Their training requires two weeks in Ft. Myers Florida, one week remote learning and ride-a-longs from your home office, then two weeks back in Ft. Myers. We were not permitted to go home on the weekends during those two 2-week spans. This made it difficult on many of us with families...especially the women with young children. The rationale here was not explained...therefore caused a certain amount of angst. We came to the assumption that this was intended to provide the opportunity to gather outside of the classroom and create bonds amongst ourselves - perhaps allowing us to create friendships and lean on each other when hitting the field. While this training regiment is mandatory, and clearly spelled out during the interview process, a simple professional explanation as to the rationale for not allowing us to return home on the weekends would have been appreciated. (Even if it was simply a cost-related travel decision) If in fact this was to create a bond, it probably worked, as some of the best memories took place over the weekends...and tears and man-hugs were-a-flowing as we prepared to depart after our graduation. That said, we were all experienced and successful sales professionals - explaining the purpose of the rules would have gone further than simply enforcing them.
