Fulfillment issue

[Bikerman350]

Tell me your advice on how to approach a situation where you need to keep your team on track & work together. Without having to make them completely feel like you’re bossing them around. As one of the new pacesetters at my store, we are having issues regarding some team members not following direction. no matter how we approach, it seems as if the TMs won’t understand they are just trying to do their job + get us out on time. They don’t respond to us on walkie, they give us attitude when we friendly ask them or give them options on what they could do to help the team (ex. Either pick opu or pack), & they act as if they are better in a very unprofessional way.

My whole thing is, for the people who get their work done, & Do not slack off, I tend to check in less with them because I know they’re accountable. Whereas, if certain Workers I know lose track often or if certain people together distract each other, I separate them. However, I was at a stumped point when even as I respectfully nudged, or asked to help the team by doing a task, all I got was attitude back and backlash in front of other workers. It seems as if there is no option except to be more stern & demanding to make sure we are keeping our pace. However, being a new pacemaker, I don’t want to start off on the wrong foot since I am new and I understand it may feel weird dosing direction from someone who just recently transferred to this department. However, I still do have a good amount of experience in this department & have proven that I have good metrics, am a hard worker, take pride in my job,& in my team, & take initiative.

 

[Proficient]

Lead by example you can’t just always be checking metrics.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

To the op, some tips:
1. Lead by example.
2. Team goals, encouraged them for success. More hours
3. Good training in sfs & other areas. More hours.
4. Review greenfield reports.
5. Know your store mgt expectations & goals for you as a tl.

Coaching new folks is not always the answer, unless there is attendance issue.

 

[CassRoslyn]

As one of the new pacesetters at my store

Wait...you're a pacesetter and not a TL? Then this is a problem:

It seems as if there is no option except to be more stern & demanding to make sure we are keeping our pace.

If they don't respect your authority as a new addition to the department who's been "put in charge" of them then you go to a TL and let them handle it if they truly are refusing to complete tasks. Otherwise, you report issues to your TL and create a gamelan for department success. Your job is to direct them and "set the pace", but it's a TLs job to coach them and fix issues within the team structure.

 

[slowhands]

it's a TLs job to coach them and fix issues within the team structure.

100% this.

 

[azure]

Wait...you're a pacesetter and not a TL? Then this is a problem:

If they don't respect your authority as a new addition to the department who's been "put in charge" of them then you go to a TL and let them handle it if they truly are refusing to complete tasks. Otherwise, you report issues to your TL and create a gamelan for department success. Your job is to direct them and "set the pace", but it's a TLs job to coach them and fix issues within the team structure.

I have fulfillment pacesetter training and have never done fulfillment. I am trained in fulfillment and know how to do it but have never actually done it before.

 

[Bikerman350]

Lead by example you can’t just always be checking metrics.

Yes, most definitely the entire time however, my team was making me close by myself because they said “oh you’re the pace setter so it’s your job now to do everything”. I was picking, I was packing, I was refilling stations, I was throwing trash when we had some down time between orders, I would hop into OPU. I was leading by example however, working as a team as well means not putting everything on one person. Also, our Lead doesn’t really do much because we don’t have that many good people & if their metrics are good while they there then the moment our TL LEAVES the Tms don’t do much.

 

[Bikerman350]

Lead by example you can’t just always be checking metrics.

All our pace setters do lead by example however, the moment our TL leaves our entire team slacks off and distracts each other and just sits in the back and talks while either one good worker and one pace setter just does all the work. With not being a TL, we can’t do anything so it’s very difficult to do it all on our own.

 

[Bikerman350]

100% this.

The TL has tried to address the issues but then it always gets back lash on the pacesetter because they title them as tattle tales or stupid childish stuff like that, while other works just gang up on the workers who are actually trying to work. The talks never do anything with the TMS. So I’m trying to just figure out what I can do to possibly help other Tm’s understand we’re just trying to do what we were told and help out the team.

 

[Bikerman350]

Wait...you're a pacesetter and not a TL? Then this is a problem:

If they don't respect your authority as a new addition to the department who's been "put in charge" of them then you go to a TL and let them handle it if they truly are refusing to complete tasks. Otherwise, you report issues to your TL and create a gamelan for department success. Your job is to direct them and "set the pace", but it's a TLs job to coach them and fix issues within the team structure.

Yeah, the interesting thing is that they have us bring pace setters because they’re training us for TL positions that will be opening up soon. So that’s why it’s a gray area. Of like our TL expects us to lead and resolve conflict not just do what a “pace setter” is supposed to ge

 

[CassRoslyn]

the interesting thing is that they have us bring pace setters because they’re training us for TL positions that will be opening up soon

I hate to break it to you, but the pacesetter position is just Target making TMs work as TLs without having to pay more. Most likely, your TL just wants you to handle this stuff because they don't want to deal with it or for it to work its way up to their boss that they can't handle their own team. And, like, maybe it will lead to a TL position but that's a promise that gets thrown around a lot for fulfillment captains and is rarely delivered on due to a preference of outside hires or new blood that drinks the kool-aid easier.

