Training is defined as any attempt to improve employee performance on a currently held job or one related to it. This usually means changes in specific knowledge, skills, attitudes or behaviors. Training is required to cover understanding and development of essential work-related knowledge, skills and techniques. Conceptually training contributes in different organizational and individual development through following processes:
- Enabling learning (Knowledge)
- Facilitating meaningful personal development (Skill)
- Helping people to identify and achieve their own personal potential (Attitude)
Importantly however, the most effective way to develop people is not only by skills training but by enabling learning and personal development, with all that it implies. So, as soon as the basic work-related training is covered it is essential to focus on enabling learning and development for people as individuals – which extends the range of development of knowledge, skill and attitude. By this way development refers to learning opportunities designed to help employees grow.
There are many different training and development methods. On-the-job training, informal training, classroom training, internal training courses, external training courses, on-the-job coaching, life-coaching, mentoring, training assignments and tasks, skills training, product training, technical training, behavioural development training, role-playing and role-play games and exercises, attitudinal training and development, accredited training and learning, distance learning – all part of the training menu, available to use and apply according to individual training needs and organisational training needs.
According to present approach, training – or learning, to look at it from the trainee’s view – is anything offering learning and developmental experience. Training and learning development includes aspects such as: ethics and morality; attitude and behaviour; leadership and determination, as well as skills and knowledge.
Development isn’t restricted to training – it’s anything that helps a person to grow, in ability, skills, confidence, tolerance, commitment, initiative, inter-personal skills, understanding, self-control, motivation and more. Organisations are therefore changing to facilitate and encourage whole-person development and fulfillment – beyond traditional training.
To understand more about how training contributes on development we may highlight certain specific issues:
- Higher Productivity: Once an employee is given proper training it is obvious that his or her productivity would increase manifold. After the training the employee will understand the job better, the market scenario better and will be able to deliver better.
- Better quality of Work: An employee with better working knowledge can always give better quality of work. Training, by any means, can enrich an employee’s knowledge and insight to work and think better.
- Less Learning Period: A well trained employee will take less time to understand and deliver up to the standard than any other employee.
- Cost Reduction: High speed of work, better understanding of the job, less time spent on learning will accumulate to cost reduction of the company and such quality of work can only be delivered by those employees who are well trained.
- Reduced Supervision: When it is observed that an employee can perform well, naturally supervision will be reduced on that particular employee and the supervisor can concentrate more on other less qualified employees. This would definitely reduce the production time and cost.
- Low Accident Rate: A well trained employee is expected to be less accident prone, thus reducing the cost a company might suffer due to any type of accident.
- High Morale: An employee who can work well can also act well with others. As a Team player, he/she will have a peace of mind to share things with others thus boosting the morale of the total group.
- Personal Growth: While working in an organization, an employee will always look for the ways for personal advancement. A good performer can easily make his way to the top by his achievements. Some one with potential can become a good performer only if he/she is given proper guidance i.e. training.
- Improved Organizational Climate: It is expected by all employers that a sound culture would prevail in the organization as it grows. Efficient, knowledgeable, skilled, well mannered, spirited and employee with good attitude are the people who make an office or organization with good culture.
When people develop confidence, integrity, emotionally, they automatically become more proactive, solutions-focused, responsive, etc., which across a whole team has a cumulative effect. In fact these are the behaviours that organizations strive to encourage.
Developing people Attitude
At this point, it is necessary to recognize that in an organization for any role at all, the important qualities which make good performers special are likely to be attitudinal. Skills and knowledge, and the processes available to people, are no great advantage. What makes people effective and valuable to any organization is their attitude.
Attitude includes qualities that require different training and learning methods. Attitude stems from a person’s mind-set, belief system, emotional maturity, self-confidence, and experience. These are the greatest training and development challenges faced, and there are better ways of achieving this sort of change and development than putting people in a classroom, or indeed by delivering most sorts of conventional business or skills training, which people see as a chore.
Developing people capabilities
An organization needs to assess its people’s skills training needs and then structure the way that the training and development is to be delivered. People’s personal strengths and capabilities – and aims and desires and special talents (current and dormant) – also need to be assessed, so as to understand, and help the person understand, that the opportunities for their development and achievement in the organization are not limited by the job role, or the skill-set that the organization inevitably defines for the person.
Organisations need staff at all levels to be more self-sufficient, resourceful, creative and autonomous. This behaviour enables staff can operate at higher strategic level, which makes their organizations more productive and competitive. People’s efforts produce bigger results. It’s what all organizations strive to achieve. And Training is one of the best tools to achieve that.
Thus training is required to let the employees know new techniques and methods, to develop their maturity, belief, or courage, which is so essential for the development of managerial and strategic capabilities. Provide learning and experiences that the employees would like for their own personal interest, development and fulfillment. Performance and capability are ultimately dependent on people’s attitude and emotional maturity. Training would help them to achieve what they want on a personal level, and this provides a platform for trust, ‘emotional contracting’ with the organisation, and subsequent skills/process/knowledge development relevant to managing higher responsibilities, roles and teams. And through the process knowledge, skill and attitude of the employees are developed in numerous ways and means because of proper training.
Training means understanding the matter wholeheartedly. As Confucius added I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.
What is the training cycle?
A training or development cycle is a model that can be used to represent a systematic approach to training and development. It helps businesses identify the series of sequential steps they need to undertake when training and developing staff. The key steps are:
- Identification of training needs
- Design of the training or development programme
- Delivery of training
- Evaluation
The cycle demonstrates, that the steps should be viewed in their entirety and not be seen as a series of isolated activities. This means that the outcome of one stage provides the inputs for the next stage and the absence of any stage would undermine the validity of the whole process.
Use and effect of Training Cycle
This simple model can be used by businesses as a checks and balances system. It provides the framework to ensure that processes are in place to deliver an effective, business focused training and development programme that meets training needs.
The training cycle model reminds businesses that there are a logical series of activities to be undertaken one after the other.
In using this model, it should be remembered that a cycle does not represent the purpose of training and development, which is to take individuals and businesses forward. In this way a spiral might offer a better representation. Equally, it should be remembered that evaluation of training and development should not only appear at the end of the model but at every stage.
Mapping activities
The stages of the training cycle can be mapped onto people-management activities as follows:
THE TRAINING CYCLE
Identification of needs - Training Need Analysis is one of the major functions of disseminating proper training to the employees. Training need can be measured through yearly performance appraisal, performance review, self assessment and job description. The management will decide how far they want the employee to know and develop, and that is how they will decide upon the training need of the employee in all respect.
Design of training programme - Training can be of different types. It usually depends on the management motive to enlighten the employees. On which perspective the employees will be trained will determine the design of the training programme. Without proper design of the training programme it is often seen that, ultimately no good is being brought into by the management. So the training programme should be managed through planning activities.
Delivery of training - There are many different training and development methods. On-the-job training, informal training, classroom training, internal training courses, external training courses, on-the-job coaching, life-coaching, mentoring, training assignments and tasks, skills training, product training, technical training, behavioural development training, role-playing and role-play games and exercises, attitudinal training and development
Evaluation - Measuring performance level back in the workplace, this looks at the transfer of acquired knowledge in the workplace, measurement against training objectives can provide a benchmark
The essential elements of the training cycle can also be linked to represent the four elements of the Investors in People standard, which are:
Commitment
Planning
Action
Evaluation
According to the Standard, training and development is intended to enable the organization’s business plan to be achieved. All parts of the Standard are firmly linked to enable business objectives to be achieved. In this respect the mission and objectives of the business feed into the training strategy.
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