M1: Unit 2.2 & 2.3

the 4 phases of the systems approach to T&D

Phase 1: Assessing training needs (Observe: the organisation, people and work)

Phase 2: Training design (Plan: aims/goals/objectives including cognitive capacities, capabilities behaviours)

Phase 3: Training delivery (Act: Facilitation and Instruction)

Phase 4: Training evaluation (Review: Reaction learning, performance and cost benefits)

Phase 1: Assessing training needs (Observe: the organisation, people and work): needs assessment

v A systematic analysis of the specific T&D activities that an organisation requires to achieve its objectives.

Phase 1: (Purpose of needs assessment)

o   It can help to determine whether training is the appropriate solution to a performance deficiency. (ex. is this really a training problem?)

o    Can identify an org goals and effectiveness in reaching these goals

o    Identify gaps between employees’ skills and required effective current job performance

o    Identify gaps between current skills and skills needed to perform the job successfully in the future

 Phase 1:   the   various   levels   of needs-assessment

(organisation, operation, individual, level

Organisational analysis.

o  involves analysing organisation-wide performance criteria (e.g. accidents and injuries, absenteeism , turnover, productivity, quality, labour and operating costs, sexual harassment charges , employment equity problems , etc.).

o   The purpose of this analysis is to uncover major problem areas that may indicate a need for T&D.

A organisational level analysis should identify:

§  Organisational goals/changing objectives

§  Organisational resources

§  Organisational climate

§  Environmental constraints  

Operations analysis.

o   The purpose of operations analysis, also called job /task analysis, is to determine how a job should be performed (Emphasising the content of a person’s work)- the desired level of performance. 

o   Through operations analysis, data is collected that enables T&D practitioners to create programmes and interventions that focus on the right way to perform a job.

This analysis identifies the specific competencies, skills, and knowledge required for successful employee performance.

Individual analysis.

o   Individual analysis focuses  on the employee and is used to identify employees' T&D needs.

o   The main aims of individual analysis are to determine which:

§  employees currently need T&D;

§  skills, knowledge, abilities or attitudes needs to be acquired or strengthened for the future.

o   Individual analysis is important to ensure that the employees who need T&D are the ones who actually receive it, and that programmes and interventions are designed to fill the gap between actual and desired performance (known  as the performance gap) .

Phase 1: the methods a T & D professional can employ to gather data for a T & D needs analysis at the individual level

v Advisory Committee

v Questionnaires

v Performance documents

v Performance appraisals:

v Observations of behaviour:

v Skills test

v Advisory Committee

o   Committees often determine whether a particular  problem is a T&D problem and establish T&D priorities.

v Attitude surveys

o   Attitude surveys are most effective in measuring the general level of job satisfaction, but the data gathered may show various areas where T&D needs exist

Questionnaires

o   Some organisations  use questionnaires to identify T&D needs

o   The employees themselves are generally the respondents.

o   The questionnaire usually specifies vital skill areas, the importance of the skill, and the employee's perception of the T&D need for each area.

v Skills test

o   it is critical that the tests be job- related and measure the skills and abilities required for successful job performance.

v Observations of behaviour:

o   T&D practitioners, supervisors, or line managers may directly observe employees’ behaviour to identify T&D needs. This method is generally limited to the assessment of technical skills and behaviours

v Performance appraisals:

A valid, job-related appraisal system will point out strengths and weaknesses in employee performance and may indicate T&D needs.

v Performance documents:

o   Most organisations regularly gather data on employee performance, such as productivity, absenteeism, accidents and turnover.

Such information is generally accurate and may be used to point out T&D needs.

Phase 1: Using results of the T&D needs assessment to design a T&D objective

v Describes the intent and desired outcomes of the training program.

v Well-written objectives will benefit T&D in at least three important ways:

o   T&D objectives help determine which methods are appropriate by focusing on the areas of employee performance that need to change.

o   T&D objectives clarify what is to be expected of both the trainer and the participants.

o   T&D objectives provide a basis for evaluating the programme after it has been completed.

Phase 1: Requirements for developing a training objectives:

o   Verb (Terminal behaviour) = doing word- e.g. Develop a intervention

o   Noun (Conditions) = object associated with the verb eg, given a case study

o   Qualifier (minimal achievement) = scope/standard/method how action indicated by verb will be measured or should be executed. Eg to solve the organisation’s problem.

