Shift leader role

[General Thorn]

@itsthatlad surely thats a reflection of  your store manager,leadership starts from the top,make sure your whatmatterstoyou reflects your feelings,we had 3 seniors before that never did lates,must be some god syndrome in some that think theyre too important to see the full customer experience in their stores,

its more of a shame, that the managers don't get to see their own teams and colleagues, for months on end.  That isn't a manager. How can they "people manage" without having any sort of contact? It's a joke. When the time/opportunity comes my way, I'll have to step down/away for my own sanity.

Managers now rely on shift leaders to report back to them about how colleagues are doing and any problems. It's exactly the same in our store where some colleagues never see their manager and they are pretty annoyed about it.

[Davethebave]

You'll find that shift leader will become responsible for a team of people in the future.
I can see the structure being:
SM manages TM
TM manages SL
SL manages GA

Tesco and USDAW are already in talks bout increasing the responsibility of SL (for no extra ££)

[Itsthatlad]

You'll find that shift leader will become responsible for a team of people in the future.
I can see the structure being:
SM manages TM
TM manages SL
SL manages GA

Tesco and USDAW are already in talks bout increasing the responsibility of SL (for no extra ££)

That will not go down well at all. 

[oldfashionedplayer]

pretty much that way in ours for a few months now lol, so i'd expect them to roll it out more to be honest, i know ours hate it.

[King1999]

The whole structure is hated truth be told.

[jgerry]

I've been with Tesco for several several years, just a ga but I cannot see myself being here for much longer. This change has been for the worse in my opinion. Shift leaders literally been with the company for a few months. The store is on its arse.. surely my store cannot be the only one? Morale is at an all time low...

[King1999]

It's not on its own.The company has got serious problems brewing fir the future.

[arlo]

I've been with Tesco for several several years, just a ga but I cannot see myself being here for much longer. This change has been for the worse in my opinion. Shift leaders literally been with the company for a few months. The store is on its arse.. surely my store cannot be the only one? Morale is at an all time low...

same ...the long service staff would never take a shift leader role ...this has led to 3 new shift leaders in our store with no retails experience trying to run/organise shift ect ...trouble starts when the experience staff try to speak up for the good of the store 

[NightAndDay]

Mentioned it numerous times, in 1-1, in conversation, even as the rota is being done!

There is no respect for Shift Leaders, only useful for doing lates, and for someone to blame!

Shame really, but I dont see Shift Leaders hanging around to progress. I honestly think they will come and go, until someone realises and makes changes across the board.

The greatest fallacy was that the belief of being good at being a shift leader meant quick progression, you also have to be on good terms with your Store Manager.

I've left that life behind 5 years ago, in those 5 years I've got the equivalent of 8 promotions above the Shift Leader position, half of those progressions I can attribute to my leveraging of Supply and Demand and being confident and assertive.

Now I'm back at Tesco as head of technology and it's a night and day difference to what it was like as a Shift Leader, for the better.

Well done, you clearly had the drive, and determination to get where you wanted to be. I'd like to think I'm pretty good at what I do. I've never had the sit down talk about my performance, or how I manage the shift, or the turnaround of the shift, however as a collective team, it's tragic, everyone is so defeated, deflated and persaonally I think its so sad.

I have been in the position many Shift Leaders find themselves in, overworked and underappreciated. I did choose the best option for myself at the time, that was to take a managed risk to apply for a job where the roles was related to what I had studied at university, and it paid off.

I appreciate not everyone has that opportunity. I really empathize with people in the position I was in, and I offer the 3 bits of advice.

Firstly, if you objectively know you're a competent Shift Leader (knowing yourself and giving yourself a realistic evaluation is a handy skill to have and is hard to come by) and you know you can progress to a bigger role, and that is what you want, you must have the support of your Store Manager, I've been around the block enough times to know that there are usually traits of toxic work relationships between the Store Manager and other members of staff, similarly many Store Managers may not have the analytical or systematic wherewithal to actually know who are the net contributors and who are the net detractors, my personal experience, in hindsight, one thing I wish I was more proactive in was building the relationships in the wider network, if you limit yourself to one store, you'll find it much harder to progress, and if the dynamics are as I described, you have no chance until the Store Manager is swapped out for someone else.

2. Be open to new options, even if Retail is what you want, jumping ship with the experience you picked up is useful ammunition to applying for a more senior role at a competitor. Loyalty is a setback in Retail right now, unless you're a senior manager already.

