Sitting next to Nellie
Featured in the People Development Methods training manual
By Beverley Williams
Category: People Management and Motivation
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
On-the-job training by an existing member of staff, known colloquially as ‘sitting next to Nellie’ is probably the most widely used development method. This method can work superbly; Nellie may have unrivalled knowledge and expertise and the desire and ability to pass it on. On the other hand, Nellie may be less than competent, uninterested in developing someone else, or (justifiably) annoyed that training someone else will slow her down to the extent that she will fall behind with her own work or lose her productivity-related bonus. This training activity explores benefits and potential problems and involves participants in developing a checklist to ensure that Nellie is both able and motivated to carry out the training of those new to the job effectively.
You begin this training activity by defining what ‘sitting next to Nellie’ means and the participants work in groups to think about the potential benefits and problems of this training method. The participants then work individually on a written exercise on overcoming the problems, followed by a plenary discussion where their ideas are discussed. The participants then focus on the objective of on-the-job training, that is, what exactly do Nellie and the trainee need to achieve? A checklist is then developed to ensure that Nellie is able and motivated to carry out the training effectively. You close by taking key learning points from the participants before distributing and commenting on a key learning point’s handout as appropriate.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to enable participants to explore effective methods of ensuring that Nellie is both able and motivated to provide a step-by-step demonstration, check for understanding and give appropriate support to new trainees.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 10 |
| Typical Duration: | 01:50:00 |
| No of Pages: | 13 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers with line managers or those who carry out on-the-job training. Ideally participants will have already covered, ‘Investigating development methods’, prior to taking part in this training activity.
Download the training activity, Sitting next to Nellie as featured in the Fenman training manual; People Development Methods