Training an Airhead
Tue., July 23, 11:03 AM
Hurry up and wait. According to Husband, guys in the Army used to say that. That's how I feel this morning. As busy as I was in this office yesterday, there's nothing to do this morning because I did it all last time I was here. Nevertheless, I have to say that conditions here have improved, so waiting has paid off in this instance.
As you know, I was more than a little pissed when my boss took on an additional secretary without asking me first whether I would like to work more days. (I complained to the agency, and I'm sure he won't do that again!) Then, it turned out that the other secretary didn't come in very often and didn't do much when she did. I looked at the work she did and realized she didn't know much about word processing either.
I also realized that she had trashed a lot of the documents I had saved as templates. Oh yes, I can build them again, but was that necessary?
I could always tell from looking through the computer whether she had done any work on my off days. Then came the period when she couldn't come in because she had been arrested. Well, I just go on doing my thing and wait to see what will happen. I do what I'm told, but I will no longer "go the extra mile," a characteristic for which I had always been praised.
Last week I was informed that the girl is gone -- except as a client, of course. Instead, we will have a young fellow who worked with the boss through the Boy Scouts. The boy thinks he might like to go to law school, but he has never worked in an office. So he will cover the office on my days off and also work one day a week with me, in order that I can teach him.
Now, I am not being paid to train. That really commands more money. However, I don't mind teaching basics. The boy is bright enough, and he understands enough computer to type documents. I showed him how to find documents in the system as I've set it up. We'll see what happens from here.
Teaching basics. I didn't know how basic I would have to go. It's been years since I had to show anyone how to use a fax or a copier. "When you take a message, date and initial it." I asked my son when I had taught him that; it's automatic with him -- "common sense."
Just as when you're teaching little kids, repetition is important. "When you open a paper folder, you open up a computer folder. Then all the files you prepare for this case go into the folder." "Be sure you save documents to the appropriate folder." "Rename forms so that you can find the right one if it goes into the wrong file." "It's helpful to put a date on letter names, particularly if there will be multiple letters to the same person."
We're not there yet. The other day he left "tracks" of two letters he typed, one named July 19 and the other named -- so help me -- letter. So I went over the steps again. "Save As, choose the folder, type in the name and date of the document." I don't think he's got it.
I plan my Mondays in advance, at least to the extent that I'm going to try to teach something. Boss is less than enthusiastic about Boy's progress. He has less than a complete understanding about what's going on in the office and how one needs to be aware of all of it.
A piece of nonsense from last week: Boss needed some invoices added, to make sure the total we had was correct. Boy was unable to complete the assignment because he's not thinking (I really don't think he's stupid, but...) Lapse 1: Boy didn't recognize that there was an adding machine on the desk; he asked to borrow the pocket calculator. Lapse 2: Boy evidently didn't know that these things are supposed to have a roll of paper tape installed. Or if he did, he didn't look for one (we do have a supply cabinet) or report that there was none. (Boss would have sent him out to buy one, which was not the best solution, but it would have worked.) As it happens, I don't use the adding machine, because I can produce a much better document in Excel, which I did.
The planned lesson for Monday was how to use Excel. Also, how to use Spellchecker. We did a little of that, but a lot more of general Windows. "Give yourself some time to do it, like an hour or two, and explore all the pull down menus. Learn the capabilities of the system." Hell, I still haven't gotten across that you don't leave an inch of space between the body of the letter and the closing, despite lending him my secretary's manual. This kid might enjoy going to law school, but he'll never be a lawyer unless he gets some serious mind turning. And the price for that is way beyond the cost of training.
I don't think it's me. I once hired an elderly lady through the senior citizens service. I taught her to handle a telephone system (far more complicated than this one), to take orders and to enter them in the computer. She became very good at it, although she never picked up a lot of speed. All she had was a high school education (the kid has college degrees); she was just quicker on the uptake.
Golfwidow, would you like to try this one?
