Archived How do I deal with new hires?

[Hardlinesmaster]

This is so bizarre to me because I was looking for any advice or help I could get when I started (still do) and was grateful for it. I definitely wasn't screwing around or chatting it up when trying to learn the best way to do the job.

At some stores, spot will write you up helping another tm. Not my store.

 

[sfslackey]

At some stores, spot will write you up helping another tm. Not my store.

What is the logic behind that? I wasn't even trained by my TLs when I started. The only people that really trained me were my teammates. Good thing my store doesn't do that either because that is ridiculous.

 

[Pattern Finder]

Piggy backing on a lot of posted replies, it really is best to—as the fellow kids say it—stay in your line. It’s best to keep a leveled head and continue on with your responsibilities. If they are being rude and slacking off, that will eventually take a toll on them. They will most likely not last long. If they are affecting the workplace more negatively than necessary like disappearing to the Men’s stockroom for 1 or 2 hours+ or being on their phone for their entire shift and putting more workload for other TMs to finish, reporting that to your TL or ETL makes sense.

I don’t think these TMs’ age should be relevant though. Anyone of any generation is capable of displaying rude and disrespectful behavior to anyone else of the same or different generation

 

[StargazerOmega]

I don’t think these TMs’ age should be relevant though. Anyone of any generation is capable of displaying rude and disrespectful behavior to anyone else of the same or different generation

This is a good point. I've seen and or experienced this many times unfortunately. If the TMs are slacking and not pulling weight, I'm betting leadership already knows and is keeping an eye on them, especially if they're at 90 days or less. At the end of the day, you just have to say to yourself 'Oh well. Not how I would do it, but OK' and let it go.

 

[Shani]

At some stores, spot will write you up helping another tm. Not my store.

I don't think they got written up for it, but one TM got talked to twice for helping struggling TMs in other areas.

The TMs they were helping were older people who got stuck in areas with furniture and other heavy items that they physically had trouble with or couldn't lift at all. And it's not like that TM did their whole area for them, just helped them with a few things they couldn't lift.

 

[jenna]

I don't think they got written up for it, but one TM got talked to twice for helping struggling TMs in other areas.

The TMs they were helping were older people who got stuck in areas with furniture and other heavy items that they physically had trouble with or couldn't lift at all. And it's not like that TM did their whole area for them, just helped them with a few things they couldn't lift.

Getting coached for a Team Lift?

whiskey.tango.foxtrot.

 

[Shani]

Getting coached for a Team Lift?

whiskey.tango.foxtrot.

Right? Obviously whoever's doing furniture is going to need help with it. TMs used to get yelled at if they tried to lift team lift things by themselves, even if they physically could.

 

[JAShands]

We don’t have big furniture out on shelves, just some chairs and small desks. Otherwise it’s displays and signs that say to see a TM for assistance 🤷‍♀️

 

[Tessa120]

There's gotta be more to the story. I wonder if the TM's work center was often a mess and the TM was spending longer than necessary in the other area.

 

[commiecorvus]

Treat them like human beings i.e. how you would want to be treated in the same position?

 

[Shani]

All the TMs I'm referring to here are hard workers. The helper TM is younger and more able-bodied than the probably 60-something TMs they were lending a hand to.

Fuck this company if they're going to encourage berating someone for that.

 

[Sofwgkta]

Truthfully, I read some but not all of the replies. Your post reeks of ego and entitlement. If the problem you have is with everyone (all new hires), then the problem is -you-.

I would venture that you know -nothing- about any of these people aside from your assumption that they are dumb based on their age. Maybe you could try to work with them a bit instead of ignoring them? I don't work with you personally but based off of the tone of your post I would assume they probably don't like you, I wouldn't either. People (in general) don't get a job to be lazy and not care.

The best employee isn't the one that does the best work. It's the one who helps everyone else do their best work. Your individual contribution means nothing if the goal isn't accomplished. You will encounter young people at every job. I would be willing to bet that if your initial response wasn't "ugh new people" and instead "hi im soandso, let me know if you need help, ill check in every so often", they would probably be much more approachable. Your attitude has created an "us vs them" mentality and at this point it probably isn't going away.

If you can't find ways to integrate with the younger generation, then get out of retail. They aren't going away.

I can assure you the issue isn’t *me* as many of my other coworkers have gotten the same attitude/noticed the same laziness from the same people constantly. Since making the post I have done my *very best* to not let what they do bother me. And the only reason I made this *young person* generalization is because it has been *at least at my store* an all too common trend of younger new hires who are probably working in their first job and goof off a lot. On the first day that I worked with these people I did introduce myself and I was always polite. I never did anything to make them start being rude to me if that’s what you’re insinuating. I appreciate your response but it didn’t exactly help. Thanks anyway?

 

[Sofwgkta]

recently my store hired a bunch of new people for softlines. Many of them are young and dumb. Younger than I am. and the amount of attitude and disrespect they give those of us who have been here longer than them is surreal. They try to tell others who have been here longer than them what to do and it’s realllllly starting to piss me off. Most of my shifts I work with them and I try to not listen to them as much as I can but they are just so annoying and pushy it’s incredibly hard to ignore them. It’s nothing so bad that I need to take it to HR, it’s just rude and disrespectful behavior. Talking shit behind my and others’ backs, bossing around when they obviously know nothing, being lazy, and not caring. At the end of the day I know I’m doing my job 200% correctly and I’ve been told I do an amazing job, I’m not sure why these KIDS bother me so much, but they do. Does any one have any advice as to how to deal with them? Should I just ignore more intensely? I need serious advice.

!!!!!!!UPDATE!!!!!!!!!
I appreciate all the *useful* replies!
I ended up ignoring them and just doing my work. At the end of the day, that’s what I’m being paid to do.
Also: enough people *not me because I was off that day* ended up talking to our TL about one of the girls and she got a talking to about the whole situation and has been much nicer since. Glad we got that out of the way!

 

[csmommyof2]

Talk to your HR. Everyone in my section recently had to because we had a TM acting the same way, funny thing is she’s been there longer than any of us but she’s gotten lazy, rude, and disrespectful. She doesn’t absolutely nothing (literally any one of us that come in after she works has her work to do plus our own) we went to our HR and TL and they handled it. We all feel a lot better since we went to them. It got a lot of tension off our chest.