I just recently took the Produce team lead position, just trying to see how everyone else in the position is able to handle F/C, Deli and produce/floral. Any advice you are able to give? I have been a fresh lead for a few years so I know the expectations, just can’t seem to keep my eye on every area.
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The key to being a great lead is to delegate and hold people accountable. Be a mentor to one of two of your top performers, this will make your job less stressful. All leads have a tremendous weight on their shoulders. Home office sets the hourly rate of pay for each lead position. I don't believe they set the rates without consideration of what each lead position entails. In most jobs, the higher the pay, the greater the responsibilities.
You will need to have fresh managers that are willing to get in there with you. IT is a constant battle. No easy days.
You have to be a tireless worker. Commit to giving up your 15 minute breaks.
You can't get a routine down because of the block schedule.
[Take note home office----Routine is critical for success in all fresh areas. implementing some ridiculous rotating schedule prohibits it.]
Sorry to tell you, but it is a losing battle. You can only hope to get through each day without a catastrophe.
: @1jfs+1gExauQS
"A produce lead has a lot of areas to cover, but they also do not have a lot of responsibilities that other fresh leads handle. First of all they don't have to order their inventory, they don't need to maintain a supply from Bunzl, they don't deal with member special orders and they aren't required to conduct as many audits and monthly inventories. This gives them more time to oversee their departments and pitch in where needed. Our produce lead has plenty of time to chit chat with others, so it can't be all that bad."
P/f/c/d lead is the most demanding of all the fresh leads. First point you made about not having to order their inventory is one thing that makes the job difficult.
If they were allowed to order, they could control freight flow. It would cut down throws & the amount of time spent down stacking/rotating freight than wasn't needed.
All of the areas that produce lead oversees receive trucks everyday & are overloaded with freight.
These are very labor intensive areas.
You are right about bunzl though.
You are off base about audits & inventories. Produce has to audit WEEKLY. Not monthly like the other areas.
The id--tic block schedule throws a wrench into consistently being able to do the audit on a set day each week.
I would venture to say that if you combine the sales of produce, f/c, deli, & floral they are close to, if not more than they other fresh depts combined. So what you have is one lead overseeing an area that generates more sales than the other 3 fresh leads combined.
Yet you make the statement that this is the easiest of the fresh lead positions?
A good produce lead that cares has to work harder than the leads. They are constantly running from area to area putting out fires because the staffing is insufficient.
A produce lead has a lot of areas to cover, but they also do not have a lot of responsibilities that other fresh leads handle. First of all they don't have to order their inventory, they don't need to maintain a supply from Bunzl, they don't deal with member special orders and they aren't required to conduct as many audits and monthly inventories. This gives them more time to oversee their departments and pitch in where needed. Our produce lead has plenty of time to chit chat with others, so it can't be all that bad.
I just became produce lead myself... Have spent all of my time in the freezers. 1 guy in there by himself everyday, the other on vacation. Just awful. The cold doesn't bother me because I'm bundled up good, but it's the amount of freight that we have and can't keep up. As soon as we get ahead, the truck shows up and buries us even more. Just awful awful. No coverage at night barely because of call ins. At least my produce area is fully staffed.
I've been a produce lead for 7 years. It's the most difficult of the fresh lead positions with the most expected of you. Some days/weeks you feel like you're just treading water because your shift is spent doing nothing but stocking because someone went on leave or just didn't show up for work. I'm not going to lie, sometimes I feel like an overpaid stocker. But if you have/get a good team, or at least a couple good full time associates, you can trust them a little more without having to micromanage them and that allows you to focus on the areas that need more of your focus... like how they are nitpicking every tiny detail in produce right now.
lol...easiest area least responsibility
Yeah, been the Produce Lead for a little over a year now and I will say it is not easy at all. Really should be 2 leads covering such a wide range of area. Hopefully you have a good fresh management team who will help you manage the areas. I'd argue it's the most labor intensive lead position available and you don't even get paid as much as HMS/Bakery/Meat leads. Kind of sucks.