Archived Strengths and Opportunities

[Retail Girl]

The last one is really key. Cashiers seem to be the ones least likely to ever see themselves on the huddle sheet for recognition, unless they are recognizing for Redcards/attachments. The cashiers could generally put on a Shakespearean play and go unnoticed at my store. So recognizing them (for things beyond Redcards) is really appreciated.

I'm a competitive person, but competitions for things like who can do what the fastest would make it more like work for me, personally.

Be ultra-nice. I am thinking of a TL and SrTL at my store that are so genuinely nice, that most of us are annoyed that we can't say no to them. They never have a bad word to say about anybody, never have a sarcastic or snide remark to say (or even think). I don't know what it is about these two in particular, but they are so calm and laid-back and nice that even the most hardened TM will find themselves doing whatever they ask them to do just to return the niceness.

 

[mrknownothing]

The last one is really key. Cashiers seem to be the ones least likely to ever see themselves on the huddle sheet for recognition, unless they are recognizing for Redcards/attachments. The cashiers could generally put on a Shakespearean play and go unnoticed at my store. So recognizing them (for things beyond Redcards) is really appreciated.

At my store, most of the ETLs don't even know the cashiers' names unless they've ever worked in other workcenters.

LOD: I would like to recognize [cashier] for getting 7 Red Cards in her 4-hour shift yesterday. Great job, [cashier]!
other ETLs, thinking: Who the hell is [cashier]?

Be ultra-nice. I am thinking of a TL and SrTL at my store that are so genuinely nice, that most of us are annoyed that we can't say no to them. They never have a bad word to say about anybody, never have a sarcastic or snide remark to say (or even think). I don't know what it is about these two in particular, but they are so calm and laid-back and nice that even the most hardened TM will find themselves doing whatever they ask them to do just to return the niceness.

Sounds like one of my GSTLs. Even after dealing with a horrifyingly awful guest, she still is happy and refuses to say anything (let alone anything negative) about the situation. For her, life goes on. Follow best practice and go home with the satisfaction of having done everything the "brand" way.

 

[Formina Sage]

I forget what the results of my official assessment were, but I can pretty much call out my Strengths as

- Engages and Inspires others
- Manages Execution
- Collaborates

Opportunities
- Innovates
- Strategizes

I wasn't so much a "planner" as I was a "figure it out as we go"er

 

[redeye58]

I wasn't so much a "planner" as I was a "figure it out as we go"er

Better than an "Oops! Should'na done that!"-er...

 

[nobiliscus]

LOD: I would like to recognize [cashier] for getting 7 Red Cards in her 4-hour shift yesterday. Great job, [cashier]!
other ETLs, thinking: Who the hell is [cashier]?

Extremely accurate....HAH

 

[Retail Girl]

Strengths, from my interview/post interview chat:
-resilient and adaptable
-manages execution

Opp:
-shows courage. Roar.

 

[redeye58]

For RG: http://youtu.be/MUBnxqEVKlk

 

[nib]

Performance reviews are a corporate sham and a pretentious, bogus practice that produces absolutely nothing that any thinking executive should call a corporate plus. The performance review is not a tool that helps bosses evaluate an employees work -- but rather, it's a weapon of mass destruction that takes aim at employee confidence and security, straining workplace relationships and ultimately undermining productivity and morale. It is the most pretentious, fraudulent, ill-advised exercise taking place at companies. Almost 90 percent of employed individuals state dissatisfaction with their current performance review process. Out of the 90 percent of people who want to change something about their performance reviews, 28 percent want them tied to compensation; 31 percent want them to be more fair; and 31 percent said they wanted performance reviews to be done away with completely.Companies want to pretend to be able to measure an employee's performance. Performance cannot be measured objectively, and that "the annual routine {performance measures} is nothing but institutionalized BS. They have no meaning! The focus always seems to be making yourself look good for the review, whether you are a boss or an employeet. Everyone only worries about himself, which corrodes the open lines of communication and the give-and take relationship that bosses and employees should have. Performance reviews pit everyone against everyone else. This "every man for himself" attitude is detrimental to a company, the workplace culture, and the work force.Ideally, performance reviews should be a tool to help workers assess how their role in the company can help it run more effectively. It should be about making positive feedback a regular part of workplace practice so that lines of communication are kept open and honest feedback is a frequent practice. Feedback needs to be constant and consistent. It should be a continuous monitoring review, where managers keep constant track of their employees and how they are performing, and provide frequent feedback. Through this method, reviews are based on actions, not dependent on a time frame or calendar. There should always be an open-door policy so that employees get frequent feedback, even daily, so that there is no stressful buildup to -- or distressing surprises at -- the yearly review.
QUOTE=redeye58;65564]For RG: http://youtu.be/MUBnxqEVKlk[/QUOTE]

