Before this manager had come to our store, I had been thinking about moving up in my department. I have gotten some training, but at the time we didn't have enough people in our dept, so I had to learn the basics over the course of two months.
Now this new manager comes in and takes a liking to me (I always try to be helpful, stay if needed, and am pretty quick). When she found out I wanted to move up, she had tried to make me do many manager duties. It has progressed to her scheduling me manager shifts while she takes the day off. Needless to say I am pretty ticked off.
I want to be civil with her, but I am just getting sick and tired of being used. Does anyone have any tips as to how I can approach this? Is she allowed to do this?
What type of tasks are you being asked to do that are managerial?
Getting practice at every task in the store is a good idea if Kroger is where you want to be. If you do not want the extra responsibilities, then ask your union steward what is acceptable to refuse to do. I can ask my crew to order certain aisles. If they do not want to , I can't force them to. I am ok with that. It would give them practice at ordering and me more time to help them run stock. It will be a few months to see if that is feasible where I am at tho.
In general, you shouldn't be doing her entire job for her when she is there. It is ok to do some of her tasks so you can learn how to do them. When she is off, she needs a back-up(an associate that can make the department function without her presence). I guess you would be considered the back-up. You do not get the extra pay unless you run the department for the entire week while she is on vacation. But, you get invaluable experience and an opportunity to improve your time managing and managerial skills. Learning as much as you can gives you an opportunity to sign bids and become a Department manager at another store where I am at. If there are not many stores near you, then your opportunities are limited.
I just became a night grocery manager. This is how I learned. I still have more to learn and a few more difficult hurdles to deal with at my new location. I know I can do it. I just need a crew that will follow directions and bare with me while I sort out how I want the work to flow. I plan to make gradual changes to cause the work to get done more efficiently. My biggest challenge is I will be in charge of the Department manager that was semi forced to stepped down. And he's an old old timer :). I have heard that the crew were misfits and slackers. I have worked with them without the night manager for 2 days and everything went well. I can motivate and manage their time to get the work done. Some workers are fast at certain tasks while others are a little slower. I am still analyzing how to get the most out of everyone without wearing them out or pissing them off.
Before I started this position, the night manager at my previous store kept adding more and more tasks to what he wanted me to do. I had the heaviest aisle to run and he kept having me do things he used to take care of. It gave me less and less time to get my job done. My aisle took the entire 8 hour shift! I already knew how to do everything he was asking. I didn't need more practice. I did these tasks at the store that I came from but he wasn't aware of it until recently. He just wanted to do less and less? Now he is without me and sol because he doesn't have anyone else with the skills I have. He should have been training other people and not depending solely on me.
Look at it as learning experience. I'm doing the same thing right now, but i told my department head that i want to learn as much as possible.
I'm scheduled manager shifts on her days off too but i'm happy with that, it means i get out earlier!
I know how to put on orders now, and do whatever needs done to help out my manager on her days off. the only things i don't know how to do yet is doing inventory and making a schedule.
[We're talking about department heads/leads here, I take it, not management managers.]
Begs the question, why does the UFCW let Krogrr get away with having so many unpaid back-up leads/back-up department heads? There should be compensation for the extra duties/responsibilities involved, not just another opportunity for free booty for a 100-billion-a-year corporation.
Force the "needs of the department" clause...many manager's are quick to use this clause to get lower level employees to work outside their roles when short staffed, but it can be used to get managers and leads to do the same. (ie - meat cutters actually cleaning the meat room when there is only one other closer...)
