Topic Five: Training and Development

Meaning of Training: Training is a process that tries to improve skills or add to the existing level
of knowledge so that the employee is better equipped to do his present job or to mould him to be
fit for a higher job involving higher responsibilities. It bridges the gap between what the employee
has & what the job demands.

Training can also be defined as a planned effort by a company to facilitate employees’ learning of
job-related competencies. These competencies include knowledge, skills, or behaviors that are
critical for successful job performance.

Meaning of Employee Development. Employee development is a broader term that includes

training as one, and only one of its methods for encouraging employee learning.

Need for Employee Training:

Training is given on four basic grounds.

1. New candidates who join an organization are given training. This training familiarizes them
with the organizational mission, vision, rules and regulations and the working conditions.

2. The existing employees are trained to refresh and enhance their knowledge.

3. If any updating and amendments take place in technology, training is given to cope up with
those changes. For instance, purchasing new equipment, changes in technique of production,
computer impartment. The employees are trained about use of new equipments and work methods.
4. When promotion and career growth becomes important. Training is given so that employees are
prepared to share the responsibilities of the higher level job.

Training needs Assessment; can be assessed by analyzing three major human resource areas: the
organization as a whole, the job characteristics and the needs of the individuals.

This analysis will provide answers to the following questions: • Where is training needed? • What
specifically must an employee learn in order to be more productive? • Who needs to be trained?
Importance of Training;

1. Improves Morale of Employees- Training helps the employee to get job security and job
satisfaction. The more satisfied the employee is and the greater is his morale, the more he will
contribute to organizational success and the lesser will be employee absenteeism and turnover.

2. Less Supervision- A well trained employee will be well acquainted with the job and will need
less of supervision. Thus, there will be less wastage of time and efforts.

3. Fewer Accidents- Errors are likely to occur if the employees lack knowledge and skills required
for doing a particular job. The more trained an employee is, the less are the chances of committing
accidents in job and the more proficient the employee becomes.

4. Chances of Promotion- Employees acquire skills and efficiency during training. They become
more eligible for promotion. They become an asset for the organization.

5. Increased Productivity- Training improves efficiency and productivity of employees. Well

trained employees show both quantity and quality performance. There is less wastage of time,
money and resources if employees are properly trained.

Types of Employee Training

Can be categorize as on-the-job or off-the-job:

On-the-job training; takes place in a normal working situation, using the actual tools, equipment,
documents or materials that trainees will use when fully trained. On-the-job training has a general
reputation as most effective for vocational work.

Off-the-job training; takes place away from normal work situations — implying that the
employee does not count as a directly productive worker while such training takes place. Off-the-
job training has the advantage that it allows people to get away from work and concentrate more
thoroughly on the training itself.

Techniques for On The Job Development(OJT)

 • COACHING
• MENTORING
• JOB ROTATION
• JOB INSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE (JIT)

Coaching; it is one of the training methods, which is considered as a corrective method for
inadequate performance. The procedure is followed by successive counseling and meetings at the
executive’s convenience by the coach.

1. Understand the participant’s job, the knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and resources
required to meet the desired expectation
2. Meet the participant and mutually agree on the objective that has to be achieved
3. Mutually arrive at a plan and schedule
4. At the job, show the participant how to achieve the objectives, observe the performance
and then provide feedback
5. Repeat step 4 until performance improves

For the people at middle level management, coaching is more likely done by the supervisor;
however experts from outside the organization are at times used for up and coming managers.
Again, the personalized approach assists the manger focus on definite needs and improvement.

Mentoring. It is an ongoing relationship that is developed between a senior and junior employee.
Mentoring provides guidance and clear understanding of how the organization goes to achieve its
vision and mission to the junior employee. The meetings are not as structured and regular than in
coaching. Executive mentoring is generally done by someone inside the company. The executive
can learn a lot from mentoring. By dealing with diverse mentee’s, the executive is given the chance
to grow professionally by developing management skills and learning how to work with people
with diverse background, culture, and language and personality types. Executives also have
mentors. In cases where the executive is new to the organization, a senior executive could be
assigned as a mentor to assist the new executive settled into his role. Mentoring is one of the
important methods for preparing them to be future executives. This method allows the mentor to
determine what is required to improve mentee’s performance. Once the mentor identifies the
problem, weakness, and the area that needs to be worked upon, the mentor can advise relevant
training. The mentor can also provide opportunities to work on special processes and projects that
require use of proficiency.

