Can I get the definitive answer to this please!!!???
We are sick of the lies/inaccuracies fed to us by our managers.
We were told by the union, when the Sales Code was introduced, that under NO circumstances were managers
allowed to monitor us on the counter when we are serving customers.
We were told this by our area union rep. many moons ago.
Whether they are standing behind you with a clip board/taking notes.. WHATEVER they are not to do it.
The managers either plead "how else are we to do our job?" or just lie outright and say they can, End of.
Anyone??? And if someone answers that they CAN please direct me to a link or LTB so I can see for myself.
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.
Joseph Goebbels
I don't recall there being anything in the Code to that effect, but I will have a dig around and see what I can find. I must confess it would be impossible to effectively evaluate any member of staff's performance without some sort of monitoring, and I can't see the CWU backing a system based on guesswork. It would be very hard to give someone an end of year appraisal if you hadn't watched them working throughout the year, and from the staff point of view, surely it is better to be judged on a factual basis, with some evidence and recorded discussion throughout the year. At the moment us managers are supposed to be monitoring staff on how you interact with customers, what conversations you use etc. After a period of monitoring, say 5-10 customers, a coaching session should take place, with each transaction discussed and performance, shortfalls, ways forward should be discussed and recorded. One of the reasons this process takes place is to improve the skills of the staff, which is surely a good thing?
seems as though the standing behind people goes on almost all day.customers do notice and some get quite annoyed when the queue is getting longer and it appears as though there is someone looking as though they are doing nothing.
Thanks for the reply back bigjames. As the code doesn't say they should or indeed shouldn't monitor, this ambiguity, especially in my office, is being used as a stick to beat with... Ultimately leading down the slippery slope that is Managing Under Performance.
I know what my job description is. The managers are all too keen to tell us the counter role has changed, so my next question is; what is a Sales Managers job description?
Does it have the part about monitoring staff within it.
It might seem fussy, but a lot of staff at my office are waiting for an answer.
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.
Joseph Goebbels
I guess you must have seen a copy of the Code as you say that it is ambiguous! I got a copy off the CWU website, which was not easy!
What is the job description of a Sales Manager? - good question! I was told when I got the job that I was a Service Manager, in a Flagship, but officially those job titles don't exist in a Flagship, or elsewhere for that matter, we are ABM's, and BM's! Initially I was told that I had 60% responsibility for so-called Service issues, such as H&S, duties, A/L, S/L etc, and about 40% responsibility for Sales issues. In reality we have to be 100% responsible for everything because of patterns of attendance etc we can't palm anything off to our colleagues, sometimes I am in the office on my own, so the buck stops with me - whatever the issue. ABM's who assume the bulk of responsibilty for sales, are basically in charge of drivng sales through full deployment of the Sales Model - pure and simple. If I can find a definitive job description I will share it, but the new management structure is a bit vague to be honest.
simjan wrote:seems as though the standing behind people goes on almost all day.customers do notice and some get quite annoyed when the queue is getting longer and it appears as though there is someone looking as though they are doing nothing.
Customers don't usually need an excuse to complain about anything - Recently someone in our queue had a go at the window cleaner for not being on the counter! - priceless!
Even better than that, we had a middle aged woman go through the queue bitching about how long she was waiting (which was only 10mins as it happened), and when she got to the counter she then started racially abusing the clerk because he was black! The irony of her abuse was lost on her completely, and my clerk put her firmly in her place, but you couldn't make this stuff up!
Our manager monitered the counter like clockwork , same time, same day every week.
This I had a problem with as is stressed me up so I took action.
The night before I would drink pints of guiness and eat the hottest curry money could buy, the result being the most evil smelling farts known to man with the added bonus of being silent so hard to point the finger.
The result is less monitoring, maybe coinsidence but I like to think I played my part.
onlyanother30years wrote:Our manager monitered the counter like clockwork , same time, same day every week.
This I had a problem with as is stressed me up so I took action.
The night before I would drink pints of guiness and eat the hottest curry money could buy, the result being the most evil smelling farts known to man with the added bonus of being silent so hard to point the finger.
The result is less monitoring, maybe coinsidence but I like to think I played my part.
too many managers under pressure from on high who have to justify their positions , I'm sure it's nothing to do with the PO being too tight to pay people up or the typical RM group having a management structure that operates for the sole benefit of it's managers inside it instead of providing a service and/or running a business.
Seen it all before in another service /union .
MURDERERS. Need to dispose of a body? Simply parcel it up and post it to yourself via DHL. You will never see it again.
billyhayes wrote:Can I get the definitive answer to this please!!!???
We are sick of the lies/inaccuracies fed to us by our managers.
We were told by the union, when the Sales Code was introduced, that under NO circumstances were managers
allowed to monitor us on the counter when we are serving customers.
We were told this by our area union rep. many moons ago.
Whether they are standing behind you with a clip board/taking notes.. WHATEVER they are not to do it.
The managers either plead "how else are we to do our job?" or just lie outright and say they can, End of.
Anyone??? And if someone answers that they CAN please direct me to a link or LTB so I can see for myself.
this sounds silly but how else can managers manage you if they cant see what on earth your doing..
are you doing something you shouldn't that's why it bothers you?
It sounds to me its not the monitoring that's in question but the method. I used to supervise and report on 14 people in the forces and I never "stood over" them clip bard in hand. That can be intimidating to some and therefore affect their performance.
Just being present while staff are working and noting things in your head is usually good enough. Then when you are on your own write down your observations and use that to monitor staff members progress. This way its easy to identify and perceived lack of or down turn in performance and you can then approach the staff member in private and help them address the problem.
This has 2 benefits if handled correctly. The staff member does not feel pressurized or embarrassed in front of colleagues, and will, in most cases, be more willing to listen and taken on any pointers you may give them. I have, and I hope I always will, treat people the way I expect to be treated if I was in their place.
All post by me in Green are Admin Posts.May use chatgp to generate posts Any post in any other colour is my own responsibility. If you like a news story I posted please click the link to show support
Any news stories you can't post - PM me with a link Retired
billyhayes wrote:Sales Model? Sorry to ask again but could you enlighten as this is news to me.
The Sales Model - as mentioned in the Sales Code of Practice, with Warm-ups/Downs, Huddles, midday updates, conversations, referrals, conference calls for the managers - sound familiar? And of course the much maligned and now binned 'Pledges'.
The Sales Model is a fancy way of saying a plan, and a plan that is adopted across the network, so every office is doing things much the same way as everyone else. if done properly it also means that all sales are compliant because offices aren't doing their 'own thing'. Some aspects are difficult to implement, others are business as usual, and for the most part it just needs a bit of hard work, teamwork and imagination to get going.
TrueBlueTerrier wrote:It sounds to me its not the monitoring that's in question but the method.
Absolutely right - couldn't have put it better myself!
I use a clipboard, but only really to keep my papers together, and I mostly use it for my duty chart, so when the team see me appearing with a clipboard in the corner of their eye - it usually means I need someone to do docket!
I took EVR last year and I am pleased that bigjames reports that the pledge system has been binnned. After a few weeks I simply passed on the previous weeks pledges to my boss who never complained! What a waste of paper.
