Archived flow tl=worst position ever?!?

[target20110]

So I am the flow team lead of a 6am push-all process store. We currently have 3 trucks a week, about 2200-2500. I have been working my literal a$$ off every day. I have to constantly stay 10-12 hour days to finish truck. I literally am at my wits end. If I roll over freight, I am coached. (-I was told the first time I did this, I would go on CCA next time... that day I had 7 call-ins and was there from 520am-7pm). If I go over allocated hours, I am coached. And if I don't finish truck by 1pm, I am coached. ...I'm pretty much coached every day. I can not get this team together! I am to the point where I am no longer taking any breaks, I'm signing out for lunches when the other team leads go to their combined 15min breaks because I have to cut so much time and I'm not allowed to cut on a weekend, and I'm not allowed to cut more than 4 hours on my one non-truck day. My actual Paris breaks are non existent, since I choose not being coached over truck hours instead of the 2 hours I would have to cut.
My fellow leaders hate me because I have to pull them for a 30-minute (not so)smart huddle almost every truck. I do not know how to fix this process. I have 14 flow tms and am scheduled 1-2 hours from random tm, and am scheduled about 100 hours... (in theory, before backroom needs help, price change workload is to big, etc. ..)

When I took this flow tl role 7 months ago, i was the signing team member who ran the presentation team (since we couldn't keep a team lead in the position-they kept quitting), I did all the paperwork, mapping, pre-ties, and allocated out what to do each week/day for other plano team members, plus my signing and occasionally price change if needed). Our etl had no idea how to do any paperwork, mapping, set a pog, and I taught her how to read an adjacency.

When i stepped into the flow team role it was blood red. It still is pretty much, except the STL (who is the worst I've ever had) installed the "no roll-over rule when I took this position.

What do I do? Besides quit. Because that's about where I'm going to end up at the way its going....

 

[PlanoFinn]

So I am the flow team lead of a 6am push-all process store. We currently have 3 trucks a week, about 2200-2500. I have been working my literal a$$ off every day. I have to constantly stay 10-12 hour days to finish truck. I literally am at my wits end. If I roll over freight, I am coached. (-I was told the first time I did this, I would go on CCA next time... that day I had 7 call-ins and was there from 520am-7pm). If I go over allocated hours, I am coached. And if I don't finish truck by 1pm, I am coached. ...I'm pretty much coached every day. I can not get this team together! I am to the point where I am no longer taking any breaks, I'm signing out for lunches when the other team leads go to their combined 15min breaks because I have to cut so much time and I'm not allowed to cut on a weekend, and I'm not allowed to cut more than 4 hours on my one non-truck day. My actual Paris breaks are non existent, since I choose not being coached over truck hours instead of the 2 hours I would have to cut.
My fellow leaders hate me because I have to pull them for a 30-minute (not so)smart huddle almost every truck. I do not know how to fix this process. I have 14 flow tms and am scheduled 1-2 hours from random tm, and am scheduled about 100 hours... (in theory, before backroom needs help, price change workload is to big, etc. ..)

When I took this flow tl role 7 months ago, i was the signing team member who ran the presentation team (since we couldn't keep a team lead in the position-they kept quitting), I did all the paperwork, mapping, pre-ties, and allocated out what to do each week/day for other plano team members, plus my signing and occasionally price change if needed). Our etl had no idea how to do any paperwork, mapping, set a pog, and I taught her how to read an adjacency.

When i stepped into the flow team role it was blood red. It still is pretty much, except the STL (who is the worst I've ever had) installed the "no roll-over rule when I took this position.

What do I do? Besides quit. Because that's about where I'm going to end up at the way its going....

Taking over a red department is very difficult especially in a broken store with leadership turn over. Breathe and remember you can't fix everything in a day or even a month but you can have impact. Similar to setting a major transition you have to have solid plans/routines and the right key team members in place for your workcenter to function.

Identify what isn't working , create a plan to address each issue , track the progress and most importantly keep your leaders in constant communication with daily/weekly follow ups via email and CC yourself so you are able to speak what issues you encounter and how you handled them , and also if any leadership has helped support you.

Don't rely on muscling out the freight as your sole solution. It is easy to just roll your sleeves up and push case packs because you are faster than your team and with call outs and staffing issues you have to get the product to the floor. However you are going to burn yourself out and that is only bandaiding the bigger issues at hand. Your title is leader and yes we have to help work alongside our teams however we have to address performance/document , recognize your strong tm's and empower/develops them to do more. Most important is be involved with the hiring process which includes training the new team members right the first time. Problem performers need to be supported/developed to do better and if they wont improve you must cut your loses and begin the termination process or find an area of the site they would be better in. Be involved with making your schedule whether that means your write it yourself or you give input to HR who and when to schedule the team correctly.

Reach out to fellow logistic leaders in your area for help and input. The good leaders will help you out with input from their experiences.

