Archived Coachings / Attendance questions

[Potatoskin]

So I have a few questions. I've worked at Target as a cashier for about six months now and I've got a few questions.

1. I've never been coached nor do I really understand the coaching policy. What sorts of things can get you coached? How many coachings would it take to get fired?

2. For attendance, it seems that my store has a lot of cashiers call out every day. I've called out three times in 2015 (bad, I know) and nobody has said anything to me about it. Is it likely that I'll be coached for this? Could I be fired for that? One of my friends (who doesn't work at Target) was telling me that they would have been fired if they'd called in three times in three months.

Thanks for any answers

 

[asidius]

You can get coached for not performing your job. For example, if you're a cashier and not asking guests about the red card, you can get coached for that. You can also get coached for going into compliance. Coaching is basically a slap on the wrist. Sometimes it is documented, other times it's not. I believe the policy is 3 coachings = a corrective action. I think it's 2 corrective actions to go to a final warning and after that your termed.

As for attendance, ASANTS. My store we guy have such bad attendance, that we were shocked when he does show up to work. It took something like 2 months for the guy to get termed.

 

[mrknownothing]

Keep in mind that a coaching doesn't have to be negative. For example, if you're a cashier and struggle to get Red Cards, a good GSTL might give you some pointers and do some role-playing with you. He/she is not reprimanding you but addressing your performance in a way that might actually be helpful to you.

 

[happyfeet]

Look if they talk to you its a coaching its just a matter of weather they put it on paper .they will and use it later to say you are a non performer when it suits them.

 

[suzieQ]

At my store, every time you call off it is a coaching. Attendance and reliability are part of your overall performance (if you're not there when you should be then you can't perform) so every occurrence is written up. If you are someone who calls off all the time then it is an issue. If you've called off three times in 2015 then that seems a bit excessive.

 

[commiecorvus]

At my store, every time you call off it is a coaching. Attendance and reliability are part of your overall performance (if you're not there when you should be then you can't perform) so every occurrence is written up. If you are someone who calls off all the time then it is an issue. If you've called off three times in 2015 then that seems a bit excessive.

I certainly understand that calling out is bad news and I'm one of those people who gets to work no matter what (riding a bike in an ice storm in the dark anyone?).
However, if you come down with a dose of the flu that lays you up with explosive diarrhea and vomiting blood for a couple of days you're going to hit that three day point.
To get written up for being sick is damned unfair and seems like piling a beating on misery.

This is just a variation on the management philosophy of

 

[Potatoskin]

Look if they talk to you its a coaching its just a matter of weather they put it on paper .they will and use it later to say you are a non performer when it suits them.

Oh. I thought that a coaching was much more "official", like being written up.

As for the call-ins, nobody said anything to me at all about the first two. I'll have to wait till my next shift to see if they say anything about the most recent one. It seems that every day we have at least one or two cashiers call in. Is that normal at your stores also or does that sound like a lot to you?

 

[NitroKing2110]

Oh. I thought that a coaching was much more "official", like being written up.

As for the call-ins, nobody said anything to me at all about the first two. I'll have to wait till my next shift to see if they say anything about the most recent one. It seems that every day we have at least one or two cashiers call in. Is that normal at your stores also or does that sound like a lot to you?

Usually one or two, but we're high volume so more scheduled TMs to call out. A week ago on Saturday we had:
4 cashier callouts
1 CA callout
2 Softlines callouts
1 Hardlines callout
1 BR Day callout
Photo opener callout
I asked where the big TM party was and why we weren't invited, nobody knew.