Phase 1: Examples of T&D objectives

o   To perform maintenance (verb) given a standard set of tools (noun)= preventative maintenance on a lathe within thirty minutes according to organisation’s standard(qualifier)

o   Learners will be able to develop effective time management strategies (verb) using the tools and techniques given to them (noun) to ensure that production deadlines are met (Qualifier)

Phase 2: Designing and delivering training and development(T&D): Training and development design

( the principles of learning design when developing T&D programmes)

the principles of learning design when developing T&D programmes

Motivation:

Participation.

Feedback. 

Repetition.

Organisation.

Application.

Motivation

v Sometimes the need for T&D is not clear to employees.

v They may consider it a waste of time and resist being taken away from their jobs.

One effective way to motivate T&D participants is to show them how T&D will help accomplish organisational or personal goals. Another way is to involve the T&D participants - either in choosing or planning the T&D interventions

Participation.

v Another way to inspire T&D partic ipants is through active participation in t he T&D process .

v Although direct involvement is an integral part of on-the-job training (OJT), away-from-the-job training, especially in the classroom setting, sometimes fails to consider this important principle of learning.

v Active participation in the learning process through conferences and discussion enables T&D participants to become directly involved in the act of learning.

Feedback

v Feedback on progress following T&D sessions reduces anxiety and lets students know what they must do to improve.

v Similarly, employees taking part in a T&D programme want to know how they are doing and how their progress is compared to T&D objectives(Giving the employee feedback is usually an informal part of OJT)

Organisation

v T&D must be presented in a logical sequence where segments of materials build on one another and gaps, contradictions or ambiguities in the material should be avoided.

v For example, when learning to operate machinery, safety precautions should be presented first, followed by an explanation of major parts, and then hands-on experience with simple tasks

Repetition.

v Behavioural research confirms that frequent practice significantly helps the learning process

v Practice is important whether the skills being learnt are technical (e.g. operating a lathe or computer) or behavioural (e.g. communication or interpersonal skills

v  Refreshing T&D information after some time has passed also helps participants in recalling and reinforcing prior learning

Application (Transfer-of-Learning)

v Similarly, OJT is useless unless learning can be applied at work.

v This transfer-of-learning problem is particularly troublesome in off-site instruction.

v The following are specific ways in which a positive transfer may be established:

o   Maximise the similarity between T&D and the job.

o   Make sure that general principles are understood.

o   Make sure that the T&D is rewarded on the job.

Phase 2: On-the-job training techniques definition

In-house T&D programs are conducted within the organization's own T&D facility, either by T&D specialists from the HRD department or by external consultants (often a combination of both).

On-the-job training techniques

o   Job rotation

o   Enlarged and enriched job responsibilities

o   Job-instruction training (JIT)

o   Coaching

o   Mentoring

o   Committee assignments

o   Job rotation

§  A T&D technique that requires an individual to learn several different jobs in a work unit or department and perform each for a specified period

§  The flaws of lateral promotion and short-term job rotation

·        Some jobs require technical skills not just general management

·        Might require shift in geographical location

o   Enlarged and enriched job responsibilities

§  By giving an employee added job duties and increasing the autonomy and responsibilities associated with the job, the organisation allows an employee to learn a lot about the job, department and organisation.

o   Job-instruction training (JIT)

§  A technique that enables supervisors to train their employees quickly and effectively. Also known as just-in-time training (JIT).

§  JIT is a series of steps for supervisors to follow when training their employees.

o   Coaching

§  The coach – often the line manager – achieves developmental objectives by setting goals, providing assistance in reaching goals and giving timely and constructive performance feedback

§  Problems with coaching?

·        Strong rapport

Coach must be invested

o   Mentoring

§  When an experienced manager provides guidance to a junior manager or professional and facilitates his or her professional and personal development.

§  Formal Mentoring: Mentor can ‘show the ropes’ to the protégé, many organisations have set up formal mentor programmes, often as part of their affirmative action or orientation efforts.

§  Informal mentoring relationships seem to have always existed, generally based on a judgement by the (senior) mentor that the (junior) employee has potential and that the mentor’s advice and counsel will not be wasted.

§  Possible benefits of mentoring?

·        Career advancement support

·        Visibility through collaboration

·        Protection and coaching

o   Committee assignments

§  Serving on a committee and participating in decision-making enables a manager to strengthen a variety of skills.

Phase 2:Away-from-the-job training techniques definition

v Off-site T&D programs are held elsewhere and sponsored by an educational institution, a professional association, a government department or an independent T&D provider

Away-from-the-job training techniques

o   Lecture

o   Role-playing

o   Assessment centre

o   Case study

o   In-basket exercise

o   Lecture

§  The delivery of uniform information to a large group of people in a timely manner.