You will make an impact, the best way to drive change is to layer improvements one thing at a time, recognize your progress and your team's and anticipate setbacks will happen but do not allow them to defeat you.

 

[cmat21]

I have a different opinion. If you've been in position for seven months, the writing is basically on the wall. Without a chance of staffing there's really no chance to make significant change in that work center. Another thing is also certain, you have less than a 1% chance of changing work centers since yours is in the red. Of you aren't on a coaching, I would advice transferring to another store into a different leader position. Best ones usually are GSTL, HR if its a Super, or SFTL.

 

[GlobalTL123]

The logistics process is broken entirely for Target. 4 am and 6 am start times is unrealisitc and stupid! With flow you need to get one piece green at a time.

 

[target20110]

Is any body else's flow team made up of primarily retirees 64 and up who I'm afraid to push any harder (I still do...) (3 different heart attacks this year, no joke!) or 18-20yrolds with no work ethic? I've been told that I shouldn't coach out/lose to job abandonment more than one every other month, since the gstl's turnover is 175%. Mine is less than 40%.

If I have anyone decent, they are "farmed" from my team to go to Backroom, plano, pricechange; typically with those hours not replaced from the already written schedule! Lol I was one of those cases years ago...the old plano team lead literally stole me from the flow team and the tl wouldn't talk to me for two weeks.... at least I can talk to them and tell them if they want more hours, let me know!

I honestly think since we got our current STL the only center that isn't red is AP. Our old stl wasawesome. This one's fresh out of Target college.
Also pmt is doing fine lol. God I'd love that job! More money, no weekends and I'd be allowed to take a Friday off!

Any other 6am processes have blacked out good Friday? I put in vacation, it got approved, then my etl tells me that it was a blackout day and I couldn't have it....3 weeks after it was already approved in mytime. I'm scheduled for it, a 9.5 hour day actually. And I'm apparently coming in at 250am to start truck. Yuck.

 

[RetailWorld]

The only official "blackout" period is 4th quarter. Anything else is store-initiated.

What you need to do though is identify what processes are broken and come up with an action plan for each. Work with your ETL-LOG so that they understand that this is a work in progress and there will be hiccups. You can't fix a red process without it being red for awhile. But you need to have a timeline. IE, have your breakout processes fixed and green in 2 weeks. Have your truck unload done in under an hour every time in 2 weeks. Have a plan for your softlines push and have it green in 2 weeks. Overall your store will be green in 2-3 months.

Reach out to other flow-tl's in your area. Ask what their process is like, what kind of resources they have, and how they use them.

And....how does your current process work? Break it down for us.

 

[Firefox]

I think the situation will improve when stores start to get more hours. Don't throw in the towel yet, identify your problem areas and keep pushing for incremental changes that get you closer to a green process.

 

[SFSFun]

@Dekaf turned the logistics process around at his store, he might have some tips for you.

See this thread for starters: Ask any Instocks/Backroom Questions :)

 

[H2Owned]

You are very lucky that you are not at my store because our Flow TL is on loa (been a month now)... so they made our flexible fulliment tl step in to take her place... So now she is running ESFS and the flow team. I know the FFTL has to be stressed out especially since the flow team(especially softlines) never finish the truck. She started threatening to write the team up if they don't move faster. She usually works 10 hour shifts. Probably spends 2 hours with ESFS and the rest with the truck.

 

[SFSFun]

You are very lucky that you are not at my store because our Flow TL is on loa (been a month now)... so they made our flexible fulliment tl step in to take her place... So now she is running ESFS and the flow team. I know the FFTL has to be stressed out especially since the flow team(especially softlines) never finish the truck. She started threatening to write the team up if they don't move faster. She usually works 10 hour shifts. Probably spends 2 hours with ESFS and the rest with the truck.

What does an FFTL even do besides order supplies and write the schedule?

 

[H2Owned]

What does an FFTL even do besides order supplies and write the schedule?

That is a good question...Well she helps pick batches and pack too. Then you also have backstock all the Web only stuff. Pretty much boss the team around and fix any issues. Really doesn't do that much. But still it can be a stressful position especially in 4th quarter with 1000 plus orders a day. And on top of FFTL she is also a STL so LOD shifts.

 

[monkeyman90]

So I am the flow team lead of a 6am push-all process store. We currently have 3 trucks a week, about 2200-2500. I have been working my literal a$$ off every day. I have to constantly stay 10-12 hour days to finish truck. I literally am at my wits end. If I roll over freight, I am coached. (-I was told the first time I did this, I would go on CCA next time... that day I had 7 call-ins and was there from 520am-7pm). If I go over allocated hours, I am coached. And if I don't finish truck by 1pm, I am coached. ...I'm pretty much coached every day. I can not get this team together! I am to the point where I am no longer taking any breaks, I'm signing out for lunches when the other team leads go to their combined 15min breaks because I have to cut so much time and I'm not allowed to cut on a weekend, and I'm not allowed to cut more than 4 hours on my one non-truck day. My actual Paris breaks are non existent, since I choose not being coached over truck hours instead of the 2 hours I would have to cut.
My fellow leaders hate me because I have to pull them for a 30-minute (not so)smart huddle almost every truck. I do not know how to fix this process. I have 14 flow tms and am scheduled 1-2 hours from random tm, and am scheduled about 100 hours... (in theory, before backroom needs help, price change workload is to big, etc. ..)

