Can they just fire me?

[p1nkgirl]

Im a TL..can you get fired for underperforming without them having conversations with you about it first? Like wouldn’t they give you opportunities to improve? I have been there for 4 months and i will get comments here and there telling me to push my team harder to meet timeframes. But never an actual conversation letting me know im at risk if my team doesn’t perform faster.

 

[allnew2]

Im a TL..can you get fired for underperforming without them having conversations with you about it first? Like wouldn’t they give you opportunities to improve? I have been there for 4 months and i will get comments here and there telling me to push my team harder to meet timeframes. But never an actual conversation letting me know im at risk if my team doesn’t perform faster.

Well those conversations were you being coached . And since target is an at will employment yeah they can just fire you . You did get a chance to improve if they pretty much talked to you now and then and nothing changed .
But your Etl should sit you down and tell you exactly where you underperform and let you know it will lead to a termination if you don’t improve .

 

[lucidtm]

Every convo they've had with you has been documented. Eventually they'll put you on a CA and then a final. Keep in mind, once you're on the CA you're not eligible for bonuses, transfer, etc. We've had TL's float around our store on multiple random CA's and finals for years. ASANTS, but unless they've already got someone in mind to fill your spot ASAP or you're doing illegal things they can't sweep under the rug, they're not firing a TL any more than they're firing an ETL these days.

After each convo you can always ask if it is a documented convo. Keep track of everything on your end.

 

[p1nkgirl]

Can we see our own documented convos? Or can only ETL’s see it

 

[allnew2]

Can we see our own documented convos? Or can only ETL’s see it

You can not see it . Only Etl’s.
You can only see the ones for your team under your alignment.

 

[lostlittleboy]

it usually takes a lot to fire a TL, at least in my experience at my store (like above said, ASANTS). we have been trained to document every conversation, even ones that are 'casual' so we have a paper trail to back us up on our end- but I know plenty of ETLs who simply don't do that too. It depends on your leader and how they run things, some leaders are bad about having conversations and documenting things. But you have to be put on a CA before they can 'just fire' you and you would know if you are on a CA because you have to go into workday and manually accept that you had that conversation. You can't see your own conversations (you can only see your own TMs who are in your work center, only your ETL (and HR ETL) can see your conversations).

But to my original point, losing a TL hurts the store. That's 40+ hours of labor they are losing, plus losing an employee that can open, close, has keys, and is generally more 'valuable' (in the sense leaders are typically cross-trained and have a higher skill-set than TMs though I'm fully aware that's not always the case lol). It can be difficult to find someone to fill the role of TL (my store has had many periods of months at a time of being down TLs) so even if you're shitty at your job they don't want to just lose that person without a really valid reason.

TLDR; unless you are causing significant loss to your store, you aren't going to be randomly fired. you're safe.

HOWEVER.

I highly recommend you talk to your ETL, or even your SD about your performance! Ask for additional training and tips on how to improve your leadership skills! they love to see the interest and initiative plus the desire and will to be better! you can even ask for explicitly what to tell your team to push them harder/work faster. it's okay to (and encouraged!) to ask questions and you are free to stand up for yourself/your reasons for your actions/your behavior and to challenge your leaders if you disagree! You can ask about which of your conversations have been documented too.

As most things in the world, communication is key. talking will improve your relationship with your leader, improve your own skills, and show them you care and want to keep your job and get better. if you silently take their feedback (not saying if you are doing that or not, idk) and they arent seeing improvement, they will likely just assume you don't care and that's when they will get frustrated and try to performance you out. it probably doesn't seem fair or sensible but that's just usually how things are.

best of luck to you! things like this are scary but I believe in you! 😁🫡💪

 

[Dream Baby]

This

Keep in mind, once you're on the CA you're not eligible for bonuses, transfer, etc.

If your bonus was a lot last time (if any) this would be the deciding factor for me whether to stay or not.

The inability to not transfer though TARGET CAN TRANSFER you to another department needs to be thought out.

Finally if you have been a TL for a couple years and still want to stay in retail I would look for another job.

Good luck.

 

[NKG]

I'm gonna give a cautionary tale on this-

I became a TL, with a bunch of 18 year Olds as TMs who never wanted to work. I started to fall behind on EVERYTHING but no one said anything other than " do you have a plan?" I'd say yes we start to see minor results I got left alone. Then one day those minor things became noticeable to a larger scope that's when the coachings came and write ups. When I left Target it was on a final. I decided that quitting was better. I had no support until it became noticeable. Then it was sorry it happened but we can't let it keep happening. I would ask for help now and not when it is an issue.

 

[Dream Baby]

I'm gonna give a cautionary tale on this-

I became a TL, with a bunch of 18 year Olds as TMs who never wanted to work. I started to fall behind on EVERYTHING but no one said anything other than " do you have a plan?" I'd say yes we start to see minor results I got left alone. Then one day those minor things became noticeable to a larger scope that's when the coachings came and write ups. When I left Target it was on a final. I decided that quitting was better. I had no support until it became noticeable. Then it was sorry it happened but we can't let it keep happening. I would ask for help now and not when it is an issue.

I mentioned in another thread that my TL just put me on a Final.

At Target with their "Final" and corporations putting you on a "Performance Improvement Plan" is just a way to get you to quit so they don't have bother to fire you.

The really dumb part is you take a chance that said employees will walk out the door with no notice.

IMHO giving a two week notice is relic of the past and the only advantage in doing it is if you are staying in the same industry.

When Target hired me they worked me around my other job for the first couple of weeks.

At the my other job when I gave them by two week notice they told me to just leave now and cancelled all my shifts.

I thought that was pretty dumb on their part but a least they "save those hours".

 

[p1nkgirl]

it usually takes a lot to fire a TL, at least in my experience at my store (like above said, ASANTS). we have been trained to document every conversation, even ones that are 'casual' so we have a paper trail to back us up on our end- but I know plenty of ETLs who simply don't do that too. It depends on your leader and how they run things, some leaders are bad about having conversations and documenting things. But you have to be put on a CA before they can 'just fire' you and you would know if you are on a CA because you have to go into workday and manually accept that you had that conversation. You can't see your own conversations (you can only see your own TMs who are in your work center, only your ETL (and HR ETL) can see your conversations).

But to my original point, losing a TL hurts the store. That's 40+ hours of labor they are losing, plus losing an employee that can open, close, has keys, and is generally more 'valuable' (in the sense leaders are typically cross-trained and have a higher skill-set than TMs though I'm fully aware that's not always the case lol). It can be difficult to find someone to fill the role of TL (my store has had many periods of months at a time of being down TLs) so even if you're shitty at your job they don't want to just lose that person without a really valid reason.

TLDR; unless you are causing significant loss to your store, you aren't going to be randomly fired. you're safe.

HOWEVER.

I highly recommend you talk to your ETL, or even your SD about your performance! Ask for additional training and tips on how to improve your leadership skills! they love to see the interest and initiative plus the desire and will to be better! you can even ask for explicitly what to tell your team to push them harder/work faster. it's okay to (and encouraged!) to ask questions and you are free to stand up for yourself/your reasons for your actions/your behavior and to challenge your leaders if you disagree! You can ask about which of your conversations have been documented too.

As most things in the world, communication is key. talking will improve your relationship with your leader, improve your own skills, and show them you care and want to keep your job and get better. if you silently take their feedback (not saying if you are doing that or not, idk) and they arent seeing improvement, they will likely just assume you don't care and that's when they will get frustrated and try to performance you out. it probably doesn't seem fair or sensible but that's just usually how things are.

best of luck to you! things like this are scary but I believe in you! 😁🫡💪

THANK YOU!!!