Approach to training someone???

We had a new employee which started about a month ago. Before I met her my boss told me she have years of experience ranging from breakfix to system admin. I was excited and was hoping I can learn a few things from her.

Well she came on board and we all did our part to trained her. When I trained her she was completely clueless about how to do simple troubleshooting (we are in desktop support). I gave her the benefit of the doubt and thought to myself maybe she just need to get situated. It can be a little overwhelming at first. So she got about 3 full weeks of training and continue to ask question which is perfectly fine.

Fast fwd to today when she asked me for help on how to install a network printer. I explained the steps to install a printer to her. She keeping nodding her head while having this confuse look on her face. I know for a fact she was not going to remember what I was saying without writing it down. After spending a min talking I decided to just go with her. When we got there the printer was already installed by another tech. As we left I pulled her to the side and asked if she have any questions and she say no. I repeatedly ask her if she know how to do install a printer now and amazingly she say "yes". Unless she remember word for word of what I say earlier there is no way she could have grasp that info during our convo earlier.

Well later that day I ran into her while I was going on a ticket and asked her again. She say yes once again. I told her that I am trying to help but she need to speak up if she need help. She is very soft spoken and her English is not really that good. She then started to babble about how she is new to the industry and that she is still learning. Even though I didn't show any facial impression I was shocked when I heard that. I am not sure what is going on with her.

Is pretty frustrating. I mean is bad enough I have to answer her questions but her demeanor is very poor. She is not trying to be anyone friend and she keep to herself. Maybe not to the extend of being friend but at least be friendly. The only time she talk to me is when she have a question. Part of me just want to totally ignore her but that will put a bad vibe to the office. How should I handle any future incident with her? I think I will lose it if she ask me for help on how to install a printer in the very near future. HELP!

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Comments

Essendon

Show her the way out mate, she's lied her way to the role. No place for such people, everyone must come through the ranks.

willanderson1111

Unfortunately I am not the boss and she is employed by the company that owns the contract. I am a subcontractor. I mean everyone have to start some where but I am fed up with spoon feeding ppl. Beside her I notice I have to do that to my other coworkers as well. Sometimes I just want to say leave me the F alone!

Essendon

Keep fobbing her off in that case, not much you can do. If you complain to mgmt someone might perceive it as a whinge. Take it easy is all I can say, if she's willing to learn and absorbs the info you give her, it's all good.

earweed

What's a "whinge"? Sorry the only Australian I know is that according to the commercial Fosters is Australian for beer..lol
I have to agree with Essendon though. If you complain about her it'll look bad on you. Keep trying to help her and if she does ask you how to install a network printer again then ask her to write it down.

apena7

After you ask her if she understands a process or not, ask her to repeat each step involved.

Essendon

@earweed :: This should get you started on Australian English.

*Dont have anything meaningful enough to add to the thread*

snokerpoker

There's not much you can do to help her. Just be patient and direct her to Google when she asks you a question.

Sooner or later mgmt will know she is not a good fit and let her go. Hang in there!

eMeS

Essendon wrote: »

@earweed :: This should get you started on Australian English.

*Dont have anything meaningful enough to add to the thread*

"Mappa Tassie"....LOL. Never thought about what Tasmania looks like on a map...there's a similar image in the major highways around Dallas/Fort Worth.

My all time favorite "mog" isn't in there....

MS

Essendon

I didnt know what Mappa Tassie was myself...LOL

Yeah, there are a few funny ones in there. Check out old fella, trough lolly to name a couple. I have never heard half the stuff in that list myself.

N2IT

Here is what you do.

Next time she ask you a question you give her this link Let me google that for you

No matter what she ask give her that link Let me google that for you

I mean no matter what it's this link or bust Let me google that for you

Let me google that for you

Let me google that for you

Let me google that for you

Let me google that for you

Let me google that for you!

Mike-Mike

how hot is she?

Slowhand

Mike-Mike wrote: »

how hot is she?

This, unfortunately, is a relevant question. Far too many times have I worked in situations where some manager hired in an attractive woman whose two major assets were not her breadth of experience and innovative thinking. While it's not as common, I did once have a similar experience with a female operations manager hiring a 20-something guy who had previously been a personal trainer to be her assistant manager. Suffice it to say, most of the "eye-candy" employees in question were so dumb I'm pretty sure they gave me cancer.

This kind of thing, (along with any number of other equally ridiculous factors,) could very well be what contributed to willanderson1111's current working situation. If that's the case, it's going to be exceptionally difficult to make the boss understand that her lack of skills and basic understanding of her job is causing problems and she needs to either be properly trained or let go.

CompuTron99

Isn't that how Jen was hired on the IT Crowd?

Arysta

I say let her sink. If she doesn't know how to install a network printer, so clearly padded her resume. If she can't grasp your explanations, that's not your problem. You explained, she said she understood, your part of the deal is done.

