To think this is a shit way to train someone?

[Hearfreedomcalling]

When it’s something new in the job I’ve never done before or come across then surely its just easier to tell/show me what to do.

Instead I get asked what do you think? Well I clearly don’t know that’s why I’m asking you.

If it was the second time asking then 100% don’t just give up the answer.

Even when I offer what I think, I get very noncommittal answers back. It’s just really frustrating.

Ask them how easy it is to fix mistakes you might make, then just have at it? or make ridiculous suggestions?

Is there a handbook/SOP? Are you making notes?

Yep, it's shitty. It's how I respond to my 2yo DS when I can't understand what he's saying -
"What's a rafengaum?"
"Urm, what do you think it is?"
"A hunjhue"
"Spot on, good job kiddo".

If some smartass is responding to a query with "What do you think?" report to either your boss or their boss or both.
This is not how decent training works.

This is either a person on a bit of a power trip, or a person who doesn't know the answer. Either way, if it keeps happening then speak to your manager or someone more senior.

My initial thought was that it's someone who has been the task of training you, but actually doesn't want to, and is being awkward. Is it possible your job was one they wanted? I think you need to raise it as diplomatically as possible with your line-manager.

It sounds like a brilliant way of training you if their intention is to mold you into someone who uses their brain as best they can to make independent decisions without referring to anyone up the chain.

If they are training you to think creatively in an environment where there are no bad ideas then this could be great.

If you are unsure of the doses of morphine you need to give to people in an ICU then maybe they should just tell you the answer!

I agree with PP - it depends on the situation..if you're asking "what section should I file this under?" then I would probably say to you "what do you think?" so you get used to working out where to file a document.

If you're asking about something that you either know or you don't, I would either tell you or direct you to where you can find the answer for yourself.

Personally, I don't think just giving someone the answer is always the best way to train them.

If you're unsure of the doses you need to give people in an ICU maybe you shouldn't be doing the job!

Can you give us an example?

I can see how this would work on some occasions and not others. Eg

"I've seen a bill come in for rent for the year 22/23, should I approve it for payment?"

What do you think?

"Well, I could check and see whether we've had one in for this year already, and also check see if we get one every year, and if we usually get it, and it's not been paid, then presumably approve it for payment?"

Works fine.

Unless it's said with intonation/scorn "what do you think?" In an idiot voice.

Know you didn’t ask this but I’m just going to include that they definitely don’t want my job - they are senior to me and would be taking a few steps back in their career.

There is room for creativity but … I strongly believe you need a good foundation to build on first:

I actually think sometimes they don’t know what they are doing. They asked if I’d got a completed form for something earlier and I responded with no as I didn’t think that form was needed - he was then like yes well you know you might have the original one from 4 years ago (I’ve been there 5 months) ..

Did you ever find out ?
I think it's a dressing gown, but not a hankie.

We train people like this, but usually only after we have explained the process several times already.

It is a good way to get people to think and to test their understanding.

I had a boss like this. Would have been fine if absolutely everything I did wasn't also wrong in his eyes. I found a new job within 6 months.

He used to do the same to his wife and kids. I'm expecting to hear news of his divorce and/or disappearance under a patio.

I think it's true that people learn more from experiencing things in real life and making mistakes than by being told how to do something. Practical experience sinks in better with most people.

Of course it depends on the job, I wouldn't want a train driver to be learning by trial and error.

I have used this technique on occasion when training someone, but only when I already knew that they would be capable of it if they would apply the knowledge they had already to the new task. But I wouldn't leave them to it, I'd then give strong hints and lead them into it, and hopefully hearing a few pennies drop as we went. I was basically training them to use their initiative.

It can't be much fun if they say it to you and then just leave you dangling without any further support or encouragement.

Entirely depends. I’m training someone at the moment who makes no attempt to find the answer to anything themselves, just asks me and expects me to show them every tiny thing. Which is v frustrating when it’s simple things that I’ve told them where to find and/or it’s the 4th time I’ve explained it in the last hour. I’d expect you to make an attempt to find the answer yourself before asking.

YANBU however I think it's quite a personal thing? Personally I cannot stand being talked through it or watching someone else do it - it's boring and usually means fuck all to me because I need to figure out the lay of the land and how it works first. THEN come with questions or clarifications or to hear how it should be done.

Obviously it's depending on the risks of how much you could mess up, but I generally agree with pps who're saying they're probably trying to get you used to figuring things out independently or seeing how you fare with their "culture of problem solving" etc.

If that totally goes against the way you learn then it's definitely worth saying something though.

But then you didn’t read my OP. It’s not my fourth time asking. It’s the FIRST.

I genuinely don’t know what to do because I’ve not come across that before and work from home 80% of the time. So should I sit there quietly and struggle?

It sounds like a brilliant way of training you if their intention is to mold you into someone who uses their brain as best they can to make independent decisions without referring to anyone up the chain.

it depends on the job, the training, and if the trainee has experience. Someone was supposed to be training me for a job i'd been invited to interview for. The kind of "we want the person and will train them" rather than "we want someone who can do x, y and z and has been doing it for years" type of thing.

The actual team project wasn't explained. The actual role wasn't explained. A brief explanation of the ticket system was given. And most questions were met with a sigh and "well, you're a grown-up, work it out" in the end i told my boss i was off because that was shit. And i was moved sideways. Turns out the person "training" me had been there forever and although overworked didn't actually want to delegate anything. So fuck them.

My usual way of training people is: i will show and explain (I expect them to take notes and ask questions). We then do it again, probably slower and i will pause and ask them the next step. They should refer to their notes. Third time i get them to do it (they can use their notes) and i observe and will only comment if they are going to make a fatal, uncorrectable error. Errors that require them to do a lot of legwork and so on - if they haven't been paying attention and/or making notes - will depend on how well disposed i am to them. If they are really trying, have been actively trying to learn, i'll stop that happening. A know it all graduate i had once? not so much.

It you’re not going to bother with an example, how can we say?
It can be unhelpful and intimidating - or it can be effective and confidence building.

I do a job where you can’t train every scenario. 10% is knowing how to use our system, and 90% is deal with queries and shit not going to plan 🤣 The job title could be changed to, “Fire Fighting Problem Solver”. And yes, we also have roles that work to reduce the need for this - but on the ground, there are always people needed to deal with issues and changes of plan. In this environment, where there often isn’t one answer, and you certainly can’t write a training document with every possible scenario, and it’s often about prioritisation as well as the actual task… here, right from the start, we encourage new people to think and suggest what they’d do.

When I joined, part of the interview process was a 20 item list of tasks which you had to prioritise. There wasn’t a perfect answer, it was more how you explained your choices - though there were some obvious priorities, acting on immediate safety issue over running a report due the next day. This was given to people not trained at all - we just want to see whether you will think or expect someone to tell you what to do.

This is my first thought. I work with someone like this. They wait for the manager to speak and then say yes I agree.

Depends how obvious the questions are really

I do a job where you can’t train every scenario. 10% is knowing how to use our system, and 90% is deal with queries and shit not going to plan

Well, quite. Which is why it's hard to answer the OP because there is zero info. If you have been trained in the systems, fully agree that "what do you think?" is a legit answer to get you to think about something. If you haven't yet been trained in the systems? it's a dick move.

Start keeping notes of these incidents.

In effect they are NOT training you if they are not explaining how things are done at all.

Perhaps start emailing them to ask how to do things.

Keep a record of their responses before you go above them and ask for help.

If this is it, start looking for a job and give their complete lack of training as the reason you are moving on.

It is fair to ask as to whether or not they actually know the answers to your questions as them repeatedly asking you what you think, implies otherwise.