Training the Workforce

• Talk about how training and development are linked to competitive advantage

• Recognize the difference between training and development

• Understand the Training Process

• Determine when employees need training and the best type of training given a company’s circumstances

• Recognize the characteristics that make training programs successful

• Understand how to socialize new employees effectively

In This Section…

Training and Competitive Advantage

• Training and development contributes to competitive advantage by:1. Enhancing recruitment

2. Increasing worker competence (new and current)

Training and Competitive Advantage (Cont.)

• Training and development contribute to competitive advantage by:3. Reducing the likelihood of unwanted turnover:

• Building employee job skills, improving job performance• Improving supervisors' capabilities for managing

“underperforming” workers• Reeducating people whose skills have become obsolete,

allowing the organization to assign them to new job responsibilities

• Strengthening employee loyalty

Key Training Issues

• How can training keep pace with a changing organizational environment?

• Should training take place in a classroom setting or on the job?

• How can training be effectively delivered worldwide?

• How can training be delivered so that trainees are motivated to learn?

Training vs. Development

Training• The process of providing

employees with specific skills or helping them correct deficiencies in their performance.

• Current Job• Individual Employees• Immediate• Fix current skill deficit• May be seen as

negative

Development • An effort to provide

employees with the abilities the organization will need in the future

• Current and future job• Work group and

organization• Long term • Prepare for future work

demands

Challenges in Training

• Is training the solution to the problem?

• Are the goals of training clear and realistic?

• Is training a good investment?

• Will the training work?

Managing the Training Process

Managing the Training Process (Cont.)

Phase 1 - Needs Assessment • Identifying the problems or needs that training

must address and provide the information required to design the training program• Levels of needs assessment:

• Organizational• Task• Person

Managing the Training Process (Cont.)

Four Steps to Conducting a Needs Assessment:• Step 1. Perform a "Gap" Analysis.

• Current situation vs. Desired or necessary situation• The difference the "gap" between the current and the necessary

will identify our needs, purposes, and objectives– Problems or deficits– Impending change– Opportunities – Strengths– New directions– Mandated training

Managing the Training Process (Cont.)

Four Steps to Conducting a Needs Assessment:• Step 2. Identify Priorities and Importance

• Examine each in view of their importance to your organizational goals, realities, and constraints

– Cost-effectiveness

– Legal mandates

– Executive pressure

– Population

– Customers

Managing the Training Process (Cont.)

Four Steps to Conducting a Needs Assessment:• Step 3. Identify Causes Of Performance

Problems and/or Opportunities. • Are our people doing their jobs effectively? • Do they know how to do their jobs?

Managing the Training Process (Cont.)

Four Steps to Conducting a Needs Assessment:• Step 4. Identify Possible Solutions and Growth

Opportunities• Training may be the solution, IF there is a knowledge problem

• Organization Development Activities may provide solutions when the problem is not based on a lack of knowledge and is associated with systematic change

• strategic planning• organization restructuring• performance management • effective team building

Managing the Training Process (Cont.)

Phase 2 – Development and Conduct of Training Phase

• The training program that results from the needs assessment should be a direct response to an organizational problem or need• Approaches vary by:

• Location• Presentation• Type

Managing the Training Process (Cont.)

Phase 2 – Development and Conduct of Training Phase• Location Options – On the Job (OJT)

• Job rotation• Apprenticeships• Internships

• Advantages• Relevant to job• Can be inexpensive to implement • Immediate feedback

• Disadvantages• Can be costly in customer satisfaction• Wide variation in quality and content of teaching

Managing the Training Process (Cont.)

Phase 2 – Development and Conduct of Training Phase• Location Options – Off- the-Job Training

• Advantages• Gives employees uninterrupted time• More conducive to learning/less distractions

• Disadvantages• Learning may not transfer back to job• Employees may view training as an opportunity

to enjoy time away from work

Managing the Training Process (Cont.)

Phase 2 – Development and Conduct of Training Phase

• Presentation Options• Slides and Videotapes• Teletraining• Computers• Simulations

• Replicate job demands at off-site facility

• Virtual Reality (VR)• The use of a number of technologies to replicate the entire real-

life working environment in real time

• Classroom Instruction and Role-plays

Managing the Training Process (Cont.)

Phase 2 – Development and Conduct of Training Phase

• Types of Training • Skills Training

• job aids– External sources of information that provide job related

information

• Retraining

• Cross-functional Training

• Team Training

Managing the Training Process (Cont.)

Phase 2 – Development and Conduct of Training Phase

• Types of Training (cont.)• Creativity Training – brainstorming• Literacy Training• Diversity Training• Crisis Training• Customer Service Training• Ethics Training

Managing the Training Process (Cont.)

Phase 3 – The Evaluation Phase

• Monetary Assessment • ROI (return on investment) of training

• ROI = (Training Benefits – Training Costs)/(Training Costs) x 100 = (Net Training Benefits)/(Training Costs) x 100

Managing the Training Process (Cont.)

Phase 3 – The Evaluation Phase (Non-Monetary)• Level 1: Reaction

• Were the participants pleased? • What do they plan to do with what they learned?

• Level 2: Learning • What skills, knowledge, or attitudes have changed? • By how much?

• Level 3: Behavior • Did the participants change their behavior based on what was learned in the

program?

• Level 4: Results • Did the change in behavior positively affect the organization?

Managing the Training Process (Cont.)

Phase 3 – The Evaluation Phase• Legal Issues in Training

• The major requirement here is that employees must The major requirement here is that employees must have access to training and development programs in a have access to training and development programs in a nondiscriminatory fashionnondiscriminatory fashion

Employee Orientation and Socialization

• Employee orientationEmployee orientation• Process of informing new employees about what is Process of informing new employees about what is

expected of them in the job and helping them cope with expected of them in the job and helping them cope with the stresses of transitionthe stresses of transition

• Orientation contentOrientation content• Information on employee benefitsInformation on employee benefits• Personnel policiesPersonnel policies• The daily routineThe daily routine• Company organization and operationsCompany organization and operations• Safety measures and regulationsSafety measures and regulations• Facilities tourFacilities tour

Employee Orientation and Socialization

• A successful orientation should accomplish four things for new employees: • Make them feel welcome and at ease.• Help them understand the organization in a broad

sense.• Provide a Realistic Job Preview (RJP)

• Make clear to them what is expected in terms of work and behavior.

• Help them begin the process of becoming socialized into the firm’s ways of acting and doing things.