Archived Changes to Flow

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A few days ago the few remaining flow and backroom team members that happened to be scheduled that day were all called to an impromptu meeting to discuss what our future would be like. They had few details as of yet but it'll be just owning our area. I've heard it discussed on here but since asants (or are they now?...) I didn't pay much attention to it. Since it sounds like all stores are expected to function the same what is a former flow team member in for? What will by new job be and what will I be responsible for? They stressed how efficient this will all be yet didn't mention if any paygrade increase would accompany. It was very funny/scarry to see how brainwashed they were - "Target tested this, it works, its the future now so accept it."

I don't like what I've seen so far and to be honest it doesn't seem like the additional responsibilities will be worth it to stay on with such few hours. I've been at 4 hours each week since January. For what it's worth, in my state minimum wage for fast food is the same I'm making at Target now.
 
Welcome to end to end with no real hours & same workload.
Higher expectations of pushing super fast & cashiering.

Will current flow team members be trained on registers? From how it was described in the meeting I'd be assigned 'ownership' over a few isles and exclusively responsible for those shelves being full, stocked, backstocked and zoned. Once those isles are down we're sent home. Is this the basic of what's in store for a priority one flow person now?

I took this job due to the overnight hours (started at 10pm, then 11am, then 2am, then 4am, then 6am) and for being able to do the job without having to deal with guests. What was a third shift job is now a first shift job with the added responsibilities of two other teams. Just doesn't seem worth it any more. Rather then have a specialized team come in to do one task (only stock or only backstock) it sounds like one person needs to be a specialist in all tasks? But at the same pay as they only had one job to do, right?
 
Yep everyone one makes the same pay and has to do everything that is needed in there area.
I doubt hours well change and your expected to be a expert in your area
Flow well be broken up to inbound and general merchandise
5 well be inbound and unload trucks
The rest well join backroom and hardlines and become the general merchandise team
 
Yep everyone one makes the same pay and has to do everything that is needed in there area.
I doubt hours well change and your expected to be a expert in your area
Flow well be broken up to inbound and general merchandise
5 well be inbound and unload trucks
The rest well join backroom and hardlines and become the general merchandise team

Awesome :( Sounds like I'll be looking for another job soon. One of my managers held up a booklet of "changes" coming down from corporate. I asked if I could get a copy or look it over and was told no, that it's for leadership only. Curious how they put the spin on it to market it to the team as a god send.
 
I dont know how.my store is getting new tms to fill the spots of the ones that well leave .
My store said they well only hire people that
Have open availability, be willing to learn all areas of the store and are willing to learn the department entirely.
They pay is $12 and minimum wage in my town is $12 so yeah alot easier jobs down the street
 
I dont know how.my store is getting new tms to fill the spots of the ones that well leave .
Considering how many teams are being folded into the GM team (which essentially will have enough positions as your flow team now, plus a few plugs for the days those TMs are off), that's probably what they want.
 
Considering how many teams are being folded into the GM team (which essentially will have enough positions as your flow team now, plus a few plugs for the days those TMs are off), that's probably what they want.

Yep. We have at least 7 TMs and 2 TLs off the top of my head who are about to be 'homeless' with their roles being eliminated. There would be a few more but they've already transitioned in to other roles.

Going to be interesting to see how this all shakes out. I'm not even sure how much longer I'll be around. I'm trying to not be negative and hoping for the best, but I worked hard to get to the team I'm on and to be going back to what I was doing on day 1 feels like a big step backwards. And given the lack of other roles in the store and the number of extra TM/TLs, I'm not optimistic that I'll be able to work my way back out of being a stocker anytime soon.
 
I'm waiting to see how it all shakes out. There are two price change TMs and two POG TMs are my store who are all close to full-time (their SrTL left for another job late last year, probably seeing the writing on the wall) and they're all going to have to be placed somewhere. My TL talked to me a couple weeks ago about "owning" my area, which I told her honestly that I'd be sort of excited to see happen, and if I could expand my availability.
Problem is that I've been led down the garden path of couple of times in the past with other "opportunities" that never panned out for me. So I'm not holding my breath that it'll mean more hours for me.
And I agree with the whole thing about hiring in for a third shift job and ending up with a first shift job. When I hired in, it was early morning and that's what I want so I can still work another job. For a while we moved away from that, but now we're back to a 6 a.m. unload. Don't know yet if it stays that way.
 
The funny thing about all this is that, at my store anyway, the people they're actively trying to get rid of aren't the ones quitting. This week my team had 3 top performing flow TMs put in notice or reduced availability to work a full-time job--myself included. And that's just from flow team. I was very lucky to get a job offer that pays more than Spot (I would have taken less for full-time) but I wonder if the higher ups will realize that even for $15/hr, many of the dedicated workers they think they'll attract/retain aren't going to stick around for a job that shits on them daily. And that loyalty is a two way street.

So yeah, if you're already having doubts I'd say start looking elsewhere now. Better to job hunt at leisure than when you feel desparate.
 
