Job shadowing

Job Shadowing is a kind of on-the-job training for the new employees before they are onboarded in an organization. It allows the new employees to closely observe another senior employee executing the role which they are expected to carry ahead. While observing the senior employee or the trainer the newcomers follow the style, gesture, steps of the trainer precisely; in other words, the newcomers often mimic the senior employee/trainer into a new role.

We usually see a lot of copying in job shadowing. I think nothing wrong with copying, as long as the new employees follow some best practices. And in fact, there are many reasons why new employees should copy. As time passes, the experience leads them to explore and discover their own style.

Job shadowing helps employees understand their role and responsibility better. They get accustomed to the organization’s culture and philosophy well.  It helps giving new employees a deeper look at the company culture and work environment. When they get a closer look at the workplace values, they get adjusted to their roles easily. And, they also feel more motivated at the workplace.  Shadowing is an informal way for someone to learn what it is like to perform a particular job at a workplace. An individual follows people around, or shadows the co-workers already in that role.

Following jobs needs job shadowing intensely:

Restaurant employees

Serving staff, bartenders, cooks, chefs, bus persons, cashiers, hosts.

Medical practitioners

Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nursing, physicians, radiologists, surgeons, ward boys, ayas.

Manufacturing jobs

Supervisors, quality control, skilled trades employees, machine operators, tool and die makers, machinists.

Administration

Receptionists, administrative assistants, secretaries, clerks.

Skilled Trades

Carpenters, painters, woodworkers, electricians, plumbers, heating and cooling technicians.

Salesforce

Lead manager, sales representatives, relationship manager, sales executives.

Teachers

New recruited teachers, supervisors, junior teachers, departmental heads, research scholars.

shadowing can give an employee valuable exposure to their role without burdening them initially. Comprehensive job shadowing helps new employees to fill skill deficit. It helps in increasing productivity. It moulds future leaders. Identifying high performers and putting them across in leadership pipeline. Whenever a company picks interns, it is usually impossible to accommodate them as they are. Organizations roll-out comprehensive job shadowing programs for the interns. It works fabulously because it helps source the best talent for companies.   

For example, since there are typically many advancement opportunities available in Marriott International, they offer several career and professional development training programs to prepare employees for potential growth opportunities within the company. Some of their programs focus on subjects like leadership, management and developing transferable skill sets. Marriot shows employees how much they care about their health and well-being by offering courses about maintaining a proper work-life balance.

Abbott Phrma believes in onboarding new employees, this company engages them in two to three-year development programs focusing on six different areas, including quality assurance, information technology, finance, engineering, environmental health and manufacturing. Employees can also personalize their own training program by receiving courses and guidance that centre on their interests and the skill sets they would like to develop in their particular field.

Reverse Shadowing

Reverse shadowing is when a trainee interviewer conducts an interview, or a trainee performs solves a difficult/technical problem while an experienced employee observes within the company. Junior member of staff who are vital to the organization share some of their hard-earned experience with peers and managers and leadership positions on how to resolve barriers.

Reverse shadowing helps a lot in managing big projects especially when projects get stuck technically at certain junctures.  The junior staff members pitch their advice on resolving the problems; they usually have better contacts and knowledge because of their continuous working on the project.  In many fields such as medical practice, law and accountancy it has been observed senior practitioners are ready for reverse shadowing.

There are few benefits: for the person who is being shadowed (here the employees at junior level), they get a chance to demonstrate their hard-earned knowledge of the process which helps them in raising their own profile and while making a good contact with senior leaders. It allows them to portray their confidence, communication skills and knowledge.

For the seniors in organization, reverse shadowing helps them to save time and efforts. They get to learn easily how the process works in practice, how to improve the quality of their own work. Also, they gain new useful contacts.  

For example, Flipkart believes in reverse shadowing practice in its unique way. It’s mandatory for all top executives including directors to take customer calls like normal customer representatives. The top executives and senior leaders copy junior staff and compulsorily undertake field trips like a delivery agent. All this to understand customer pulse and operational rigor in business.  At e-pharmacy startup Pharmeasy, leaders have a mandate to spend 3 hours in a week doing something that is non-core to their function.

Both shadowing and reverse shadowing help the people grow in organization. Leaders are becoming mindful of co-existing with the juniors with respect as the business world is constantly changing in diverse ways. Reverse shadow is basically timeless.  It doesn’t matter who guides whom.