§  The shortcomings of the lecture method may have more to do with the emotional reaction of T& D participants than with the actual learning. 

o   Role-playing

A T&D method in which participants are required to respond to specific problems they may actually encounter in their jobs

o   Assessment centre

A technique that requires managers to participate in activities designed to identify their job-related strengths and weaknesses

o   Case study

§  A written description of an organisational problem

o   In-basket exercise

§  An exercise that is designed to develop the analytical and problem-solving skills of lower-level managers.

Phase 2: v The potential liabilities of off-the-job T&D

o   Employees attending away -from -the-job T&D are not performing their jobs. This is an added expense of T&D, although T&D benefits should exceed costs in the long run.

o   Away -from -the -job T&D has problems of transfer-of-learning

Phase 2: v The potential assets of off-the-job T&D

o   T&D is cost-effective because groups rather than individuals are usually trained.

o   More planning and organisation often goes into away -from -the-job T&D than on -the-job T&D.

o   Away-from-the-job T&D enables the T&D participant to learn in an environment free from the normal pressures and interruptions of the workplace.

Phase 3: Evaluation: The purpose of T&D evaluation

o   To determine whether T&D participants actually learnt new skills and attitudes or a body of knowledge as a result of the T&D programme.

o   Check if learning outcomes achieved

o   Assess new skills and attitudes

Phase 3: v Key Questions

o   Was the T&D intervention effective?

o   What is the organisational ROI?

Phase 3: Importance of evaluation

o   T&D costs organisations millions

o   Managers must ensure value for money

Phase 3:v Evaluation Strategies

o   Cost–benefit analysis: compare costs with measurable benefits

o   Objective-based evaluation: assess if goals achieved

o   Challenge: benefits difficult to quantify

Phase 3:The levels of training evaluation

LEVEL 1: REACTION (How did participants react?)

LEVEL 2: LEARNING (What did participants learn?)

LEVEL 3: BEHAVIOUR (How did participants behaviour change?)

LEVEL 4: RESULTS (Which organisational goals are affected?)

LEVEL 1: REACTION (How did participants react?)

v Throughout T&D, each T&D participant formulates opinions and attitudes about the overall effectiveness of the programme. 

v The T&D participant is favourably inclined towards the content of the programme but thinks that the T&D practitioner is too cold or too impersonal. 

v After the questionnaires are tabulated and reviewed, the programme's quality is judged on the basis of the overall responses.

v This first level of evaluation is highly subjective, and T&D administrators must ensure that the participants are not responding favourably simply because they enjoyed the programme or instruction.

LEVEL 2: LEARNING (What did participants learn?)

v Learning is often assessed by testing a T&D participant both before and after a programme.

v This second  level of evaluation is easily conducted  if tests are readily available to measure learning, but the absence of valid tests makes such evaluation difficult to administer

In addition, it is difficult to create a test to measure many behavioural skills, such as communica tion skills, interpersonal relations and leadership skills

LEVEL 3: BEHAVIOUR (How did participants behaviour change?)

v Participants in T&D are expected to learn a skill or body of knowledge that results in a positive change in job behaviour.

v Learning time management techniques, for example, is purely an academic and costly ability unless behaviour is changed on the job - that is, unless learning is applied.

v The important question to ask about this third level of evaluation is whether learning was transferred from T&D to the job.

LEVEL 4: RESULTS (Which organisational goals are affected?)

v The fourth level of evaluation examines the impact of T&D on organisational goals of productivity, quality and job satisfaction, as well as decreased turnover, accidents and grievances.

v Although this level of evaluation is appealing in both theoretical and practical terms, it is not always possible or relevant.

v Where it is difficult to connect acquired skills directly to organisational goals, the administrator  must implement a less sophisticated evaluation strategy - that is, use one of the other levels.

Phase 3: KEY CONSIDERATIONS ON HOW TO APPLY EVALUATION STRATEGIES

v T&D effectiveness can be evaluated by the simple and uncomplicated process of measuring participants’ reactions or by sophisticated strategies that compare T&D costs and benefits and measure organisational results.

v Flexibility should be the key to evaluating T&D programmes.

v T&D employees should  apply  the  most  sophisticated strategy  that  is both relevant and economically feasible.

v Combining the four levels of T&D evaluation with a cost - benefit strategy would certainly enable management  to ascertain whether  a programme was contributing to the effectiveness of the organisation,  but this approach would involve considerable time and money.

Phase 3: v Evaluating T&D Effectiveness

o   Comprehensive but time and money heavy

o   At minimum: set measurable objectives

o   Evaluate objectives after training