Employee Development Human Resource Management

Employee Training: Trends n Four economic and demographic trends u Unskilled and undereducated youth u Sophisticated technology increasing u Currently underutilized groups u International competition

Effective Training Practices n Training is tied to business strategy and the bottom line n Top management is committed n Commitment to invest resources u Time u Money n Comprehensive and systematic

Legal Issues in Training n If training is necessary for job entry: u Can all groups equally pass the training course? u Training must be valid predictor of performance n Entry into training programs u Do all groups have equal access into training programs?

Legal Issues in Training  Training process itself  Does design of program and/or equipment make some groups unable to perform well?  Are career decisions made on basis of measures collected during training?  Affirmative action plans can specify that protected classes be trained

Trainability n May be an appropriate “KSAO” n Largest cost of training is paying employees during training n Trainable employees may be the most cost- effective people to train n Trainability may be able to be assessed u Ability to learn u Motivation to learn

Three Phases in Training n Assessing training needs u Organizational u Operational u Individual n Designing and implementing training program(s) n Evaluating training

Assessing Training Needs n Organization analysis u Begins by consulting strategic plan and reviewing organizational objectives u Analyze external and internal environments u Where within the organization is training needed?

Assessing Training Needs n Operation analysis u What training content is needed u Heavily based on job analysis u Systematic data collection about how jobs are done u Standards of performance for jobs u How tasks should be performed to meet standards u KSAOs necessary to perform the tasks

Assessing Training Needs n Individual analysis u What does an individual employee need to improve job performance? u Difference between actual and desired performance u Data can be gathered from performance appraisals, interviews, attitude surveys, tests

Training Itself n Learning skills u Goal setting u Behavior modeling u Practice u Feedback n Learning knowledge u Goal setting u Meaningfulness of the material u Practice u Feedback

Training Itself: Knowledge & Skills Acquisition n Goal Setting u Clear and specific goals at the outset of the training u Challenging and difficult but attainable u Subtests, work-sample tests, periodic quizzes should be given in order to increase trainee confidence u Expectations of trainer will affect trainer perceptions

Training Itself: Knowledge & Skills Acquisition n Behavior modeling u Model should be similar to trainer in race, age, sex u Behaviors desired should be portrayed clearly and in detail u Rank the behaviors in order from least to most difficult u Several models should be used n Meaningfulness of the material u Present the overall picture of the material at the beginning u Use examples, terms and concepts that are familiar u Ensure simpler concepts are mastered before moving on to harder, more complex ones

Training Itself: Knowledge & Skills Acquisition n Practice u Increases length of time learning will be retained u Active practice: Trainer directly oversees trainee in order to correct behaviors u Overlearning: Task becomes “second nature” u Length of session: For most tasks, practice should be distributed rather than massed

Training Itself: Knowledge & Skills Acquisition n Feedback u Information regarding when and how the behavior was desirable u Essential for learning and motivation u Leads to setting specific goals for maintaining good performance u Should be provided as soon as possible

Evaluating Training Programs n Questions that should be answered in the evaluation process u Did change occur? u Is the change due to training? u Is change positively related to achieving organizational goals? u Will new participants in training experience similar changes?

Four Levels of Change Measurements n Reaction u How do participants feel about the training? n Learning u Have participants learned what was taught? n Behavior u Have on-the-job changes occurred? n Results u Have bottom line outcomes resulted?