1

INDEX

SR No. Particulars Page no.

1. Executive Summary 2

2. Introduction 3

3. Company Profile – Thomas Cook India Ltd. 4

4. Travel & Tourism Industry overview 7

5. Human Resource Management at TCIL 10

6. Training 12

7. Types of training at TCIL 14

7. Methods of Training 15

8. Steps (process) of Training 22

9. Training programmes adopted by Thomas Cook Ltd. 25

10. Training programmes for mid & senior level leadership 26

11.Training evaluation methodology & Impact on Employee Productivity

27

12. Duration & Frequency of Training 30

13. Recommendations and suggestions 31

14. Conclusion 33

15. Bibliography 34

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, organizations have to respond quickly to

requirements for people. The Travel and tourism market has been witnessing growth which is

manifold for last few years. Many private players have entered the economy thereby increasing

the level of competition. In the competitive scenario it has become a challenge for each company

to adopt practices that would help the organization stand out in the market. The best services

offered to the consumers are result of the genius brains working behind them. Human Resource

is this regard has become an important function in any organization. It is important to have a

well-defined L&D policy in place, which can be executed effectively to create development

opportunities for their employees. Right employee training at the right time provides employers

big return on investment. It helps employers get increased productivity, commitment, knowledge

and loyalty from their workforce.

Objectives of the Projec t  

The main objectives for undertaking this project are:

Training methods used at Thomas Cook (India) Ltd.

Training evaluation methodology & Impact of Training on Employee Productivity

Understanding Success/Failure & suggestions on improving such practices

Data Used:

Primary: Meeting with Vice President of Learning and Development – Aspan Patel & Leading

Trainer – Dinesh Ahuja.

Secondary data: Study of Training, Learning & Development, Company Material, Websites.

INTRODUCTION

3

HRM can easily be one of the most important factors for the growth of the company, as famously

said “Your people are your corporation”. Without the HRM, it is almost impossible for any

corporate to be what it is; be it a small scale industry or a business conglomerate.

Under the broad head of Human Resource Management we come across one of the most

important aspects; Training. Training, Learning and Development is considered to be one of the

biggest challenges faced by organization.

Training and development (T&D) encompasses three main activities: training, education, and

development.

1) Training: This activity is both focused upon, and evaluated against, the job that an

individual currently holds.

2) Education: This activity focuses upon the jobs that an individual may potentially hold in

the future, and is evaluated against those jobs.

3) Development: This activity focuses upon the activities that the organization employing

the individual, or that the individual is part of, may partake in the future, and is almost

impossible to evaluate.

Hence, to understand and review the training strategies followed by companies, I have chosen

‘Thomas Cook India Ltd.’ as the organization.

The project will focus on the training programmes adopted by Thomas Cook across levels of

management in their organization, Training evaluation methodology, Role of the L&D

department in the success of the same, impact of training on employee and senior management

productivity and much more.

4

COMPANY PROFILE

About Thomas Cook Group:

The Thomas Cook Group is the oldest and best known name in leisure travel with a history of

innovation that started in 1841. We are very proud to serve the 23 million customers who chose

to travel with us each year and, are focused on transforming our business so that we can serve

even more customers in ways that deliver better their holiday dreams.

As a trusted travel advisor, our core purpose is to inspire our customers to see the world and to

explore it. We aspire to delight our customers with the delivery of trusted, personalised holiday

experiences through a high-tech, high-touch approach. Our goal is to consistently meet and

exceed the expectations of our customers and to be accessible for them however, whenever and,

wherever they want.

Thomas Cook Group plc is one of the world’s leading leisure travel groups with sales of £9.5

billion and 23 million customers in the year ended 30 September 2012. Thomas Cook is

supported by 29,000 full time equivalent employees and operates from 19 countries; it is number

one or two in all its core markets. Thomas Cook Group plc’s shares are listed on the London

Stock Exchange (TCG).

