Barry looked stunned when I got to his office. He had been training his new supervisor for the past three months. On his desk was a handwritten note, “I really appreciate all the time you spent with me over the past couple of months. Unfortunately, I just found another job.” Barry grabbed the paper. I didn’t need to read the rest.

“The worst part,” said Barry, “is that I have to start training all over. Lucky I have another person for the job, but it will take three months to get her up to speed.”

“The best part,” I interrupted, “is that you just finished training someone. The training is fresh in your mind. You remember what worked and what didn’t. You remember what took a long time and what was easy. Now, is the time to write all that down, starting with step one. Put it in a three ring binder and what will you have?”

After a brief pause, Barry grinned. “I will have a training manual.”

“Even more important, you will have the opportunity to tweak your training manual as you train this new person. In another year, you may find that you have to promote this young supervisor and we will be having this same conversation. But then, you won’t feel so bad because you will know where to start.” -TF