Complaint Review: Target Coporation

   I am an ex employee. My ex wife and I worked for Target Corp, my ex for 6 years until the pressure got to be too much, with constant threats of termination after reducing the crews and piling more work onto the remaining few without replacing the ones terminated.  I worked for Target for 10 years with the same experience, having to work as fast and acurate as it used to take three to four people to do.  I ended up working harder and faster until my bones and joints couldn't perform to their expectations and  after undergoing multiple surgeries to my back and knees was forced into retirement. I am now still unable to work and used up waiting for my meger pension checks from Target.  I wish I would have known 10 years ago that Targets motto does not pertain to Target guests, but to the level 5 and below employees.  "Expect More Pay Less"

Chance,

The most important take away is simply this...being fired from Target was one of the best things to ever happen to me and my life has been scary good since they freed me. Granted, I didn't think this after being fired and during my job search, but sometimes we don't really know what's best - at least I didn't (and don't).

After I got the job with Target, I should have realized something was up since one of my first assignments was to terminate an employee - just to make sure I could do it without any loose ends - my personal analysis of the employee's performance was irrelevant. Prior to Target, my employers expected me to hire right and then fight for my employees and give them every opportunity to overcome their struggles and help them succeed, terminating an employee was ultimately considered my fault since I hired them.

Target, well, not so much.

My experience was that Target's expectation was for me to constantly recommend promotions and terminations - every month. Also, my direct reports were expected to do this, as were my supervisors. When I would socialize with the other managers, much of the discussion would center on whom they had just fired or were about to fire. Not to mention, the Holy Grail was getting an employee to "self select" (making their work life so difficult that they would quit - thereby avoiding any recourse to the employee or unemployment costs to the company).

Business-wise, they are great for consumers, very nimble and efficient in almost all (if not all) areas of retailing, operations, supply chain, etc. Paradoxically, their HR department is excellent also. Unfortunately, my experience is that they define their HR success as the quantity of new hires, not the quality. After all, the managers are accountable for constantly terminating and promoting other employees. Question is...How can they continue to hire and promote at the same time? My experience is that they are terminating from all levels of the company, all the time, at a significantly greater rate than other retailers I have worked for. This creates a constant need for new hires and promotions. In the end, I believe the company benefits from a very finely tuned workforce that rarely is expected to think creatively (at least in the stores - thinking goes on at the HQ only), again, my personal experience.

My experience was that they pay less (compared to other "Big Box" retailers) and use their carefully manicured image and very efficient HR programs to create the belief they take care of their employees - which the employees in turn believe ("Targetization" - their term). They clearly understand the law and what "at-will" employment is. What they miss is the moral obligation to their employees. Just because it is profitable to do something to someone doesn't mean you should.

My Solution....

I am very conservative and generally don't believe in unions. I have worked my life to keep them away. That being said, I cannot emphasize enough how much I believe Target should be unionized. Funny thing is, because all their employees are "Targetized", their own employees would never approve a union. Talk about a great defense - like the abused child telling the court how much they love their abusive parents and how they deserved their punishment because they shouldn't have misbehaved in the first place. Thank God the abused children dont get to determine guilt or innocence of their abusers. Unfortunately, its my opinion that Target employees are like the abused children and will never find anything wrong with Target.

If you work for Target, and love it, congratulations, this message doesn't apply to you - keep up the good work.