I'm Lost! WRITING THE INTEGRITY HOTLINE

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Sep 3, 2019
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At our store we recently gained a new HR ETL. They came from another Target but from a different position. Having been here for a few months, we feel like they should be warmed up to us now and more comfortable in the new position. But they still walk around with a rude demeanor, never speaking to TM even if we speak first. And they still make mistakes with the schedule, leaving areas with gaps or scheduling people not properly trained in areas, also scheduling people who have quit for months now giving them more hours than the TM that are actually still working there. Any time any TM asks a question about the schedule leadership says "They schedule for the needs of the business" but we do not understand how any of that fits the business needs. So any way my question is would writing/calling the integrity hotline be worth it? Some team members would like to stay anonymous but others don't care if they are known because each team member has a different issue with this one person. And it is the HR manager so we can't go to them about it or any of our other problems because they act like they do not care about our well being. We also have a new Store Director who was hired external and she hasn't been there for long at all. SO our team feels like we can't go to her about our complaints which is why we want to turn to the integrity hotline.
 
Definitely reach out to your HRBP about this. They can make sure the inactive TMs are termed so the store can’t hide payroll under them. They can also audit the daily grids before the schedule is published and make sure there is adequate, nay minimal, coverage in key departments at key times. Those are fixable behaviors and indicate a lack of training. Again, fixable.

But an ETL that’s an asshat is a behavioral issue. Although it can be adjusted the payoff isn’t going to be worth the investment. Just smile and nod to them when you walk by, don’t react when they don’t acknowledge you. Keep your head down and keep doing the best you can. Sometimes all you can do is outlast a crappy Leader.
 
I detest sticking up for ETLs but here goes-
I am going to use "she"
Perhaps she is uncomfortable in the new position. Maybe she is overwhelmed. Maybe she is getting grief from everyone all day about the schedule. Was your previous ETLHR well like and good at her job? Maybe she feels inadequate? Now of course this is her job and all of that comes with the job. But she is a human being. Before turning to the hotline, why not say Good Morning Sally Sue, how was your weekend? With a question she will need to answer. If you walk past her office say 'Hello"! Scheduling to the needs of the business does look really different than what was the norm. All areas will no longer be covered open to close. Get ready for cashiers not coming in until an hour after open. Scheduling TMs that quit months ago? There could be many explanations for this, a leave of absence, telling team members they were quitting but not actually completing a resignation and failing to tell HR. Basically what I am saying is there doesn't seem to be a concrete beef just a general WTF. They (STLS HRBP) are going to give her the benefit of the doubt right now. Team members that seem to be rocking the boat could be seen as cancers that need to be dealt with. If you need to vent, vent to your TL. Try to see things from different angles. This could come back to bite you big time.
 
if the team member has not given notice, job abandoned or was on loa then this scenario is possible.Too often team members think they know everything that’s going on, but they don’t. It could also be a case of using a name to hold a shift for an incoming team member. they know the shift needs to be filled, they have ready to start team members but haven’t had orientation before schedule was printed. once team member is on boarded he will slide them into that slot. That is not the best practice way to do it, but i’ve seen it happen that way. Unless you know what’s going on for sure, you know nothing for sure. Callining the integrity hotline in this case as presented will blow up in the team members faces.
 
what probably happened-
Pammy got fed up. She told coworkers she wasn’t coming back and who wanted her hours? Swaps were made and a someone keyed them. HR has no clue pammy quit because technically she never did. Time to write new schedule. contrary to popular belief you do not start with a blank screen. the computer has already popped people into shifts. HR simply edits. so the schedule comes out and Pammys on it. HR cannot just term her, her shifts from previous schedules were covered. Once someone lets her know what Pammy said, she can initiate contact and see what’s going on. While it may look like HR goofed up big time, she did nothing wrong. we used to use the phrase “seek to understand” don’t assume. i think that applies in this case. heading to integrity with a perceived slight and an assumption about scheduling is not a wise idea.
i have had some horrific HRS and some terrific ones. the one thing they all had in common? a job that everyone in the building thought they could do better
 
I could see that if the OP said the TMs had been gone for a few weeks. But the OP said the TMs had been gone for months. Two months of not showing up, it'd be pretty clear the TM isn't coming back and there's no reason to keep their name on the grid.
 
Callining the integrity hotline in this case as presented will blow up in the team members faces.
This brings up the related issue of the integrity hotline itself. I've seen far too many accounts of people reporting issues to the Hotline (at Target and at other companies), then facing retaliation. The actual hotline staff probably make a reasonable effort to maintain anonymity of callers. The problem is what happens afterwards, I suspect that the recipients of hotline complaints use their networking resources to deduce who the caller was. Retaliatory measures ensue against the "outed" caller who conveniently is "performanced out" and emotionally crucified.

This isn't the way an "integrity hotline" is supposed to work, but when the recipients of serious allegations feel like their careers and livelihoods are endangered, they lash out at the messenger as much as they try to quickly fix the problem (or in a more cynical spin, make it seem like they're fixing the problem). I don't think the company's senior leadership intends for retaliation to happen against callers to the Hotline, but retaliation against the caller (always under the name of "performance improvement") is far too common.
 
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