5

About Thomas Cook India Ltd:

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. is the largest integrated travel and travel related financial services

company in the country offering a broad spectrum of services that include Foreign Exchange,

Corporate Travel, Leisure Travel, and Insurance. The Company launched its Indian operations in

1881 and is celebrating its 131 years of world-class service in India. Thomas Cook (India)

operates in the following areas of business, namely:

Leisure Travel

Corporate Travel Management

Foreign Exchange

Insurance

E-Business

Post March 31st 2008, Thomas Cook (India) Limited (TCIL) is a part of Thomas Cook Group

plc UK (TCG). On March 7th 2008, TCG announced its decision to acquire TCIL from Dubai

Investment Group. Thomas Cook Group plc is one of the largest travel groups in the world with

a market capitalization of approximately US$6 Billion.

In June 2006, Thomas Cook (India) acquired LKP Forex Limited and Travel Corporation (India)

Pvt. Ltd. (TCI).

6

TCIL presently operates in over 78 cities across over 206 locations (including 25 airport

counters). The company has overseas operations in Sri Lanka which is a branch of TCIL and

Mauritius which is a subsidiary of Thomas Cook (India). TCIL is supported by a strong partner

network of 117 Gold Circle Partners and 166 Preferred Sales Agents in over 100 cities pan India.

The Company employs over 2,827 resources and is listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange

as well as the National Stock Exchange.

Recently, Travel Corporation (India) Ltd (TCI), a 100% subsidiary of Thomas Cook (India) Ltd

was awarded the third position for ‘Outstanding Performance’ as an ‘Inbound Tour Operator

Category-I’ by Smt. Pratibha Patil, Honorable President of India at the National Tourism Awards

2010-1011.

CRISIL has reaffirmed Thomas Cook (India) Limited with the ‘CRISIL A1+ and AA- rating for

the highest degree of safety regarding timely payment of financial obligations. Also, the Brand

Trust Report™, India study 2012, has ranked Thomas Cook (India) Ltd as The most Trusted

Brand in Services.

Thomas Cook has been awarded with the prestigious “Favourite Specialist Tour Operator" award

at the Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Travel Awards 2011 and was also conferred with the

CNBC AWAAZ - “ Best company providing foreign exchange” in India for the third year in a

row. In addition, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd has been awarded the ‘Most Trusted Tour Operator

Brand’ by the Times Travel Honours 2011 and also recognized as a “Superbrand” 2011-2012 by

the consumers for excellence in travel services.

7

TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY OVERVIEW:

The Travel and Tourism Industry represents a wide spectrum of global economic activity

spanning countries across the world and includes not just large commercial hubs and capital

cities, but also smaller towns and villages as well as remote rural destinations. It is one of the

world’s largest industries or economic sectors, representing a major contributor to GDP,

employment, exports and taxes for many global economies.

In 2012, the Travel and Tourism Industry contributed over USD 6 trillion to the global economy,

or 9% of global gross domestic product (GDP) and accounted for 255 million jobs worldwide.

The rapid rise in global demand for Travel and Tourism over the past few decades has been

spurred by the rise in living standards across the world, fuelled by growing wealth and

aspirations and aided by increasing global commerce, trade and connectivity across nations and

their people.

In the Asia Pacific region specifically, the direct contribution of Travel and Tourism to the

region’s GDP in 2012 was USD 614 billion (2.7% of GDP) and is forecast to rise by 5.2% to

USD 646 billion in 2013. India and China are expected to emerge as two of the leading tourism

markets in next 10 years. (Source: World Travel & Tourism Council).

The industry is showing signs of recovery following the last economic recession, which saw

falling demand for tourism activity as consumers postponed trips to concentrate their household

budgets on more essential areas. As disposable incomes rise and a social trend towards travelling

and exploring new destinations grows, the global tourism industry is attracting greater number of

8

consumers eager to travel and experience life in other countries or just optimize time off work to

unwind by taking holidays.

Over the next ten years, emerging tourism markets are expected to start reaping greater benefits

from their investments in Travel and Tourism development. While the USA, China, Japan and

Germany are expected to retain their leading positions in terms of total Travel and Tourism

Demand (in absolute terms), China and India are expected to be amongst the leaders in terms of

annual growth in Travel and

Tourism between 2010 and 2022, with a CAGR of 15% and 11% respectively in terms of Travel

and Tourism’s Direct Contribution to GDP.

