How can I hate training less?

October 6, 2018 6:03 PM

I am not a manager or a trainer, but because I work for a big retail chain, am mildly competent, and they don't want to pay people with actual credentials to train new people, they keep foisting new people upon me. Unfortunately, I hate training them.

This is not the new people's fault. It's more about the fact that 1) I myself have had no training in how to train people, 2) I'm a part time employee and feel like if I wanted to train people I would take the leap to become a manager, so being given duties like this anyway makes me cranky.

Assume I cannot weasel my way out of this. Management is aware I am deeply uncomfortable in training situations; they just don't care. I have asked nicely, plead desperately, and glowered when given the news to no avail. Yes, I know I need a better job-- but that's not the point of this question. The point is: Do you also hate training? Do you have any tips on how can I have a better attitude about this inevitable annoyance, and do a better job when confronted by it?

posted by the liquid oxygen to Work & Money (17 answers total)

I would set yourself up with a check list to go over and hand to new employee, and just document the entire process so it's on paper -- less about you having to vocally deliver the training, more, on paper.

It's a burden, doing screenshots and wrestling with Microsoft Word. Not as much of a burden as training when you hate training, though.

Skitch is really good for quick and dirty screenshots.

In short: I would try to put the burden on the paper, less on yourself.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 6:09 PM on October 6, 2018 [5 favorites]

Yeah, I don't like training. But I also don't like constantly answering questions from incompetent co-workers. Try to frame it like that: at least you're getting the new people to do things your way.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:13 PM on October 6, 2018 [8 favorites]

As above - invest a little of your time in tooling to avoid wasting more of your time.

Additionally - it’s all your time; some of which you exchange with an employer for the purpose of getting paid. This is a transaction that carries rights and responsibilities on both sides. Training new employees is a core competancy of any organization but it doesn’t sound like it’s a core part of your job description. YMMV but bringing the argument that, while staff training is important, it’s not part of the job by which you are trained, prepared and empowered to represent your employer means that you need a new job description and more money.

Very few negotiations are all-or-nothing. It sounds like you need to negotiate with yourself regarding the portions of this labour you find distasteful (and why) so that you can value them appropriately. Knowing what you want, what you don’t and what you’ll put up with to make those happen puts you in a much stronger negotiating position with your employer. Even if the end result is as seemlingly simple as: the liquid oxygen shall be called upon to perform new employee orientations alternating tuesdays for 15minutes before lunch. A liveable cap and some predictable scheduling can make many onerous tasks drammatically more palatable.

Note: I really feel this. I spent a number of years doing something similar in a position where employees I trained needed (at least) the orientation before they could legally be on the job site to get anything more in the way of on-the-job-training. It was hard to keep them working so they got paid substantially more than I did, and rarely lasted more than a month. I hated the task, wasn’t well suited to it and resented the situation enormously. It took a long time to realize that the very nature of the situation meant that it was in my employers best interest to ensure I never grasped how much negotiating leverage I had. I certainly didn’t until well after I stopped working there. But now I do know this and I am passing it on to you - (nearly) everything has a price; know yours. Know all of yours, markets are contextual and your time is yours, not your employers - they need to buy it everyday and only you can supply your time. Truly, good luck and best wishes.
posted by mce at 7:07 PM on October 6, 2018 [3 favorites]

Okay, if your issues are that (a) you don't know how to train people and (b) shouldn't be your job, well, they've decided that (b) is your job, so there's nothing you can do about that.

But as for how to train people: what do they need to know to do the job? Make lists if you have to. Or have them follow you around while you do things. Here's how you work a cash register. Here's where you find the X, Y, Z. Don't do A or B or the manager will fire you. You're a guide. You're trying to steer them so that they'll stay there longer and you'll be less short staffed (since god knows everywhere is these days). It's to your advantage to get them up to speed.

When teaching someone something:

1. Explain what you need to and show them first.
2. Point out possible pitfalls that might happen/to watch out for.
3. Have them do it while you watch them until you're confident that they can do it without a babysitter.
4. Reassure them that hey, you've made mistakes too (really helps), have them try it, defuse their panic and fear.

Above all else, be kind. Don't expect that someone's going to get it instantly or already knows everything (the worst teachers I know, uh, my parents, did this). Act like they're the dumbest person on earth and make sure you point out everything without assumptions. Yes, it's annoying when someone keeps asking "stupid" questions or doesn't get it over and over again, but some people do that and you can't really fix those folks if their brains are broken.

Good luck.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:36 PM on October 6, 2018

There are many elements to training. If you can update on what in particular you hate about it, it might be easier to give specific advice.
posted by MountainDaisy at 8:31 PM on October 6, 2018

Tell your manager you need time and resources to develop training materials. Then take notes about the things you keep telling newcomers. It's always nice to have a list of names, titles, and extension numbers of staff. Short overview of any emergency info. It's possible that there's a manual somewhere that's being ignored, and it may have important HR policy. Tour of the facilities. This stuff isn't so much training as orientation to the basics. Write this stuff up, maintain it, keep it in a binder at the desk.

The training is how to deal with customers, give good service efficiently, and your store wants you to sell hard. Those skills require training, and you can probably develop that if you choose to. For on the job training, and in general, What gets rewarded gets repeated so always tell people when they did well. Thanks for staying extra when Chris was late. That customer was fussy and you kept your cool. You straightened the widget section; it looks so much better!

When you take a routine task and do it well, giving it even the minimum attention it deserves, it makes you look even better, so think about telling your manager that you should be moving into a management role, if that interests you.
posted by theora55 at 9:37 PM on October 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

There are two answers here. The first, is that you can find out how many people this affects and collectively bring up your concerns to management. The second is that if the problem is you are not trained to train: have you requested training in this area?
posted by corb at 9:58 PM on October 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

It's normal in retail for basic training to be done by existing coworkers rather than professional trainers. I'm not at all surprised they think it is part of your job, part time or no. Particularly if you are customer facing, it's the norm. You are far better equipped to train new coworkers than a professional trainer would ever be.

