So, I've worked at my store for 5 years now. It was my first job at 16 as a bagger, then I went to floral, and now I'm a file clerk. The past week or two, my management has been going nuts because the "higher-ups" are pissed that we're going crazy with overtime and over scheduling forecasted hours. So basically, they're being insanely strict on overtime (as far as calling people who get even a quarter hour to question them why and yell at them), and today they were sitting on the computer and figuring out where they could slash hours. When I printed schedules today, literally the last 8 people on Night Crew had 0 hours for next week. It's ridiculous.
My personal woe is that my managers don't understand ELMS hours when it comes to File Maintenance. We only get forecasted 37.5 hours, which isn't even enough for my scan coordinator to get her 40 hours, what the hell? For the past 9 months I have been a file clerk, it has just been myself and the Scan Coordinator, and she schedules us for 40 hours each (should mention she is full-time and I am not), making 80 which is WAY over our forecast. The problem lies in that we don't only do file clerk duties. We also do time and attendance, overtime report, step write-ups, Sunday payroll (which takes roughly 6 hours), everything with Kronos like entering punches from the time book, etc etc. From my understanding, other stores don't have their file clerks even do these jobs, like those are front end duties?? I've even heard of a store where their managers take care of those things. So those things combined with our regular file clerk duties like scan rites, tagging, Kompass completion, dealing with vendors, store walks etc etc would take WAY more than 37.5 hours a week.
Today, my one co-manager called me and asked me if I was classified as full-time, which I told her no, because she was going to cut file clerk hours. So next week I only have 31.5 hours scheduled, and that's including an 8 hour floral shift (which I know crossing departments is a no-no but I am still technically classified as a floral clerk on Express HR so that my pay rate didn't go down when I became a file clerk and floral could still use me for holiday help). My remaining file clerk shifts are weird 4 hour shifts or shifts like 9a-2:30p on the one day I'm alone without my SC. I usually work 8a-4p every day. Plus, our store inventory is on August 20th and this hours cut is going to really hurt us on preparing for that. I feel bad that the bulk of the work is going to be on my SC's back alone now.
I know I'm not classified as full-time, so I'm not guaranteed those 40 hours, but damn, I've worked there for 5 years and I feel like I have nothing to show for it. Plus I have rent and bills to pay, and going down from 40 hours is really going to make a difference (I make $9.40/hr). I explained that to my co-managers and told them I know it's not their faults personally and they were pretty nice about it, seeing as I was visibly upset. They told me they appreciate that I'm a hard worker and they love me and they will do the best they can to get me as close to 40 hours as possible because I should be up for full-time this October if I can keep my average up. I guess.. I'm just in a hole right now :( I actually really love my job at Kroger (I see most people here don't xD) and I love the people I work with, so it sucks that I'm having to consider looking elsewhere. Thanks for reading, guys.
It sounds like your management team would, if they could, give you the hours you and your scan coordinator need to get your jobs done plus the extra work that the two of you have taken on, like payroll, which is a task typically not delegated to file maintenance.
Unfortunately, co-managers and even store managers have relatively little power and control over what goes on in stores. More and more, it's the district/division coordinators and managers and whatnot that dictate what goes on in stores, and they take their marching orders from those that are higher up than them, like regional managers and such. These people seldom care about "special circumstances" within individual stores, such as yours. These people purely go by numbers and metrics and stuff, and honestly, at least some of them, are very arrogant because they make more money than the associates do, so they believe they know "best". Try and talk to them about your store's special needs/circumstances, and some may pretend to "entertain" your suggestions/concerns whereas others will just brush you off and say, "this is how it's got to be," and that's the end of it. Corporate wants to micro-manage it all and doesn't want to give individual management teams the freedom to run profitable stores the way they see fit because that cuts into corporate profits, bonuses and makes it less likely for the stock price to appreciate (and that's where a lot of the executives make their big cash).
Sadly, this is the reality of working for Kroger. It's not about taking care of the customers in the best possible way. It's not about giving the employees the tools, resources and the respect that they deserve to get the job done. It's not about listening to the employee's ideas and suggestions and cultivating that employee to be a future leader within the company. It's all about keeping the costs down while keeping the profits up, which is necessary for any business to stay in business, unquestionably, but Kroger takes it to the extreme whereas other companies strike a better balance of being profitable while recognizing the importance of the employee's role in the company and the company's future.
