Archived Newbie with a question

[RankOne]

Honestly this doesn't seem malicious as much as it seems annoying. You remind me of a cart attendant we once had who constantly needed to be the center of attention. Constantly butting into statuses between leaders, pretending to know the motives behind decisions made, attempting to prove how much he thought he REALLY knew in comparison to everyone else. Turns out to be the least productive on the team despite claiming to know the inside scoop.

That kind of behavior stems from a certain type of personality and I'm sire we've all had someone like that.

While not all you stated about AP is accurate, its not hard to find a lot of info about AP on the internet. Even though AP is generally aware how much of some of the "secrets" are online, announcing your knowledge of this stuff is bound to get you watched a little closer for at least some amount of time.

 

[Retail Girl]

you don't care at all ? not even a bit curious ?

No. Why would I be? I assume if that's something Spot felt I needed to know, they would tell me about a month after they wanted me to know it. Frankly, you work with people long enough, and you figure out some patterns and some possible reasons behind it. But beyond that, it isn't worth the energy to figure out a system that is none of our business.

 

[targetsecrets]

I'm not being vain or conceited, and I'm just quoting others by saying this, but I'm "gorgeous" and I barely get Red Cards, in the front end or in Electronics. It is basically luck mixed with the power of persuasion--not the attractiveness of the person--that gets people Red Cards.
Plus, the 3 main people who sell red cards are the older men at my store.

attractiveness is just one of the factors I didn't say its the only one. I mean it doesn't hurt your chances of getting red cards well just put it that way lol.

 

[targetsecrets]

Honestly this doesn't seem malicious as much as it seems annoying. You remind me of a cart attendant we once had who constantly needed to be the center of attention. Constantly butting into statuses between leaders, pretending to know the motives behind decisions made, attempting to prove how much he thought he REALLY knew in comparison to everyone else. Turns out to be the least productive on the team despite claiming to know the inside scoop.

That kind of behavior stems from a certain type of personality and I'm sire we've all had someone like that.

While not all you stated about AP is accurate, its not hard to find a lot of info about AP on the internet. Even though AP is generally aware how much of some of the "secrets" are online, announcing your knowledge of this stuff is bound to get you watched a little closer for at least some amount of time.

yeah no malicious intent or any intent on hurting target in anyway I actually really enjoy working for them. just wanting some info thats all.

 

[targetsecrets]

Honestly this doesn't seem malicious as much as it seems annoying. You remind me of a cart attendant we once had who constantly needed to be the center of attention. Constantly butting into statuses between leaders, pretending to know the motives behind decisions made, attempting to prove how much he thought he REALLY knew in comparison to everyone else. Turns out to be the least productive on the team despite claiming to know the inside scoop.

That kind of behavior stems from a certain type of personality and I'm sire we've all had someone like that.

While not all you stated about AP is accurate, its not hard to find a lot of info about AP on the internet. Even though AP is generally aware how much of some of the "secrets" are online, announcing your knowledge of this stuff is bound to get you watched a little closer for at least some amount of time.

all of the info I stated was told to me by AP team members directly. could be wrong though who knows.

 

[commiecorvus]

My suggestion is for you to spend a day or two reading threads and the wiki.
You'll probably come away with most of what you need and then some.

 

[targetsecrets]

My suggestion is for you to spend a day or two reading threads and the wiki.
You'll probably come away with most of what you need and then some.

lol I doubt I will find what I am wanting to know. probably only an HR ETL would know what I'm wanting to know. and they won't tell. and Annie stopped sharing info

 

[commiecorvus]

lol I doubt I will find what I am wanting to know. probably only an HR ETL would know what I'm wanting to know. and they won't tell. and Annie stopped sharing info

I think you're wrong.
You are looking for an overall answer that is a bit hidden but can be found in the tone and specifics of the 'how do I hours' and 'what is spot looking for' threads.
There are a lot of them so I suggest you block out some time but the answers are there.

 

[mrknownothing]

lol I doubt I will find what I am wanting to know. probably only an HR ETL would know what I'm wanting to know. and they won't tell. and Annie stopped sharing info

Actually, it's the other way around. You'll find a lot more info here than you'll get our of your ETL-HR. ETLs don't generally like to share their "secrets" with their underlings, especially ETLs-HR.

 

[Chewie]

Here's how it works.

The computer generates a schedule based on a bunch of arbitrary statistics like availability, speed scores, how much revenue you bring in per shift, etc. . The program that does this sucks; it will sometimes go as far as assigning people to work in workcenters that they are not even trained in. Its only real purpose is to input names into spots so HR doesn't get bogged down with basic data entry.

HR un****s everything the program screws up.

Department teamleads go back, and tweak the schedule based on which people they like and which people they do not like.
Teamleads like people that make them look good. Teamleads dislike people that make them look bad regardless of their innate demeanor.

This company revolves around results, and ****ty, non-representative statistics. Nothing more.

 

[targetsecrets]

Here's how it works.