You could ask for train the trainer resources or training, but that will likely have the net result that you end up doing more training rather than less. But that would at least get you over the hump of feeling as though you're responsible for doing something for which you are ill prepared. If you throw yourself into it, you may be paid more money for it but that seems not to be your point.

I'm having a difficult time parsing from your question what it is that you hate but what I get from it is that you basically do not want that level of responsibility. I'm not sure how you work around that in a reasonable way or learn not to hate it. If you move to a more back of house role (in store logistics, fi) it may be you are less often called upon to do so.

You might also see if there's another coworker in your team who likes training and wants the extra management attention it would bring and see if you can help each other out.
posted by frumiousb at 12:45 AM on October 7, 2018 [1 favorite]

Reading between the lines you are basically being asked to show new people the ropes, perhaps have them work alongside you, providing basic on the job training?

I have to provide on the job training all the time and classroom training a few times a year. I have only ever had one training session on how to ‘facilitate’ classroom training, perhaps a day in total? I have never ever had training on how to do on the job training yet it was an expected part of every single job I have ever had (incl. part time hospitality and various temping roles). At my professional job we have the interns who are returning for their second internships show the new interns how to pull reports and use software tools they all have to use.

So this is a fairly normal request, even for part time workers, and unlikely to go away, you may have to make peace with the idea. Are there any specific aspects about providing on the job training that you find more bothersome than others? If you update the question and tell us what you dislike so much people can help with better strategies.
posted by koahiatamadl at 2:16 AM on October 7, 2018

Re-frame the situation for yourself—don't think of it as being forced to do something that's not in your job description. Instead, think of it as an opportunity to develop an extremely valuable skill that you can take with you to every job you ever get in your life, and beyond.

Being a good teacher is something you can apply wherever you go. Most people are not good teachers, but whenever I have to learn something at work and the person training me turns out to be a good teacher, I am extremely grateful. It's a leadership skill that will serve you well no matter where you are, even outside of the workplace. And if you're good at it, it can be very satisfying to watch a trainee's eyes light up when something suddenly clicks for them. Training new hires is also a legit bullet point on your resume and will help future employers see that you're a cut above the average employee in your workplace.

Think of it in terms of your own career development, and try to take satisfaction in helping others learn.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:19 AM on October 7, 2018 [3 favorites]

A few more details would help but as it's in retail you must not totally hate people and second considering the inexperienced and attitude of your new co-workers it's likely frustration at the pace that a new person is able or willing to acclimate to your environment. So whatever you do it leads to frustration. Probably compounded frustrations. "just push the enter button" "no I did not mean space out, just push the #$#* button" with the inability ever to say "#$#@".

So getting through this situation is reminding yourself regularly what was said above, you're trading your time for funds. Just that, and you could be asked to stand and be a mannequin or push a broom or whatever but until it's something that is not worth your time (ethically, safety, etc) don't worry about time, or quality of work (as a mannequin one would probably not be perfect and twitch) but it's not you if a person is slow or not good at something.

So basically fine a mantra to "let it go". Mechanically repeating instructions is the same as mechanically folding shirts.
posted by sammyo at 5:50 AM on October 7, 2018

Agree with the idea above to think of it as being given permission to establish the "right way" to do things and then try to increasingly have the staff around you do them the way you think they should be done.
posted by salvia at 4:08 PM on October 7, 2018

Someone who trains well and patiently is an asset to any organization. An organization that takes training seriously and is patient, to a reasonable extent, with the slower learner or the one with lots of questions, is one I want to work for. An organization which rushes employees through a training process and makes them feel stupid for having questions is not. You can become the trainer who really makes sure an employee understands what they are being shown and helps to make their first few days at a job far less stressful. That is worth a lot.
posted by Armed Only With Hubris at 5:37 PM on October 7, 2018

Yeah, treat it like a project and become a giant nerd about it, basically. Read as much as you can about best practices in pedagogy and in management. Try new techniques and journal about how they went. It may never be natural or fun but you can make it feel less routine and more of an intellectual challenge. This could even result in new lines for your CV and interesting things to talk about during your next job interview, when they inevitably ask you about a time you overcame a challenge.

Alternatively, use training as creative fodder, i.e., as an opportunity to observe and collect people's idiosyncrasies.
posted by en forme de poire at 6:34 PM on October 7, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: What do I hate about it? It's the not-trained-in-training thing, with a side order of not liking to talk to people. I like people, but don't like talking. I can happily work alone in silence for hours, only speaking to help customers or acknowledge orders from my boss. When coworkers talk to me I mostly just listen attentively and ask an occasional question, since I struggle with contributing to conversations.

Training requires me to take the reins and steer the conversation, and it's hard. I would like to be a good teacher, but don't know how-- thus, I do a poor job at training, which causes me to be averse to further training assignments.

I'll be doing off-the-clock research and self-examination on this regardless and thought it'd be helpful to have a starting point, which is why I posted this. I listen to the Manager Tools podcast and have read How to Win Friends and Influence People, and seriously have no clue where to start.
posted by the liquid oxygen at 8:35 AM on October 8, 2018

Nthing developing written processes to make training less about talking and more about showing. You might even find you like the process of documentation.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 9:08 AM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

"Read as much as you can about best practices in pedagogy and in management" - Good advice but switch pedagogy with androgogy AKA adult learning.
posted by Che boludo! at 11:53 AM on October 21, 2018