Archived Taking over SFS.

[Feelsbadman]

Hello!

TL;DR- I would like to ask my ETL for my schedule to be based around the SFS daily deadline times in order to make and keep our metrics green.

So I've been working at my Target for a little over 5 months now. When I first came in, SFS had not yet been introduced to our store. I worked logistics for about a month and a half before they began training me for SFS. My team leader spent a week with pretty much me and me alone teaching me the ins and outs of ship from store. It took awhile to nail down the locations of the clothing brands but after that I was able to sweep through picks and rush orders without any issue. During fourth quarter, I was constantly training new SFS team members, answering questions and solving problems that even my ETL-LOG and STL couldn't, and trying my absolute hardest to meet SFS deadlines on days that didnt have thousands upon thousands of orders. I know I may sound a little cocky but, with the exception of my team leader, I am by far and away the most competent and responsible SFS team member in my store.

Roughly a month ago my ETL asked if I'd be interested in being trained as a LOG-TL. I told him I was and he said I'd be put on a development plan. Since then I've been given much more responsibilities and will be covering for my TL while she goes on vacation. However, since he asked me about it we havent really talked about my development or what I need to work on so I'm not really sure if I'm even being trained at this point. Since this training began, they've stopped scheduling me for SFS almost entirely. Our SFS metrics have been fluctuating a lot because, for whatever reason, we keep missing picking and packing deadlines. Most of my shifts have been after the cut off times so I'm not able to make sure we are making goal times. When I am there I end up micro-managing the poor souls scheduled in flex to make sure we make deadlines and try to get green metrics. While I am a very nice person to my co-workers, I understand that nobody likes being micro-managed.

Though I would like to make it to a TL, it pains me to see the area I specialize in doing so poorly. I understand that hours are tight right now for most people and I dont plan on bugging them for more but, in your opinion, would it be alright to ask my ETL or STL to be scheduled around the SFS deadlines whether it be a 4 or 8 hour shift? I could almost guarantee green metrics and I would honestly just like to see my main area that I feel comfortable in succeed metric wise. I understand Target probably doesnt have a dedicated SFS Team Lead with the exception of temp. Q4 TL's or if they move TL's from other departments for that season. I'm not asking to be made SFS-TL, I just want to be scheduled around SFS if possible. Would you consider that something worth asking my ETL about or do you think I should keep to myself and help out when I can. I understand that I'm coming off to you guys as a not very humble person but I feel like I should be honest while asking this question. Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your responses!

 

[Him]

You just seem to be a person that takes pride in a workcenter that you have been a part of from practically it's beginning at your store, so don't apologize for that it should be understandable. I will tell you this, from my old days of being a TL. Leading is more about Delegating more and development MORE and grunt work LESS. Sure you take pride in whatever workcenter you are placed at. Key is to develop tm's and get your peers on board so everyone is Green across the board. Not everyone cares about metrics, this we all know. The key is getting not caring people to BUY IN so to speak. Good luck! 😉

 

[IWishIKnew]

I agree with Him. As a developing TL, you should be working on how to bring the other SFS folks up to the point they don't need micromanagement. Find out what they're struggling with. Do the need more training on certain parts of the process? Did you used to do a lot of things without thinking about it that they don't know need to be done (or how to do them)? Do they know where all the supplies are and/or how to get more if needed?And so on. Talk to them and find out what's going on.

If I were your ETL and you asked me to be scheduled specifically to ensure SFS metrics are green I would ask what you had done with the team to get them to make metrics on their own, and if the answer was "micromanage them" I wouldn't be impressed. You shouldn't need to micromanage your staff. Work with them to figure out what's missing and how to fix that. If they have all they need but are screwing around or really don't have the skills, then coaching may be in order and you can talk to your ETL about how to handle that.

 

[SFSFun]

I don't think it would be the best idea to ask to be scheduled so that you can monitor SFS as they approach the pick and pack deadlines. They need to be self-sufficient and keep to the deadlines in their own. Ideally there should be only a handful of TMs consistently working the majority of SFS shifts so they can get routines in place and still get decent enough hours to keep motivated. If someone isn't cutting it, find another qualified TM from elsewhere in the store and rotate them in over a few weeks so see if they can be a good replacement.

I have been drilling it into my TMs heads since the beginning of January that nobody is going to babysit them and there is no excuse for not meeting the deadline. If they miss a pick or pack goal, I notify my ETL so they can have a coaching conversation about why it happened. I have also been implementing routines to follow when INFing, and working with my ETL weekly to determine if anyone has an abnormally high percentage of INFs (the weekly INF by team member report is very helpful).

Ultimately your LODs need to be the ones who stay on top of SFS and make sure they are meeting the daily goals and providing support to meet them if necessary.

 

[Feelsbadman]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your feedback. I now realize that there are aspects of SFS that my fellow TM's aren't clear on and that I should try to give them some tips and info to use that they may not already know. Thanks for the thorough responses. 🙂

 

[SrTLall]

If you want to be a leader, the answer is not to schedule yourself more in a department so that it can succeed. You need to make it succeed with a hands-off approach. If you can't do that, how will you ever be a TL?

 

[Thunderbird1956]

Are you enhanced or 1 or 2 station Ship From Store? A good Ship From Store Team Lead is the one that doesn't need to be there to have things get done. The goals should be easy to meet if the day is scheduled correctly. Give people the skills to know how to make their own pathing, show them how to scavenger hunt effectivity. Teach them how other work centers think, how to plan for a lazy TM and remind them they will actually be the most informed guest and will find problems an LOD might miss on a walk and should share that info to make life easier later. Look at the BRLA and as a LOG in training make sure it's posted and if they are doing their own research what categories are green to research in and when is the best time to do that research. There have been some massive fluctuations in SFS load over the past couple weeks and that will go into if they are making goal or not. Did you look at percent to forcast and compare the hourly numbers to the load or did you just get it run around and get it done. There is a big focus right now on operations because they will need to be tight for Shipt and the Drive Up as that's going to be OPU to the extreme. It's not just getting a green metric it's how you do it. You have to know how to do it right before you can do it fast.