Archived Watching TM's on Camera

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Bucky

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Does anyone know of ETL's, TL's, etc who use the store cameras to spy or watch employees? Our store has had this happen in the past and now it is happening again. Is this company policy?
 
We've had this issue before and our ETLs got into hot water over it. Apparently they aren't supposed to use the cameras to watch tms. They're not really even supposed to be in the AP office. Only the ETL-AP and AP tms should be using the cameras. We were told that they can't coach you for something they might see on the cameras. The cameras are for catching shoplifters, both internals and externals.

This is just my experience. I don't know what the directives r best practice have to say about any of it.
 
They can not use them against you for coaching purposes to the best of my knowledge. They have to actually see you face to face do something. Like they cant go into the AP office and see you texting on your phone and write you up for it later. They can however use the camera find out where you are and walk over to there and try and catch you texting or doing whatever you shouldnt have been doing. I have seen that done before.
 
idk if they can, but its happen to me before. my old primary work area used to have a camera right there and my ETL would know what i was doing, he even told me that he watches the camera, but he said its because he used to be TPS before so hes still allowed to use them, which i think is BS.
 
This was a question at my store also a while back. I was told the cameras are for AP use only not for TM coaching purposes. They can not watch you start working in an area on camera and time you for speed or accuracy. They also can not watch when you go on or off break on camera. They or maybe it should be typed AP can track you and or watch you if they suspect theft of product. It would not be an ETL or TL that could do that just AP.
 
Our AP watches the film if I suggest that a TM is loafing. Say he clocks in at 7:30 and doesn't show up at his work center until 7:50, we have proof that he was loafing and then we coach the TM. I didn't know it was against policy and apparently AP doesn't know that either. I just kinda figured that any time you're on camera, well, you're on camera.
 
hmm theyve coached m's before from watching them on camera.. i know of a couple incidents. can an APTL let an exec know he saw someone texting and then they get coached?
 
this is what i was told by my ETL.

You cannot coach on something that was seen on the camera. I know that our ETL's don't watch TM's on the camera but i have had AP come to me with concerns about cashiers that they've just randomly seen while watching the store and told me to keep an eye on them.

You can coach on someone loafing though. Such as the clocking in at 730 and not coming to your work center until 750 because that is considered time clock fraud.
 
My ETL-GE used to be an ETL-AP. She would go into the AP office on her closing shifts, eat, text, and watch the cameras. Usually she'd do it with the TPS, but sometimes without him.

It was very annoying.
 
One of the former ETLs used to spy on TMS all the time in hardlines to catch people slacking off and would pop up 5 minutes later. Needless to say it definitely got the people who always talked and slacked off on their toes!
 
Time clock fraud can be coached from the cameras. Safety incidents can also be coached from the cameras. So if you climb a gondola or a backroom shelf or do anything "unsafe" then that video can be directly used to coach you.

Can't coach you directly from cameras for things like texting, chatting, stashing your returns away, etc. But you can damn well bet that its not a far step from seeing you do it on camera to "well I was walking the floor and saw you..."

They will do that and honestly who are you to know and argue otherwise? Now if they bring up that they saw you on camera, their loss for being dumb enough to tell you.
 
sigma7 said:
We've had this issue before and our ETLs got into hot water over it. Apparently they aren't supposed to use the cameras to watch tms. They're not really even supposed to be in the AP office. Only the ETL-AP and AP tms should be using the cameras. We were told that they can't coach you for something they might see on the cameras. The cameras are for catching shoplifters, both internals and externals.

This is just my experience. I don't know what the directives r best practice have to say about any of it.
Click to expand...

If there was no AP in the building, then could the LOD use the cameras for AP purposes?
 
My ETL-Logistics has used the cameras and walkies to walk me through how to close an open truck dock door when I was still new. Luckily, that's the only incident I know of at my store.
 
And I guess you have no recourse when it happens TGTAP. In catching someone doing or not doing what they should be, that person is doing the same thing. I guess I'll just go to those parts of the store that have no cameras to loaf or text. And I have to honestly say I won't feel all that guilty cause I know that there is an ETL loafing in the AP office watching the cameras for it.
 
So the ETL isn't working while watching on the camera? The ETL isn't loafing while watching you loaf. She/he's doing his job by protecting Target's assets against those of you who think you don't have to work if nobody's watching you.
 
Targets Policy according to all the ETL's in my store is: They cannot coach you for ANYTHING they see on camera, however they can write you up for anything they see on the camera that falls under conduct, because those are automatic counseling's anyhow.
 
mxrbook said:
So the ETL isn't working while watching on the camera? The ETL isn't loafing while watching you loaf. She/he's doing his job by protecting Target's assets against those of you who think you don't have to work if nobody's watching you.
Click to expand...

Technically leaders using cameras for coaching ARE loafing since they're doing no beneficial work, when instead they could actually *gasp* manage their teams!

You could classify that use of AP equipment as misuse of company assets.

Of course a lot of leaders like the swirly chair management style, so they can eat their BLT sandwich and talk to their fellow leaders about the latest sports game.

;)
 
Of course, you would take that stance. Perhaps seeing that their TMs are using their time wisely is a part of management. It's quite beneficial to find out who is working and who is texting and chatting up the other TMs. Unfortunately, even ETLs can't be everywhere at once. If one suspects that a TM is loafing, use of the camera is quite a time saver and possibly less creepy than sneaking up on loafing TMs.
 
I do see both sides of the issue. But for me, it all comes down to two things:

1) From what I understand, management is not supposed to use the security cameras for this purpose. If this is Target's policy, breaking that policy is just as wrong as someone breaking any other corporate policy. Here, the ends do not justify the means.

2) Then to lie about it is even worse. Hmm ... maybe we need a camera in the AP office to watch who is watching and what they are watching. Who watchers the watchers?

All this ETL has done is to build a more severe climate of distrust within our store.

I'd love to hear some rebuttals on these two points. Thanks!
 
As the dedicated stocker in electronics i was told after the fact recently that my entire process from truck to sort to shelf to backroom was watched by my ETL AP and his boss. Kinda blew me away just for the creep out factor. They were evaluating me to see if I used best practice, all was of course great but it also does not surprise me I just figure they are always watching anyway. I know they also watch receiving to make sure vendors are signing in and following BP periodically.
 
MrGeorge said:
There are multiple cameras in the AP office. And many people above the store level have access to stores camera system any time they want. They have "virtual visits" once in awhile.
Click to expand...

I've heard of those too, supposedly to watch for safety violations
 
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