 

[tgtguy]

I try to never judge anyone for calling out...you never know what is going on with them and or their family. Just because someone calls out once a month or so ( going by what OP said) it doesn't make them a bad team member. Hell, I know some team members who show up to work no matter what and are lazy as hell. I would take someone with "attendance " issues over them anyday. At least when someone calls out sick...their hours are up for grabs ( unless payroll is an issue) If a person comes into work and is just plain lazy then those hours are pretty much wasted ( because it seems most of the time the etls don't care how sorry someone is as long as they kiss the etls ass )

 

[suzieQ]

I certainly understand that calling out is bad news and I'm one of those people who gets to work no matter what (riding a bike in an ice storm in the dark anyone?).
However, if you come down with a dose of the flu that lays you up with explosive diarrhea and vomiting blood for a couple of days you're going to hit that three day point.
To get written up for being sick is damned unfair and seems like piling a beating on misery.

but unfortunately not everyone is honest and will fake being sick. the ONLY way to be fair and consistent is to coach every time someone calls out. if you call off 3 days in a row that does not mean that you will be put on a counseling/corrective action. target does not have a set attendance policy... that is why some stores do nothing about it and some take it very seriously.

 

[signingminion]

but unfortunately not everyone is honest and will fake being sick. the ONLY way to be fair and consistent is to coach every time someone calls out. if you call off 3 days in a row that does not mean that you will be put on a counseling/corrective action. target does not have a set attendance policy... that is why some stores do nothing about it and some take it very seriously.

Coaching for every call out isn't fair or unfair it's rude. If you are working with your team and treating them well they have no reason to call out and lie about why. But coaching me for calling out because I was with my father in the hospital is just dumb.

We have at least one callout a shift. Flow/open/close. We've had the entire days cashiers call out on a Saturday.

 

[tgtguy]

but unfortunately not everyone is honest and will fake being sick. the ONLY way to be fair and consistent is to coach every time someone calls out. if you call off 3 days in a row that does not mean that you will be put on a counseling/corrective action. target does not have a set attendance policy... that is why some stores do nothing about it and some take it very seriously.

Spot doesn't know the meaning of consistent and fair....Are there people who lie about being sick? Sure. Are there people who drag themselves to work sick , when they should be at home in the bed? sure. If Spot wants to learn how to be consistent and fair I can think of other areas to start with other than attendance. Let them start with how the hours are handed out ...

 

[suzieQ]

Coaching for every call out isn't fair or unfair it's rude. If you are working with your team and treating them well they have no reason to call out and lie about why. But coaching me for calling out because I was with my father in the hospital is just dumb.

We have at least one callout a shift. Flow/open/close. We've had the entire days cashiers call out on a Saturday.

I used to have the worst attendance in my building when i started (would call off once a week at least). my store was treating me well but i felt my hobbies were more important than my job. i lied all the time about why i had to call off and was never coached. then people that called off every once in a while for legit reasons were coached. the only way to prevent favoritism is to coach every time. obviously if there is a family emergency, they may have a conversation with you but that doesn't mean you are in trouble. i tell my team "i know things come up and you cannot plan emergencies or getting sick but in order to be fair and consistent, we have to have this conversation every time a TM calls off." we have a couple TMs who call off every time it rains (cart attendants) so i know they aren't sick. i also had a new TM call off because of a "family emergency" who posted on facebook that she was going out of town for a fun weekend with friends.

 

[suzieQ]

Spot doesn't know the meaning of consistent and fair....Are there people who lie about being sick? Sure. Are there people who drag themselves to work sick , when they should be at home in the bed? sure. If Spot wants to learn how to be consistent and fair I can think of other areas to start with other than attendance. Let them start with how the hours are handed out ...

what are you referring to? flow team getting too many hours??? target forecasts the hours for each week and it's up to the STL and ETL-HR to allocate the hours.

 

[tgtguy]

Why does everyone jump on the flow team and hours???? I know that HR and the stl allocate the hours...that's the problem...they don't it in a fair and consistent manner .

 

[PugMuffin]

Check this out:
http://www.thebreakroom.org/index.php?threads/the-call-in-sick-late-ncns-attendance-thread.9344/

 

[suzieQ]

Why does everyone jump on the flow team and hours???? I know that HR and the stl allocate the hours...that's the problem...they don't it in a fair and consistent manner .

just posted about this in another thread... whenever there are call-offs early morning, my etl-log uses those hours to fill her workcenter and keep people instead of giving them to the workcenter that originally had the hours. flow is also the only workcenter to overspend every month at my store.