The TL has tried to address the issues but then it always gets back lash on the pacesetter because they title them as tattle tales or stupid childish stuff like that, while other works just gang up on the workers who are actually trying

So, honestly, if people are slacking once your TL leaves, either talk to the LOD or let the late units speak for themselves. You don't have to force yourself to do everything, you just have to communicate to leadership "I did Xyz, but that's all I could manage without help". If these TMs don't respect you or want to work, nothing you say will help it. They know you can't punish them, they know the TL doesn't really care. So...show what happens when only one person works: missed goals. And/or go to your ETL, HR, etc if you're being bullied for speaking up about the team and the TL does squat.

 

[StyleStar]

All our pace setters do lead by example however, the moment our TL leaves our entire team slacks off and distracts each other and just sits in the back and talks while either one good worker and one pace setter just does all the work. With not being a TL, we can’t do anything so it’s very difficult to do it all on our own.

I would voice your concerns with your team lead, ultimately its his problem. If its a big issue can you partner with your closing tl to check in on them randomly, so they are able to coach for perf/loafing.

 

[Bikerman350]

I would voice your concerns with your team lead, ultimately its his problem. If its a big issue can you partner with your closing tl to check in on them randomly, so they are able to coach for perf/loafing.

Thanks for the advice! Next time I work, I will communicate with my closing TL more when it is happening. I had let my closing TL know what happened at the end of the night & they said they’d communicate with my TL

 

[Bikerman350]

I hate to break it to you, but the pacesetter position is just Target making TMs work as TLs without having to pay more. Most likely, your TL just wants you to handle this stuff because they don't want to deal with it or for it to work its way up to their boss that they can't handle their own team. And, like, maybe it will lead to a TL position but that's a promise that gets thrown around a lot for fulfillment captains and is rarely delivered on due to a preference of outside hires or new blood that drinks the kool-aid easier.


So, honestly, if people are slacking once your TL leaves, either talk to the LOD or let the late units speak for themselves. You don't have to force yourself to do everything, you just have to communicate to leadership "I did Xyz, but that's all I could manage without help". If these TMs don't respect you or want to work, nothing you say will help it. They know you can't punish them, they know the TL doesn't really care. So...show what happens when only one person works: missed goals. And/or go to your ETL, HR, etc if you're being bullied for speaking up about the team and the TL does squat.

Thank you for your advice!! I will most definitely take this and use these tips !

 

[CassRoslyn]

Thank you for your advice!! I will most definitely take this and use these tips !

One quick thing I thought of if, productivity is a constant issue: Take a pic of MPM when your TL leaves, take another at the end of your shift, text both to your TL before leaving for the day. The numbers of units completed by each TM will speak for themselves and you'll have photo evidence they're leaving the work on your shoulders if you need to escalate.

Since MPM is timestamped it'll be obvious when the slacking happened and who didn't do any work.

 

[Bikerman350]

One quick thing I thought of if, productivity is a constant issue: Take a pic of MPM when your TL leaves, take another at the end of your shift, text both to your TL before leaving for the day. The numbers of units completed by each TM will speak for themselves and you'll have photo evidence they're leaving the work on your shoulders if you need to escalate.

Since MPM is timestamped it'll be obvious when the slacking happened and who didn't do any work.

That’s actually really smart. Thanks for the input. I’ve definitely seen a lot of TMs productivity be at 60-75 when the lead is there and then at the end or night drops to 40 or so. Or their productivity stays the same bc they stop picking all together. If I may ask, how many units does your store usually set as goal for everyone? Ours is currently 160 for SFS for an 8 hour shift and OPU at least 160 but more is expected especially with grocery and all metrics must stay in green.

 

[allnew2]

That’s actually really smart. Thanks for the input. I’ve definitely seen a lot of TMs productivity be at 60-75 when the lead is there and then at the end or night drops to 40 or so. Or their productivity stays the same bc they stop picking all together. If I may ask, how many units does your store usually set as goal for everyone? Ours is currently 160 for SFS for an 8 hour shift and OPU at least 160 but more is expected especially with grocery and all metrics must stay in green.

Company goal is 90 for sfs . Or at least it was a year and half ago

 

[CassRoslyn]

If I may ask, how many units does your store usually set as goal for everyone? Ours is currently 160 for SFS for an 8 hour shift and OPU at least 160 but more is expected especia

Idk what our goal is set at, since I'm a former pacesetter who only works early mornings due to covid issues and therefore out of the loop a lot lol.
But for personal reference I can pick and pack ~150 units in 4 hours and so can the other vets on my team. 60-75 an hour is a good productivity score to aim for, 80-90 is better but that depends on infs, guests, etc. Every person and store has different metrics that are good for them, though. Ours is a Pfresh store and the vets carry the newbies more than is probably healthy...

 

[TLSpot]

If I may ask, how many units does your store usually set as goal for everyone? Ours is currently 160 for SFS for an 8 hour shift and OPU at least 160 but more is expected especially with grocery and all metrics must stay in green.

