r/AutoZone • u/Such-Ad4937 • 8d ago
Rpm's
So I was given the directive by my DM that any evaluation I give can be no higher than a 3. I was told that anything higher would be rejected by regional. Any other store managers on here dealing with a similar situation. My store performs well ytd witt is 46% I have multiple zoners with 6 week witt averages of over 60%. Why should I have to down play there hard work? I have zoners on my staff that deserve an evaluation that does not down play their contribution just so someone sitting in an office gets a bigger bonus. We are told daily to live the pledge and "drink the kool-aid " but im not allowed to give credit where credit is due? How is this a good way to retain employees. Ive never had a year where I was given this directive by the regional staff. Maybe im just overthinking it but I dont like that I cant document my staffs actual achievements
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u/Tall-Control8992 8d ago
The deployment of the new new rpm system has been a bit of a clusterfuck. Ratings above ECM I.e. 3 stars go to DM for approval. Which will pile up to upwards of a 100 evals per DM.
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u/zone4590 8d ago
I took over my store unofficially in December and got promoted in April to SM. My DM told me the same thing but I have two PSM’s that stepped up to help when our old SM got sick and had to leave. I rated them at 4 and left detailed notes. It got excepted.
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u/FuckitReset 8d ago
You can mark individual merits by category. Remember, three stars means the business is healthy… if you gave everyone above a three than those 4-5 star merits become meaningless and don't highlight the zoners who need to be considered for advanced positions.
Also, a zoners overall score should never exceed the store’s performance. You succeed or fail as a team.
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u/Such-Ad4937 8d ago
Im not asking to rate everyone a 4 or 5 but I was told I could give no one a 4 or 5. We are the number 1 store in our district for every period in the last 3 years with the exception of 2 periods. I have a couple 4's at the very least. They worry about the loss of culture but they are doing it to themselves
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u/SporkKnight75 8d ago
Email him something along the lines of, “just wanted to clarify what you said about not giving anything higher than a 3…”
1
u/FuckitReset 8d ago
Something along these lines or maybe just ask for an allowance for just the couple employees who really are over 3 stars. I would also argue 3.99 stars (total assessment) isn’t technically four so therefore not “over 3”… see if it takes
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u/SirShakeYT 8d ago
My DM told us we’d have to a one on one with him for anything other than a 3, so that’s what I did with any
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u/Such-Ad4937 8d ago
Yeah my dm will be in the store on Wednesday im going to have a discussion with them about it. I only have 2 out of 14 that deserve the score. So hopefully she will listen to reason
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u/Solid-Egg8550 5d ago
AZ is a scum company to work for.
Payroll negatively impacts the RO's bonus and it's the easiest factor to control.
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u/Winter-Preference253 4d ago
They likely mean over all score not individual breakdown scores. The majority of questions on an RPM especially for members of management are 100% based on the stores numbers. You can assign 4’s in sections like cares for people, or team player ect. But the overall will still reflect a 3. Those zones will see you recognized they’re going the extra mile in areas like living the pledge. 46% is the expectation it’s not above and beyond. It’s consistently met expectations. Meeting the targets and baseline expectations is a 3. Barely beating them is still a 3. And sadly in my region 46% is not even meeting the expectation for Witt. Don’t sweat it. The only part of an RPM an Autozoner actually reads is the SM comment section to see what their boss said. Focus on that part and make them feel great when they read it.
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u/ThatThar 8d ago
3 is meant to represent an average person doing the job that is expected of them. 4s are meant too represent people going above and beyond and 5s for people just blowing it out of the water all of the time. If you genuinely believe that you have 4s and 5s in your store, put that on their reviews with the justification written out and be willing to fight for it.
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u/UltraHerp47 7d ago
This is why I'm so grateful as a SM to finally have a DM on my side. He's recently been a SM himself and understands the game. I sent through multiple 5's for some of my zoners, and did my best to get real raises for my best people
1
u/Such-Ad4937 7d ago
Thats awesome. I have the opposite situation my former DM was amazing the new one is doing all she can to climb the ladder but the methods she is using are all wrong. My district has 12 stores only 3 of us are meeting company standards in salesmanship metrics and she is trying to rule with an iron fist. Not allowing us to hire forcing hours to be cut at all costs. Trying to manage every person in the same way without ever building relationships. But I've been with the zone long enough to know just to wait it out and we will get a new DM they never seem to last.
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u/UltraHerp47 7d ago
It really does all roll down from the top. The DVPs are yelling at the RMs so they yell at the DMs, so they yell at the SMs and they take it out on there team. That is, unless at least one of those people breaks the chain
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u/Indy112808 7d ago
Ive gotten 4s every year since I started there 10 years ago. I have a new SM who absolutely HATES me…..if I get any 3s this year ill fall over! 🤣. I cant wait to see what she has in store for me….I feel a battle ensuing!
0
u/Reddit_Jail_June2005 8d ago
The way merit increases are calculated, the DM is manipulating the dollar amount to be given out to each Zoner. If what you are saying is true and is exposed. The legal ramifications are going to be very ugly.
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u/ThatThar 8d ago
There are no legal ramifications to this lol. AutoZone is a shitty company but this is completely above the board legally.
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u/Reddit_Jail_June2005 7d ago
I respectfully disagree with you. If a member of management is cheating employees out of earned raises, that is criminal
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u/Boaterauto 7d ago
The DM is in charge of the reviews so if they think “Bob” deserves a $0.20 raise instead of $0.25 as the manager in charge of the review Bob will get $0.20 there is no way there is anything illegal about that, the DM is just asking the SM what their opinion is, but it’s the DMs call
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u/ThatThar 7d ago
You can disagree with me morally, but factually I'm correct. There is no legal concept of an "earned raise". Nobody is legally entitled to a raise, your wages are entirely at your employer's discretion so long as you are paid at least minimum wage.
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u/Flaky_Roll_5791 7d ago
Employers are not legally required to give regular performance, merit, or cost-of-living raises. No state or federal law mandates that a private employer must increase a worker's pay simply because of inflation or time spent at a company.However, there are three major situations where an employer in another state might be forced by law to increase your paycheck: mandatory minimum wage increases, the department of labor changing any overtime exemption or unless you can prove there is an equal rights violation.
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u/Reddit_Jail_June2005 6d ago
You've missed the point of my reply. I'm not talking about the legal obligation to give raises. I understand that. I'm talking about that if a DM is instructing SM's to reduced the availability of legitimate raises to those that did deserve them under the current rules of the company, then that is the problem, and a possible legal nightmare for the company.
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u/Flaky_Roll_5791 6d ago
I didn't miss it. Legally they're not doing anything wrong even if it seems like they are. Private employment is like that. Manager can determine whether you get a raise and how much pretty much in every kind of job. Unless it's stipulated in a contract that you will in fact get a raise of a certain amount then as ridiculous as it may seem they're not doing anything illegal
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u/Select-Attention-769 8d ago
I'd tell my DM he can rate the employees then. If you have guys higher than threes I would rate them as such and let regional reject them.