Archived Hardly any training?

[GlitterBerries]

Any new people feel like you got trained for half a minute and then they yell on the walkies when there is a guest who pushed a call button or you need to take a call but they never told you how to do it? Has happened to me and a few others and they won't respond when you ask what to do but will keep saying "WHOSE GETTING THAT CALL OR HELPING THAT GUEST?!?!" I mean I've picked up alot on my own and can do most on my own but they act like we have been here for years.

 

[ElectronicsTM]

Any new people feel like you got trained for half a minute and then they yell on the walkies when there is a guest who pushed a call button or you need to take a call but they never told you how to do it? Has happened to me and a few others and they won't respond when you ask what to do but will keep saying "WHOSE GETTING THAT CALL OR HELPING THAT GUEST?!?!" I mean I've picked up alot on my own and can do most on my own but they act like we have been here for years.

Call buttons and answering red phones should have been covered during orientation. There are specifically mentioned on several task lists HR is supposed to cover.

But yeah, training is practically non-existent. Case in point: Target is paying to have Market Source (Target Mobile) trained on the replacement plans so they can turn around and explain replacement plans to electronics team members, and then collect surveys on the experience after the fact. Cannot spend any payroll getting team members trained!

 

[GlitterBerries]

Yeah In orientation they basically said if there is a call in your area grab it and if a guest pushes a call button get it. No idea you had to dial # and then the number to pick up the call and no idea you push a button on the side of the phone to stop it until I figured it out on my own today lol it was nuts. I know it's crazy busy now but you gotta tell the noobs how to do those things instead of screaming over the mic and ignoring the hey what do I do response

 

[PinkZinnia]

I was there 3 years. I don't think I would know how to use a phone on the floor. Not even sure if they were ever used. As far as the call buttons. I couldn't tell you were any of them were, except for jewelry. I only know because I knocked it on the floor a few times when we kept the front end schedule on the jewlery counter - which by the way, made the jewlery counter look pretty trashy and cluttered.

 

[GlitterBerries]

I was there 3 years. I don't think I would know how to use a phone on the floor. Not even sure if they were ever used.

Yeah it's easy Now that I know but I also don't know where all the phones are so if I don't know the area I'm running around trying to find the guest. It's just not needed to yell at us on the mic knowing we were never told.

 

[GlitterBerries]

I also don't know why I keep saying mic for walkie haha

 

[PinkZinnia]

Managment micromanaging is not needed at all. They should pay more attention to doing their own jobs instead of being wardens. Maybe more would get accomplished.

But you know, they are highly edgemecated, and need to tell us stupid folk what to do because putting items on a shelf or folding a shirt in a timely manner is very hard to do if you don't have an edgemecation

 

[GlitterBerries]

Managment micromanaging is not needed at all. They should pay more attention to doing their own jobs instead of being wardens. Maybe more would get accomplished.

But you know, they are highly edgemecated, and need to tell us stupid folk what to do because putting items on a shelf or folding a shirt in a timely manner is very hard to do if you don't have an edgemecation

Hahaha yeah that's kinda how it is. I chalked it up to being busy for the holidays but dang. It comes off like I'm an idiot because they assume I'm a wizard and know everything magically.

 

[Produce Queen]

Target's training philosophy is pretty much sink or swim.

 

[GlitterBerries]

Target's training philosophy is pretty much sink or swim.

I've noticed lol. Im swimming but I just don't like if they know they never showed any new people that they get bent outta shape and scream over the walkie

 

[Stubio]

You will get thrown to the wolves and learn things as you go a long, even new ETLs will have to figure things on the spot.

 

[SnorlaxTM]

You will get thrown to the wolves and learn things as you go a long, even new ETLs will have to figure things on the spot.

It's always interesting watching new ETLs. There's those that can silver tongue their way out of a tricky conversation with an angry guest and then there's those that regurgitate what's on our policy board.

Essentially my training for any location is basic enough to get me through a majority of the tasks at hand. Everything else is learned through other TMs, Workbench, Redwire or here. Mostly here as of late.

