O.k. so I may be in trouble here...I recently accepted a job as a training manager, but now find myself in a very 'young' (both the people and the culture), company that views training as uneccessary overhead. I now find myself travelling 4 days out of the week, with no formal training myself, and a non-existent informational, reporting structure. When asked when the job I was offered would begin, I was told yesterday, that 'maybe next year'.

My first reaction is to begin the standardization process,so that the value can begin to be seen and documented. Even though the existent trainers would give Price Prichitt a run for his money.

I'm feeling kind of old here, and a little betrayed. But I loathe giving up without trying, and there is so much that can be accomplished here...when I'm in town I mean.
Change is NOT in the near future...any suggestions?

I'm not sure I understand what you're asking...suggestions for what?

Well, now that the initial response is over, these are still people who are in need of help with changes management, standardization, reporting, and training. I can't believe that I would be the only one to have ever been in this situation, and I of course know I have the choice to 'opt out', but there must be other choices I am too close to see. Any suggestions?

Arque -- I am suggesting that you get more specific. From your initial post, all I'm getting is that you have no formal training and you're feeling lost in an organization that doesn't value training. That's a HUGE topic with many facets. Get specific. You're the manager -- start listing the things that are of concern and start prioritizing...shouldn't a manager know these things? I'm just a bit lost in your description of your situation. How does one get in that situation in the first place?

LoveLearning
Great Dialogue

I have been here for two weeks. My onboarding list continues to grow as employees, (including the three trainers reamaining, from a national company requiring eight trainers to operate to capacity), leave the company, the apparently took most of their self-created training materials with them.

I am travelling most of the week to teach a proprietary application, usually around 13 hours a day, and apparently will be until the end of the year because my direct tell believes that this is of greater priority than the turnover rate and lack of planning.
I have made an initial list of priorities, and e-mailed, phoned it, printed it and hand delivered it.
Lists mean exactly nothing if you don't have the same buy-in daily that seemed to be there during the three-month interview process.

'How one gets in this situation'.
Again, the same as most other companies who believe that training current employees, and standardizing information is optional.

At the end of the day the requirements here are the same as any other company:
Creation of materials.
Hiring the right employees, and setting them up for success.


So we're clear: I have been training for decades, not months. Asking questions like 'how does one get in this....' is not as... helpful... as you might believe it to be.

For a trainer, it strikes me as the difference between seeing someone unexpectedly up to their necks in quicksand, and asking: "Wow, how stupid for you to be in that situation." or
'Looks like you're sinking lets figure out what to do next.'

Gotta go, I'll check in again after my plane lands.