Training and Developing a Competitive Workforce 17/04/2013

Today’s sub-topics 1. Strategic Importance of Training and Development 2. Training and Development within an Integrated HR System 3. The HR Triad 4. Determining Training and Development Needs 5. Conditions for Effective Training and Development

Today’s sub-topics 6. Stating the Learning Objectives 7. Choosing the Program Format 8. Maximizing Learning 9. Team Training and Development 10. Current Issues 11. Videos

1. Strategic Importance of Training and Development The use of training and development practices to improve the ability of the workforce to implement the organization’s business strategy Development of organizational cohesiveness Development of employee commitment Address the employees’ needs in terms of their own competitive advantage and long- term employability

2. Training and Development within an Integrated HR System Training, Development and Socialization - Training Its main objective is to improve performance in the near term and in a specific job by increasing the competencies of the employees - Development The activities intended to improve competencies over a longer period of time in anticipation of the organization’s future needs

Training and Development within an Integrated HR System - Socialization Teaching the employees about the organization’s history, culture and management practices Disney - Recruitment and selection It begins its socialization process during recruitment as a way to discourage applicants who may not fit the corporate culture … the ‘plastic smile’

3. The HR Triad Managers Acting as coaches, trainers, mentors Employees By participating in training and development programs, they can facilitate their own socialization into the organization, potentially reaping longer-term benefits such as greater income, job satisfaction, better sense of personal identity HR Professionals Identify the objectives to be achieved through training and development and then choose and design appropriate activities (given the objectives)

4. Determining Training and Development Needs Organizational Needs Analysis It begins with an assessment of the short and long term strategy and strategic business objectives of the company Job Needs Analysis (Or task).. It identifies the specific skills, knowledge and behaviour needs to perform the tasks required by present or future jobs

Determining Training and Development Needs Person Needs Analysis It identifies gaps between a person’s current competencies and those identified as necessary or desirable Demographic Needs Analysis It determines the training needs of specific ‘populations’ of workers

5. Conditions for Effective Training and Development Personnel Decisions International (PDI) A large and successful HR consulting firm, developed a simple framework with 5 components 1. Insight – People need to know what it is they need to learn 2. Motivation – Internal / external means; will participation in training lead to positive benefits?

Conditions for Effective Training and Development 3. New skills and knowledge acquisition – simply showing how to acquire the needed competencies 4. Real-world practice – programs that engage participants in realistic activities, improve the likelihood that they will apply their learning 5. Accountability – assessments of improvement and less formal approaches

Conditions for Effective Training and Development Who provides the required guidance? - Supervisors and other managers - A co-worker - Internal / external subject matter expert - The employee! → interpersonal, conceptual, integrative competencies … literacy and technical competencies … basic orientation sessions

6. Stating the Learning Objectives Cognitive Knowledge The information that people have available (what they already know), the way they organize this information and their strategies for using it e.g. Company policies and practices – orientation programs brief new employees on benefit programs and options, advise them of rules and regulations and explain the policies and practices of the organization

Stating the Learning Objectives Skills Cognitive knowledge is inside the head, skills are evident in behaviors e.g. Interpersonal – skills in communication, team building, leadership, negotiation e.g. Technical – Six Sigma, a management process that is used for high-impact improvement efforts. Invented at Motorola in the 1980s, its main feature is statistical control techniques

7. Choosing the Program Format On-the-job training When employees learn their jobs under direct supervision - Job rotation: rotating employees through jobs at a similar level of difficulty to train them in a variety of jobs and decision-making situations - Mentoring: an established employee guides the development of a less experienced worker

Choosing the Program Format Off-the-job training Appropriate when complex competencies need to be mastered or when employees need to focus on specific interpersonal competencies that might not be apparent in the normal work environment - Simulation: present situations that are similar to actual job conditions and allow trainees to practice how to behave in those situations - Formal courses: directed by the trainee or by others, formal classroom courses and lectures → Issue of transfer – can employees apply the knowledge learned during training?

8. Maximizing Learning Setting the Stage for Learning - Clear instructions - Behavioral Modeling.. it involves describing the behaviors to be learned to trainees, having a role model provide a visual demonstration of the desired behavior, allowing the trainees to imitate the desired behaviors and give feedback Increasing Learning during Training - Active participation, practice Maintaining Performance after Training - Specific goals - Rein-forcers.. a consequence that follows behavior

9. Team Training and Development E.g. NASA Training comes before effective teamwork.. Before astronauts are sent into space to live in a community that relies heavily on teamwork for survival, NASA has them working together for a year or two to become a team Three main goals - Team cohesiveness - Teamwork procedures - Team leaders

10. Current Issues Diversity Training - Culture Awareness Training Culture is the social group to which a person belongs.. and one person can belong in many and different social groups Global Leadership Training and Development e.g. Intel.. with employees in 78 counties, it plans to invest $3 million to train 800 midlevel managers who are working across cultures

11. Videos We will watch a couple of videos from youtube (titles and links will be given in class) and try and relate the issues raised in them to your experience at work - Do you feel performing better / ‘worse’ at work? - What are the reasons your level of performance?