Archived Training...WTF

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I'm reading through new and old threads, mainly because I'm bored to death and cuz I'm new, but I'm finding SOOOOO many occurrences of training being absolutely awful if happening at all.

What the hell?

Training is a huge deal in my store. Learning plans, quizzes, check for understandings, hip to hip, etc., are all taken very seriously. Each TL even has their own personal comprehensive check for understanding (things the workbench activity guides might not mention or stress enough importance) that every new hire reads, is asked by the trainer and by the TL if they understand everything, and the new TM signs it.


As the Flow Team Trainer, I'm on top of all the training paperwork. To the point that I have copies and dates in a binder on my TL's desk along with new TM learning plans ready for their first day.
HR doesn't even bother letting my TL know when training is due or about to expire because they come to me and more often than not, I've already handled it.


How are trainers, TLs, and HR getting around not having signed, complete, learning plans and not having quiz scores on file?
 
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Haha. My store, well Flow, stopped all that paperwork pretty much after my batch was hired. We no longer have trainers anymore instead trainees get partnered with a random TM for like two days then you're on your own. I remember when we took the quiz and our ETL gave us all the answers because she finds it useless so she just doesn't bother with it anymore. How hard could it be to stock a shelf and be safe, she asks.
 
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I remember finding out there was a learning plan for the signing job and being very surprised by that.
I never signed anything until one day they realized I hadn't and shoved it at me to make sure all the paperwork was done.

And I worked in one of the decent stores.
 
Our backroom training is pretty terrible. I was lucky to train with the best guy back there at the time and I have more than half a brain so I've been good from the get go. He couldn't certify on equipment though so I had to wait for the OG (old) lady of the BR to do that.

She's still the only one doing that and seems to be the only official trainer despite working very limited shifts and not on weekends. None of our most recent (all of which who are already gone/fired) were certified on equipment and some only knew how to backstock because that's all they were allowed to for for a week straight.

It's mostly like here's your PDA. Here's how to get into CAFS. Here's how to get into STO. Now go pull meat cooler and put everything in the same cart.
 
When I was an HRTM I was responsible for making sure the ETLs/TLs kept on top of training. It was a tough task. It was difficult getting leadership to buy in that it was important, especially backroom/flow.

This is really something that's going to vary from store to store. You have a few different types of stores:

1) Stores that actually care about training and it's part of the store culture to make sure it's done, and done correctly. This is a store you want to be in.

2) Stores whose leadership knows it's something that would be helpful, implements attempts to make training a priority, but eventually it falls by the wayside in favor of the rollout du jour (this was my first store where I was an HRTM)

3) Stores that don't care and fudge the training (e.g., keying in training as completed when it hasn't been) because they only care about "going green" and not about doing things the right way.
 
Good thing about Target? Every store does things differently. Bad thing about Target? Every store does things differently. I never signed anything for my electronics "training" until they were doing an audit of the records and saw my workcenter was never changed.
 
It's been pretty much here's a PDA and a walkie ask how to do something when in comes up. I'm not a trainer at all and I've only been at target a year and I had had a number of people thrust upon me. No training plan no nothing. Just so and so said I was training with you today. It's my first/second day. All of which is news to me at usually 8 am. I think I find it the most strange, because when I started I felt let they were holding my had. I was more than ready to do my own thing. But it was seriously 2 weeks of hand holding and I've worked in retail. All my newbies are basically first job types.
 
I just wished they scheduled more hours for training. Having done several training sessions for cashiers for the Christmas season (this is not my first batch of training sessions but they were recent, so my thoughts are still fairly fresh), it's always very tight, especially when I have a group rather than just a single person. I try to cover major things but it always seems like I have to skip things and we always end up running over doing the alcohol quiz and we rarely actually get people on a lane or shadowing the first day. Five hours seems like a long time to train people in but it really isn't, a full 8 hour day would be wonderful because then people could get on a lane for at least an hour. But isn't that the way it always is? Not enough hours to get things done in.
 
My training in the pharmacy was mucked... Papers were signed before things were done. I was the ETL-RX's first new employee, and she ended up being off a lot of my days. The other pharm was in crisis mode daily so I didn't train, I released and one times filled. It severely impacted my ability to be a productive member of the team, so much I'm not scheduled there anymore.

At this point I fight my "pissed off-ness" about it because I'm actually getting double the hours being a cashier at tech pay.... But mentally it's killing me.

Training. Is mucked overall from what I can tell in my store.....
 
Your etlhr enters it as being done.
cuz thats ethical...

We are supposed to have x number of trainers per x number of TMs in any particular workcenter.
We have multiple "trainers" on my Flow Team, but I'm the only one my TL trusts to actually train anybody. I was the only named trainer for over a year until HR noticed and basically told my TL to just pick some decent people and "call" them trainers, but to have me handle basically everything like I have been. My first seasonal hire batch, I completed over 30 learning plans in about a months time.
Training and paperwork was flawless, attendance and sense of urgency however, I can't fix.

I was told that, since trainers have to sign the learning plan, the trainer has to have the completed Team Trainer quiz in their training meter. If they haven't taken it, any learning plan they sign is considered incomplete and can't be keyed.
Before you could be cut lose in the backroom on your own, you have to do the backroom quiz.

I get the hours are slim, the effort is nil, and the attitude is, "they'll quit or get fired soon anyway.", but the better somebody is trained, the better a TM they become. And I need to be able to depend on each and every person on my team.
 
