Sometimes I feel really stupid
There's a process we follow at work, and generally I follow it just like we were told when it originally opened. It's a good, simple method, that seems to accomplish a lot. Now, I'm hearing from a co-worker who's leaving, from whom I am taking over the process for today, and she's telling me all this stuff, that this supervisor is saying do X, another is saying do Y, and she's apparently figured it out, but I'm like, Huh? And I'm sitting down feeling dumb, like, What do I do? as she points out each step of what I should do next.
As a general employment rule of thumb, if you don't understand the training you were given, then you weren't given the right training.
But it sounds like this is an informal handover of roles between employees, rather than a formal training process.
If you think you need detailed learner-specific instruction, then you ought to approach your HR department (they will probably have a formal job description relating to your new role, which will usually contain such vital but often-overlooked details such as: Description of the precise duties you are expected to fulfil, who your key contacts are, etc. etc).
If you are 'out' to your predecessor (or choose to come out to her) then she might be a bit more sympathetic on a personal level for a while. I'm not sure how accessible she will be in the future (you say she's leaving the company), but would she (for example) mind if you rang her on her mobile for guidance if things go drastically wrong?
Failing that possibility, you should approach the two supervisors you have labelled X and Y and explain your information-processing needs (ideally with a constructive suggestion or two up your sleeve, about how best to communicate and prioritise instructions).
Or you could just dive in head first, make loads of mistakes while you're still learning the ropes, learn from all your experience (good and bad), keep your head down, laugh at the boss's jokes, make coffee regularly and eventually perhaps figure out your own individual way of doing the job.
ASPartOfMe
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Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
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Location: Long Island, New York
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DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
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