I worked at a local restaurant for a year in high school before being promoted to manager. When I was promoted, I had a 10 day training that involved shadowing other managers and reading and following procedures on the new position. The training was especially beneficial because I shadowed and worked alongside every manager that works at this restaurant which helped me gain multiple perspectives on different methods and strategies on how to do things like count the tills and send people on breaks. It was also very effective that I knew these people before, It created a sense of security and comfort and I felt more comfortable asking my trainers questions because we already had an established relationship. It also helped that I knew all of the employees that I was now in charge of. I felt more respected and like they wanted to work harder for me because we had a previously established relationship. When I was promoted, I was given a very clear description of what my duties as a manager were going to be and how it was different than me just working as a cashier. My boss was very adamant that I asked questions if I needed and was great about checking in with me and how I was settling into the new position.
Vice versa, when I started working as a receptionist, the training process was not as smooth. I came in as a new hire and there were already a lot of cliques formed and it was very hard to establish any sort of presence in the office. I was onboarded with HR videos that they make everybody watch and then thrown right into the job. On my first day and for months after, there was no formal training and I had to watch other people to figure out how to do simple tasks like gain access to the platforms we needed for the job. I found myself constantly asking questions about how to do things and getting uninterested responses. Since I had no previous connections or relationships with any of the other people I was working with, it created an environment where I felt isolated and alone. It took months for me to settle into the position with no check ins from my boss or anyone at the office. Now that I am more actively working in this job, I am much more acquainted and satisfied with the position but I wish it had not taken me as long to get here and that there was more of an outlined formal training process.
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