*** Perspective Operations Managers, please read this ***
Pros
I worked with some absolutely incredible individuals. Collectively, probably the most talented group of leaders that I've been around in my entire career. Target also pays very well, the salary is very competitive + yearly bonuses in April. The HR team is amazing & very supportive of the Operation.
Cons
*** These are all of the things that the recruiter will not tell you *** The term "Operations Manager" is misleading. You are a front line supervisor, that will be running your department(20-30 people, during peak season upwards to 50-60 people) without the assistance of any leads. Some departments have two OMs, some departments don't. You'll have an office, that you'll spend zero time in. Please be prepared to be on the floor, with your team 90% of the time. The working population is bad. When I was there, the attrition was 75%. Translation: If you work the B2, A1 or A2 keys, you will constantly be trying to train and develop new team members in a chaotic environment. On average, every three out of four people hired, quit. We used the Insource temp agency as well, but those team members were just as bad as the new hires. This makes it significantly difficult for you hit all of your budgeted performance goals, that you will have to report out daily. When you don't hit those goals, you will have to explain why.. every single day. The hours of operation: (The only day that the building closes is Christmas) (Yes, you will work holidays) (BKeys: Tues-Fri) (AKeys: Sat, Sun, Mon) As an Operations manager, you will be required to come in TWO HOURS before your shift for "staffing" & depending on the department that you work in, you will be spending 30-60 minutes after your team's shift, completing end of shift reports. The true work hours of an Operations manager are: B1(4am-430pm), B2(2pm-3am), A1(4am-7pm), A2(4pm-7am). Also - During the holidays, the vacation calendar is blacked out and vacation is limited. Yes, I had vacation requests around the holidays denied. We were also mandated to work overtime on an off-shift. Flexibility: There is no flexibility, at all. You can't flex your schedule or work from home. If you have a family, this is something to strongly consider. Communication from Senior Leadership: The communication was poor. A lot of operational decisions were made, without consideration of how it would affect the Operations Manager & their teams. This was probably the most frustrating issue for me to deal with. It absolutely destroyed our moral as leaders. Culture: Senior Leadership has to do a better job on being creative in the way that they engage the working population. Otherwise, they'll continue to be unhappy.