Archived Question About Write-Ups/Coaching

[TheSerenadeGirl]

Hi There! I recently joined Target earlier in the summer & got very limited decent training. Pretty much got only an hour of training, was "thrown to the wolves" pretty quickly, and still ask a lot of my coworkers/team lead questions about any & everything.

So I got coaching/written up today due to a huge mistake and my boss flat out asked me if I got properly trained on the thing which I said barely. She appreciated the honesty and just ask for help since we now have walkies (I am a Cashier) next time but it's shaken me up a lot (I have severe anxiety).

I really do like my job at this particular Target since my good friend recommended me her location since the people there were fantastic even tho its farther away from where I live at. So I want to know the progress of what coaching/write ups mean and if they go away or how many times I can have them until I get fired.

I really like Target since I am on disability and in my job search it was one of the few jobs that worked with disability as well as this Target the management, my coworkers, and the rest of the employees are phenomenally and I don't want to mess up further

So I'd appreciate any advice, guidance, or even comfort since I worry for the future.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Ask for retraining to avoid the event from happening again.

 

[Karen Potts]

It’s just a power play to keep you in line and fearful for your job. Just do what you’re supposed to do and ask for more training. Document when and where your conversation happened. Your conversation I’m sure is already documented somewhere. Just do your best and try not to let this job trigger your anxiety. It’s not worth it for anyone of us at the end of the day.

 

[TheSerenadeGirl]

Ask for retraining to avoid the event from happening again.

That's what I plan to do. Thank you

 

[TheSerenadeGirl]

It’s just a power play to keep you in line and fearful for your job. Just do what you’re supposed to do and ask for more training. Document when and where your conversation happened. Your conversation I’m sure is already documented somewhere. Just do your best and try not to let this job trigger your anxiety. It’s not worth it for anyone of us at the end of the day.

Yeah I can see that. I definitely plan to do that. I'll try my best with my anxiety since its something I've struggled with most of my life. But thank you I appreciate it

 

[happygoth]

It’s just a power play to keep you in line and fearful for your job. Just do what you’re supposed to do and ask for more training. Document when and where your conversation happened. Your conversation I’m sure is already documented somewhere. Just do your best and try not to let this job trigger your anxiety. It’s not worth it for anyone of us at the end of the day.

I am curious, why do you think it was a power play to put fear into them? The OP admits they made a huge mistake, and the leader asked if they were trained, so they were at least trying to find out the cause.

I'm all for raking bad leadership over the coals, but not every coaching or write-up is due to leaders trying to lord it over the TMs. It is actually my experience that most leaders hate doing coachings - I wish they would do more in my store, honestly.

 

[FlowTeamChick]

Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes they can even be big ones. That you got coached instead of outright fired (since you're still in your probationary period, yes?) tells me that they see you're a good TM and want to keep you. It was good that you spoke frankly about not getting properly trained on the issue. A TM asking questions so they can do a better job is a good thing. Take a deep breath, count to 10, whatever to help you remain calm and use that walkie. As you gain confidence, your anxiety will probably fade.
As to if the write-up goes away and how many times a TM can be written up - I've been told that they do go away eventually, but I've been told different time frames, 6 months maybe? And if a TM is written up 3 times for the same thing, it's curtains.

 

[TheSerenadeGirl]

Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes they can even be big ones. That you got coached instead of outright fired (since you're still in your probationary period, yes?) tells me that they see you're a good TM and want to keep you. It was good that you spoke frankly about not getting properly trained on the issue. A TM asking questions so they can do a better job is a good thing. Take a deep breath, count to 10, whatever to help you remain calm and use that walkie. As you gain confidence, your anxiety will probably fade.
As to if the write-up goes away and how many times a TM can be written up - I've been told that they do go away eventually, but I've been told different time frames, 6 months maybe? And if a TM is written up 3 times for the same thing, it's curtains.

As of this Thursday I am over my 90 day probation and even have hours for next week (I am ironically working that day too as well as that Friday). Yes my friend told me her fellow coworkers, other GMs, and higher ups really like me and appreciate how much effort I do. They even commented how punctional I am. I am always early (30 - 35 minutes, a few times an hour) to my shift and only called in sick twice because I was actually really sick twice. So they notice that and appreciate it.

She said it was coaching which is also considered a write up (as my boss said it) but I'm just worried they'll fire me because of a change of heart since companies do do that. So I'm just worried I'll get a call tomorrow (I don't work Mondays) saying they'll fire me. So I'm just doing my best to ease the anxiety and mentally say I am not fired (yet anyways) and planning to go into work on Tuesday.

 

[FlowTeamChick]

So I'm just worried I'll get a call tomorrow (I don't work Mondays) saying they'll fire me.

Time for some positive self-talk. Take your TL at her word and don't assume anything bad will happen. Review those positives, ignore the negatives, and go to work on Tuesday with a smile on your face. And enjoy your day off tomorrow!

 

[Black Sheep 214]

It’s just a power play to keep you in line and fearful for your job. Just do what you’re supposed to do and ask for more training. Document when and where your conversation happened. Your conversation I’m sure is already documented somewhere. Just do your best and try not to let this job trigger your anxiety. It’s not worth it for anyone of us at the end of the day.

This^ 100%! Cross your fingers and do your best. Hopefully things will go well and you will be fine. See how it goes, but if you get another write-up soon, it could be a sign that they are performancing you out, and you might want to start looking for another job before you end up on a final. Not trying to stress you out, just being realistic about the games Spot plays sometimes. Good luck!

If training in your store is so poor that newbies are sent out unprepared to do their jobs, seems like the write up should go to the leaders who are responsible for their training, for their failure to train properly was the cause of the mistake. A “seek to understand” conversation that finds the problem to be a lack of training should end there, and the TM should be given proper training so that the mistake does not happen again. A CCA for a training issue is overkill. The recent write-up mania at Spot is killing morale, it almost seems like they want a paper trail on practically everyone, so they can dump them fast later should the need (or desire) arise.