Archived Store Morale

should I coach that TM for playing pokemon go on the job?

  • NO! There's a Mew in the backroom!!!!

    Votes: 21 40.4%

  • Yes, and then catch the pokemon they were searching for.

    Votes: 31 59.6%
  • Total voters
    52
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Sez2798

Sez2798

Joined
Mar 20, 2016
Messages
36
What does your store do to keep morale up? Ive partnered with my ETL-HR to gather ideas on how we can put some life back into our store. All the TMs, TLs, even the ETLs feel like they are in a slump. Even I feel fatigued and bleh. I dont care if your idea sounds silly when you type it out, I want to hear it! Thanks!
 
for the vote, as long as they are getting the job done and not being to visable infront of guests while doing it, who cares?

as for the Morale, as AP I walk the store and like to chat with everyone.
 
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What's morale?

Dave1988 said:
As for the Morale, as AP I walk the store and like to chat with everyone.
Click to expand...

I like to do the same, but it doesn't help to counter the extreme bullshit my fellow team members have to put up with. My friends that I started off in hardlines with are feeling kind of abandoned since I left them for AP, and I can't help but feel bad for them as I see things going from bad to worse.
 
Sez2798 said:
What does your store do to keep morale up? Ive partnered with my ETL-HR to gather ideas on how we can put some life back into our store. All the TMs, TLs, even the ETLs feel like they are in a slump. Even I feel fatigued and bleh. I dont care if your idea sounds silly when you type it out, I want to hear it! Thanks!
Click to expand...
STL should be bringing in these ideas for support and morale boosts. But if I were to have a few ideas I'd say, breakfast on HR a couple times a week and some congratulating on your hard work. Possibly some insight on what is going right and how what is going wrong can easily be fixed. Keep your head up, work is important but it's not everything. Good day. :)
 
Good god. One of our closing BRTM was playing Pokemon go and catching them in Waco's and electronics lockup laughing about pulling them. We had 36 cafs in the gun, I about snapped.
 
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I have no idea what leadership does to boost morale. Either I haven't noticed, or they don't do anything and let it pass. "Fun" stuff is already scheduled for different days throughout the month anyway, so I'm assuming they just rely on that schedule for their morale boosts. Once, everyone got to go home early on a really slow night. Everyone got to leave 15 after closing, instead of the usual 45.

If you're looking for suggestions, I can list a few. Obviously no major changes are really possible, but, being well staffed when it's busy would be great. Having a clean breakroom helps.

Food. Food is great! Requisition some ice cream maybe? Bowl of candy or energy bars? Something besides the picked over PB&J would be nice. If morale is really low, why not catering? Is that seriously not in the budget? I don't expect that to be all the time of course, but I've never seen free lunch for TMs for the sake of nothing. It's always for holidays. Which, don't get me wrong, is great and I appreciate it. But I think doing it at least once, on more spontaneous and thoughtful terms would be a great morale boost. Maybe plan it for a day that it notoriously busy, and a lot of people are scheduled, so a lot of TMs get to enjoy the treats. That would be perfect in my store right now. It's hot, we're understaffed, and guests are needy and cranky. TMs look so defeated in the breakroom this past week.

You know, just something fun that everyone can enjoy. I'd suggest games, but, then you have the obligation of participation.

Why not give everyone 5 extra minutes on their break for a day?

We have cable in our breakroom. Pretty cool, but there was a time where they used to have movies for us. I don't know why they stopped, I'm assuming the DVD player finally crapped out from being on all day. But, it was cool getting to see relatively new releases. I don't think it's practical to requisition a movie every time we get new releases. I think what the case was in my store, our old ETL-HR would just buy movies for herself, and then play them in the breakroom for everyone. I just think that's cool. She shared her movies with everyone, and she just trusted that no one would steal the DVDs either.

Seeing leadership actively helping out with guests is pretty good. I work up front, so when an LOD helps me at GS, or hops on a lane, or helps a guest to their car, or watches the lanes for the GSTL, those are pretty impressive moves I think. I think it shows that they've got our back.

Really, I think the biggest thing that effects moral at a store level is just everyone's attitudes. A lot of really positive, energetic, people left our store all at once. Current leadership is great too, but, it feels like this newest crew are just a bunch of zombies. I hate placing expectations on others for thinking they should feel and behave a certain way, but, if you're the LOD, your attitude can set the tone for the whole store.
 
The Dude Abides said:
Pay the damned team members a living wage.
Click to expand...
Not just the damned ones!!!
nervous.gif
 
Last year we had a really amazing ETL-HR and she bought Bob Evans everyday for a week during back to school. There's not much better of a morale boost and mood booster than a free hot breakfast to look forward to after 4 hours of hard work at 2am.
 
These are a few things that I think would have a big impact on my store's morale. When I speak to other TM at my store they are complaining about being unappreciated, being expected to do work that used to be done by three people all by themselves, etc so I personally feel like if the following things would change at our store people would be much happier while working.