Despite numerous challenges that impacted the industry, including terror attacks, epidemics,

economic slowdown and natural disasters, international Travel and Tourism demand has shown

noteworthy growth. New emerging markets and consumer segments will continue to fuel the

Industry’s growth trajectory, with e and m-Commerce adding impetus.

9

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Human Resources in a Company strive to enable the organization to achieve its objectives by

constantly aligning the ‘people factor’ with the ‘business needs’. This creates a need for

constantly evolving and stimulating the systems and processes in the context of organizational

culture. As part of the HR Action plan, the Company has initiated steps to work on each of key

variables that affect human resources, both at a strategic level and at an operational level.

The world stands at important crossroads. These are challenging times, and to retain a

competitive edge, a company must direct individual accomplishment toward organisational

objectives. The only sustainable differentiator of organisational success lies in the Vision and

Values of a company. We must be the force that influences industry standards. In our kind of

business, people come to us with dreams, with plans, with trust, hoping we will make those

dreams come true.

The Company has always prided itself on core values that act as a foundation to the organisation

and it is now re-aligning its values to reflect that of the Promoter Group. The Values are called

the PRIDE Values.

P Pioneering our Future

R Respect for Individuals and United as a team

I Integrity

D Delighting the Customer

10

E Excellence

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AT TCIL

The Human Resources Department at Thomas Cook strives to promote an open culture and

provide a vibrant work environment to its employees. It prides itself in caring for employees

through various staff welfare measures. The Department has provided exemplary support to the

organization and ensured smooth and seamless transition during ownership change.

The Human Resources Department has rolled out various training initiatives in its quest that each

member of your Company will be a torch bearer for the Vision and Values of our organisation

and uphold them with pride…. ‘PRIDE’ in Thomas Cook.

The organization continues to focus on Training & Development initiatives at all the levels –

Business and skill specific trainings were conducted with the objective of developing work skills

and soft skills (behaviour patterns) of employees. We are in the process of launching a

technology based Learning platform, viz. Learning Management System (LMS).

The Company continues to nurture talent through TCMLP (Thomas Cook Middle Leadership

Program), TCMTP (Thomas Cook Management Trainee Program) and TCETP (Thomas Cook

Executive Trainee Program) so as to create talent pipeline at various levels in junior and middle

management.

The Human Resources Department is focussed on Technology to improve processes for

providing seamless HR services to employees. The PRIDE Club which was launched to provide

an energetic work environment, continued to provide non work opportunities related to fun and

11

learning – this included having the PRIDE cricket tournament in various cities, celebrating

various festivals in office as also having evening sessions on matters of interest.

The Company is undergoing a transformation in its business models while at the same time

experiencing rapid growth in all aspects. This provides both, opportunities for the Company to

gain the major market share and grow rapidly, as well as a challenge to maintain profitability and

make itself more cost efficient. They are certain that they will continue to invest in our biggest

Asset – The People.

12

TRAINING:

Training plays an important role when organizations strategize on creating development

opportunities for their employees.  Right employee training at the right time provides employers

big return on investment. It helps employers get increased productivity, commitment, knowledge

and loyalty from their workforce.

Training is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching

of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies.

Training has specific goals of improving

one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. It forms the core of apprenticeships and

provides the backbone of content at institutes of technology (also known as technical colleges or

polytechnics). In addition to the basic training required for a trade, occupation or profession,

observers of the labor-market recognize as of 2008 the need to continue training beyond initial

qualifications: to maintain, upgrade and update skills throughout working life. People within

many professions and occupations may refer to this sort of training as professional development.

Training, part of human resource development, is the process of changing an organization,

its employees, its stakeholders, and groups of people within it, using planned and unplanned

learning, in order to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage for the organization.

By providing training and career development opportunities for every employee, Thomas Cook

ensures their workforce is highly skilled and they retain the best people within our business. In

2013 they invested Rs. 1,51,83,61,900 in training for their employees around the world.