 

[BlueSide]

I've noticed lol. Im swimming but I just don't like if they know they never showed any new people that they get bent outta shape and scream over the walkie

It's likely that they don't know. It's probably an ETL or TL yelling over the walkie, and they assume your trainer actually trained you.

 

[squirrely]

The training is definitely sparse these days. That being said, there are always things to learn at the store. For example, I've been at Target for more than a year and just learned how to do a return the other day.

 

[indigo25]

When I'm training new people for HL I try to teach them all the things I wish I would have known (like last night I realized I wish I had known where commonly asked for items like light bulbs and paper plates were), and of course the basics like clearing the phones and such. Part of the problem for me is I'm the market TL and I get scheduled as the only person in market, but still have to train people in another department. I try to gauge how fast someone is picking it up and see if they might be able to push abandons or CAFs after a bit of basics of the MyDevice/price scanners and how to read labels. I'd love to spend more time, but it's hard when they want my tasks done and people to be experts after 4 hours. Anyone not completely new should be able to answer questions so if you have a moment nearby another TM or TL they should be able to answer questions. I feel awful about how little training I can actually do.

 

[Dijkstra]

Not long ago, I posted in frustration at a lack of training a friend had. Honestly, there's not much anyone can do, though. My friend was hired a month or two before the seasonal hires, and now, he's having to help them learn. Pretty crazy considering that he was frustrated and worried about his own lack of training not long before they came along. Suddenly, that fear went away. Why? He suddenly realized how little they knew in comparison and realized how much he really did know at that point. It just took two months or so to get there even if he still has issues.

The truth is that no one can tell you how to do the job outside of the basics. It takes time, and trust me, it takes much longer than you think it should. Why? To accomplish everything "expected" of you, you have to know the store, the aisles, the general locations for things, and all of the protocols and procedures that come from just working day to day. Anything you don't know, ask even if you've already asked. If you're asking how to backstock something for the 30th time, you might get some annoyed looks, but if you're wondering where to place backstock for a certain item that you're unsure of to make sure you're not pissing off your pals in the backroom, ask them. My friend is still asking questions or making sure things are supposed to be done a certain way in rare cases, but he's been told that his desire to learn and get it right is a major positive.

MyDevices help a whole lot, and for anyone relatively new, they're a must. After a few months, though, not having one just means that you'll have to call the back to check whether an item is in stock more. It's intimidating at first to see people spouting off the exact location of items, but soon, you'll realize they learned that after looking a million times.

As for the walkies, communicate. Always communicate. Hear a hardlines call come along, but you're across the store? A simple "Hey, I'm on the other side of the store. Can someone else grab that?" is all it takes... and then if no one responds with 15 seconds left, get to sprinting! Seriously, though, don't stress. Every person has made the same mistakes, struggled with the same things, and had the same emotions. Just go out there, try to be an asset to the people you're working with, and you'll be fine.

 

[GlitterBerries]

It's likely that they don't know. It's probably an ETL or TL yelling over the walkie, and they assume your trainer actually trained you.

It was an LOD each time

 

[GlitterBerries]

Not long ago, I posted in frustration at a lack of training a friend had. Honestly, there's not much anyone can do, though. My friend was hired a month or two before the seasonal hires, and now, he's having to help them learn. Pretty crazy considering that he was frustrated and worried about his own lack of training not long before they came along. Suddenly, that fear went away. Why? He suddenly realized how little they knew in comparison and realized how much he really did know at that point. It just took two months or so to get there even if he still has issues.

The truth is that no one can tell you how to do the job outside of the basics. It takes time, and trust me, it takes much longer than you think it should. Why? To accomplish everything "expected" of you, you have to know the store, the aisles, the general locations for things, and all of the protocols and procedures that come from just working day to day. Anything you don't know, ask even if you've already asked. If you're asking how to backstock something for the 30th time, you might get some annoyed looks, but if you're wondering where to place backstock for a certain item that you're unsure of to make sure you're not pissing off your pals in the backroom, ask them. My friend is still asking questions or making sure things are supposed to be done a certain way in rare cases, but he's been told that his desire to learn and get it right is a major positive.

