Trainee update

Ok, maybe I was too hasty to pass judgement. She is doing well, I am pleasantly surprised. She is catching on to entries quickly, and answering in house phones. Unlike trainees in the past, she actually can remember the name of the person she just talked to and what they wanted when she hangs up. Woohoo- she has potential! Then she started feeling pretty comfortable with her entries, so I decided to take your advice Wadical.

She was working on some research for an officer, when I reminded her that, btw, you have a stolen veh recovery to do, a vehicle storage, an ATL to cancel, and a booking package that the officer is waiting for right now,, so whenever you're done with what you're doing, those need to get done. All of which I could have just done for her to save time, but I felt a lesson was in order. So I sat back and watched. :) And voila', when I applied that leeettle bit of pressure, she forgot the simple commands she was confident in 10 min ago. Yes, I took some pleasure in that.

I know its sounds like I'm a horribly mean trainer. I'm not really! but there is a method to my madness. Nothing tweeks me more than someone walking in off the street and thinking they can do what we do in a few weeks. Perhaps I speak for myself, but I have worked hard for 6 years to be good at what I do- I'm proud of it, but there is still a lot that I have to learn. It's not a walk in the park!- doesn't matter how smart you are, or think you are.

Sooo, later on I smiled and explained what had happened earlier. Memorization is great, but if you can't recall it when under pressure, its useless. She is where she should be for how long she has been here. Watch, listen, learn, practice. Learn the building blocks, then put it all together, a little bit at a time. She got a tiny taste of the multi-tasking that we do, and she wasn't even taking calls and/or working the radio at the same time.

Bottom line: I'm not intimidated anymore, she has lost the arrogance (which may have been nervousness or intimidation- misinterpreted by me) and she is showing promise!