The funny thing about all this is that, at my store anyway, the people they're actively trying to get rid of aren't the ones quitting. This week my team had 3 top performing flow TMs put in notice or reduced availability to work a full-time job--myself included. And that's just from flow team.

(snipped some of this)

So yeah, if you're already having doubts I'd say start looking elsewhere now. Better to job hunt at leisure than when you feel desparate.

I'm assuming one 5 hour shift a week is them trying to get me to quit. I'm not doing it. They want to be rid of me, they can nut up and fire me/lay me off.

Job-hunting as best I can right now. I had been hoping to stay here. Before modernization things were halfway decent.
 
Wishing you luck! And don't give up--I started dropping resumes here and there at the beginning of the year, somewhat hoping things would start looking better at Spot in the meantime, but eventually the right opportunity came along.

What sucks is that for YEARS I've wanted the chance to "own" my area but it's so obvious that even with this process I never truly will--I have a day off and my department and stockroom get trashed by everyone else just that quickly. Expectations are at 100 and accountability is at 0. People are forced to do tasks they're not trained for and/or good at. I'll be happy not to walk into the disappointment of weeks worth of effort being demolished overnight anymore.
 
Wishing you luck! And don't give up--I started dropping resumes here and there at the beginning of the year, somewhat hoping things would start looking better at Spot in the meantime, but eventually the right opportunity came along

Thanks. I've been trying to apply for 2nd or 3rd shift jobs (I have bad teeth and am constantly worried how that will affect prospects), because that's originally what I thought I would be getting. Hours where I didn't have to bother with customers.

I can't say I'm good at much else besides putting the product where it goes, so I'm trying for food related jobs. Maybe I'll have better luck there.
 
Awesome :( Sounds like I'll be looking for another job soon. One of my managers held up a booklet of "changes" coming down from corporate. I asked if I could get a copy or look it over and was told no, that it's for leadership only. Curious how they put the spin on it to market it to the team as a god send.

I actually thought all stores already changed to the inbound and general merchandise model. It is just that some stores were at different points in the modernization rollout. We started with getting rid of the backroom team but it did not work well. Now we have 1 or 2 in the backroom every day. They help pull auto-fills and do backstock, yes every one is supposed to do there own but stuff always gets left back there. We also still have a plano and price change team at least for now. They were giving the general merchandise/salesfloor people decent hours at the start of this but now they all have 5 hour shifts too.
 
I actually thought all stores already changed to the inbound and general merchandise model. It is just that some stores were at different points in the modernization rollout. We started with getting rid of the backroom team but it did not work well. Now we have 1 or 2 in the backroom every day. They help pull auto-fills and do backstock, yes every one is supposed to do there own but stuff always gets left back there. We also still have a plano and price change team at least for now. They were giving the general merchandise/salesfloor people decent hours at the start of this but now they all have 5 hour shifts too.
The new model works, you just HAVE to have the right people and right mind set. My store REALLY struggled with it for the first few months, but now we have no backroom team, POG is being dismantled and will only help with major transitions. Dedicated owners own their brand, fill, pulls, truck, sales planners, revisions, and pricing. Yes its a huge culture shock/shift but it all depends on the leaders making it happen. We have 6-7 team members for sort who come in at 6 and unload till 8-8:30 depending on size and the ones who are only scheduled till 10 help push areas that may need help, or tackle projects. The only thing were working out is for major transitions (Stationary next week) which we have all transition wrapped and put up for the team who will set it. I was pretty against this whole change, but trust me it works... YOU just have to believe in it.
 
The new model works, you just HAVE to have the right people and right mind set. My store REALLY struggled with it for the first few months, but now we have no backroom team, POG is being dismantled and will only help with major transitions. Dedicated owners own their brand, fill, pulls, truck, sales planners, revisions, and pricing. Yes its a huge culture shock/shift but it all depends on the leaders making it happen.
I do agree that it's possible to find success in the new model but for many stores the roll-out is a shitshow. They're not rewarding hard workers with higher pay or more hours, they're keeping everyone flat across the board, killing motivation to work harder than the guy sleepwalking through his shifts. They're demanding full availability and giving part-time hours, then getting upset with TMs when they're suddenly expected to work more hours and can't because they're in school or working 2 jobs to survive. They're expecting TMs to be experts in all areas, but have no hours to properly train and are ignoring the fact that most people are simply better at some things than they are at others. And the people that ARE good at everything get the most dumped on them with no reward for it. Not to mention the universal policy of "Figure it out." currently solving all problems from the top of the chain to the bottom.

I feel like getting this to work should have began with properly providing livable hours and wages to the team members best suited to fill the roles they were creating (and investing enough in training everyone to be at the level they now expect them to perform at). But they instead have had them fighting for shifts and training clueless new hires who make almost the same pay they do, if not more. Expecting us to remain loyal while reminding us we're replaceable. Literally creating this uphill battle they now find themselves in.
 
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