should apply for other HR jobs. I have my degree in HR just no experience =(. Lots of other HR jobs out there that require 1-5 years experience

 

[redeye58]

For those of us who sometimes work 2 or more areas in a given day, this is going to screw us royally.

 

[GSTL]

According to workbench it will be rolled out to the stores between spring and summer this year. They also have plans to add on modules every quarter after that.

 

[dek067]

have only heard bad things,seems that the scheduling will be taken out of the stores and generated from headquarters,don't know if it is true,but if it is then the outlook is bleak.

I seriously doubt the rollout will be smooth, but the concept of the new system is solid. Yes, the system will be doing the allocation. The allocation is based on sooooooo much more than the store prototype and day of the week. All store sales history will be inputted into the system and used for allocation. So lets use an example.

It's MLK day. Lets say its on a Monday. Since MLK day can be on different days of the week, the allocation is adjusted based on sales. Normally Monday sales will be pretty crappy, but since MLK falls on a Monday in this example, more hours will be given to compensate for the increased sales that day. Schedules will be created based on prior store sales with hundreds of factors. Day of the week. Is it a holiday? What is the workload? How many cartons are projected for the truck (based on a whole other set of data).

The logistics schedules will be the biggest change. There will no longer be a blanket XXX number of hours per truck. It will be tailored based on past store history.

It's going to very awesome IF the rollout goes smooth....I have my doubts. Corporate is looking to rollout before the end of the year, but my opinion is that in order to work all the bugs out before the holidays, it needs to be live in Aug/Sept. It's not going to be ready by then, so I would look for it a year from now. The BETA version that exists is very crude and unrefined. It has a LONG way to go before it's ready.

It's cool!

i thought the point of going from sharp to max was all the examples you just gave? we were promised that it would make set scheduling, allocation, easier. more accurate forecasts, strictly based upon workload. only problem was, it was so horrible and slow rolling out, they never added all the features into it. it never lived up to its potential. the old scheduler did the same thing, it just looks ugly. (kind of like comparing RF apps to red app menu on the pda.) i could write a more accurate schedule by hand, make copies, and mail it to every tm in the store by the time this thing gets everything computed.

 

[Target Annie]

I've been doing scheduling since long before Sharp - > I welcome the new, eager to learn more.

There's some good and bad in everything, and remember that if you are having a ton of problems with MAX, it's only as good as it's input. You know, garbage in, garbage out. There was great training for MAX, and I did all the prep work for it at our store. Many of the ETL's / TL's don't understand it and aren't willing to put in the time to learn to let it work for them, instead of against.

I freaked a little the other day when I found out the program is changing - but bring it on!

 

[STLinMaking]

I've been doing scheduling since long before Sharp - > I welcome the new, eager to learn more.

There's some good and bad in everything, and remember that if you are having a ton of problems with MAX, it's only as good as it's input. You know, garbage in, garbage out. There was great training for MAX, and I did all the prep work for it at our store. Many of the ETL's / TL's don't understand it and aren't willing to put in the time to learn to let it work for them, instead of against.

I freaked a little the other day when I found out the program is changing - but bring it on!

I'm right there with you on the "only as good as the input". Our current HR is/was in the process of getting everything back to normal after our past two HR's screwed MAX to the max. She even went to the "Max" (no pun intended) and made team members submit all new availabilities to see if she could fix our system (waste of time in my eye), but surprisingly it did help! we barely make any edits to our schedule now. But she's kicking herself in the butt, with the role out announcement of MyTime.....lol

 

[mrknownothing]

it's only as good as it's input. You know, garbage in, garbage out.

I had a teacher in high school who would always say "you plant corn, you get corn."

 

[sher]

Based on what little I saw on the site, it looks like it could be better than Max. Even if scheduling is done automatically with this, it's still editable. Max sucks. I try not to ever use it. The schedule on max isn't always the same as the paper one, so it doesn't even matter that you can't check from home. Such a pain. I'm hoping to be gone in a month or two, though. My bill collectors aren't buying the unpredictable schedules/paychecks "excuse."

When I worked at macy's you could pick your own shifts, swap, pickup extra shifts if there were hours available... and all from home, but it was first come first serve and the hours went up at 7am. I was never awake for it. I was on-call with an option that guaranteed me x amount of hours though so I usually had 1 or 2 shifts automatically. Before coming to Target, I assumed every retail company would have something similar. Macy's was my first retail job. At the very least, I expected to be able to access my schedule and make swaps at home.

