One training I had that I found beneficial was when I started a summer job at a ranch event center. The training was effective because I was first given a four hour training on how to properly work in all areas of the ranch. Then, on my first day I was paired with someone who worked at the job and was able to show me around the facility. I shadowed the individual through the daily tasks of the job, which included setting guests up on the rock wall and dunk tank. It also helped that the company chose to pair us up at each station, so even once I had moved through the initial training I had the opportunity to learn from others and with others at each assigned task.
An example of a training that was not beneficial to me was when I started my job at Trader Joe’s. A new store had just opened, and I was initially told by my boss that I would be transferred to a store that was already open to get trained before our store opened. I think my boss became so busy with opening the store that this was forgotten. I had my first day at the job on opening day and was very nervous when I first walked in. I asked what I should do to help out and was told to bag groceries. From there it was a slow process of learning tasks around the store myself, but eventually I became friends with someone who had been training for a few months at a different store and was able to learn a lot and be more confident in my role.
Overall I think the level of investment my bosses showed in my training and development was the key difference between my beneficial training experience and the one that left me learning the job the hard way. In HBR’s article, “Your New Hires Won’t Succeed Unless You Onboard Them Properly,” it shares that it is important to spend up to as much as a year coaching and training employees to become more knowledgeable of their company. More time and opportunity to learn the ways of the job would have been beneficial to me, particularly for my second job experience.
Relationships were another key factor that helped me be successful in both jobs. From the lecture outline, it shares that interpersonal relationships are very important in the workplace. I was able to have mentoring relationships with my coworkers and have collegial peers to help me in my development through the jobs.
When one’s company and leadership shows interest in their onboarding into the company and are provided with opportunities to fit in with the company culture and form friendships, they will experience a much more significant and beneficial training experience.
Sources:
Ellis, A. M., Nifadkar, S. S., Bauer, T. N., & Erdogan, B. (2017, June 20). Your new hires won’t succeed unless you onboard them properly. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2017/06/your-new-hires-wont-succeed-unless-you-onboard-them-properly
Course Materials: Outline-Training and Development.docx