As long as you work for Kroger, you are at the mercy of what some all-knowing coordinator or district/division/regional manager/corporate executive declares. Not even the most empathic store manager/co-management team can do a thing about it, either.
-- Edited by GenesisOne on Thursday 30th of July 2015 09:20:06 PM
Conspire with your department head, and see if you can just work longer shifts totaling eight/40. ELMS doesn't work; it's absurd, so try and ignore it.
. . . the district/division coordinators and managers and whatnot . . . dictate what goes on in stores . . . These people purely go by numbers and metrics and stuff, and . . . are very arrogant because they make more money than the associates do, so they believe they know "best".
I help our scan coordinator each week as well. There is 3 of us 'taggers' though. From my understanding, my scan coordinator is full time. He is guaranteed 40 hours obviously. When they 'forecast' how many hours needed for tags though, those hours go to the taggers, which is me and the other 2. So if there is 30 hours worth of tags the entire week it will be broken down by us 3. The scan coordinator hours have nothing to do with the forecasted hours. His reasoning is that he is NOT suppose to hang tags (although he helps sometimes since one of the taggers is slow as ****), but he is suppose to do the sale signs for every department other than meat & produce, do scans, etc etc.
It seems like your store is different since they make you do a lot more **** that has nothing to do with the scan coordinator or the helpers. Pay stubs, time, at our store goes to the CSM, ACSM and the accountant sometimes. I wonder what they do then if they don't do that at your store.
When you look out over our front end registers, most times all are pounding away with four customers deep. The only 'real scheduled' cashiers are maybe two or three, same with baggers. All of the rest who are there working have been pulled from other departments, probably nine or ten people. They have cut personnel past what needs to be to function ! Its an equation, nothing personal, and it causes friction throughout the entire store.
OP here. Not sure why it showed up as anon for the first post. But yeah, we are definitely not a small store. In fact, we are the store that houses the district offices. So all the coordinators are right down the hall. We indeed do have an HR service coordinator but she is good for nothing. She really only does hiring and then sits on her ass the rest of the day- which I hear at other stores the service director works the office and cashiers if needed, but ours dresses in casual clothes and has a desk upstairs. Never comes downstairs to help. Lol. I guess my store sucks more than I thought?
OP here. Not sure why it showed up as anon for the first post. But yeah, we are definitely not a small store. In fact, we are the store that houses the district offices. So all the coordinators are right down the hall. We indeed do have an HR service coordinator but she is good for nothing. She really only does hiring and then sits on her ass the rest of the day- which I hear at other stores the service director works the office and cashiers if needed, but ours dresses in casual clothes and has a desk upstairs. Never comes downstairs to help. Lol. I guess my store sucks more than I thought?
our HR dresses up in casual clothes and does not help in the store. but she is basically the store managers assistant and she does lots of stuff. she does the WALMART vs PUBLIX vs KROGER prices for the scan coordinator, hires, sets up the meetings, good to go to if you have questions cuz she knows a lot.
Sadly, this is the reality of working for Kroger. It's not about taking care of the customers in the best possible way. It's not about giving the employees the tools, resources and the respect that they deserve to get the job done. It's not about listening to the employee's ideas and suggestions and cultivating that employee to be a future leader within the company. It's all about keeping the costs down while keeping the profits up, which is necessary for any business to stay in business, unquestionably, but Kroger takes it to the extreme whereas other companies strike a better balance of being profitable while recognizing the importance of the employee's role in the company and the company's future.
As long as you work for Kroger, you are at the mercy of what some all-knowing coordinator or district/division/regional manager/corporate executive declares. Not even the most empathic store manager/co-management team can do a thing about it, either.
-- Edited by GenesisOne on Thursday 30th of July 2015 09:20:06 PM
bingo.
I left this company because I literally could not make a living wage with them. A combination of cut hours and my supervisor being a total witch left me with an average of 16 hours per week. That was around $60-$65 after I lost my $7 of union and all the FICA, federal and state. I was grossing around $100-$120. I was picking up net about half of that number.
Yea, I realize that a bagger ("courtesy clerk" HA) isn't a job that is a life time of work nor should it be a primary job. But it was all I had at the time and that feeling of being powerless and being under the control of douchebags, once it is on you, it is difficult to get rid.