 

[3LetterDevil]

have only heard bad things,seems that the scheduling will be taken out of the stores and generated from headquarters,don't know if it is true,but if it is then the outlook is bleak.

I seriously doubt the rollout will be smooth, but the concept of the new system is solid. Yes, the system will be doing the allocation. The allocation is based on sooooooo much more than the store prototype and day of the week. All store sales history will be inputted into the system and used for allocation. So lets use an example.

It's MLK day. Lets say its on a Monday. Since MLK day can be on different days of the week, the allocation is adjusted based on sales. Normally Monday sales will be pretty crappy, but since MLK falls on a Monday in this example, more hours will be given to compensate for the increased sales that day. Schedules will be created based on prior store sales with hundreds of factors. Day of the week. Is it a holiday? What is the workload? How many cartons are projected for the truck (based on a whole other set of data).

The logistics schedules will be the biggest change. There will no longer be a blanket XXX number of hours per truck. It will be tailored based on past store history.

It's going to very awesome IF the rollout goes smooth....I have my doubts. Corporate is looking to rollout before the end of the year, but my opinion is that in order to work all the bugs out before the holidays, it needs to be live in Aug/Sept. It's not going to be ready by then, so I would look for it a year from now. The BETA version that exists is very crude and unrefined. It has a LONG way to go before it's ready.

It's cool!

I wonder how it will work for pharmacy? At this time last year, we were averaging approx 150 scripts/day...now we're usually over 200. Some days, we're closer to 300, but a few weeks ago, we were doing close to 400 with a day or two OVER. We can't really go by the previous month and the auto fills because not all are 30-day fills. We also can't go by the previous week because it varies from week to week....should be interesting.....

 

[dek067]

if the stl still gets to allocate how he/she sees fit, it's a lost cause. tired of seeing 150 hours of payroll during a 400 hour set week and gettin' grief

 

[RhettB]

if the stl still gets to allocate how he/she sees fit, it's a lost cause. tired of seeing 150 hours of payroll during a 400 hour set week and gettin' grief

The problem with your example, is that the 250 hours you need have to be taken from some other workcenter. In my store, its the same way as you said. In my area, after XMAS, I had almost 200 sales plans with no added payroll.

 

[Darikona]

have only heard bad things,seems that the scheduling will be taken out of the stores and generated from headquarters,don't know if it is true,but if it is then the outlook is bleak.

I seriously doubt the rollout will be smooth, but the concept of the new system is solid. Yes, the system will be doing the allocation. The allocation is based on sooooooo much more than the store prototype and day of the week. All store sales history will be inputted into the system and used for allocation. So lets use an example.

It's MLK day. Lets say its on a Monday. Since MLK day can be on different days of the week, the allocation is adjusted based on sales. Normally Monday sales will be pretty crappy, but since MLK falls on a Monday in this example, more hours will be given to compensate for the increased sales that day. Schedules will be created based on prior store sales with hundreds of factors. Day of the week. Is it a holiday? What is the workload? How many cartons are projected for the truck (based on a whole other set of data).

The logistics schedules will be the biggest change. There will no longer be a blanket XXX number of hours per truck. It will be tailored based on past store history.

It's going to very awesome IF the rollout goes smooth....I have my doubts. Corporate is looking to rollout before the end of the year, but my opinion is that in order to work all the bugs out before the holidays, it needs to be live in Aug/Sept. It's not going to be ready by then, so I would look for it a year from now. The BETA version that exists is very crude and unrefined. It has a LONG way to go before it's ready.

It's cool!

I wonder how it will work for pharmacy? At this time last year, we were averaging approx 150 scripts/day...now we're usually over 200. Some days, we're closer to 300, but a few weeks ago, we were doing close to 400 with a day or two OVER. We can't really go by the previous month and the auto fills because not all are 30-day fills. We also can't go by the previous week because it varies from week to week....should be interesting.....

Mind you I worked there 1 year ago, but I was told that hours for pharmacy were determined by autofills and maybe some general prediction for possible new prescription (1st of the month, etc, etc). Your hours are still gonna depend on you guys pushing autofills.