1) Thank the TM or tell them good job even if they are just doing their normal tasks. For example, if someone says over the walkie that they just finished zoning D block and are moving onto C block on just respond with "thanks for zoning that" or "good job zoning D block" instead of "hurry up and move onto C block". I know it is our job to do these things, but a simple thank you or good job goes a long way. Being thanked happens so little at our store that when it does happen the TM are sometimes confused and wonder if the leader is being sarcastic or something which I think is kind of sad.

2) Work on communication. Often things are said once, like randomly at a huddle, and then never mentioned again so it kind puts TM in a position where they are forced to tell others and create hearsay. Or if all the TM are kept in the dark people will start to speculate which I imagine isn't good for morale.

3) Requisition items for the sales floor TM instead of just for when cashiers get REDcards. I know this is a big sore spot at our store, knowing that cashiers get prizes quite regularly and a sales floor TM can go above and beyond and not get anything. If one person zones all of softlines after a very busy day; let them pick something from Bullseye's Playground. Someone agreed to stay late a couple days in a row because people called in maybe requisition a candy bar. The fitting room TM saw someone was being suspicious, contacted AP, and was able to recover a bunch of merchandise; why not give them a five dollar gift card.

4) Having leadership help out with tasks that are supposed to TM tasks would also help with morale. Like @Target NPC said; it shows you've got our backs.
 
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Seriously, I always really appreciated a compliment. I get that it's a job && "perfection" is my goal every shift. But seriously, take a moment to acknowledge something positive as you pass by. Even if you have to come tell me I need to do x and y over, or this better , etc - give me a quick word to acknowledge I've accomplished something and you took a second to notice.

In that same vein, realize that team members are people. I never have had any issues with anyone in my store - but I know which of my leaders know anything about it and which don't. We may not be best friends - heck I may not even prefer you - but I appreciate that you take a second to acknowledge I have purpose and existence outside of folding clothes ...

I also wish in my store at least that we would be actually empowered in a meaningful way. I have a pet peeve in the fitting room of fellow FRO who leave baskets and carts of mess and repack. I made it my mission to always come clean, even on other peoples messes - because that was my thing. I know many of my fellow tms who have similar "passions" for certain tasks / improvements. Take a listen to their suggestions. Actually consider implementing their ideas or giving them "management" over specific tasks. -- I had a back room tl who constantly would come by and give me a personal shout out over just keeping a clean fitting room. ... I get everyone should do it. But I appreciated I was acknowledged, and eventually the leadership saw I was reigning in a problem && backed me up. (You have no idea how thrilled I was over that).

I also really loved my tms. I get that's not everywhere. But every once in a while a few of the older / veteran members would plan like a little potluck - especially around the holidays. I wish I had been around on some of those weekends to participate. It'd have been really nice to see some of my leadership organize or participate too. Make it some kind of contest ( I.e. Chili cook off) -- or even a fun fundraiser (I.e. Bake sale, with proceeds going to a charity voted on by the store). -- Itd have been nice to see some effort in this vein, or similar, to bridge all the different departments -- we are one store. It'd be nice if leadership tried to help unify the store, instead of allowing all the crappiness and blame throwing to happen.
 
Leadership ....treat people the way you want to be treated. Better yet, treat people the way you would want your child, mother, father, brother, sister,spouse bf, gf treated etc etc, In matter of fact if all tms ( not just leadership) it would make Spot a much better place and the world for that matter.
 
Usually it's some sort of food for the logistics team. I have no idea what they do for the rest of the store.

I pay little attention to the attitudes of people on the floor... because I'm rarely on the floor anyway!
 
Morale starts at the top. When the Execs, senior team leads and team leads can't even get on the same page it doesn't exist. The leadership needs to work as one, not against each other. Egos need to be put away for the greater good.

One looses respect for a leader when they toss another leader under the proverbial bus. When you hear negative talk every day from a leader, be it directly or indirect, it does sink in to the mindset of the team.

These Exec meetings are a waste of time if you don't stay with the plan.

Look at the general mindset of the team as they go about their day and you will see what the leadership is and isn't doing properly.
 
Open up the hours, hire, and schedule according to the needs of the store. Nothing sucks more than weeks on end of busting your butt and accomplishing nothing bc there's not enough TMs on the floor to keep up with the workload. It's freaking BTS. I am so tired of my store looking like a hot mess with Zs and carts of reshop at the FR. And no free pizza is going to make up for that.
 
StrawberryBanana said:
4) Having leadership help out with tasks that are supposed to TM tasks would also help with morale. Like @Target NPC said; it shows you've got our backs.
Click to expand...

I had one ETL who did the exact opposite of this, and poor morale showed every night we had to close with him. He'd send people to one end of the store to fix something that he could have easily done himself. He'd then continue his final check of the zone and, with his mental map, assign the furthest person from that point to go fix that. It was usually little things like picking up a sign off the floor or OCD-straighten one item on an endcap. One person actually told him to go f**k himself over the walkie one night because he was in an air-cast while he recovered from an ankle injury.
 
Going from TM to SrTL gives me a lot of perspective on what TM's like to see from leaders. When I close, I will always have huddle except maybe on a weekend when the store is trashed. I will push batches, sort the fitting room, etc. I will always have a zone when I close. It might not be the biggest zone, but I really try to be part of the team, not a supervisor.
 
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