MyDevices help a whole lot, and for anyone relatively new, they're a must. After a few months, though, not having one just means that you'll have to call the back to check whether an item is in stock more. It's intimidating at first to see people spouting off the exact location of items, but soon, you'll realize they learned that after looking a million times.

As for the walkies, communicate. Always communicate. Hear a hardlines call come along, but you're across the store? A simple "Hey, I'm on the other side of the store. Can someone else grab that?" is all it takes... and then if no one responds with 15 seconds left, get to sprinting! Seriously, though, don't stress. Every person has made the same mistakes, struggled with the same things, and had the same emotions. Just go out there, try to be an asset to the people you're working with, and you'll be fine.

For sure. I've learned alot and cab basically function on my own just little things like the phones and I'm saying in the walkie I have never done it someone just tell me what to do and the LOD ignores me but keep yelling whose going to get that it's like just tell me how and I will!! Lol

 

[enaidyl]

Our store apparently doesn't have a problem with this. I got about 18 hours, spread over two weeks, of shadow training before they let me loose on my own. Almost seemed like over kill.

 

[GlitterBerries]

Our store apparently doesn't have a problem with this. I got about 18 hours, spread over two weeks, of shadow training before they let me loose on my own. Almost seemed like over kill.

Yeah I was scheduled for training for a week but because I picked up everything in a day or 2 I didn't shadow anymore but never realized they didn't exactly go through everything until something came up I never heard of lol which I know happens anywhere you can't really go through everything but the phone calls and help calls I would assume are important lol

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

A major key for training is a willingness to learn & listen to your trainer.

 

[theflowspot]

I have the same issue.

This past weekend I was scheduled to work hardlines on the sales floor. They handed me a walkie and a mydevice and sent me on my merry way. I was not prepared for the amount of questions I would be asked but I managed to survive.

Next week I am on a cashier shift with no training and my GSTL just said she would train me that day during the shift. I hate walking into my job with no sense of what I am doing.

 

[hrdlnz]

I was hired as summer seasonal earlier this year and I was barely trained. I spent a lot of time crying in TSC because I felt lost and helpless and I though I was alone in this, that I had just been given a trainer that didn't care.

But these last few weeks with all the winter seasonal TMs starting I've realized it's a much bigger problem. I work during the hours training would typically happen in my store and I have not seen any training happen. I've been the only hardlines TM for awhile now but now there are a handful of seasonals, and they know how to do nothing. I try my best to teach them as much as I can but I'm not a trainer and honestly there are still some things I'm not great at. I don't get why we even hire all these TMs if they aren't even trained to help guests. Anyway, my best advice is don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't only rely on your LOD for help. If you're even slightly unsure of something, ask for help over the walkie. It's better to ask and do it right than try to figure something out and do it wrong.

 

[Wyzard]

Hi there GlitterBerries. I was just hired two weeks ago at Target and also feel like you. About 20 of us all were interviewed and hired the same day. In fact, we all oriented too. We watched about an hour or two of videos and computer answer question things and then we were on the sales floor. The second day, I was trained for 10 minutes on cashier and then put on as cashier with a TM walking around to each register greeting the guests but who also was there to help newbies with questions. It was easy but also hard because I didn't know the structure of the register and kept getting stumped. Also, I hated that people were in hurry to get through the line with their groceries and here I am a slow newbie. In any case, it's a challenge and this is how the retail industry can be. It's sink or swim, but I know I'll get it in no time. The cool thing is that there is always something new to learn, no matter how long someone has been there. They also look at me funny as if I'm supposed to know certain things, but I ignore it and move on as I've got a purpose for why I'm working there in the first place. It's their lack of emotional IQ and professional communication skills, which if they don't work to improve will only cost them in job promotions, friendships and ultimately self-respect.

 

[Kartman]

Great attitude, Wyzard.