When I took this flow tl role 7 months ago, i was the signing team member who ran the presentation team (since we couldn't keep a team lead in the position-they kept quitting), I did all the paperwork, mapping, pre-ties, and allocated out what to do each week/day for other plano team members, plus my signing and occasionally price change if needed). Our etl had no idea how to do any paperwork, mapping, set a pog, and I taught her how to read an adjacency.

When i stepped into the flow team role it was blood red. It still is pretty much, except the STL (who is the worst I've ever had) installed the "no roll-over rule when I took this position.

What do I do? Besides quit. Because that's about where I'm going to end up at the way its going....

are you coaching your team? like others have said, no one expects day 1 results when you're walking into a red situation. but you can point to actions. hey i know this wasn't done, but i coached someone else. 7 call outs in a day is unacceptable.

one of the biggest things i learned from being a tl that got things done and a strong is moving from killing myself doing everything myself to creating routines/processes and sadly performance managing people out if they aren't cutting it. at least in my district if you have speaking points you won't be coached even in a red department.

we have a lot of great tl's who are hard workers. target will always unreal unexpectations on work centers. its how you manage your team/improve that looks good on you

 

[Rock Lobster]

So I am the flow team lead of a 6am push-all process store. We currently have 3 trucks a week, about 2200-2500. I have been working my literal a$$ off every day. I have to constantly stay 10-12 hour days to finish truck. I literally am at my wits end. If I roll over freight, I am coached. (-I was told the first time I did this, I would go on CCA next time... that day I had 7 call-ins and was there from 520am-7pm). If I go over allocated hours, I am coached. And if I don't finish truck by 1pm, I am coached. ...I'm pretty much coached every day. I can not get this team together! I am to the point where I am no longer taking any breaks, I'm signing out for lunches when the other team leads go to their combined 15min breaks because I have to cut so much time and I'm not allowed to cut on a weekend, and I'm not allowed to cut more than 4 hours on my one non-truck day. My actual Paris breaks are non existent, since I choose not being coached over truck hours instead of the 2 hours I would have to cut.
My fellow leaders hate me because I have to pull them for a 30-minute (not so)smart huddle almost every truck. I do not know how to fix this process. I have 14 flow tms and am scheduled 1-2 hours from random tm, and am scheduled about 100 hours... (in theory, before backroom needs help, price change workload is to big, etc. ..)

When I took this flow tl role 7 months ago, i was the signing team member who ran the presentation team (since we couldn't keep a team lead in the position-they kept quitting), I did all the paperwork, mapping, pre-ties, and allocated out what to do each week/day for other plano team members, plus my signing and occasionally price change if needed). Our etl had no idea how to do any paperwork, mapping, set a pog, and I taught her how to read an adjacency.

When i stepped into the flow team role it was blood red. It still is pretty much, except the STL (who is the worst I've ever had) installed the "no roll-over rule when I took this position.

What do I do? Besides quit. Because that's about where I'm going to end up at the way its going....

You need to take a breath and analyze the situation. The first step is to start identifying root causes to problems and figuring out how to fix them. We are talking about working trucks, not getting a man to the moon here. Now, you are getting 100 hours per truck under unload? Do you spend flow hours on non-truck days? What about FDC? What does your backroom staffing look like on trucks and non-trucks? You need to make sure your schedule is going in with a winning strategy first.

Then you need to figure out execution what works best. How does your truck team work and is the routine the same? They need to get into a groove and keep it there and they get faster over-time. Also start creating competition for positions internally. If a TM does well, give them a more coveted job and get them out of the wave. Start holding TMs accountable to attendance. If they come to work and feel like they are winning, they start showing up more.

There is always a solution. There are ULV stores that do get trucks done on time.

 

[Firefox]

That is a good question...Well she helps pick batches and pack too. Then you also have backstock all the Web only stuff. Pretty much boss the team around and fix any issues. Really doesn't do that much. But still it can be a stressful position especially in 4th quarter with 1000 plus orders a day. And on top of FFTL she is also a STL so LOD shifts.

Ours is similar, however we don't handle the web-only backstock. That gets taken care of by overnight backroom at my store. Our FFTL also spent a good amount of his time creating systems and things that help us be more efficient, like the system that we have for packing SIOs, a dedicated flat in the main stockroom for large items so that we don't have to keep them on location 3, interacting with UPS, etc.