Paul Boz

I'd be more upset that she lied her way into a position and that its impacting your ability to do your job because you have to explain how to do things that she said she could do already.

I would like to say though, that not everyone has to be told things twice or write things down to grasp them. Installing a printer is a rather easy process and if someone expected me to write down those steps I'd be a little taken aback. I'd obviously google something rudimentary like that but I still wouldn't call it "take notes" worthy.

Mike-Mike

Slowhand wrote: »

This, unfortunately, is a relevant question. Far too many times have I worked in situations where some manager hired in an attractive woman whose two major assets were not her breadth of experience and innovative thinking. While it's not as common, I did once have a similar experience with a female operations manager hiring a 20-something guy who had previously been a personal trainer to be her assistant manager. Suffice it to say, most of the "eye-candy" employees in question were so dumb I'm pretty sure they gave me cancer.

This kind of thing, (along with any number of other equally ridiculous factors,) could very well be what contributed to willanderson1111's current working situation. If that's the case, it's going to be exceptionally difficult to make the boss understand that her lack of skills and basic understanding of her job is causing problems and she needs to either be properly trained or let go.

yeah it wasn't a joke, sounds to me like she was hired for being hot

tpatt100

Mike-Mike wrote: »

how hot is she?

This is important

snokerpoker

CompuTron99 wrote: »

Isn't that how Jen was hired on the IT Crowd?

I love the part when she acts like she is on the phone and then gets pwned! Then later, on the PC.... heh

Classic!

za3bour

Mike-Mike wrote: »

how hot is she?

Sadly it's an important question and I do agree with the Google answer. I think a month is really enough for her to get used to your environment and start fixing stuff herself It's not your job to answer her you've been good and polite enough but Google is even nicer than you

willanderson1111

As much as I like the Google suggestion I just don't know how that is going to come out. I especially like that "Let me Google website". Haha

Realistically she is going to take it the wrong way and maybe tell on me and that is going to make me look bad. I'll continue to help her but will try to distant myself from her as much as possible. Thanks for listening to my ranting and providing great feedback as always.

And she is pretty hot for her age I guess. She's in her low 40s I think. Way too old for my tasting...

Chris:/*

This is a personality problem as much as a technical ability problem.

I have dealt with a number of people in the government contracting world like this. The first thing you need to tell her is that you would rather have her admit she doesn't know something then tell you she does and go on to screw something up.

Tell her you do not want you to say yes for the sake of yes that you want her to actually retain the information. If you are required to train her I would tell her like I have told other people I have trained you are required to have a note book on you at all times.

You get to have me tell you twice and if you do not have a notebook on you either of those times, you will not help you any further with that problem in the future. Tell her you will have another tech take care of the job and that you will document her inability to follow direction and present the facts to her supervisor. The key to this is documenting each training session date, time and training type. Now you have something to back-up your actions.

Paul Boz

willanderson1111 wrote: »

As much as I like the Google suggestion I just don't know how that is going to come out. I especially like that "Let me Google website". Haha Realistically she is going to take it the wrong way and maybe tell on me and that is going to make me look bad. I'll continue to help her but will try to distant myself from her as much as possible. Thanks for listening to my ranting and providing great feedback as always.

And she is pretty hot for her age I guess. She's in her low 40s I think. Way too old for my tasting...

It may sound like pulling teeth, but perhaps you could embrace bringing her up to speed because I'm sure your managers will notice that you're taking that initiative. If anything, the more you teach her up front the less she'll bother you with down the road.

Mike-Mike

willanderson1111 wrote: »

And she is pretty hot for her age I guess. She's in her low 40s I think. Way too old for my tasting...

this is the age of the cougar brother

earweed

Paul Boz wrote: »

It may sound like pulling teeth, but perhaps you could embrace bringing her up to speed because I'm sure your managers will notice that you're taking that initiative. If anything, the more you teach her up front the less she'll bother you with down the road.

+1 on this. Your boss picked her for the job. Do your best to train her. If you're having to train her set rules though. As a previous poster said advise her to keep a notebook on her at all times. You're training her will most definitely help you in the eyes of your boss. If she fails at the job then the boss may take it personally against those who should have been helping her to learn.
There was a similar situation on here some months back where they just let the new person sink and the manager who had hired the person then made it knid of personal with bad reviews and such.

Turgon

earweed wrote: »

+1 on this. Your boss picked her for the job. Do your best to train her. If you're having to train her set rules though. As a previous poster said advise her to keep a notebook on her at all times. You're training her will most definitely help you in the eyes of your boss. If she fails at the job then the boss may take it personally against those who should have been helping her to learn.
There was a similar situation on here some months back where they just let the new person sink and the manager who had hired the person then made it knid of personal with bad reviews and such.

