1. Human Resource Training & Development

2. Training & its Importance for Companies
It is a planned effort to facilitate employees’ job related learning and competencies.
These competencies include knowledge, skills, or behaviors that are crucial for effective job performance.
Training help companies in dealing with different factors affecting workplace like customer service, productivity, safety, employee retention and growth, the downturn in the economy, and coping with the retirement of skilled employees.
It is a planned effort to facilitate employees’ job related learning and competencies (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2011). Competencies that could be improved through training include knowledge, skills, or behaviors. All these competencies related to employee are critical to be developed in regard to effective job performance. Today, most of the firms are confronting different issues related to workplace like service, productivity, safety, employee retention and growth, the downturn in the economy, and coping with the retirement of skilled employees. Through effective training, a firm could resolve all these issues in an effective manner (Noe, n.d.).

3. Continued….
Today, companies are experiencing significant changes because of new technologies, rapid development of knowledge, globalization of business, and e-commerce.
It is vital to take appropriate steps to attract, retain, and motivate their work forces.
Training is not a lavishness; it is a necessity to take part in the global and electronic marketplaces.
Training sets employees to use new technologies, function in new work systems such as virtual teams.
Training help firms in dealing with changes emerging due to new technologies, rapid development of knowledge, globalization of business, and development of e-commerce. In this kind of environment for attaining success, it is essential for firms to take appropriate steps to attract, retain, and motivate their work forces. In this situation training and development of employee is the most suitable option. Regular training and learning of employees helps them in using new technologies, function effectively with new systems, and working in the direction of company goals. It helps employees to work together with regular communication instead of coming from different cultural backgrounds.

4. Various Aspects of Training Design Process
The training design process is a systematic approach for developing training programs.
Seven steps of this process are:
Conducting needs assessment
Ensuring employees’ readiness for training
Creating a learning environment
For becoming an innovative firm and satisfying customer needs in an effective manner, it is essential for a firm to give regular training to its employees. It could be done by selecting a training design process as it is an effective way to provide training to employees and their management. By following subsequent steps a firm can provide effective training to its employees
Conducting needs assessment: At this step, it is identified that whether training is needed or not.
Ensuring employees’ readiness for training: In this step, it is ensured that the employees selected for training have all essential motivation and basic skills to master the training content.
Creating a learning environment: At this stage a learning environment is created to ensure the features essential for learning to occur.

5. Continued… Ensuring transfer of training
Developing and evaluation plan
Selecting Training Methods
Monitoring and Evaluating the Program
Ensuring transfer of training: Here, it is ensured hat trainees implement the learned content to their jobs. It involves, making trainee understand how to manage skill improvement and receiving others support.
Developing and evaluation plan: It includes identification of type of outcomes that training is expected to influence (for instance, learning, skills, and behavior), selecting an evaluation design, and planning how to evidence that how training affects the “bottom line”.
Selecting training method: Here, a training method is selected on the basis of learning objectives and learning environment. It could vary from traditional training method, face-to-face interaction with a trainer or e-learning using CD-ROM or Web-based training.
Monitoring and Evaluating the Program: Here, program finalized is revised to make changes and improve the program so that learning, performance, change, and the other learning objectives are attained effectively.

6. Roles, Competencies, and Positions of Training Professionals
Roles that T&D professionals can take:
- Learning Strategist
- Business Partner
Project Manager
Professional Strategist
Roles, competencies, and positions for training professionals could be understand in an effective way with the help of study undertaken by the American Society for Training and Development. The ASTD competency model is quite effective as it describes that how an individual can be successful in the field of T&D. As per this model, an individual can take different role in the field of T&D that are learning strategist, business partner, project manager, and professional specialist. The learning strategist identifies how workplace learning can be used effectively to comply with the company’s business strategy. The business partner, make use of business and industry knowledge to provide training that would improve employees’ performance. The project manager plans, receives, and monitors the effective delivery of learning and performance solutions so that business can be supported. The professional specialist contrives, formulates, extradites, and assesses learning and performance solutions (Noe, n.d.).