 

[punchbuddy]

Strengths:
Resilient and Adaptable
Engages and Inspires others
Strategizes

Opportunities:
Manages Execution
Courage


I find that most of my team members are inspired by me because I'm not afraid to roll my sleeves up and get dirty. A lot of our leadership won't do "TM duties" but I'm right there along with them pushing pulls, working out reshop, responding to back up calls, getting guest service calls. I come home with callused hands, dirty nails, cuts and scrapes, dirty pants. I throw myself into my job with a lot of passion and when I talk to them I'm very animated and passionate. I joke with them, I talk to them about their problems, I care about why their performance has suddenly dropped instead of just lecturing them on needing to preform better. Most of the time they work well for me, though I've been told I act too much like I'm on their level and the line between TL and TM isn't distinguished enough so I'm trying to find a good balance...

 

[MrGSTL]

Strs
Comunicates effectively
Solves problems

Weaknesses
Engages and inspires others

What are some tips for improving upon engaging and inspiring others. I can say ive definitely been trying by writing vibe cards and congratulating the team on various accomplishments.

You can req. some note cards and write them. I give my top performers free starbucks and little gift bags with little clearance/SSS snacks in them and other little things. Also, ask your team how they like to be recognized. Actually goes a long way than guess work. I also started giving the team Cashier of the Month certificates and doing a little bio for people to see in their ad books on every checklane.

 

[rclbny]

My strengths are manages talent and collaborates
my opportunity is manages execution - can anyone here give me some tips on how to make my manages execution a strength? thanks!

 

[MrGSTL]

Manages Execution

My strengths are manages talent and collaborates
my opportunity is manages execution - can anyone here give me some tips on how to make my manages execution a strength? thanks!

I don't know if this will help at all but....Usually people that struggle with manages execution are either
1. not good at planning and then just jump into projects without any type of preparation or
2. great planners that spend too much time over thinking and over planning which leads to no actual work getting done and you end up behind

I think the best way to deal with it is to just do it. Simplify your plans and meet with your leader briefly to discuss whether or not your plans are reasonable. Make yourself a schedule that includes follow up. Specify exactly who's going to do what and how long it's going to take and then do it. The biggest thing here is to delegate the things that you don't need to do which generally take up too much of your time and follow up with the people who are doing those things. The thing to it is to get started planning as early as possible and try to anticipate any thing that may get in your way.

 

[rclbny]

thank you!! I would say it is def number 2 !! I overanalyze EVERYTHING but I make sure to plan out my WL using TWT 2 weeks out
I am just wondering if there is a much better way to streamline the processes, sometimes I wont be able to complete POGs because the hours are cut and I dont have enough TM's to assist with this.

 

[rclbny]

Im trying to train TM's who havent been properly trained in 5 yrs to fulfill all of their core roles and prioritize tasks as well so I can take care of the larger opportunities on the salesfloor. The team has come a long way but I definately have a couple of TM's in mind who I would love to have be team captains at night when TL's arent there to keep the team focused on their tasks. what do you think?

 

[PricingMaster]

Partner with your STL either Monday or Tuesday to see what he/she was given as forecasted hours for POG. Discuss the workload and compare the hours that your STL was forecasted vs what your calendar shows. Up until the schedule is posted, your STL can make adjustments to hours allocated to each workcenter. I do this on a weekly basis with my STL for Price Accuracy. I break down the amount of hours I would need each day to complete the markdowns plus factor in an additional 15% to complete the label workload (which if there is someone who CompShops for your store, can be VERY heavy at times), and then either speak face to face or e-mail my STL with the hours my workload forecast needs. Just about every week that I have done this, I have been given additional hours since the two forecasts didn't match and we tend to go more by mine than what is originally forecasted by Corporate. This will help you improve in Leadership Expectations (Demonstrates Courage, Strategizes, Communicates Effectively) and it will help to build a stronger business relationship with your STL, which may lead to more projects and greater respect.