13

TYPES OF TRAININGS AT TCIL:

At Thomas cook India Limited, they train their employees on everything ranging from product

trainings, leadership to stress management.

The following are the trainings provided to the employees across all levels in the organization:

Soft skills

Sales & Marketing Techniques

Leadership Skills

Customer Service Management

Outbound Experiential Training Program

Negotiation skills

Management & Leadership Programs

MICE Management

Stress Management

Destination Training Programs

Product Trainings

IATA Trainings

Thus, even the small yet integral aspects of an employees life at Thomas Cook are covered and

taken care of.

14

METHODS OF TRAINING:

There are several T&D methods available. The use of a  part icular

method depends which method accomplishes the   training needs and objectives.

Training methods can be classified into two categories:

I. On-the-Job Methods

This refers to the methods of training in which a person learns a job by actually

doing/performing it. A person works on a job  and learns and develops expertise at the

same time.

1. Understudy

The trainee is given an understudy position. The trainee handles some important aspects of his

superior’s job. The trainee, at a future date, is likely to assume the duties and responsibilities of

the position currently held by his immediate superior.

The understudy technique ensures a company that a fully qualified person will be available to

take over a present manager’s position whenever he leaves the position through promotion,

transfer, retirement or resignation.

2. Job rotation

 Job rotation involves the transfer of trainees from one job to another and sometimes from one

branch to another. Job assignment under a rotation system may last for a period of 3 months to 2

15

years. The trainee is given full duties and responsibilities of the rotated position. It is more

suitable for lower level executives.

3. Special projects

The trainees' may ask to work on special projects related  with departmental

objectives. By this, the trainees will acquire  the knowledge of the assigned work and

also learn how to work with others.

4. Experience

It refers to learning by doing. This is one of the oldest methods of on-the-job training.

Although this is very effective method but it also very time-consuming and wasteful.

Thus it should be  followed by other training methods.

5.      Junior Boards

In western countries, junior boards are formed. It permit promising young middle-level managers

to experience problems and responsibilities faced by top-level executives in their company.

About 10 to 12 executives from diverse functions within the organisation serve on the board for a

term of say 6 months or more.

The board is allowed to study any problem faced by the organisation, in respect of personnel

policies, organizational design, interdepartmental conflicts, etc, and to make recommendations to

the senior board of directors.

16

6. Coaching & Counselling

Coaching: In coaching, the superior plays an active role in training the subordinate. The

superior may assign challenging task to the subordinate for the purpose of training. The superior

may assist and advice the subordinate to complete the assigned task. In this case, the superior

acts as a coach in training the subordinate.

Counselling: In this case, the superior plays a passive role in training the subordinate. The

superior may assign challenging task to the subordinate for the purpose of training. The superior

may provide advice to the subordinate in the completion of task, if so required. In this case, the

superior acts as a guide rather than a coach n training the subordinate.

7. Planned Progression

It is similar to job rotation, except that every movement from one job to another involves higher

pay, position and duties. In job rotation, every movement involves more or less same pay and

position. Planned progression is more likely to occur at higher managerial levels, whereas, job

rotation occurs mainly at lower level positions.

17

II. Off-the-Job Methods

These methods require trainees to leave their workplace and concentrate their entire time towards

the training objectives. These days off-the-job training methods have become popular due to

limitations of the on-the-job training methods such as facilities and environment, lack of group

discussion and full participation among the trainees from different disciplines, etc. In the off-the-

job methods, the development of trainees is the primary task rest everything is secondary.

Following are the main off-the-job training methods:

1. Special courses and lectures

These are the most traditional and even famous today, method of developing personnel. Special

courses and lectures are either designed by the company itself or by the

management/professional schools. Companies then sponsor their trainees to attend these courses

or lectures. These are the quick and most simple ways to provide knowledge to a large group of

trainees.

2. Conferences and seminars

In this, the participants are required to pool their thoughts, ideas, viewpoints, suggestions and

recommendations. By attending conferences and seminars, trainees try to look at a problem from

different angles as the participants are normally from different fields and sectors.