Job rotation. This approach allows the manger to operate in diverse roles and understand the
different issues that crop up.An organized and helpful way to develop talent for the management
or executive level of the organization is job rotation. It is the process of preparing employees at a
lower level to replace someone at the next higher level. It is generally done for the designations
that are crucial for the effective and efficient functioning of the organization. Some of the major
benefits of job rotation are:

• It provides the employees with opportunities to broaden the horizon of knowledge, skills,
and abilities by working in different departments, business units, functions, and countries
• Identification of Knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) required
• It determines the areas where improvement is required
• Assessment of the employees who have the potential and caliber for filling the position

Job Instruction Technique (JIT); it uses a strategy with focus on knowledge (factual and
procedural), skills and attitudes development. JIT Consists of Four Steps:

• Plan – This step includes a written breakdown of the work to be done because the trainer
and the trainee must understand that documentation is must and important for the
familiarity of work. A trainer who is aware of the work well is likely to do many things
and in the process might miss few things. Therefore, a structured analysis and proper
documentation ensures that all the points are covered in the training program.
• The second step is to find out what the trainee knows and what training should focus on.
• Then, the next step is to create a comfortable atmosphere for the trainees’ i.e. proper
orientation program, availing the resources, familiarizing trainee with the training program,
etc.
• Present – In this step, trainer provides the synopsis of the job while presenting the
participants the different aspects of the work. When the trainer finished, the trainee
demonstrates how to do the job and why is that done in that specific manner. Trainee
 actually demonstrates the procedure while emphasizing the key points and safety
instructions.

OFF THE JOB TRAINING Methods

• Sensitivity Training
• Transactional Analysis
• Straight Lectures/ Lectures
• Simulation Exercises

Sensitivity Training; is about making people understand about themselves and others
reasonably, which is done by developing in them social sensitivity and behavioral flexibility.
Social sensitivity in one word is empathy. It is ability of an individual to sense what others feel
and think from their own point of view. Behavioral flexibility is ability to behave suitably in
light of understanding.

Transactional Analysis; provides trainees with a realistic and useful method for analyzing
and understanding the behavior of others. In every social interaction, there is a motivation
provided by one person and a reaction to that motivation given by another person. This
motivation reaction relationship between two persons is a transaction. Transactional analysis
can be done by the ego states of an individual. An ego state is a system of feelings accompanied
by a related set of behaviors. There are basically three ego states:

• Child: It is a collection of recordings in the brain of an individual of behaviors,

attitudes, and impulses which come to her naturally from her own understanding as a
child. The characteristics of this ego are to be spontaneous, intense, unconfident,
reliant, probing, anxious, etc. Verbal clues that a person is operating from its child state
are the use of words like “I guess”, “I suppose”, etc. and non verbal clues like, giggling,
coyness, silent, attention seeking etc.
• Parent: It is a collection of recordings in the brain of an individual of behaviors,
attitudes, and impulses imposed on her in her childhood from various sources such as,
social, parents, friends, etc. The characteristics of this ego are to be overprotective,
isolated, rigid, bossy, etc. Verbal clues that a person is operating from its parent states
 are the use of words like, always, should, never, etc and non-verbal clues such as,
raising eyebrows, pointing an accusing finger at somebody, etc.
• Adult: It is a collection of reality testing, rational behavior, decision making, etc. A
person in this ego state verifies, updates the data which she has received from the other
two states. It is a shift from the taught and felt concepts to tested concepts. All of us
evoke behavior from one ego state which is responded to by the other person from any
of these three states.

