What Training?

I have had just a few grown-up professional jobs in my adult life.  Each time you go through the same frustrations at the start.  Trying to lean the nuances of the job, trying to learn who should not get pissed off at you, and trying to learn what you are actually going to be paid to do.  Different companies do training differently, some have been great at it, others terrible.  I won't get into the details of each different gig, but to this day the best training I ever received was at Rafferty's.  That is right, a restaurant was by far and away the best training experience of my life.  Let me explain why their training was the best:

When you start they did not assume you were a complete moron, which let me tell you can be a significant thing all on its own.  Your training was essentially broken into 5 periods, each period had progressive levels of responsibility and action of you own while your trainers did less.  You did not progress until you were ready, and most importantly they had a plan and stuck with it.  Thus far 100% of my professional roles did not have a plan and therefore had nothing to stick to.

On your first day you were basically just coasting, walking along with your trainer.  You had no responsibility, you were basically the equivalent of hat (just along for the ride).  But you were expected to listen and follow along.  To learn things that would prepare you for day two.

Day two was your first real foray into doing any work.  You only did 25% of the work and focused on the simpler tasks with trainer oversight.  You got further introduced to the work, but you were not a roadblock to progress or success.  The trainer still did the heavy lifting.

Day three you assumed a 50/50 role with your trainer.  At times you were on your own with oversight, at times you were watching and learning.  This was the first time responsibility would be put in your lap, you were no longer a hat.  You had to learn the talk, the walk, and the specifics of the job.

Day four you assumed 75% of the role, the trainer was now standing behind you, offering help and answering questions.  This was the most difficult of the training days and the most was expected of you because you still had the full support of a trainer.

Day five was the final training day.  Here you assumed full responsibility and the trainer became your hat.  The trainer stood back, off to the side, effectively allowing you to assume the full responsibility of your work but being there if the train came off the tracks (you are in fact still a brand new employee and are bound to make mistakes).

Once you cleared training you were loose upon the world, free to screw up orders and forget refills like every other server that ever lived.

Now think about your professional life.  How much smoother would your training be if you followed a program like this.  What if you spent your first 5 weeks really being trained.  You might actually be worth a damn by the end of the training period.