Archived What is the typical procedure when you get written up?

[xxTheDudexx]

I was just curious because it's never happened to me before. How many write ups can you get before you are issued a final warning? I was just curious.

 

[allinone]

Generally the cycle goes: Coaching, Coaching, Coaching, Conseling, Coaching, Final, See ya 😉. Of course one or more of these steps can be skipped depending on the severity of the offense committed.

 

[Target Annie]

and each 'offense' has different time periods where you have to behave - or face the dreaded next step.

a lot of times people 'drop the ball' and the process starts over.

just sayin

 

[SrTL]

Generally the cycle goes: Coaching, Coaching, Coaching, Conseling, Coaching, Final, See ya 😉. Of course one or more of these steps can be skipped depending on the severity of the offense committed.

Not entirely correct for performance

1st step is coachings. These are not part of the official process, but are a way of leaders tracking issues before moving on to corrective action. Team member should not even know a coaching is being written or filed. Generally speaking you should give one coaching wait 30 days and assess behavior. If behavior isn't corrected then move to counseling. No reason to have three coachings.

2nd step is counseling. Counseling has a 30 day critical period and a 6 month extended period. At the end of the critical period the leader determines whether or not to move to final or extended. If the behavior isn't corrected in the initial 30 days then the team member will move to final. If the behavior is corrected it moves to the extended period of 6 months.

There should not be coachings filed between counseling and final.

3rd step is final. Very similar to counseling in that it also has a 30 day critical period. Final has a one year extended period. The only action after final is termination.

 

[allinone]

Not entirely correct for performance

1st step is coachings. These are not part of the official process, but are a way of leaders tracking issues before moving on to corrective action. Team member should not even know a coaching is being written or filed. Generally speaking you should give one coaching wait 30 days and assess behavior. If behavior isn't corrected then move to counseling. No reason to have three coachings.

2nd step is counseling. Counseling has a 30 day critical period and a 6 month extended period. At the end of the critical period the leader determines whether or not to move to final or extended. If the behavior isn't corrected in the initial 30 days then the team member will move to final. If the behavior is corrected it moves to the extended period of 6 months.

There should not be coachings filed between counseling and final.

3rd step is final. Very similar to counseling in that it also has a 30 day critical period. Final has a one year extended period. The only action after final is termination.

Thats why I said typically, of course anything I say can vary depending on your store/district/group/region. I know there isn't a clear rule on issuing CA's and how many coachings should be required before one is issued/next step is taken. I was just telling what was specific to the stores I was in. That was how they wanted it done.

 

[allinone]

I did forget to add-at the stores I worked at-we typically did wait 30 days to go to the next step, whether that be another coaching, CA, or Termination.

 

[SrTL]

Thats why I said typically, of course anything I say can vary depending on your store/district/group/region. I know there isn't a clear rule on issuing CA's and how many coachings should be required before one is issued/next step is taken. I was just telling what was specific to the stores I was in. That was how they wanted it done.

It shouldn't vary. There are very specific corrective action policy guidelines available on workbench for all leaders. I would recommend challenging upwards if a particular store is deciding that those rules don't apply to them

 

[allinone]

I'm not sure if it was a store issue though, maybe district-I worked at 2 different stores with the same policies. I was only a Sr.TL-not something I'd not choose to argue (pick your battles), since the way my district (assuming it was my district) did CA's/coachings ensure team members knew exactly what was coming if they kept it up (not exactly, just that the next step may be a CA/final), it worked well. Albeit, it wasn't too efficent I have to admit.

 

[StaticSun]

Can someone explain the critical period/extended period? If you're written up (counseling) for being late a few times, and then after then 45+ days after that (and the critical period is over by then) you're late a few times and call out, is that grounds for going to a final?

 

[xxTheDudexx]

If you are written up though, you do have to sign something right? So you would know if you were.

 

[SrTL]

Can someone explain the critical period/extended period? If you're written up (counseling) for being late a few times, and then after then 45+ days after that (and the critical period is over by then) you're late a few times and call out, is that grounds for going to a final?

Yes it is. Your leader has to have a conversation at the end of the critical period, if performance has not improved then you move to final. The critical period should be used as a time to improve since you cannot improve performance immediately. Any issues during extended still move you too a final.

 

[SrTL]

If you are written up though, you do have to sign something right? So you would know if you were.

Not for coachings. Yes for a counseling or final.

 

[StaticSun]

Yes it is. Your leader has to have a conversation at the end of the critical period, if performance has not improved then you move to final. The critical period should be used as a time to improve since you cannot improve performance immediately. Any issues during extended still move you too a final.

Should there be a sit-down discussion? Or, just something in passing?

If your behavior has improved and you're out of the critical period, then is it still okay to move right to a final? Or, should there be another coaching?