This could also lead to difficulties if the problems continue. The person doing the training could be accused of or perceived as being ineffective at training the individual. This can be particularly risky once significant time has elapsed and you have been upfront about all the time you are taking out of your day to help someone get upto scratch. It's as though her failure could be attribute to you in some sense.

I would say be fair but candid with your boss about the training requirements of this lady before you commit to training her. There is no need to be negative. It's impossible to train anybody effectively if you go into it like that. Simply state the observation that it's most likely going to take a decent amount of time to get her upto speed and settled into the role and that she will need some regular mentoring.

It's quite likely that this lady already has become somewhat defensive at this stage and afraid to come clean about her shortcomings. I sense she is already conscious of how she is perceived. That in itself isn't helping and explains the false positives to questions asked by her peers about if she understands something properly.

You need to forget about any reasons why she was hired. That wasn't your decision. If she starts to pass herself off as an expert in something you have to do operationally and that gives you cause for concern then take the matter in a professional way to your boss. But I don't think that scenario would arise in this case.

In terms of her demeanor, in life we all have to work with people who don't float our boat when it comes to personality types. Part of being an effective professional is learning how to deal with that in a positive way. Some people are rather quiet and withdrawn. That is how they are wired. The work however, remains homogenous.

So if you are going to train this lady, put things to one side and try to get some trust going and some patience. You may find helping her to be much more rewarding then!

elphrank0

Another great site:

Just F'ng google it Just **** Google It

willanderson1111

Just wanted to drop an update and is not getting any better

I am getting so frustrated that I am constantly stressing out. I like what I do and I can't believe my coworkers are stressing me out more than the actual customers. Just in the past 2 weeks I had to clean up my coworkers mess on several occasions, Friday being the biggest of them all. She tried to do something, failed, and then call back to the office.

Unfortunately I picked up and got dragged in the problem. I was then reassigned with the ticket and inherited the mess. After I bust my ass to get the customers back up I went back to the office and they (coworkers and manager) were joking around and discussing about having xmas party and secret santa. That just made my blood boiled but I kept it all in. I just stood there and listen. We have so many tickets in our queue and it just seems like me and my other 3 coworker are really contributing while the other 4 are dead weight.

I have always been hardworking and devoted in what I do but I just wanted to give up on that Friday. I felt unmotivated and just didn't want to continue to carry the extra load. 1 more month will be my one year anniversary and I want to stick with them before I decide to look for another job. Please help.

rogue2shadow

willanderson1111 wrote: »

Just wanted to drop an update and is not getting any better

I am getting so frustrated that I am constantly stressing out. I like what I do and I can't believe my coworkers are stressing me out more than the actual customers. Just in the past 2 weeks I had to clean up my coworkers mess on several occasions, Friday being the biggest of them all. She tried to do something, failed, and then call back to the office.

Unfortunately I picked up and got dragged in the problem. I was then reassigned with the ticket and inherited the mess. After I bust my ass to get the customers back up I went back to the office and they (coworkers and manager) were joking around and discussing about having xmas party and secret santa. That just made my blood boiled but I kept it all in. I just stood there and listen. We have so many tickets in our queue and it just seems like me and my other 3 coworker are really contributing while the other 4 are dead weight.

I have always been hardworking and devoted in what I do but I just wanted to give up on that Friday. I felt unmotivated and just didn't want to continue to carry the extra load. 1 more month will be my one year anniversary and I want to stick with them before I decide to look for another job. Please help.

I was wondering about this issue too. Thanks for the update. I'd say keep pushing yourself as you never know what the future holds. Maybe management is aware and is waiting to hit the buzzer. In the end, you're gaining experience no matter what so its not a loss by any means. Keeping a strong work ethic, even in the darkest of times, is fundamental to being successful in the industry.

Turgon

willanderson1111 wrote: »

Just wanted to drop an update and is not getting any better

I am getting so frustrated that I am constantly stressing out. I like what I do and I can't believe my coworkers are stressing me out more than the actual customers. Just in the past 2 weeks I had to clean up my coworkers mess on several occasions, Friday being the biggest of them all. She tried to do something, failed, and then call back to the office.

Unfortunately I picked up and got dragged in the problem. I was then reassigned with the ticket and inherited the mess. After I bust my ass to get the customers back up I went back to the office and they (coworkers and manager) were joking around and discussing about having xmas party and secret santa. That just made my blood boiled but I kept it all in. I just stood there and listen. We have so many tickets in our queue and it just seems like me and my other 3 coworker are really contributing while the other 4 are dead weight.

I have always been hardworking and devoted in what I do but I just wanted to give up on that Friday. I felt unmotivated and just didn't want to continue to carry the extra load. 1 more month will be my one year anniversary and I want to stick with them before I decide to look for another job. Please help.

You gave it a fair crack of the whip. One year is enough. Find another job and get out of there.