A new colleague watches a task being carried out and asks: “Why do we actually do it this way?” An experienced employee explains the steps. He knows where the materials are, what needs doing first and where things sometimes get stuck. Then he shows her a shortcut. It saves time.
She hesitates. This looked different during her induction. When she asks about it, the answer is one many people will recognise: “We’ve done it this way a hundred times. Nothing has ever happened.”
He probably means that quite sincerely. He wants to help. He has experience and wants to pass it on. That is precisely why this is a moment worth looking at more closely.
Experience matters
People who have done a job for years know things that appear in no instruction manual. An unfamiliar sound, a material behaving differently, a small change in the process: experienced employees often notice these things early. That knowledge is valuable and should be shared.
Over time, though, habits can also creep in whose original purpose nobody remembers. Perhaps the right equipment was unavailable on one occasion. Perhaps an order had to be finished in a particular hurry. Someone found a way to manage, and the workaround has been part of the process ever since.
Eventually, it is taught to new employees in exactly the same way. What began as an exception becomes part of induction. Hardly anyone asks whether the original reason still exists.
“Nothing has happened” leaves a question open
If a process has worked a hundred times without incident, it inspires confidence. That is understandable. We draw on our experience in everyday life.
But we still do not know why it went well. Was the process reliably safe? Did someone spot a problem in time? Or were the conditions each time slightly more favourable than they are today?
Perhaps this delivery is heavier. Perhaps someone is covering who does not yet know the procedure. Perhaps two people who normally understand each other with a glance are working different shifts today.
A familiar routine can hide these differences. That makes the new colleague’s question useful. She sees a contradiction that everyone else has grown accustomed to.
A question is not necessarily criticism
For someone who has done their work properly for years, “Why do you do it that way?” can sound uncomfortable. As though their experience is being questioned. Yet the person asking may simply be missing an explanation.
The response shapes how people work together from then on. If she gets a clear answer, she will ask again next time. If she is laughed at, she learns something too: I should keep my doubts to myself here.
I think there needs to be room for these questions, especially during induction. New employees bring a fresh perspective. They do not yet know all the little things the workplace takes for granted. That can be demanding, because it means explaining things nobody has thought about for a long time. It can also help improve a process.
When the rule is hard to follow
Sometimes a shortcut hides a very practical problem. The equipment people are meant to use is a long way away. Materials are left in an awkward place. The work has been organised in a way that demands constant improvisation.
Reading out the same rule again at the next training session will only achieve so much. We also need to ask what makes it difficult to follow.
The people doing the work every day often know the answer. Their knowledge needs to be part of the solution. Afterwards, it must be clear which procedure applies and who will arrange any necessary change. Otherwise, there has been a good conversation, but the next morning everyone carries on exactly as before.
Training can encourage a closer look
For me, this is part of good workplace training: people should recognise their own work in it and understand why a rule matters to them. That takes examples close enough to everyday life for learners to examine their own habits.
In the EU AI Act Academy, I therefore combine foundations with industry and department content, alongside company rules. If someone notices a problem, they should also know whom to contact in their own company.
“We’ve done it this way a hundred times” can be a useful starting point for a conversation. I would be interested in the next sentence: can we explain why it is safe, or should we take another look together?