The computer generates a schedule based on a bunch of arbitrary statistics like availability, speed scores, how much revenue you bring in per shift, etc. . The program that does this sucks; it will sometimes go as far as assigning people to work in workcenters that they are not even trained in. Its only real purpose is to input names into spots so HR doesn't get bogged down with basic data entry.

HR un****s everything the program screws up.

Department teamleads go back, and tweak the schedule based on which people they like and which people they do not like.
Teamleads like people that make them look good. Teamleads dislike people that make them look bad regardless of their innate demeanor.

This company revolves around results, and ****ty, non-representative statistics. Nothing more.

interesting thanks for the info

 

[FrontEndKnowItAll]

I think the simple way to look at the scheduling process is this. Max ha a "generate" function that will come up with some random ass schedule that is supposed to work, however, it does not do that good of a job so most execs or TLs or whoever writes the schedule for your dept will usually write their own. And like Chewie said TLs like people that make them look good.

When I wrote the schedule for my dept I had a 4 people that had full availability. One of them got 40 hours working mids because he was good at it. One got 40 hours working morning/truck shifts because that was what he was good at. One got 30-35ish of whatever was leftover and another got 20-25 of closing weeknights b/c he wasn't very productive/efficient.

When I wrote the schedule my focus on what is going to make my dept run the most efficiently, not what my employees specifically wanted to work. Saying that I would take days off and everything into consideration and made sure that they either ended up with every other weekend or consecutive days off each week. I tried to be fair but business needs were the primary concern of mine.

Just think about it... On any given week I would be given my 250 hours for the week. Between TL and PFresh that got 40 there was 170 left to schedule. Take out another 40 for our fruit cutter and we had 130 to schedule between 4 people thus you would like to think that everyone else got 32.5 but that isn't how I looked at it. I had an employee that was at least twice as productive as another one so why wouldn't I fill him up to 40? I would be shooting myself in the foot if I didn't use my effective TMs more than the others. It made my dept look better, it made my life less stressful, and it made the lives of my other TMs less stressful.

So the answer to your question might be that not everyone is going to get the same shifts with the same availability, but, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I am sure that your TL is writing the schedule with pretty much the same logic that I used when I worked at Target. It's just part of management and as far as hours and scheduling goes thats how it works if you are in any sort of service industry, not just at Target.

 

[targetsecrets]

I think the simple way to look at the scheduling process is this. Max ha a "generate" function that will come up with some random ass schedule that is supposed to work, however, it does not do that good of a job so most execs or TLs or whoever writes the schedule for your dept will usually write their own. And like Chewie said TLs like people that make them look good.

When I wrote the schedule for my dept I had a 4 people that had full availability. One of them got 40 hours working mids because he was good at it. One got 40 hours working morning/truck shifts because that was what he was good at. One got 30-35ish of whatever was leftover and another got 20-25 of closing weeknights b/c he wasn't very productive/efficient.

When I wrote the schedule my focus on what is going to make my dept run the most efficiently, not what my employees specifically wanted to work. Saying that I would take days off and everything into consideration and made sure that they either ended up with every other weekend or consecutive days off each week. I tried to be fair but business needs were the primary concern of mine.

Just think about it... On any given week I would be given my 250 hours for the week. Between TL and PFresh that got 40 there was 170 left to schedule. Take out another 40 for our fruit cutter and we had 130 to schedule between 4 people thus you would like to think that everyone else got 32.5 but that isn't how I looked at it. I had an employee that was at least twice as productive as another one so why wouldn't I fill him up to 40? I would be shooting myself in the foot if I didn't use my effective TMs more than the others. It made my dept look better, it made my life less stressful, and it made the lives of my other TMs less stressful.

So the answer to your question might be that not everyone is going to get the same shifts with the same availability, but, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I am sure that your TL is writing the schedule with pretty much the same logic that I used when I worked at Target. It's just part of management and as far as hours and scheduling goes thats how it works if you are in any sort of service industry, not just at Target.

hmm sweet thanks for the info. maybe there is no top secret information that I was hoping for lol

 

[mrknownothing]

HR un****s everything the program screws up.

Or, in the case of my store, HR makes it worse. The schedule ends up changing at least five times after it gets posted because the ETLs have to fix (!) everything that our HR TL ****ed up. And that's not including shift swaps.

Also, is your full name Chewbacca?

 

[redeye58]

Likewise with frontend.
You may have a cashier who's friendly, gets lots of apps & has a good score but she calls out whenever there's a big-name band in town, has punctuality issues & overstays her breaks. That negates the positives somewhat.
You have a cart attendant who can clear a lot in 15 minutes, stay on top of clean-ups & keeps the hangers picked up. But he's notorious for standing around outside chatting up girls or on his cell & disappears from the front on more than one occasion. Again, negatives erase the positive.

