If you look at the current trends, ALL Department Heads will be 18 yo's in the next few years. Most people promoted now are people simply filling a spot, the probability she knows everything for the ACSM position is very remote. I spend 4 years doing the work of an Assistant before getting promoted....and then 3 years of going the Department Heads task before getting promoted! And YES my KMA has 30yo Store Managers! District Managers that are not that much older......
The years of Kroger having "seasoned" long term Department Heads are over! At one point people used to want to be the Department Head and would jump through hoops! Does your KMA have issues retaining Assistant Store Mangers? Work Life Balance? Days Off?
I would challenge yourself to look at the years of service in your store. Most stores go from 1-2 people with 25+, 10-15 people 15+, 10-40+ 5 years......and 1-100 less then 1 year..... Its said when someone that has been with the company has 1-2 years and is top seniority.
At our store an ACSM makes a whopping dollar or so more than the rest of us, except for weeks that the CSM is at other stores or on vacation, then they get the CSM's (much better) pay.
I was tempted to become an ACSM and eventually CSM, but their hours are worse, they constantly get yelled at by management, and have a lot more responsibility, plus they can be moved to other stores with little or no input from them. So nah I'll pass.
I'm a 19 year old produce backup but I was hired in and trained at a store that did $120,000+ in produce a week alone. I worked there for 2 years and eventually put in for some random Assistant Produce positions because I was learning rapidly and started doing the work of assistant leads like ordering, inventory, CAO maintenance, etc. and especially training the new hires up to standards, like speed and efficiency. Maybe it's because of the store I originally worked at, that I learned so much in such a short time and got FT and promoted, but I would not say that I am incompetent or not as good as more than half of produce department backups. I've worked in other stores and been in other stores, I think I am pretty good but people still see me and their first impression is the same as mine when I see another young-ish department head/backup... they're not that good and they probably got promoted because nobody else wanted it... they'll be out of there in a few weeks max after they realize they can't handle it. Or they do the bare minimum and Kroger loves that.
But one of the main reasons I think Kroger is hoping to promote more younger people is because they can pay them less for one, and two, our generation grew up with modern day technology and can better adapt to the changes Kroger makes tech wise. And it makes Kroger look cool when they have fresh, young, "SMILING" faces every time you walk in. But I agree, nobody my age or close to my age, has the experience or knowledge of a department head who has been in the company for 25+ years. That is why I stay in my lane as a backup right now until I learn enough from the DH. Because inexperience really shows when stuff goes wrong and your 19 y/o backup doesn't know what to do, when your 50+ y/o DH would have it under control with just a tiny bit of finesse.
The issue arises because those 50+ yo DH, now are seeing the position as not worth it anymore. Your not able to actually control your department, your instructed to "do the program" yet Store Management/Coordinator cant accomplish it either.....or each week/month/year you have less and less hours. When your Full Time associates work the same shift for years and years and don't even get moved earlier (Even with other senior associates retire....or new hired hired or...whatever) no Weekends Off....Holidays/Evenings...... and your constantly getting called at home about something...why would someone want the position?
It wasn't a few years ago, but now everything has a Metric or there's is a "Program to Follow", which causes issues because Grocery Retail is never predictable. The biggest challenge.......... Associates actually coming to work! Most Associates now do not fear anything...... Write up, Getting Fired......doesn't effect anyone anymore...
At my store, the ACSM will only get paid 1.50 more than whatever their current pay was.
My friend was offered the ACSM position a year ago, and declined it because she wanted to get a full time bank teller job and only work at Kroger part time. The bank pays her 6 dollars more per hour than Kroger pays her, even though she's been with Kroger for 10 years and was never a bagger.
She also gets 1200 dollar bonuses every quarter if she performs well at her bank, even though she's not management there.
She ultimately made the wiser decision obviously.
The past few weeks in my breakroom, there have been 9---count em'----friggin NINE backup or Dept. Head positions posted from the other Krogers within a 10 mile radius.
One of our co-managers whose been at my store for a year or so, appears to be in his early 30s (though I haven;t asked him). He has very young children and started at Kroger as a bagger 10 years ago, so I think that supports my theory.
I did know of one 25-year-old STORE manager in my Division. She committed suicide 2 months ago.
I've been a department head for about a year now and i'm seeing now why its so hard to keep people in this position. The metrics are impossible to keep up with and you can't run a department on half the amount of people you should have.
They're just filling spots with anyone they can find and it shows. I know several Co managers younger than me and I'm only 27.
Assistant Store Managers (Co-Managers), always used to be younger then Store Managers. You had Assistant Store Managers that would be in the position for years because they loved the job! Back in the day you would have a Management Staff that consisted of Store Manager and 3-5 Assistant Store Managers (They would always move people around so that younger Co-Mangers were always with more seasoned *Mix). Today your lucky if have a Assistant Store Managers that is been in the position for more then 1 year.
I see a lot more Department Head positions opening before the Holiday Season.....
