Does anyone know if they’re getting rid of the Home Decor specialist position or any other layoffs down the pipeline?
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At my store our specialist quit 15 months ago and they can’t seem to hire another. Those that do get hired quit or are fired within 5 weeks. Department is being run by two part-timers with help (IMS and M2O) from flooring. Sales are down significantly according to what store manager says.
@5peg+17epPdAS is correct, though eliminating high wage employees has been going on for several years now. The objective of the company is to transform into a majority, part-time workforce in the stores. Basically, if you’re a employee and you want full-time hours and insurance benefits, you’re going to have be willing to go into management, with maybe a few exceptions involving specialized positions(receiving, merch team). That’s the end game.
Both Home decor and Flooring Specialists are going away. The associates who have lost the title are either going to become a specialist in another department or be managed out in time. Starting next fiscal year you are going to see pressure on bringing payroll down by eliminating "highly paid" employees and having a much higher percentage of part time workers who can be flexed up or down in hours. For those who don't believe it, you were told about the pro and plumbing specialist positions and you said "no, it's not going to happen", Well you better find a specialist position before next fiscal year because you are marked.
It isn’t about how much money you make It’s about how much bread you can take from your employees
We have one guy and he isn’t even a specialist but every time he’s there there’s like 80 people throughout the day in the isles and when he’s not there people get mad when you tell them they have to come back tomorrow
My store has never had one. We’ve either had a FT and PT or 3 PT to cover from 9-7. If it’s true, it s—s for the people in that position but It’s not that big a deal from the store standpoint aside from people coming 30 mins before close trying to special order blinds. But that’s no different than people coming to millworks or cabinets after the specialist is gone for the day
Yup!
The writing is on the wall. I have seen the disastrous results at other stores that don’t have a HD specialist. This company will continue to downgrade positions and dilute talent, all to reduce payroll. The stores are a mess. Literally. Front end, sales floor, back end, corporate office and distribution. An unmitigated disaster. They are proactively removing positions to get ahead of the business decline when the CV19 wave subsides.
My store or area hasnt had one in forever