 

[PA2615]

Strengths:
Resilient and Adaptable
Maximize Productivity

Opportunities:
Stop telling TL's How much they suck

 

[cihyfthedoor]

As of my most recent annual review.

Strengths:
- Strategizes
- Demonstrates Courage

Opportunity:
- Relates Well to Others

I'm not sure how Demonstrates Courage is up there. I'm not saying it's an opp, but I'm not really sure it's specifically a strength. Oh well, it seems to almost always be an opp for people and rarely a strength, so I guess I can't complain.

As for Relates Well to Others, this may well be an opp for a long, long time. Already has been. As an introvert, I find dealing with other people to be a pain in the ass. Even if I like them. I try to only do it if it's necessary for a particular task or function. I'm not saying I'm mean, unapproachable, off-putting, or anything of the sort, but, I don't go out of my way to smile and say hi and interact with people. Apparently, as a leader, this is bad. So I'm working on it diligently. It sucks, but the pay is worth it for the time being.

Previously Identified Strengths:
- Manages Execution
- Drives for Results
- Demonstrates Accountability

Previously Identified Opportunities:
- Relates Well To Others
- Relates Well To Others
- Relates Well To Others
.
.
.
.
.
.
- Relates Well To Others
- etc.

 

[rclbny]

thank you for the advice about partnering with the STL. The only issue I have with that is my team has come forward with concerns in regards to the workload vs the amount of hours we are receiving and the answer I get is "work harder, prioritize better...." I have been thinking about pulling the sales in softlines vs the other departments for every month for the last year to use as a tool to show my STL we have the majority of the ad and need the hours more than the rest of the store. Not sure though what do you think?

 

[PricingMaster]

Pull the sales and make your case in a professional manner. Don't just go in saying that over a third of the sales that we're doing is due to Softlines. Explain how with the weather getting warmer (well in my area of the country anyway) how Softlines is being shopped harder for swimwear, flipflops, Spring clothing, etc. Also, with regards to the ad, don't just look at the Ad itself and say that you have most of the Ad and need the hours more than the rest of the store. Truth is, the rest of the store also gets a ton of TPCs which aren't even shown in the Ad. In other words, the Ad could look small in certain areas, but due to the amount of TPCs, those "small" areas end up being heavier. In my store, I have 1-2 Softlines people on my Ad Set team just to set Softlines (one will focus on 3x5 cardstock, one will focus on the 11x11 signs, and then whoever finishes first, goes to help the other), meanwhile I have 3-4 others (this is all dependent upon how many hours I'm allocated for Ad Set) for the rest of the store. I'll do Ad Set for the first 2 hours, then have to go into Endcap Audits (and sometimes the System Led Price Audit).

Good Luck.

 

[commiecorvus]

Strengths--
Relates well to others (mostly).
Demonstrates Courage (not always in a Brand fashion)
Solves problems (not always in a Brand fashion)
Resilient and Adaptable

Opportunities --
Time management (spends too much time trying to get a project done correctly)

Drinking the Kool-Aid

 

[sigma7]

About softlines ad: We have a brand tm that does the ad map on thursday and then she is the one that sets the ad every sunday. No matter how big it is she is always done before hardlines and usually before the store opens. She sets the softlines ad by herself, but I think it helps that she already knows where the signs are going to go since she's the one that moved stuff around on Thursday. I should mention that she sets most of the adjacencies by herself during the day as well. She is awesome, but sadly her ETL will never let her move because she's too valuable to her. Catch-22.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

About softlines ad: We have a brand tm that does the ad map on thursday and then she is the one that sets the ad every sunday. No matter how big it is she is always done before hardlines and usually before the store opens. She sets the softlines ad by herself, but I think it helps that she already knows where the signs are going to go since she's the one that moved stuff around on Thursday. I should mention that she sets most of the adjacencies by herself during the day as well. She is awesome, but sadly her ETL will never let her move because she's too valuable to her. Catch-22.

wow! a gtc card to her!

 

[TargetOldTimer]

Oh redeye, we would get along so well......

 

[SLTL2013]

Wins:
Manages Executive
Manages Talent
Engage and Inspire

Opportunity:
Communicates Effectively .... Really working on that one

 

[Producer]

Strengths:
Qmosing bananas, clementines, cantaloupe, squash.

Opportunities:
Red onions, yellow onions, russet potatoes.