The Management Job Training Objectives Are Bullshit

The pic above is my objectives for the first six months when I worked at a retail start-up. The store sold high-end wine, beer, and sake at discount prices in the store and online. I worked in the back-end of the store where the inventory was received and stored. My job title was Data Entry/Bookkeeper. The title was misleading. My primary responsibilities were receiving inventory, researching prices, and entering products to the webpage.

The title speaks for itself. The program is self-explanatory. It's bullshit. I share my observations. I share my thoughts.

*Areas of Responsibility (AORs) was mentioned once.

*Nobody received monetary bonuses. Nobody received training for the objectives.

*It was impossible for the front-end workers to enter data. The reason was customer service. The objectives were miscategorized. Financial statements?!? The employees worked in retail.

*I'm not an English major. The writing was terrible. The formatting was inconsistent. Also, management didn't write the sheet. An assistant must have written the objectives. Management approved by a 5 second scan.

*Retail workers earning retail pay were not going to accomplish 80% of the objectives. 20% of the objectives were accomplished naturally such as customer service, knowing the products, and supporting events offsite.

*Management neither encouraged not tracked employee objectives.

*Social media was outdated. Social media rarely marketed upcoming events to their followers. The company didn't employ a marketing specialist.

*Targeted customer e-mails, marketing, web content, artwork, etc.?!? The employees worked in retail.

*Finally, the last bullet point on technical skills not related to webpage. The company was lucky I knew PowerPoint, Excel, Word, SQL, and Access. I used the tools to assist in auditing inventory.

I didn't read the sheet during my employment. If I did, then I probably raise a red flag and begin looking for another job. The store went out of business 6.5 years later. I tip my hat 6.5 years was a long time for a retail business.