My store has the goal of 55/ hour or 440/ 8 hour shift, but we’re a pretty high volume sfs store. It’s pretty easy for a TM to maintain even with being in a super. Not sure on OPUs but our good performers end up around 40/ hour. Packing is at least 90/ hour. I tend to average around 155.

 

[seasonaldude]

That’s actually really smart. Thanks for the input. I’ve definitely seen a lot of TMs productivity be at 60-75 when the lead is there and then at the end or night drops to 40 or so. Or their productivity stays the same bc they stop picking all together. If I may ask, how many units does your store usually set as goal for everyone? Ours is currently 160 for SFS for an 8 hour shift and OPU at least 160 but more is expected especially with grocery and all metrics must stay in green.

We don't have SFS. For OPU we don't have a set unit goal. As a pacesetter, I generally expect that everyone should be able to do 300 units in an 8 hour shift. But, I'm not going to say anything if they're over 250 or so to take into account rough days drawing bad batches with few multiple eaches. (For reference, it's extremely rare for me to personally do under 300 units. It only happens when I have a lot of other stuff to do. 375-450 is my normal day, depending on what drops in the gun. I'm occassionally over 500.) So, I'm not asking the impossible. I expect the rest of the team to do less because they have a lot less experience than me and we don't want them running full speed around the store when we don't need them to.

I would never expect that everyone be green for INFs everyday. That's not reasonable. A day is an extremely small sample size. Shit, a week is a small sample size in fulfillment. If a guest orders 10 cans of the same flavor of Friskies and we had an uncaught mispick for it at some point, you can't hold that against the TM who grabbed that batch. As long as everyone is looking for things appropriately, INFs on any given day are what they are.

As for general advice from your OP. You need to figure out what individual TMs strengths and weaknesses are and work with that. Find out what they like to do and ask them to do it. That builds trust, so when you need them to do something else they'll be more likely to jump into it.

 

[HWMSEB]

Tell me your advice on how to approach a situation where you need to keep your team on track & work together. Without having to make them completely feel like you’re bossing them around. As one of the new pacesetters at my store, we are having issues regarding some team members not following direction. no matter how we approach, it seems as if the TMs won’t understand they are just trying to do their job + get us out on time. They don’t respond to us on walkie, they give us attitude when we friendly ask them or give them options on what they could do to help the team (ex. Either pick opu or pack), & they act as if they are better in a very unprofessional way.

My whole thing is, for the people who get their work done, & Do not slack off, I tend to check in less with them because I know they’re accountable. Whereas, if certain Workers I know lose track often or if certain people together distract each other, I separate them. However, I was at a stumped point when even as I respectfully nudged, or asked to help the team by doing a task, all I got was attitude back and backlash in front of other workers. It seems as if there is no option except to be more stern & demanding to make sure we are keeping our pace. However, being a new pacemaker, I don’t want to start off on the wrong foot since I am new and I understand it may feel weird dosing direction from someone who just recently transferred to this department. However, I still do have a good amount of experience in this department & have proven that I have good metrics, am a hard worker, take pride in my job,& in my team, & take initiative.

I feel you, we cant deny many people have attitude towards one another if they dont want you, if I were you just do your part as a good TM . Because we cant please people . And it's hard to mandate to anyone especially if your not in charge . Just do your job because they can see you on camera who's working hard and the one who's not working. But if the sfs have a high volume to pick and running out of time for the deadline, call the ETL, so he/she mandate the team to help you reach the goal for the day. Just keep up the good work.

 

[Bikerman350]

Idk what our goal is set at, since I'm a former pacesetter who only works early mornings due to covid issues and therefore out of the loop a lot lol.
But for personal reference I can pick and pack ~150 units in 4 hours and so can the other vets on my team. 60-75 an hour is a good productivity score to aim for, 80-90 is better but that depends on infs, guests, etc. Every person and store has different metrics that are good for them, though. Ours is a Pfresh store and the vets carry the newbies more than is probably healthy...

I FEEL that. I usually do about 300+ on a good day but we do have a bigger store & also our GM/ breakout team never breaks out freight in a timely manner. They’ll leave it there for a week or over, leave stuff Unlocated, not tie items to an POG. so it takes forever to look through repacks trying to main our green metrics. I usually get at least 250 everyday combined but only because I constantly have to jump back and forth between SFS to OPU, help other TMs look for items, fill the boxes, prep and pack other people’s carts & whatnot. We’ve been having payroll cut lately and lots of call ours on top of it as well so shit has been crazy.

 

[Frontlanegirl]

Working fulfillment really shows you that some team members do not know how to push; this includes long time team members.

 

[DatBoi9497]

If every tm had to work fulfillment for a week straight during q4 and maintain green metrics, I bet some things would change

 

[BurgerBob]

I get with all the key flex peeps like. "Anything I can do to make my department easier to pick in?
About once a month. Always helps to keep those com lines open.