 

[tgtguy]

just posted about this in another thread... whenever there are call-offs early morning, my etl-log uses those hours to fill her workcenter and keep people instead of giving them to the workcenter that originally had the hours. flow is also the only workcenter to overspend every month at my store.

All stores are not the same( Just had to say that up front)...it could be that your etl/log is trying to pull a fast one...or it could be that she is trying to push/backstock large trucks with not enough hours and or people. While HQ can give forecast hours for the week/month..they don't forecast the size of trucks amount of repacks etc. I think sometimes flow is one of the most misunderstood store process.

 

[PinkZinnia]

Is there a procedure for getting rid of someone for poor performance? They have been coached numerous times, but it seems that many of the coaching's are for different things. Do you have to be coached for the same thing in a certain time frame? If it were me, I would have dumped this person a long time ago - They only work 3 days a week (max) - I would let them get the unemployment. It's more of a hindrance then a help for them to be on the clock.

 

[signingminion]

I used to have the worst attendance in my building when i started (would call off once a week at least). my store was treating me well but i felt my hobbies were more important than my job. i lied all the time about why i had to call off and was never coached. then people that called off every once in a while for legit reasons were coached. the only way to prevent favoritism is to coach every time. obviously if there is a family emergency, they may have a conversation with you but that doesn't mean you are in trouble. i tell my team "i know things come up and you cannot plan emergencies or getting sick but in order to be fair and consistent, we have to have this conversation every time a TM calls off." we have a couple TMs who call off every time it rains (cart attendants) so i know they aren't sick. i also had a new TM call off because of a "family emergency" who posted on facebook that she was going out of town for a fun weekend with friends.

I'm just saying if you had coached me positive or negative I would have smacked you. The ONLY appropriate follow up after a tm calls out because a close family member was in the hospital for a serious medical problem is to ask how that person is doing. Which is exactly what my team did. They even had shift swaps worked out if I needed a couple more days. Too bad that hr team is no longer with target.

 

[redcounts]

What's better? Calling out 2 days sick as a dog, vomiting and the flu OR coming into work with the flu, vomiting and getting the other etls and team members sick.

 

[suzieQ]

What's better? Calling out 2 days sick as a dog, vomiting and the flu OR coming into work with the flu, vomiting and getting the other etls and team members sick.

I'm not saying don't call off if you are sick. I was sick with some virus and called off two days in a row after being miserable at work for 2 days with a fever and cough. I also got other people sick who ended up calling off during the week once they caught it. I Personally think it's smart to call off if you are contagious because other people are going to get sick and more will call off.

What I am saying is that regardless you still have to let them know that being absent from work affects their performance if they are absent consistently. At my store when we talk to people about calling off, no one gets mad about it. They understand that we have the conversation with everyone that way everyone is held accountable to the same standard. I have yet to encounter someone who gets mad about it if they aren't a repeat offender.

 

[suzieQ]

When I called off my 2 days in a row I was pulled in by my STL and ETL. I knew it was coming but luckily I don't have attendance issues so I don't have to worry.

 

[tgtguy]

I'm just saying if you had coached me positive or negative I would have smacked you. The ONLY appropriate follow up after a tm calls out because a close family member was in the hospital for a serious medical problem is to ask how that person is doing. Which is exactly what my team did. They even had shift swaps worked out if I needed a couple more days. Too bad that hr team is no longer with target.

That is great that your hr team ( at the time) did that for you .

 

[Flabbergasted]

When I called off my 2 days in a row I was pulled in by my STL and ETL. I knew it was coming but luckily I don't have attendance issues so I don't have to worry.

How mortifying. Our ETL-HR took *five*, yes *five* days off in a row because she *thought* she *might* be sick. You think the STL pulled her into an office and coached her? Ha! They told her to take "as much time as needed." Had a TM or TL done that, they would have been written up. The double standards sure are great.