3. Know your rights and worth, don't be a pushover, excel in what you deliver and demand recognition for it. If you don't receive it, jump ship or transfer.

[Itsthatlad]

I hope to god, for the sake of everyone involved SL don't become answerable to TM's.  I think, well I know that would absolutely be the tipping point for both parties. The divide between the two is enormous, however many people disagree.  You couldn't get any further from a team, if that's possible.  It's scary to even think this could become a thing.

[Teddybonkers]

You'll find that shift leader will become responsible for a team of people in the future.
I can see the structure being:
SM manages TM
TM manages SL
SL manages GA

Tesco and USDAW are already in talks bout increasing the responsibility of SL (for no extra ££)

That will not go down well at all. 

Why not?? It seems perfectly reasonable to me.

[Itsthatlad]

TM only see us as aisle fillers, and a scapegoats for their inadequate rotas, and F-UPs.

Just someone to blame!

[King1999]

Look playing s*** music, pitiful pay rise, wrecking every store with this pathetic uninspiring structure, making people miserable by over working them, some not all, ignoring gaping operational issues, having zero engagement with its staff, flogging an app nobody wants, will keep the business future proof won't it.  The place is a joke.
Can't fill shelves, checkouts struggling, 4 point check ignored and illegal pricing, Tm who couldn't care less lucky to do a full shift the list goes on, you think you've had a bad day and low and behold the next day gets worse.  Firefighting daily is just pissing everyone off, it's exhausting and who the fornicate would want to do overtime in an environment like this..... can't fill overtime shifts either.  Just proves the clowns in charge aren't retailers and think tech will prevail..... tell that to the produce colleague who gets sweet fa help and yet there's about 10 staff on provisions..... it ain't working.

[MerchMan007]

  

[Bobmay]

You'll find that shift leader will become responsible for a team of people in the future.
I can see the structure being:
SM manages TM
TM manages SL
SL manages GA

Tesco and USDAW are already in talks bout increasing the responsibility of SL (for no extra ££)

They wont get extra pay.have you seen tesco Express stores they do everything are over pressured miss breaks regularly and only get around 1 pound extra an hour for it.

[Bobmay]

I've been with Tesco for several several years, just a ga but I cannot see myself being here for much longer. This change has been for the worse in my opinion. Shift leaders literally been with the company for a few months. The store is on its arse.. surely my store cannot be the only one? Morale is at an all time low...

The worst ones are in express stores which have no shift leaders regularly leaving. Why become shift leader for around 1 pound extra a month

[madness]

I hope to god, for the sake of everyone involved SL don't become answerable to TM's.  I think, well I know that would absolutely be the tipping point for both parties. The divide between the two is enormous, however many people disagree.  You couldn't get any further from a team, if that's possible.  It's scary to even think this could become a thing.

I saw the SM walking a newish team lead round the store today.  Same ludicrous standards as a few years ago being talked about.

[LizardHater]

What an absolute week in my store I work in an express and the hrs have been cut drastically. Shift leaders one on one in a store that takes 100 grand a week. Nothing on the shelves for actual customers that make the effort to come to the store to shop because it's all in the warehouse and no one to work it. Then to top it off we get a visit from a chief lizard to ask us why our whoosh results are shocking.   

[Hammer10]

Sounds like it's getting worse time to go me thinks.

[Duff McKagan]

Our shift leaders have been in place for 2 months now and they're already looking for a way out...one even admitting "I don't know why I'm here, I might as well not be" as they essentially do nothing but drag stock in and out and clear empty cages and RSU.

[Equalizer87]

Sounds like it's getting worse time to go me thinks.

It was time to leave back when DL took over.

[Teddybonkers]

What an absolute week in my store I work in an express and the hrs have been cut drastically. Shift leaders one on one in a store that takes 100 grand a week. Nothing on the shelves for actual customers that make the effort to come to the store to shop because it's all in the warehouse and no one to work it. Then to top it off we get a visit from a chief lizard to ask us why our whoosh results are shocking.   

"One on One" - well that sounds sensible. The things this company will do to cut payroll. I bet the shoplifters come from miles away to empty the shelves

[FarmerFred]

There won't be anything on the shelves worth nicking if it's 1 on 1!

[King1999]

Yes but in the alternate reality the numpties at the top live in,they think its all filled and all staff are happy,with little blue birds singing on a loop obviously 😉

[Nomad]

The 'numpties' at the top are to busy counting their money to notice little blue birds or anything else for that matter.