Training up my maternity cover

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

Last pregnancy (three years ago), I spent weeks 34-38 training my mat cover. I found it a real struggle, especially the last two weeks, as I was teaching someone new everything about the systems, procedures, how to deal with customers, paperwork, rotas, etc. At a time when my concentration levels were low and my tiredness levels were high (and a manic shift pattern), it was difficult.

I am now pg again, 20 weeks, and dreading having ti spend the last month of my pregnancy teaching someone something from scratch. It took me longer than a month to become totally confident in what I was doing - the role is very broad and requires a wide knowledge of our whole company.

Am I duty bound to do the training?

I must add, I am the only full timer in my dept. And am a Supervisor. My line manager is responsible for two areas - mine and another, both of which make up one whole department. She doesnt I volve herself in my department and it is pretty much left to me.

I am really starting to panic about whether I will be able to cope with it. I could have cried every day last time - all I had the energy for was going in, doing my job, and driving home.

Yet I clearly dont want to leave my department in the shit, I feel unhappy at the thought of a repeat of last time.

Well, is there someone else who can do it? Your post implies that there isn't?

Or would you be more comfortable if they hired someone sooner in order to make the handover easier for you?

Can you start writing 'How To' drafts now for each procedure - or were any written last time? Then give them to your cover and ask them to follow them and come to you with queries (which they can then add to the guide)?

I think you probably have to do it but can it be better managed? Eg not in conjunction with a manic shift pattern.

Btw, was everyone happy with the maternity cover person last time? If so, your training of her was fine! If not, you could use that as the basis for asking for a six week handover say. Or to take some time now to start making training notes,

Good idea about training notes. I created a daily checklist for the team when I first started which we use every day so I could use that for the basis of a training manual.

The job is so so "bitty" that I couldnt teach someone everything before I go - five years in and im still getting queries Ive never imagined.

Hmmm.....my last Mat Cover was capable in that she could do everything expected of her, but I was told she lacked confidence and was incredibly slow paced. She also hated the shift pattern, even though it was made 100 percent clear to her in advance.

If it means your workload is too much, then ask for support, but asking you to train your cover in itself is a reasonable request. It's the overall workload that is the potential problem, not the detailed training/handover, which is only sensible.

If you are concerned, think of how you could make it easier for yourself, and of how your manager could support you, and then talk to her about that.

The challenge arises as I am often alone in the department and training up someone from scratch is pretty full on which when added to the normal running of the office is manic. I can be in the middle of showing replacement somethig and the phone will ring five times in a row for various different things - I am not permitted to ignore a ringing phone.

Is there any support you can get in during the training eg a temp to pick up the phone and take basic details so you can call back?

I will ask that question. Usually its one person in the dept at a time aside from handover but I will ask for phone support this time. Fingers crossed they can do something to make it a bit easier than last time.

I think if they are sensible enough to spend the money for four weeks of handover, they should respond well to something like that. It might even mean that the handover could be, say, 3-3.5weeks if you could concentrate exclusively on the training...? One to think about if they push back on the cost.

I'm training my maternity cover at the minute and it's definitely worth writing up notes in advance. You can then train them in the areas that you've written up and then effectively hand that area of work over to them whilst you're still there to help them but they're doing the bulk of that work iykwim. You can then use your "free" time to write up other areas or clear down any nagging tasks that need doing before you go.

Also remember that they won't be fully confident by the time you've finished - you've had x years of experience but they'll only have a month or so. It can be hard to bite your tongue if they approach things differently to you, but so long as everything important is done whilst you're on leave, how they get it done is up to them. I'm a control freak so I find this bit the hardest!

I had quite a long handover with my first mat cover which helped, but I also spent a lot of my pregnancy preparing a handover manual, as and when things came up - it was def v v useful, and I ask my other staff to prepare/keep one up to date for their roles now as well in case of sickness / maternity / people leaving & joining etc.
We kept my mat cover on though so I already had someone trained when I had my second mat leave, which was very lucky!
It will hopefully take some pressure off you, as they can immediately start doing some aspects of the job using the notes, while you are there for more specific and hands on training and help answer their questions.