They are selective in who gets to take the surveys, so the results aren't ...complete.
Some people thought it was a factor in getting rid of one store manager, except later on we had a absolutely vicious store manager stick around for years.
Ask to take the Survey, If your not allows...call the associate hotline and tell them Store Mgmt is cherry picking which associates are allowed to take it. I can guarantee if anyone calls and reports that....the WHOLE store will be taking it!
Last year when i took it in my old store, the inclusion advisor was making sure everyone in the store took it, they were trying to get 100% completion.
Last year when i took it in my old store, the inclusion advisor was making sure everyone in the store took it, they were trying to get 100% completion.
This, we've always been hounded to take it, even near the end anyone who hadn't would be required to take it as soon as they clocked in. They did listen to a few of our concerns overall as a division I feel but we're still a long ways off.
The survey only has one result,Store Mgmt, Div Coordinator and KMA Mgmt are graded on the results. If they were smart they would actually implement an ongoing survey when before signing into greatpeople.me or some way to make associates take it each month. While a yearly survey does give you a snapshot on associates feelings, you have no way to determine if your actually making progress. Year after years, same Mgmt/KMA people, same results....but yet its blamed on Department Leaders/Store Mgmt. If stores are following the set policies/programs (Standards), who's then to blame?
The survey only has one result,Store Mgmt, Div Coordinator and KMA Mgmt are graded on the results. If they were smart they would actually implement an ongoing survey when before signing into greatpeople.me or some way to make associates take it each month. While a yearly survey does give you a snapshot on associates feelings, you have no way to determine if your actually making progress. Year after years, same Mgmt/KMA people, same results....but yet its blamed on Department Leaders/Store Mgmt. If stores are following the set policies/programs (Standards), who's then to blame?
Haha, I think you putting too much into what Corp has control of. If a Div President/Vp said something about ELMS......they can add hours, but then have to justify the addition to wages. The structure that is in place is a centralized, spoke and wheel corporate structure for the company. Yes, Corp does control higher levels things, but Divisions have control over alot of stuff. The question is will a Div person stick their neck out and questions something and become labels as "outsider".
. . . call the associate hotline and tell them Store Mgmt is cherry picking which associates are allowed to take it. I can guarantee if anyone calls and reports that....the WHOLE store will be taking it!
Excellent idea. Thanks for that.
The question is will a Div person stick their neck out and questions something and become labels as "outsider".
The only real corporate value, in practice, seems to be hierarchy. Blind order-following. Leave your critical thinking skills and ethics outside the door . . . we're sure nothing will go wrong.
Our store director has never even heard of Enron . . . and has no intellectual curiosity to find out. That's who Krogrr sees fit to place in charge of a $900,000 a week business as well as the well being of hundreds of associates.
Haha, I think you putting too much into what Corp has control of. If a Div President/Vp said something about ELMS......they can add hours, but then have to justify the addition to wages. The structure that is in place is a centralized, spoke and wheel corporate structure for the company. Yes, Corp does control higher levels things, but Divisions have control over alot of stuff. The question is will a Div person stick their neck out and questions something and become labels as "outsider".
The irony at our small store is if they'd let us decentralize a bit, we could eliminate shrink and wasted time enough to add several employees and still make more money than we make now. I'd reduce shelf space across the store, add in tables for people to eat from the deli (ours is popular), eliminate a lot of our nutrition items that we just have to mark down because in a 30 month period we MIGHT sell 1. Order a box of 12, sell one, mark 11 down hopefully before they go out of date, then order another box of 12, repeat process. It's stupid. Stocking that box, all of that wasted time.
Anyone ever notice that the associate appreciation days are always RIGHT before the survey? That's not a coincidence...
But i did my survey yesterday. They say it's anonymous, but let's see, they know what store i did the survey from, they know my department, they know i'm the manager of that department, they know my age, gender, how long i've worked for the company. They know who i am, but based on what i wrote, they could probably figure it out anyway lol
Haha, I think you putting too much into what Corp has control of. If a Div President/Vp said something about ELMS......they can add hours, but then have to justify the addition to wages. The structure that is in place is a centralized, spoke and wheel corporate structure for the company. Yes, Corp does control higher levels things, but Divisions have control over alot of stuff. The question is will a Div person stick their neck out and questions something and become labels as "outsider".