 

[HardlinesFour]

I never got the complete picture, whether it was some variant of 802.11a or a bluetooth-based connection.

It is 802.11g. Activate Wi-Fi on your phone.... You can detect the Target Wifi network for the PDAs.

All I've ever seen was the Guest Wifi.. nothing else

 

[3LetterDevil]

have only heard bad things,seems that the scheduling will be taken out of the stores and generated from headquarters,don't know if it is true,but if it is then the outlook is bleak.

I seriously doubt the rollout will be smooth, but the concept of the new system is solid. Yes, the system will be doing the allocation. The allocation is based on sooooooo much more than the store prototype and day of the week. All store sales history will be inputted into the system and used for allocation. So lets use an example.

It's MLK day. Lets say its on a Monday. Since MLK day can be on different days of the week, the allocation is adjusted based on sales. Normally Monday sales will be pretty crappy, but since MLK falls on a Monday in this example, more hours will be given to compensate for the increased sales that day. Schedules will be created based on prior store sales with hundreds of factors. Day of the week. Is it a holiday? What is the workload? How many cartons are projected for the truck (based on a whole other set of data).

The logistics schedules will be the biggest change. There will no longer be a blanket XXX number of hours per truck. It will be tailored based on past store history.

It's going to very awesome IF the rollout goes smooth....I have my doubts. Corporate is looking to rollout before the end of the year, but my opinion is that in order to work all the bugs out before the holidays, it needs to be live in Aug/Sept. It's not going to be ready by then, so I would look for it a year from now. The BETA version that exists is very crude and unrefined. It has a LONG way to go before it's ready.

It's cool!

I wonder how it will work for pharmacy? At this time last year, we were averaging approx 150 scripts/day...now we're usually over 200. Some days, we're closer to 300, but a few weeks ago, we were doing close to 400 with a day or two OVER. We can't really go by the previous month and the auto fills because not all are 30-day fills. We also can't go by the previous week because it varies from week to week....should be interesting.....

Mind you I worked there 1 year ago, but I was told that hours for pharmacy were determined by autofills and maybe some general prediction for possible new prescription (1st of the month, etc, etc). Your hours are still gonna depend on you guys pushing autofills.

I believe they came out with a new algorithm a few months ago because our tech hours increased dramatically and we even earned more pharmacist hours....I could be wrong, though...

 

[talan123]

it's only as good as it's input. You know, garbage in, garbage out.

I had a teacher in high school who would always say "you plant corn, you get corn."

Clearly your teacher has never raised crops around a nuclear power plant.

 

[talan123]

I never got the complete picture, whether it was some variant of 802.11a or a bluetooth-based connection.

It is 802.11g. Activate Wi-Fi on your phone.... You can detect the Target Wifi network for the PDAs.

All I've ever seen was the Guest Wifi.. nothing else

That's because it's not broadcasting it's name. It's typically done for businesses that want a private wifi in a public spot and want to do it without anybody knowing it's name. They actually had it broadcasting the network ID out and called "Printers and more" which meant it was us or the print store that went out of business ten years ago was REALLY ahead of it's time.

 

[StateofTarget]

I never got the complete picture, whether it was some variant of 802.11a or a bluetooth-based connection.

It is 802.11g. Activate Wi-Fi on your phone.... You can detect the Target Wifi network for the PDAs.

All I've ever seen was the Guest Wifi.. nothing else

They are not broadcasting the SSID. There are apps for your phone you can download which will let you detect wifi networks that have SSID set to disable. You'll have to download one to detect it.

 

[redeye58]

Talan!
Good lord, I was about to call a code yellow on you.
Glad yer back.

 

[talan123]

My parent's financial advisor died and the guy, while not being a crook, was not operating on all cylinders and transferred money here and there until I was yelling at people in China over stuff I am still trying to figure out.

So please read those financial statements that get sent to each quarter because sometimes they change contracts to let them do whatever they want with your money.

 

[redeye58]

Sorry your parents are going thru that right now &, yeh, I'm anal about changes to terms of agreement.

 

[talan123]

Oh it's over and done with. Companies should not let financial advisers showing those signs of "stability" continue to work with spread sheets. Then you just have to have a very good attorney.

 

[talan123]

Seriously, why would anybody start talking about investing in a Scientology church in the worst land in California?