Workplace Training

Tuesday, October 08, 2024

Today, I am off from my part-time job; however, I must go there anyway for an hour of special training related to my role in jewelry sales.

In my pre-retirement career, I was a learning and development professional in the corporate world. I specialized in group dynamics, line communications, and organizational goals support. In my couple of years working in retail here in Central Oregon, employee training has been a matter of brief rallies, quick instructions, and lots of pressure.

We get it: retail is highly competitive. Improvements in technology are changing the game. Retail has become a nonending competition of online vs. in-person sales. Worker availability and hiring processes are changing.

I have learned that, regardless of an organization’s goals and economic pressures, it needs to provide more effective employee training, which has been designed for specific roles and for group learning. In-person trainers can deliver and teach better than computers. People sitting and learning together, asking questions and discussing, will do better work and can help each other more while performing their jobs.

Yesterday, a young employee newly working in the Intimates Department rushed over, confused by having been asked for help to “find a brassiere.” That sales clerk’s job was to sell bras.

Dear Friends: These are stressful times, with mine a voice in the wilderness. Diana