7. Continued…
These roles are involved in different jobs like organizational change agent, career counselor, instructional designer, and classroom trainer.
Training professionals are also required to have all essential interpersonal, business/management, and personal competencies.
All these roles are included in different positions that could be organizational change agent, career counselor, instructional designer, and classroom trainer. Among these roles and positions, a professional can take any role as per his competencies. For becoming an effective training professional and work on different related roles and position, it is vital for a trainer to have interpersonal, business/management, and personal competencies.
Interpersonal - Building trust, communicating effectively, influencing stakeholders, leveraging diversity, and networking and partnering.
Business/Management-Analysis of needs and recommending solutions, implementing business acumen, driving results, thinking strategically etc.
Personal- showing adaptability, modeling personal development etc.

8. Evolution of Training’s Role
With increasing recognition about the importance of learning for meeting business challenges and offering competitive advantage, the role of training in organizations’ is changing
Today, training’s role has evolved from a program focus to a broader focus on learning and creating and sharing knowledge.
Today, most of the organizations recognize the importance of learning in regard to meeting business challenges and offering competitive advantage, and this in turn is directing towards a changing role of training. Previously, it was a program focus based but now it significantly concentrates on learning and creating and sharing knowledge (Moskowitz, 2008). Learning pertains to the acquisition of knowledge by an employee of group of employees who are ready to apply that knowledge in regard to their job. Knowledge pertains to what employees know or know how to perform, as well as company regulations, procedures etc. Knowledge is either tactic or explicit. All these aspects together assist an individual to learn through training and implement it in real life.

9. Continued…
Evolution of Training is significant as used by Walt-Disney.
At Walt Disney Company, in last 10 years training has evolved to include flexible learning delivery, customized learning experiences, and collaborative development with internal training customers.
In past training was given with traditional training methods and programs but now it has changed significantly and it is all due to the increasing recognition of its importance in business (Stephen, 2009). Several companies nowadays have changed their training programs as done by Walt-Disney. In last 10 years, its training program has evolved substantially as now it also include flexible learning delivery, customized learning experiences, and collaborative development with internal training customers. Now, company design training programs as per the needs and flexibility of its employees as well as employees could also customize their training programs. This was not possible in past but today, the role of training in improving individual’s learning and knowledge has evolved substantially (Noe, n.d.).

10. Strategic Training and Development Process
Identification of Business Strategy
Strategic Training and Development Initiatives
Training and Development Activities
Identifying Measures or Metrics
The model of strategic training and development process demonstrates that how importance it has become for organization to adopt strategic training and its use in business. How, it could be successfully used for a business is depicted through these stages:
Identification of Business Strategy: The process of strategic training begins with the identification of the business strategy. A company’s strategy is influenced by three factors. First, is its mission, vision, values, and goals that help in determining the strategy. All these are determined by the company top management team (Noe, n.d.). Second is a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) that includes an analysis of a company’s operating environment involves an analysis of the company’s operating environment. Third, the company has to consider its competition. It helps it in identifying how a firm will compete successfully. All these aspects significantly help in deciding a company and its employees training needs.
Strategic Training and Development Initiatives: The next step, of the process is related to learning-related actions that a firm should take to attain its business strategy. The strategic training and development initiatives’ (diversify the learning portfolio, improve customer service, accelerate the pace of employee learning, capture and share knowledge etc.) of firm vary as per its industry, goals, objectives, resources, and capabilities. These are based on the business environment and offer a firm with road map to direct towards specific training and development activities.
Training and Development Activities: At this stage, all strategic training and development initiatives are translated into concrete training and development activities. These activities involve development of initiatives in regard to the use of new technology for training, improving access to training programs, reduction in development time, and development of new courses etc.
Identifying Measures or Metrics: The last step involves recognition of measures or metrics to identify that whether training has assisted in contributing towards goals related to business strategy.

11. References
Jackson, S.E., Schuler, R.S. & Werner, S. (2011) Managing Human Resources. 11th ed. India: Cengage Learning.
Moskowitz, M. (2008) A Practical Guide to Training and Development: Assess, Design, Deliver, and Evaluate. USA: John Wiley & Sons.
Noe, R. (n.d.) Employee Training & Development. 4th ed. New York: Tata McGraw- Hill Education.
Stephen, P. R. (2009) Fundamentals of Management. India: Pearson Education.