 

[Juan_Valdez]

There's an inherent conflict, that is present to some extent in every company, and will always be present. From an employee relations point-of-view, which is HRs primary concern, the following should always be true: On average, and over time, the greater your availability, the greater will be your average weekly hours. Operating from a pure leadership model, a leader should only worry about leading the team she's given. The leader is charged with consistently acheiving marginal improvements in the performace of every person on her team. This would effectively raise the overall - or average - performance of her team. In theory, it shouldn't matter who is scheduled when. Also, if someone is a poor performer, as a leader, you would actually want more chances to observe their work, and thus deliver more meaningful and frequent feedback/coachings/CA's. There are many reasons this entire model doesn't fit the reality. Suffice it to say that the inherent conflict between employee relations and performance expectations will always exist. And yes, I do the schedule, and fight on the side of employee relations.

 

[targetsecrets]

interesting thoughts. my store is super low volume so we probably don't even have to worry about the business need much at all its mostly just availability.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

If you work hard/well, you will get notice & get more hours. Learn other work centers is a great thing.

 

[redeye58]

Hey, Juan; long time no see.
Welcome back.

 

[LifeCenterOfTheBullseye]

LOL at people thinking there is a program that rates your speed scores, etc.

Want the truth. Tell us your availability. Are you someone that can only work 4p-close and wonder why you only get 15 hours a week? Do you have open availability? I'd bet my Target 401k no

 

[OvernightSunshine]

I'm sitting at a steady 30-39, but I also beg to train in every work area I can....Plus the TL's & ETL's have been reminded I keep spare red & khaki in the car complete with optional cape and lasso of amazing vibe

 

[targetsecrets]

LOL at people thinking there is a program that rates your speed scores, etc.

Want the truth. Tell us your availability. Are you someone that can only work 4p-close and wonder why you only get 15 hours a week? Do you have open availability? I'd bet my Target 401k no

why do you think you are required to enter your TM number everytime you log into a cash register. well one of the reasons is that all of your stats and information is used in scheduling I am sure. and people who work HR said in this thread that speed scores, red card apps, and things like that are factored into the computer program.

now as far as sales floor and things like that who knows what all is factored in probably just availability, sales numbers during your shift, etc.

 

[StateofTarget]

why do you think you are required to enter your TM number everytime you log into a cash register. well one of the reasons is that all of your stats and information is used in scheduling I am sure. and people who work HR said in this thread that speed scores, red card apps, and things like that are factored into the computer program.

now as far as sales floor and things like that who knows what all is factored in probably just availability, sales numbers during your shift, etc.

On workbench there is something called DTK. All of your cashier scores (speed, etc) go on that report.

Your DTK scores have *zero* to do with scheduling.

Yes, I suppose your ETL could say "Hey, I am going to schedule based on speed scores...." but that would be totally on them, and not something that was done automatically on the MAX scheduling system.

 

[Retail Girl]

interesting thoughts. my store is super low volume so we probably don't even have to worry about the business need much at all its mostly just availability.

I'm also at a ULV. In some ways, that means that business needs are that much more important! When there aren't as many TMs in the store, the ones you have scheduled had better be the better ones and leave the lesser quality for when you need more quantity. Of course this only works to a point, but if there are only a couple of TMs in hardlines, they need to be the ones with their acts together.

 

[TheManInRed]

why do you think you are required to enter your TM number everytime you log into a cash register. well one of the reasons is that all of your stats and information is used in scheduling I am sure. and people who work HR said in this thread that speed scores, red card apps, and things like that are factored into the computer program.

now as far as sales floor and things like that who knows what all is factored in probably just availability, sales numbers during your shift, etc.

Ok, I have decided to break confidentiality and tell you the truth...

Each region has a secret underground facility whose sole purpose is to do the schedule for each store. They have sophisticated technology that not only tracks everything that you do when you walk in the front door, but after you leave as well. Each team member starts with the company at a base score depending on your background and your interview scores. The base score is what determines how many hours you are scheduled. The software uses the stores cameras with facial recognition software to follow your actions on the floor. Every time it sees you help a little old lady reach something off of the top shelf, your base score raises. If you walk by a guest without asking "CIHYFS" your base score lowers. This same technology is tapped into a huge network of cameras outside the store too. They are watching you at the convenience store, the ATM, and also at traffic cameras. Every action you take will be recorded and used to calculate your base score. The higher your base score is, the more hours you will get. It's the secret underground lab's job to analyze this data to make the schedule.
The great thing about this program is that every person employed at these facilities has been test tube babies made from the genetically altered DNA of our companies most successful leaders. They are sworn to secrecy from birth. They only work a contract until they are 25 years old, then they are shipped off to a remote luxurious island to live out the rest of their days sipping drinks and reading "50 shades of grey".
I hope you're happy, you have finally broken me. The team is probably on their way to apprehend me even as I am typing this since their software can watch me with my own webcam. Just remember the next time you are at a gas station buying coffee and doughnuts that your base score will raise if you opt for a cup of fruit instead of those fatty doughnuts, so ask yourself "Do I want more hours???".