Lecture; is telling someone about something. Lecture is given to enhance the knowledge of
listener or to give him the theoretical aspect of a topic. Training is basically incomplete without
lecture. When the trainer begins the training session by telling the aim, goal, agenda, processes, or
methods that will be used in training that means the trainer is using the lecture method. It is difficult
to imagine training without lecture format. Some forms of lectures are interactive while some are
not. Straight Lecture: Straight lecture method consists of presenting information, which the trainee
attempts to absorb. In this method, the trainer speaks to a group about a topic. However, it does
not involve any kind of interaction between the trainer and the trainees. A lecture may also take
the form of printed text, such as books, notes, etc. The difference between the straight lecture and
the printed material is the trainer’s intonation, control of speed, body language, and visual image
of the trainer. The trainer in case of straight lecture can decide to vary from the training script,
based on the signals from the trainees, whereas same material in print is restricted to what is
printed.

A good lecture consists of introduction of the topic, purpose of the lecture, and priorities and
preferences of the order in which the topic will be covered. Some of the main features of lecture
method are:

Games and Simulations; are structured and sometimes unstructured, that are usually played for
enjoyment sometimes are used for training purposes as an educational tool. Training games and
simulations are different from work as they are designed to reproduce or simulate events,
circumstances, processes that take place in trainees’ job. A Training Game is defined as spirited
activity or exercise in which trainees compete with each other according to the defined set of rules.
Simulation is creating computer versions of real-life games. Simulation is about imitating or
making judgment or opining how events might occur in a real situation. It can entail intricate
numerical modeling, role playing without the support of technology, or combinations. The various
methods that come under Games and Simulations are:

✓ Behavior-modelling
✓ Business games
✓ case studies
✓ Equipment stimulators
✓ In-basket technique
✓ Role plays

Objectives and Process of Employee Training

The training design process refers to a systematic approach for developing training programs. It
includes the seven steps in this process.

Step1; is to conduct a needs assessment, which is necessary to identify whether training is needed.
This step identifies activities to justify an investment for training. The techniques necessary for
the data collection are surveys, observations, interviews, and customer comment cards. Several
examples of an analysis outlining specific training needs are

➢ customer dissatisfaction,
➢ low morale,
➢ low productivity,
➢ and high turnover.

The objective in establishing a needs analysis is to find out the answers to the following
questions:

• “Why” is training needed?

• “What” type of training is needed?
• “When” is the training needed?
• “Where” is the training needed?
• “Who” needs the training?
• and “Who” will conduct the training?
• “How” will the training be performed?

By determining training needs, an organization can decide what specific knowledge, skills,
and attitudes are needed to improve the employee’s performance in accordance with the
company’s standards. The primary objective of all training is to improve individual and
organizational performance.

Step 2 ; is to ensure that employees have the motivation and basic skills necessary to master
training content. This step establishes the development of current job descriptions and
standards and procedures. Job descriptions should be clear and concise and may serve as a
major training tool for the identification of guidelines. Once the job description is
completed, a complete list of standards and procedures should be established from each
responsibility outlined in the job description. This will standardize the necessary guidelines
for any future training.

Step 3; is to create a learning environment that has the features necessary for learning to
occur. This step is responsible for the instruction and delivery of the training program.
Once you have designated your trainers, the training technique must be decided. One-on-
one training, on-the-job training, group training, seminars, and workshops are the most
popular methods. Before presenting a training session, make sure you have a thorough
understanding of the following characteristics of an effective trainer.

Step 4; is to ensure that trainees apply the training content to their jobs. This step will
determine how effective and profitable your training program has been. Methods for
evaluation are pre-and post- surveys of customer comments cards, the establishment of a
cost/benefit analysis outlining your expenses and returns, and an increase in customer
satisfaction and profits. The evaluations of training programs is an important step that will
indicate the effectiveness of both the training as well as the trainer.it is important because;

✓ evaluations will provide feedback on the trainer’s performance, allowing them to

improve themselves for future programs.
 ✓ evaluations will indicate its cost-effectiveness.
✓ evaluations are an efficient way to determine the overall effectiveness of the
training program for the employees as well as the organization.

Advantages of On-the-Job:Training Methods On the job training method has the

following advantages that can be considered:

✓ Generally, most cost-effective

✓ Employees are actually productive
✓ Opportunity to learn whilst doing
✓ Training alongside real colleagues.
✓ Training can be delivered on time and at the optimum time.
✓ The trainee will have the good opportunities to practice and implement.
✓ The trainee will have feedbacks.
✓ Trainee builds confidence by working with own speed and productivity