Target reviews

Senior Management is where many can get disillusioned. The strong leadership development programs turn senior managers into mini-psychoanalysts, and their whole job is to constantly assess and re-assess their teams' talent, deciding who to groom for promotion and who to "work out." There is always someone being "worked out" and the team is aware of who it is 90% of the time, which leads to awkwardness and discomfort (but you get used to it?). You'll find that there are two "leadership expectations" that are most valued: "Relating Well to Others", and "Resilient and Adaptable." The key for "Relating well to Others" is being able to constantly have "statuses" over and over again with other leaders and peers to basically BS about "what you are working on right now." I was in one company pyramid, but I'm aware that this requirement for "statuses" with other leaders is present throughout the entire company. The "Resilient and Adaptable" piece is crucial because it is basically a catch-all to root out anyone that could threaten the "way things are." Resilient and Adaptable basically means "don't question the company," and in my experience those who most often run afoul of it are women, minorities, and those who question the fact that women and minorities are not valued. Make no mistake, this is a white male company, and though they have self-serving diversity quota policies for hiring and promoting, those who are hired and promoted are the most "Resilient and Adaptable." Also, if you are reading about Target you are aware of the credit card scandal. Management is panicked. Like, really panicked. They are cutting back in all pyramids. I wouldn't expect much hiring, but they don't want the PR hit of layoffs either, so it is going to be even more demanding for employees for the foreseeable future. What is nice, is their policy to "work out" bottom performers allows them to free up salaries organically, so they just continue to increase the work load with less people doing the work, raising expectations for minimum output, etc.

Especially as of late, company direction has been schizophrenic changing focus and directions frequently. Lack of work life balance makes it tough to start/raise a family, you can sometimes expect a 7-8 day stretch here and there or 60-70+hour weeks when busy. You get what you sign on for in terms of holiday craziness and seasonal fluctuations. Recent position cuts and restructuring has increased our level of stress and reduced our level of service that we can provide to our guests, doing more with less has become the daily struggle in stores. ETLs at times become overpaid team members and no longer leaders due to reduced resources, we have to pick up the slack created by less payroll.