Some Advice Please

[deedeeb]

I know I can always count on everyone here for another viewpoint, so here's my situation:  Our company uses Peoplesoft for doing payroll; I admit I am not the highest-level user (I find it incomprehensible!) but I can easily do most payroll tasks.  As I have no backup for payroll, I was recently told that I would have to train a new admin to be my backup.  By the way, our company does not offer training for this software - I would have to print out a manual and train her myself.  I did look into the possibility of outside training, which would take over a week and cost about $2500.  My difficulty is, the new admin is not only not willing to learn this new work, she is as dumb as a bag of hammers and I am having a horrible time teaching her. I'm not sure how much of her difficulty is intellectual limitations and how much is simply that she doesn't want to learn anything new--she is seeing this as "more work" rather than an opportunity.  My director and the new admin's manager are telling me, basically, "handle it, handle it" (with waving, dismissive motions of their hands....).  OK, maybe I need to take a different attitude and not say she is as dumb as a bag of hammers....I know that was wrong.  But I'm not sure she isn't being deliberately obtuse in order to escape what she regards as a burden.  My question is:  how to word this to the director/manager to indicate that I don't intend to just drop this, and I really need their backing on this to get the new admin to perform her responsibilities?  I'm really frustrated.  If they don't lay down the law, and she just doesn't want to do her job, I think they should show her the door.  I want to add that this isn't the first time she has flatly refused to learn something new, or made it so impossible to teach her that she gets out of it.    

[mlm668]

Ok, first off, I have to ask is this person going to be your backup only when you are on vacation or out for another reason?  If so, don't sweat it to much.  Show her what you can without losing your cool.  One way to cover yourself is to type out exactly what to do to process your payroll item by item and be very specific (and I mean down to which keys you need to press when if there is a certain sequence needed). Give a copy to your supervisor and keep a copy in a book on your desk.  Then it is there for anyone to follow if its needed and she has no excuse for not having any clue of what needs to be done.  After all, all she will have to do is follow the directions, right?  And if she can't follow specific directions (or refuses to) when you aren't around, she will be hanging herself.  And this way, she can't blame you for not teaching her what she needed to know to get out of doing her job.  



Hang in there.  I can sympathize with your situation.  I hate to have to teach anyone anything because I have no patience for it.  I'm one of those who can't understand why others don't pick up things as fast as I can sometimes pick them up.      



 

[fireproof]

We use SAP (commonly refered to as "Stops All Progress"), which I understand is somehow related to PeopleSoft (but PeopleSoft is supposed to be "friendlier.").  You are right, it is HARD.



You cannot go without back up - is there anyone in your organization who WOULD recognize and welcome the opportunity?



I would say, go ahead and print out the manual - also, try putting together a complete, step-by-step procedures manual (mine is 3 pages, and covers EVERYTHING I have ever encountered).  You get two benefits from doing this - 1.  You will be forced to think your procedures through logically, each step at a time, which might make it easier for you to explain what you do to someone else, and - 2.  You can leave your hammer-headded back up in charge, confident that if she DOES mess up you can prove that you did your absolute best to make sure she knew how to do it the right way (perhaps, who knows, maybe she needs to SEE the procedure to learn it - some people are like that).

[countrigal]

Though I don't know the software, I have been responsible for training the unwilling.  Once I've figured out that an individual definitely just does not want to learn the information, I make a "training roster" on which I outline the main items that I will be training them on.  Then, at the end of a training session (or sessions if it's a complicated training item) I have them sign saying they have been taught this information and I sign as their instructor.  A copy is then put in their personnel records, one given to their boss, one for them and I keep one for my records.  When completed, I have documentation that they were actually trained.  And they can either play dumb and hang themselves or do the job those few time that it falls on them to do it.  Oh, and I also keep a detailed "how-to" book for those tasks that I've trained others on so they have that step-by-step procedure to go to when they decide to do the work.



As for your boss, maybe going to them and saying "I have trained Person X on this task and have provided her written step-by-step procedure steps.  She is not as comfortable with this as I would like her to be, but I believe that this is as good as it may get until she has had to cover for me and have hands-on without me."  This lets them know that you have trained her as requested, aren't really giving up on her, but have no way of forcing the knowledge into her head.



Good luck...

[superninjaadmin]

OK, I understand the predicament you are in.  Your bosses are telling you to "handle it" and the person you are supposed to train doesn't seem interested.  You are between a rock and a hard place.  But, you have an option!  It looks to me like your bosses are giving you the power to make some tough decisions in this delicate situation.  So, do the best you can to "handle it", and take advantage of this great opportunity to show you can take over responsibility and control of the situation!  Remember, the bosses want you to handle it - you are responsible for making it happen.  Like the Nike commercial...Just Do It!  However, do it so your bosses are aware of the decisions you have made in training this person.  To keep them in the loop, give them current status of the issues you are up against and the options, solutions and decisions you've made or plan to make to solve the problem.  If they are in the know, you won't get your butt caught in a sling later down the road.  



You will do very well, I'm sure.  Good luck with training the "bag-o-hammers" -- we all hate training people, but it's gotta be done.  Please let us know how things pan out.  

[deedeeb]

OK, I have formulated a plan after giving this some thought and I wanted to thank you all for your input.  I will make up a checklist with the tasks listed (thanks MLM, I should have thought of this myself!) and have my reluctant trainee initial the items as she masters them.  I also plan to have her do the payroll entry on a regular basis so she will feel comfortable when she is needed to back me up.  This also lightens my load going forward and avoids the inevitable "I forget how" if I only train her and never have her handle routine entries.  I will also copy the checklists to her manager (I have decided to leave my director out of this for now and add it to my performance appraisal as an accomplishment).  Now my only problem is getting her to stay at her desk and not wander the office telling everyone how busy she is!  (OK, not my problem but you know what  I mean.....)

thanks again and have a safe, happy 4th!