Thank you. I am currently working on the letter. I am not the best writer. So far I have the following:

Hello,

Would you want to know? I tussled with the question for a week. If I were the CEO would I want to know what really happens at my company? Because of your position, when you enter a room people straighten up, as they respect your authority and understand your power. Be grateful for your position and NEVER change places, as it is MUCH better at the top. Have you heard of the television show Undercover Bosses? The show’s format features the experiences of senior executives working undercover in their own companies to investigate how their firms really work and to identify how they can be improved. Let just say I recently completed an assignment in the Lisle office for you. (You’re welcome) lol jk 

I was hired through a staffing firm for the Member Service positon. The position required 5 weeks of training prior to entering the floor. There were 15 trainees in my class of the 90 that were hired in November. In our conference room, 15 computers were circulated around the conference room table. Our trainer was Trainer. During week one our trainer advised that we would not remember any of the information and that we would not learn it for 2-3 months. My thought was why? As a former trainer, I know, five weeks is enough time to produce a confident employee. Provided that the training is up to par. What I happened next was shocking! The trainer exerted her authority. She advised, “This (her class) is a dictatorship.” She explained her and her boss were “cool” and that her boss talked to her about everything. Trainer advised that she made the determination if we would reach the floor, as the supervisors valued her opinion. We were advised to get on her “good side” we should talk about her kids. It was surprising to hear the above, but I thought…it’s only 5 weeks how bad could it be.

Over the next five weeks I saw things I had never witness in any office. Daily Trainer enter the class and spoke about her children and family member’s personal endeavors. The rants usually lasted 30 minus plus. It was like she was trying to convince us that she was a good mom, but everyone knows if a person constantly tells you something about their feelings about how they look or their self-value, it is usually totally opposite. Some days we listened to her talk about Kevin Hart, Idris Elba (she displayed images on the training screen) or other non-work related topics. We were force to watch her perform. She sang Whitney’s Houston’s I will always love you, Mary J. Blige songs, the latest hip-hop songs… then she burst into tears (when someone mentioned corn bread), etc. It was CRAZY! She said, “Boo ya life” and “Dat’s ratchet” so much it was unbelievable. It was like it was her show. Training was secondary.

A typical day consisted of the above and if we actually “trained” it involved a lecture. Trainer stood in front of the class and provided terms. At times she did write on the board, but we rarely read anything. There were instances we used the Knowledge Check, but we were encouraged to use the Crtl + F feature. This method of training is incorrect. The problem with not being able to read the procedures and solely searching for key terms is a rep will not understand the material. Yes, at times you can pass a quiz if you can use the ctrl + F feature, but if you do not understand the material you will only be able to assist (without assistance) if a customer uses the key word.

The procedures and quizzes often had grammatical errors and did not follow proper training guidelines. Training and Development is an art. Your goal of training is to educate. The quizzes were VERY confusing. As a Sigma Beta Delta Honor society member, I had questions. While taking quizzes, I often had to clarify questions. When quizzes were returned, the class would often be in chaos. There was much frustration. Several trainees cried. Yes, actually cried in class. Some tore the quizzes in half, others left the room or displayed their concerns among the group. When we told Trainer about errors on the quiz, she blamed us for selecting the wrong answer. For example, question 8 on the Quiz Reject/Trail Test, was written incorrectly. Trainees brought it to her attention, she said, “Well on mine (Trainer’s Answer Key) it’s written right.” How do we get the question right, if we are missing information? It is as if she took pleasure in causing us pain.

We spent almost 4 weeks using Certain Software. Why? If we use Certain Software 99 percent of the time, as there are only 3 procedures which require the use of Certain Software. We wasted so much valuable time and money. Near the end of training we finally heard an actual call. There were no screen shots to show what the agent did during the call (at one point she reluctantly went to her computer in an attempt to follow along, as trainees wanted to see).

I’ll admit our trainer knew how to use Certain Software, but being a trainer requires one to teach others. If one is easily annoyed, quick to anger, impatient and slanderous, training is not your calling. It is not fair to you or others. Teaching others to fear you does not help the company. It creates indecisive, fearful, workers who do not feel a part of the team and produces a high turnover rate.