3. Selected reading

18

This is the self-improvement training technique. The persons acquire knowledge and awareness

by reading various trade journals and magazines. Most of the companies have their own libraries.

The employees become the members of the professional associations to keep abreast of latest

developments in their respective fields.

4. Case study method

This technique was developed by Harvard Business School, U.S.A. It is used as a supplement to

lecture method. A case is a written record of a real business situation/problem faced by a

company. The case is provided to the trainees for discussion and analysis. Identification and

diagnose of the problem is the aim in case study method. Alternate courses of action are

suggested from participants.

5. Programmed instruction/learning

This is step-by-step self-learning method where the medium may be a textbook, computer or the

internet. This is a systematic method for teaching job skills involving presenting questions or

facts, allowing the person to respond and giving the learner immediate feedback on the accuracy

of his or her answers."

6. Brainstorming

This is creativity-training technique, it helps people to solve problems in a new and different

way. In this technique, the trainees are given the opportunity to generate ideas openly and

without any fear of judgement. Criticism of any idea is not allowed so as to reduce inhibiting

forces. Once a lot of ideas are generated then they are evaluated for their cost and feasibility.

19

20

7. Role-playing

In this method, the trainees are assigned a role, which they have to play in an artificially created

situation. For example, a trainee is asked to play the role of a trade union leader and another

trainee is required to perform the role of a HR manager. This technique results in better

understanding of each other's situation by putting foot in other's shoes.

8. Vestibule schools

Large organisations frequently provide what are described as vestibule schools a preliminary to

actual shop experience. As far as possible, shop conditions are duplicated, but instruction, not

output is major objective." A vestibule school is operated as a specialised endeavor by the

personnel department. This training is required when the amount of training that has to be done

exceeds the capacity of the line supervisor; a portion of training is evolved from the line and

assigned to staff through a vestibule school." The advantage of a vestibule school is

specialisation.

9. Apprenticeship training

This training approach began in the Middle Ages when those who wanted to learn trade skill

bound themselves to a master craftsman and worked under his guidance. Apprenticeship training

is a structured process by which people become skilled workers through a combination of

classroom instruction and on-the-job training.

21

10. In-basket exercise

In this technique, the trainees are provided background information on a simulated firm and its

products, and key personnel. After this, the trainees are provided with in-basket of memos,

letters, reports, requests and other documents related with the firm. The trainee must make sense

out of this mass of paperwork and prepare memos, make notes and delegate tasks within a

limited time period."

11. Business games

Business games involve teams of trainees. The teams discuss and analyse the problem and arrive

at decisions. Generally, issues related with inventories, sales, R&D, production process, etc. are

taken up for consideration.

12. Behaviour modeling

This is structured approach to teach specific supervisory skill. This is based on the social

learning theory in which the trainee is provided with a specific model of behaviour and is

informed in advance of the consequences of engaging in that type of behaviour.

14. Multiple management

This technique of training was first introduced by McCormick, President of McCormick & co. of

Baltimore in 1932. He gave the idea of establishing a junior board of directors. Authority is

given to the junior board members to discuss any problem that could be discuss in senior board

22

and give recommendations to the senior board. Innovative and productive ideas became available

for senior board.

23

STEPS (PROCESS) OF TRAINING AT THOMAS COOK

1. NEEDS ANALYSIS

The first step followed by TCIL is developing a training program is to identify and assess needs.

They identify specific job performance skills needed to improve performance and productivity.

They also analyze the audience to ensure that the program will be suited to their specific levels

of education, experience, and skills, as well as their attitudes and personal motivations.

Employee training needs are usually already established in the organization’s strategic, human

resources or individual development plans. Usually when they are building the training program

from scratch (without predetermined objectives) they conduct training needs assessments with

the help of using research to develop specific measurable knowledge and performance

objectives.