Sort of related...a few years back my ETL-Log came and let me know they were updating certification paperwork and mine needed to be resigned. I asked dumbly, "what certification?" and was told that it was the equipment certification. Certification that I both neither had (was not certified at the time) and had never seen. Someone in the store for whatever reason had actually SIGNED my certification paperwork. Now that's what I call training someone right!
 
I was an official cashier trainer before I became a GSA. I've also been trained as cashier, guest services, GSA, hard lines and soft lines. I have never even seen a learning plan in over a year and a half at Spot, much less know what's even on one.
 
I was an official cashier trainer before I became a GSA. I've also been trained as cashier, guest services, GSA, hard lines and soft lines. I have never even seen a learning plan in over a year and a half at Spot, much less know what's even on one.

How does this even happen? I'm a team trainer over two different work centers and every time I get a new trainee either the TL from that area or the ETL HR hands me their learning plan right away. It's more of a pain since you have to have them sign and initial a bunch of different things, but it does serve as a reminder of certain things to me as a trainer.
 
I'm dying. Officially dying real death from complete and utter disbelief and rage...

I had a trainee today on my AD set team. There is an activity guide for promotional signing set up and take down. I made him read it and I went through the check for understanding. Technically, there is no learning plan quiz, or anything to key into the training meter for it, but I wrote my HR chick a note saying I did it. I made everyone that has even a semi regular spot on my AD team do it.

Seriously, as a Team Trainer that actually takes that seriously, these responses are making me sad :(
 
When I train people, I take it seriously as well, as do my other cashiers and guest services TMs. But clearly the higher ups don't care so much about the paperwork.

My initial cashier training was...interesting. I was initially trained for a couple of hours by a cashier who does a lot of our training, and she's good. I got about 10 minutes on the lane to actually do it. Then I went on vacation for two weeks. When I got back, I was to be training with another trainer who, upon finding out he was supposed to be with me that day, freaked out, said he didn't know how to train people and he couldn't possibly handle that. I told him to forget it, just tell me what lane to go to, and I would let him know if I had any questions. (I didn't). Less than a week later, he was asking me questions, and they never let him train another person again.
 
LP, I would love your support on my team.
I have to beg to get learning plans turned in, and even my logistics team leader said he would 'pencil whip' the signatures that they were completed.
I'm convinced that no one really cares at my store. And it makes me sad.
 
Training at my store, for at least the salesfloor, is taken seriously. Although thinking about it, I'm certified to be in electronics & presentation, with no computer training in each....
 
My salesfloor training consisted of:

"Here is your walkie and PDA. The only functions you need to know on the PDA is Item Search, LOC, and NOP. If you need something from the back walkie Backroom on Channel 2."

"To zone, bring everything up to the front of the diamonds."

"Be sure to get all your reshop and zoning done by closing."

I had jump on my Salesfloor TLs and ETL to get someone to teach me planogram and pull from the back.


Then when I started out on cashier back in 2000. I learned everything on the old DOS POS systems. GSTLs had to have keys to do overrides. Registry items were taken off using the registry guns at GS. Now that was fun.

I shadowed a veteran cashier going through most of the steps. Then switch, having the veteran cashier watch you cashier. Once you got comfortable, you get on your own lane.

If you were under 90 days, GSTLs had to assist with Tax Exempts, Purchase Orders, and WIC. If you were over, you could do it on your own, and also allowed to work Guest Service.
 
I got a decent 5-minute "Power Equipment Training" from our backroom team trainer. I got no other training at all, I had to learn backroom on my own, asking TLs and ETLs lots of questions, and asking lots of questions here. I finally learned backroom, flow, and a few other positions, then got promoted out of backroom to reverse logistics but I now remain as the one and only trainer for the position. Training of any sort at my store SUCKS, but I went out of my way to be a certified backroom trainer, and I'm happy to carry that with me. I've also become the main "power equipment" trainer for my store, but now I am constantly asked to certify large numbers of people on the equipment out of my personal hours; I'm happy to do the equipment certs, but I have a feeling I'm going to have to start asking for those training hours to come out of the respective TMs work centers. If I'm training 5 POG people on power equipment for an hour, please give me an hour of POG on my schedule, 'cuz I can't take that hour out of reverse logistics.
 
I have been trying to complete my trainee's learning plan for Instocks since DECEMBER! They will not schedule hours to complete the training and I refuse to sign off on it until it's actually been completed. I'm asked about it all the time and I always ask when they plan to let us complete the training. 3 other tms work on the team that have never even seen a learning plan. When I asked about it (I am the trainer) I was told not to worry about it - the ETL and TL would take care of it. Yep.
 
Training is always hit-or-miss for me. Sometimes our leaders are on the ball, let me know I will have a trainee a few days before, make sure all the paperwork is ready, and actually give the trainee enough hours to learn backroom. Other times I have a stranger walk up to me at 12:05 (the busiest part of my day), say "Are you the trainer?" and off we go. It's really frustrating when I have to train more than one person, because backroom is more complicated that one would think, and it's hard for me to keep track of what I've told each newbie. I try to take my job seriously, though. The better trained new TMs are, the less time I have to waste cleaning up their messes and trying to fix ingrained bad habits.

My own training was atrocious. The person who was supposed to train me decided they weren't going to come to work anymore, and I didn't even see a learning plan until I had been there almost 90 days.
 
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