The irony at our small store is if they'd let us decentralize a bit, we could eliminate shrink and wasted time enough to add several employees and still make more money than we make now. I'd reduce shelf space across the store, add in tables for people to eat from the deli (ours is popular), eliminate a lot of our nutrition items that we just have to mark down because in a 30 month period we MIGHT sell 1. Order a box of 12, sell one, mark 11 down hopefully before they go out of date, then order another box of 12, repeat process. It's stupid. Stocking that box, all of that wasted time.
Thank you!!!! I've been saying this for years. This is why the small stores fail because all the planning and ads outs are based on the big stores.
Anyone ever notice that the associate appreciation days are always RIGHT before the survey? That's not a coincidence...
Yeah. Weird how that always seems to work out like that, huh? Stuff us full with burgers, hot dogs, fresh fruit & salad, macaroni salad, chips, cookies, drinks and them one week later, survey time! I'm sure it's all just a coincidence, though, and somehow, it's a very timely coincidence that just happens to happen every year around the same time, without fail. The universe works in mysterious ways...
How does a store actually do well? People afraid to speak up?
I think that's right.
It also takes a little bit of effort/initiative, namely, typing text into the the very few (two or three) blanks on the survey since the questions don't get to much of what's important.
There are also management "talking points" (actually called that by the company) used in hurdles to steer associates toward the desired answers. Even more blatantly corrupt, Store 536 (Fort Worth) under Greg Jordan placed the "corporate-correct" answers on neon poster paper on the wall above the computers on which associates took the survey. (How's that for honesty and integrity?)
Anyone ever notice that the associate appreciation days are always RIGHT before the survey?
There's a budget for that. It's specified, store by store, ranging in one district from about $120 to $350. Seems strange to me this outfit can't crack open a pack of hot dogs without micromanaging that act to death. That, and our store director is so chintzy and dumb that it looks like he may not even use his allocated hundreds to even attempt to bribe us with wieners.
How does a store actually do well? People afraid to speak up?
I think that's right.
It also takes a little bit of effort/initiative, namely, typing text into the the very few (two or three) blanks on the survey since the questions don't get to much of what's important.
There are also management "talking points" (actually called that by the company) used in hurdles to steer associates toward the desired answers. Even more blatantly corrupt, Store 536 (Fort Worth) under Greg Jordan placed the "corporate-correct" answers on neon poster paper on the wall above the computers on which associates took the survey. (How's that for honesty and integrity?)
Anyone ever notice that the associate appreciation days are always RIGHT before the survey?
There's a budget for that. It's specified, store by store, ranging in one district from about $120 to $350. Seems strange to me this outfit can't crack open a pack of hot dogs without micromanaging that act to death. That, and our store director is so chintzy and dumb that it looks like he may not even use his allocated hundreds to even attempt to bribe us with wieners.
At one of my previous stores, in the weeks leading up to the Associate Insight Survey, we were literally coached and "quizzed" on how to answer during huddles. Not quite the same as having the answers posted above the computers where the survey is taken, but still... definitely goes against the Kroger "Core Values". But yeah, doesn't surprise me that Jordan did that considering he's got a somewhat infamous reputation throughout the district. Not as bad as Rick the *ick, but it's sad how 536 which at one time had a fairly good and fair store manager, namely Cline, go to almost the opposite end of the spectrum with a sleezeball like Jordan.
Our front end had us do the survey at the computer that's on the service desk. So while I was taking the survey, there was angry customers wondering what the eff I was doing goofing on the computer while there were customers in line waiting. Also things like and I quote, "they have all these people just walking around doing nothing when they could be helping out....this Krogers is horrible...every single time..."