24

25

2.       INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

The next step they follow would be to gather instructional objectives, methods, media, and

description of sequence of content, examples, exercises, and activities. They organize them into a

curriculum that supports adult learning theory and provides a blueprint for program

development. They make sure all materials, such as video scripts, leaders’ guides, and

participants’ work-books, complement each other, are written clearly, and blend into unified

training geared directly to the stated learning objectives. They carefully and professionally

handle all program elements – whether reproduced on paper, film, or tape – to guarantee quality

and effectiveness.

3.       VALIDATION

The next step followed during training by TCIL is Validation. They introduce and validate the

training before a representative audience. Base final revisions on pilot results to ensure program

effectiveness.

4.       IMPLEMENTATION

The very next step after the validation of the programme at Thomas Cook is implementation.

When applicable, they finally boost success with a train- the –trainer workshop that focuses on

presentation knowledge and skills in addition to training content.

Program implementation involves actions on the following lines:

1) Deciding the location and organizing training and other facilities.

2) Scheduling the training program.

3) Conducting the program.

26

4) Monitoring the progress of the trainees.

5.       EVALUATION AND FOLLOW UP

The last stage in the training and development process is the evaluation of the results. Since huge

sums of money are spent on training and development, how far the program has been useful must

be judge/determined. Evaluation helps determine the results of the training and development

program.

At TCIL, they assess program success according to:

1) REACTION – Document the learners’ immediate reactions to the training.

2) LEARNING – Use feedback devices or pre- and posttests to measure what learners have

actually learned.

3) BEHAVIOR – Note supervisors’ reactions to learners’ performance following

completion of the training. This is one way to measure the degree to which learners apply

new skills  and knowledge to their jobs.

4) RESULTS – Determine the level of improvement in job performance and assess needed

maintenance.

27

TRAINING PROGRAMMES ADOPTED BY Thomas Cook Ltd.

Policies on personal development reviews vary between Thomas Cook Group companies, but

over 90% of their employees have a review at least once a year. At this, they discuss their

aspirations and training needs, and then the team does their best to support them with appropriate

learning and development opportunities. And with such a diverse company, in terms of job types

as well as locations, there is plenty of opportunity for their employees to develop their careers in

a number of directions.

 A wide range of training and development programs are offered to meet the different needs of

employees across their various companies. These include apprenticeships and work experience,

training on specific job-related issues and programs to support employees’ progression within the

company.

Examples of our apprenticeships and work experience programs include:

An apprenticeship programs for school leavers in Germany, which in 2013 won the Education

Award from the Willy Scharnow Foundation for its innovative Welcome Week ‘check-in’.

Modern Apprenticeship program in the UK and Ireland. This program gives 16- to 18-year-old

school leavers the opportunity to train in jobs with Thomas Cook Group while gaining national

qualifications. Many past apprentices have now progressed to senior roles in the company. In

20013, we recruited 163 apprentices and a record 83% gained their qualifications. In July 2013,

our apprenticeship programme was inspected by UK’s Office for Standards in Education,

Children’s Services and Skills. Not only did Thomas Cook Group receive a ‘Good’ status, a rare

accolade for a national employee and unprecedented among national travel retailers, the

28

inspectors took away several of their processes as examples of best practice, commenting that

they have never before seen such quality in these areas.

Thomas Cook India’s ‘On the Job’ scheme provides travel and tourism students with training

placements lasting three to six months. In 2013, 200 students were given placements covering

various aspects of the business.

Examples of training on specific job-related issues include:

Courses on animal welfare for our UK & Ireland overseas managers.

Training for our KidsWORLD representatives that counts towards a qualification in play work.

The Thomas Cook Academy’s programme, launched in May 2009. Tailored to our company’s

needs, its courses include Managing Time Effectively, Presenting with Impact and Managing the

Thomas Cook Way.

E-learning packages to support our employees in delivering the best customer service. In North

America our e-learning programme includes a choice of 40 courses.

Examples of programmes to support employees’ progression within the company include:

Talent Circle, a development programme for around 150 interns each year in Germany.

Fast-track, our initiative that prepares employees for their next level of promotion.