 

[insiteful1]

Should there be a sit-down discussion? Or, just something in passing?

If your behavior has improved and you're out of the critical period, then is it still okay to move right to a final? Or, should there be another coaching?

Coachings do not have to be an official sit down. As a matter of fact, my STL prefers that coachings are not a big production. This is what you did, this is what it affects, and please try to do better. The end.

 

[SrTL]

Should there be a sit-down discussion? Or, just something in passing?

If your behavior has improved and you're out of the critical period, then is it still okay to move right to a final? Or, should there be another coaching?

Coachings don't have to be sit down, but should be done in private most times. I have had meetings where multiple people on my team received "coachings" at the same time without them knowing they were being coached.

It is absolutely ok to move right to final. The point of a coaching is to establish the fact that a TM knows what he/she did was or not up to par and knows the consequences. The counseling shows that even know they knew, the behavior didn't change. No need to back pedal to coaching again.

 

[Softlines Owns My Soul]

I always thought it was kind of shady that it was best practice to do coachings in a way that a team member doesn't know a coaching was assessed...It is set up in a way that a TM can receive a counseling for not following instruction on a coaching because they were unaware that whatever the TL/Sr. TL/ETL said to them was very important. Sometimes if a TL/Sr. TL/ETL tells me what I did was wrong in passing, I might just forget. If I happen to get seen doing something against policy again, I get counseled and am one away from final? I mean, that's how it is, but it seems silly. It sets it up for perhaps a TL/Sr. TL/ETL who does not like a TM personally to make the coaching very casual to the point where he or she can set up a TM to get written up. Bad idea if you ask me.

 

[Retail Girl]

That's what I'm trying to figure out...why wouldn't you want the TM to know they are being coached?

 

[Softlines Owns My Soul]

That's what I'm trying to figure out...why wouldn't you want the TM to know they are being coached?

I don't think that's the way it was meant to be...I feel like what HQ wants out of this is:

You have a TM, he or she is having a performance problem. Let's just say they are a softlines closer and they are not getting the zone done consistently. The softlines TL will take this TM aside and they will tell them that they concerned with the TM's individual performance and that they are willing to help the TM in any way they can to resolve this. The coaching is not meant to be a negative, simply a way that a leader can constructively help a TM with their performance. If it's about performance, that is. If it's someone on their phone or what have you, it's not meant to be constructive it's meant to be a warning. Either way you're not supposed to say, "THIS IS A COACHING" but it should be sort of clear to the TM, in my opinion. Not just a hey, "Hey Softlines Owns My Soul how come you didn't finish your zone tonight?" type of deal.

 

[kortz]

I have a question pertaining to this.

I've had a sitdown before and was told it was a progress meeting because I am new but I am unsure if that is what it really was. Is that typical for new hires?

Also, I had a lot of problems with the timeclock my first few weeks, and a lead had me sign a form saying why I was over/not clocked correctly. Does that mean I've already been written up once?

 

[mrknownothing]

The form you signed was probably just a punch correction form. Punch corrections are nothing to worry about unless Satan is your STL.

Not sure about the progress meeting, though. I've never heard of my store doing them, but every store does things differently.

 

[ElectricYouth]

Hey kortz -

My store does "progress meetings" too. Would have been around your 45 day mark, with your TL. You'll get another one around your 90 day mark.

There's a good chance that form was a punch correction, but it could have been the first writeup about compliance - some stores are really on about that. I'd check in with HR and find out. If you're still having trouble with the timeclock, definitely check in with a lead or HR.

 

[theredgirl]

is a compliance a coaching?

& I've had two before

 

[Barcode]

Compliance is usually just a discussion... I've had a couple in my (almost) 4 years at spot. Is it a documented discussion/coaching (whatever you want to call it..)? No idea... But its really easy to avoid so its not a big deal or anything as long as you don't let it happen again.

 

[theredgirl]

sometimes compliance in my opinion in some circumstances is not fair to some employees, especially if a TL tells you to take your break at a wrong time, there's been many employees at my store this happens to, where the TL doesn't post a break schedule for a certain person, or tells them that they only get a 15 when there supposed to get a break, and then the TM gets yelled at for it.

So normally, coachings are performance related issues? Or something that your doing that's against spot policy like talking,fooling around and not taking your job seriously, etc

 

[Barcode]

Even if a TL says otherwise, a TM should always make sure to take their meal before their 6th hour of work... Its really easy. When planning your break, its good to math out when you need to go by, if your TL says to go later than you can for compliance, you can always let them know you will go non-compliant and need to go sooner. If I messed up somehow (hey it happens!) on the break schedule, cashiers would hit Help >> Break Needed and let me know they need to go on meal for compliance.

Communication is key 😉