Dunno why they couldn't have us do the survey in the HR office or break room, cause there's computer terminals there.
Sounds like indifference/incompetence in your store's management crew, Mr. Frontenac.
. . . doesn't surprise me that Jordan did that considering he's got a somewhat infamous reputation throughout the district. . . . it's sad how 536 which at one time had a fairly good and fair store manager, namely Cline, go to almost the opposite end of the spectrum with a sleazeball like Jordan.
Thank you for validating my experience there.
One incident saw him deny an ambulance to an associate who was lying on the floor trembling in pain. The company's response to the reporting of that was to have a subordinate, a co-manager, "investigate" his boss, the person who controlled his destiny. That doesn't seem like even pretending to be ethical.
Why is someone with an "infamous reputation throughout the district" still granted life tenure--regardless of his gross negligence and indifference to human beings--as though he were a Supreme Court justice or a divine-right king? Bad for people; bad for business. I don't get it.
. . . doesn't surprise me that Jordan did that considering he's got a somewhat infamous reputation throughout the district. . . . it's sad how 536 which at one time had a fairly good and fair store manager, namely Cline, go to almost the opposite end of the spectrum with a sleazeball like Jordan.
Thank you for validating my experience there.
One incident saw him deny an ambulance to an associate who was lying on the floor trembling in pain. The company's response to the reporting of that was to have a subordinate, a co-manager, "investigate" his boss, the person who controlled his destiny. That doesn't seem like even pretending to be ethical.
Why is someone with an "infamous reputation throughout the district" still granted life tenure--regardless of his gross negligence and indifference to human beings--as though he were a Supreme Court justice or a divine-right king? Bad for people; bad for business. I don't get it.
It doesn't help matters that the district (and maybe the division as a whole, and perhaps in other divisions) is experiencing a shortage in store managers. Rick got put back in a store (I feel for the employees at that store... those poor souls) as did another store manager that I won't mention for personal reasons who was promoted around last October to district HR coordinator. Maybe if we had more qualified candidates to choose from, Greg Jordan would be gone. Instead, he's allowed to do stuff like what you mentioned and basically cheat employees out of pay if for whatever reason the time clock doesn't "record" their punches. If it were up to me, I know a handful of co-managers that would make pretty decent store managers (with actual HEARTS), IMO, but I'm afraid the position would change them... for the worse.
Mr Frontenac wrote:
Our front end had us do the survey at the computer that's on the service desk. So while I was taking the survey, there was angry customers wondering what the eff I was doing goofing on the computer while there were customers in line waiting. Also things like and I quote, "they have all these people just walking around doing nothing when they could be helping out....this Krogers is horrible...every single time..."
Dunno why they couldn't have us do the survey in the HR office or break room, cause there's computer terminals there.
That's stupid. Not only did that tick off customers, but I doubt you and the others could fully focus on the survey while having to listen to customers complain/give you bad looks. I bet the logic behind that move was "we'll save a few seconds by not having front end associates go all the way up to the office!" 'Cause you know, it's the front end, which is perpetually understaffed so taking ONE person away to do a survey practically causes a crisis situation.
Instead, he's allowed to do stuff like what you mentioned and basically cheat employees out of pay if for whatever reason the time clock doesn't "record" their punches.
That's how he rolls.
Enjoy the ethics and the fine grammar and syntax.
Felicia Delk, Rick Wollmann, and Jon Young were all cool with it, apparently.
Instead, he's allowed to do stuff like what you mentioned and basically cheat employees out of pay if for whatever reason the time clock doesn't "record" their punches.
That's how he rolls.
Enjoy the ethics and the fine grammar and syntax.
Felicia Delk, Rick Wollmann, and Jon Young were all cool with it, apparently.
With as often as people transfer stores, stuff like that tends to get around. But yeah, he's allowed to get away with unethical tactics like that because you have people that "watch each other's backs" in this company. It also goes to further show just how little value store managers and people at the district and division level care/appreciate the employees that make them rich. It's also why Kroger stores are in such terrible shape and why employee morale is so low.