Leadership development programmes for managers and future leaders of the business. Having

been accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management, we can now deliver our

exclusive Diploma in Leadership and Management in-house.

29

TRAINING PROGRAMMES FOR MID AND SENIOR LEVEL

EMPLOYEES

Training programmes for Mid and Senior Level employees is almost always customized as per

their requirement. They indulge in something known as the TNI or TNA – Training Needs

Analysis/Training Needs Intervention. This TNI discussion is done with business heads across

various departments and businesses.

They follow a very simple ADDIE Model where

A – Analysis

D – Design

D –Develop

I – Implement

E- Evaluate.

Thus, depending upon the requirements of senior level employees, the Learning & Development

team at TCIL understands what they want and require, and accordingly develop a program such

that it benefits the program taker completely.

For Senior Management – they indulge majorly in Experiential based learning – which includes

activities like

1) Simulations

2) Learning from Peer Groups

3) M – Learning

TCIL also uses a Mobile Based Learning Platform for their Senior Leadership called BizPunditz

– Which contains videos by top management across India in the form of snippets for 3-5

speaking about their experiences which provides food for thought and thought based learning.

30

TRAINING EVALUATION AND METHODOLOGY

The best way of training evaluation is described by the Kirk Patrik Model of Training evaluation.

The Four Levels

Donald Kirkpatrick, Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin and past president of the

American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), first published his Four-Level

Training Evaluation Model in 1959, in the US Training and Development Journal.

The model was then updated in 1975, and again in 1994, when he published his best-known

work, "Evaluating Training Programs."

The four levels are:

1) Reaction.

2) Learning.

3) Behavior.

4) Results.

Level 1: Reaction

This level measures how your trainees (the people being trained), reacted to the training.

Obviously, you want them to feel that the training was a valuable experience, and you want them

to feel good about the instructor, the topic, the material, its presentation, and the venue.

It's important to measure reaction, because it helps you understand how well the training was

received by your audience. It also helps you improve the training for future trainees, including

identifying important areas or topics that are missing from the training.

31

Level 2: Learning

At level 2, you measure what your trainees have learned. How much has their knowledge

increased as a result of the training?

When you planned the training session, you hopefully started with a list of specific learning

objectives: these should be the starting point for your measurement. Keep in mind that you can

measure learning in different ways depending on these objectives, and depending on whether

you're interested in changes to knowledge, skills, or attitude.

It's important to measure this, because knowing what your trainees are learning and what they

aren't will help you improve future training.

Level 3: Behavior

At this level, you evaluate how far your trainees have changed their behavior, based on the

training they received. Specifically, this looks at how trainees apply the information.

It's important to realize that behavior can only change if conditions are favorable. For instance,

imagine you've skipped measurement at the first two Kirkpatrick levels and, when looking at

your group's behavior, you determine that no behavior change has taken place. Therefore, you

assume that your trainees haven't learned anything and that the training was ineffective.

However, just because behavior hasn't changed, it doesn't mean that trainees haven't learned

anything. Perhaps their boss won't let them apply new knowledge. Or, maybe they've learned

everything you taught, but they have no desire to apply the knowledge themselves.

32

Level 4: Results

At this level, you analyze the final results of your training. This includes outcomes that you or

your organization have determined to be good for business, good for the employees, or good for

the bottom line.

At Thomas Cook India Limited, they follow a very basic pre training assessment with the help

of tests and other forms, and a post training assessment to understand the score before the

training and after the training. Based on the scores they understand the success of the training.

There are periodic reviews with the immediate managers of the trainees to understand how they

are responding to the training and if there has been a noticeable improvement in their

performance. On the basis of the feedback provided by the manager the trainees are judged and

the next set of training activities are planned for them accordingly.

The impact of training on employee productivity is judged on the periodic feedback by the

managers of the trainees. They also understand whether the improvement has been affecting the

organizational goals.

33

DURATION & FREQUENCY OF TRAINING

Training activities are an expensive affair and their duration and frequency makes a difference to

the companies and the employees. Usually at TCIL, the training for general employees (Leaving

senior management aside) happens for 32 hours a year – invariably divided into 4 training

sessions of 8 hours each spread across once in every 3 months.

