Ever work get stuck working with the new guy?  All they do is ask questions and on top of that, they need to be told how to do everything!  What good are they?  Sound familiar?  You are actually ignoring one of your most precious assets.

First off, I want to address the questions and training portion.  If you neglect either one of these you are risking not having any one else trained to do certain things.  Properly trained personnel are able to assume their duties much faster.  They do not need that constant supervision that they do now.  Look at it this way; the faster you get them trained properly, the sooner they are out of your hair.

Now let us discuss how these new people are very useful.  They are going to see things differently than you.  When you go to a new place you often notice many of the little things like missed paint spots, holes in the wall, or a process that just simply is useless.  Those that are in that area constantly learn to tune these out or think that process is important because it has always been there.

Many of the questions that I get asked when I train others is “why is this done that way?”  More than likely this question is asked because the process doesn’t make any sense to them.  Ask this new person how they would do this particular task.  They could very well be on to something.

Here is a little story to exemplify the value of a new person.  I was training a new guy on how to do a certain task on a C-17 cargo aircraft.  He asked me why did something a certain way and even better, he suggested another way of doing it.  Keeping an open-mind I tried it his way and saved 15 minutes! 

What if I would have ignored him?  Many of us ignore the suggestions of new people because we think they are not knowledgeable.  Some of us may even discourage others from giving us input.  We shoot the idea down and ultimately shut down that person.  Even if you know the idea is horrible and could never work, give it a moment’s thought and keep an open-mind.  Together you could come up with something that will work and at the very least you are showing respect for his opinion.

New people are also able to offer a fresh set of eyes to an old problem.  Have you ever struggled on a puzzle or problem for awhile and simply were lost?  Then maybe someone else came along and knew the answer right away.  They are not necessarily smarter or better than you, they are just fresh.

It is important to not isolate or ridicule the ideas of those that are new.  Their fresh perspective and outside ideas can offer a new or better way of accomplishing something.  New people are not the enemy sent to destroy your life.  They are a blessing that will take some of your burdens away.  Train them well and listen to them.  They will respect you and you will get their best efforts which results in less work for you.

Posted by InspireTomorrow.com