This activity is carried out on their Learning Management System as well as by trainers. The

duration of training sessions is usually 8-9 hours (so typically it’s a day away from work)

34

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

As employees continue to struggle with cost-cutting measures that force fewer people to handle rising workloads, proper training is more vital to professional success than ever. For employees, training can strengthen workplace skills and lead to greater long-term job security. From an employer perspective, having well-trained workers is key to maintaining competitive performance and distinguishing a company from its rivals.

Not only does a concerted effort to provide employee training improve workplace performance and satisfaction, it also boosts workers’ sense of stability and security within their positions by enhancing their value to the company.

“Job security is on everyone’s minds, and having up-to-date skills is the key to staying relevant and marketable,” Hosking added. “By providing training opportunities, companies demonstrate they’re committed to their employees’ long-term career growth, and this can help with their retention efforts.”

After the detailed research about the company and their Learning and development needs, the following are the recommendations and suggestions according to me.

They should:

1) Encourage a learning culture:

As per discussions, there seems to be a disconnect with the audience/employees when training is assigned and assessed for them. My suggestion would be here to ensure the employees who are going to be trained need to understand that the company is doing this in the best of the employees’ interest and not the company’s (That too).

They should ensure the employees feel that they are being trained to be competitive in the market and go ahead with their training rather than just taking it for the sake of it.

2) Clarifying company Goals:

Another gap which I feel that the employees are facing would be the the interest of the company’s goals and their contribution in achieving them. Every person while conducting the training should be made aware of the companies’ goals and how their learning and contribution is an important element in the same.

Ensure that employees know the specific purposes for their training and how they connect to larger company goals. Remember to award those who perform well.

35

3) Tracking Results:

A training program won’t be effective unless you monitor its progress. They should choose a metric, such as productivity or profit, to help determine the return on investment for their training efforts and establish concrete results.

Very important would be to make employees aware of the initiatives and the seriousness by which this is happening.

36

CONCLUSION

Going through the project, we see how Thomas Cook India ltd. follows their training procedure,

and the strategies they follow while they are looking and training and development needs for

their employees and senior management at their company. I feel that the training process

followed by them currently fits perfectly fine for the company and works perfectly for them.

After having an intense discussion with the Vice President for Learning and Development, Mr.

Aspan Patel, there is an understanding that Thomas cook has an extremely sorted Learning and

development function for their employees, which fulfils all their criterias and looking at their

recent growth and expansion, they have been training perfectly, the way they are supposed to.

Although, I don’t think they are going out of their way for the L&D when it comes to the general

employees, even though they have some fantastic initiatives for their senior level management.

The first step in this direction is to ensure competitive people come in the organization.

Therefore Training in this regard becomes an important function. The organization must

constantly improvise in its training process so that it is able to make the best out of their

employees and make them competent according to industrial standards. Thus, they might want to

look at more creative methods for their recruitment.

37

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Personnel Management by KV Mishra, Adiya Publishing House,1992

CHHABRA T.N, Principles and practices of management, Dhanpat Rai and company

Ltd, Delhi, 2000

http://www.progressive-personnel.com/travel-jobs-blog/entry/2012/december/the-

importance-of-a-solid-L&D-strategy/

http://www.thomascook.in/tcportal/downloads/TCILSuperbrandDec182012.pdf

http://www.recruiter.com/i/recruitment/

http://humanresources.about.com/od/trainingtransfer/a/training_work.htm

http://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/73307-unit-06-human-resources-for-travel-and-

tourism.pdf

Boella, M (2000) Human Resource Management in the Hospitality Industry 7th Ed.

Nelson Thornes

Carfield, R. (2002) Preparing your Training Needs Kogan Page

Dale, G. (2006) GCE A2 Level Travel and TourismTraining Heinemann Educational

Publishers

McAlphine, M. (2004) So you want to work in travel and tourism? Hodder and Stoughton

Outhart, T. et al (2000) Travel and Tourism for Advanced GNVQ HarperCollins