CHAPTER 3:

Training and Development

DEFINITION OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Training and development refer to organized learning activities in the organization to improve performance and/or personal growth for the purpose of improving the job, the employee, and the organization. It encompasses the whole range of training and development.

Authors Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Write define training “as a planned effort by a company to facilitate employees’ learning of job-related competencies. These competencies include knowledge, skills, or behaviors that are critical for successful job performance. The goal of training is for employees to master the knowledge, skills, and behaviors emphasized in training programs and to apply them to their day-to-day activities

TRAINING focuses on learning the necessary skills required to perform a job. In other words, training is focused on and evaluated against the job that an individual currently holds.

DEVELOPMENT focuses on the preparation needed for future jobs that an individual may potentially hold in the future and is evaluated against those jobs.

SPECIFIC BENEFITS FROM EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Training and development open the floodgate to many benefits inuring to the organization. Among them are:

Increased job satisfaction and morale

Increased employee motivation

Increased effectiveness in processes, resulting in financial gain

Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods.

Increased innovation in strategies and products

6. Reduced employee turnover (since training increases job satisfaction and employee morale and motivation, and enhances career growth, employee turnover is minimized)

7. Enhanced company image (conducting customer service training)

8. Improved risk management and ethical behavior in business (conducting training on Corporate Governance which covers the whole range of strategic planning, risk management, good human resource practices, values, and ethics)

TRAINING METHODS

ON-THE-JOB TRAINING (OJT)

This is the training done while the employee is on the job. Usually, the supervisor or a more senior employee experienced on the job does the instruction. In most skilled and sem-skilled jobs especially in manufacturing and in the service industries, training is performed on the job

OJT takes many forms: learnership, apprenticeship, internships, practicum, mentoring, coaching, simulation, distance learning, E-learning or web-based learning, and other training modalities.

Our law allows apprenticeship and learnership for “apprenticeable” and “learnable” jobs. This medium of training has been transferred to the supervision of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) from the Department of Labor and Employment.

Supervised by TESDA , a company would strike a partnership with a technical school where the trainee undergoes 50% classroom training and another 50% on-the-job training with the sponsoring company.

Practicum is required by schools for graduating college students to undertake practicum in companies for a certain number of hours before they can graduate.

Mentoring and coaching are done mostly in white-collar or supervisory jobs to improve the trainee’s knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the job

Simulation is a training method that represents a real-life situation, with trainees’ decisions resulting in outcomes that mirror what would happen if the trainee were on the job. Simulators need to have identical elements found in the actual work.

OFF SITE TRAINING

People are stressed in their jobs. Trainees are more concerned about what’s going on at their desks or workplaces instead of what’s being said or demonstrated by a facilitator or instructor. Taking training out of the office and into a new setting can provide a boost to concentration and focus. New settings have information retention.

BENEFITS OF OFF-SITE TRAINING

Technological Resources

One of the more popular benefits of offsite training is access to the necessary technological resources to conduct your training campaign. Not only do business meeting facilities offer the technology that you need, they also tend to offer modern technology that you may not have had previous access to; these up-to-date machines and programs can help you present your information effectively.

Team Building Opportunities

The individuals you meet in a work setting may remain, acquaintances and colleagues until you have the opportunity to see them in a new light; with offsite training, you can have your employees get to know each other on a personal level before the job begins. When your employees learn about each other’s personalities through team-building exercises, they may approach each other differently on the job. This can help your team learn about the ways their coworkers prefer to operate and ultimately create a friendly and supportive environment.

Attention and Engagement

Offsite training is helpful when you want to captivate your audience and make sure that your message is effectively conveyed. Being at a different location away from the actual workplace can eliminate distractions and help to ensure that your employees are fully grasping the new information. Training programs held at conference centers will stick out in their memories among routine meeting room experiences.

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KINDS OF TRAINING

TECHNICAL OR TECHNOLOGY TRAINING

Depending on the type of job, technical training will be required. Technical training is a type of training meant to teach the new employee the technological aspects of the job. In a retail environment, technical training might include teaching someone how to use the computer system to ring up customers. In a sales position, it might include showing someone how to use the customer relationship management (CRM) system to find new prospects. In a consulting business, technical training might be used so the consultant knows how to use the system to input the number of hours that should be charged to a client. In a restaurant, the server needs to be trained on how to use the system to process orders. Let’s assume your company has decided to switch to the newest version of Microsoft Office. This might require some technical training of the entire company to ensure everyone uses the technology effectively. Technical training is often performed in-house, but it can also be administered externally.

QUALITY TRAINING

In a production-focused business, quality training is extremely important. Quality training refers to familiarizing employees with the means of preventing, detecting, and eliminating non-quality items, usually in an organization that produces a product. In a world where quality can set your business apart from competitors, this type of training provides employees with the knowledge to recognize products that are not up to quality standards and teaches them what to do in this scenario.

SKILLS TRAINING

Skills training, the third type of training, includes proficiencies needed to actually perform the job. For example, an administrative assistant might be trained in how to answer the phone, while a salesperson at Best Buy might be trained in the assessment of customer needs and how to offer the customer information to make a buying decision. Think of skills training as the things you actually need to know to perform your job. A cashier needs to know not only the technology to ring someone up but what to do if something is priced wrong.

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND LEGAL TRAINING

Professional training is a type of training required to be up to date in one’s own professional field. For example, tax laws change often, and as a result, an accountant for H&R Block must receive yearly professional training on new tax codes.

Some organizations have paid a high cost for not properly training their employees on the laws relating to their industry.

TEAM TRAINING

We can define team training as a process that empowers teams to improve decision-making, problem-solving, and team-development skills to achieve business results. Often this type of training can occur after an organization has been restructured and new people are working together or perhaps after a merger or acquisition.

Some reasons for team training include the following:

Improving communication

Making the workplace more enjoyable

Motivating a team

Getting to know each other

Getting everyone “onto the same page,” including goal setting

Teaching the team self-regulation strategies

Helping participants to learn more about themselves (strengths and weaknesses)

Identifying and utilizing the strengths of team members

Improving team productivity

Practicing effective collaboration with team members

MANAGERIAL TRAINING

After someone has spent time with an organization, they might be identified as a candidate for promotion. When this occurs, managerial training would occur. Topics might include those from our soft skills section, such as how to motivate and delegate, while others may be technical in nature. For example, if management uses a particular computer system for scheduling, the manager candidate might be technically trained. Some managerial training might be performed in-house while other training, such as leadership skills, might be performed externally.

SAFETY TRAINING

Safety training is a type of training that occurs to ensure employees are protected from injuries caused by work-related accidents. Safety training is especially important for organizations that use chemicals or other types of hazardous materials in their production. Safety training can also include evacuation plans, fire drills, and workplace violence procedures.

Safety training can also include the following:

Eye Safety

First aid

Food service safety

Hearing protection

Asbestos

Construction Safety

Hazmat safety

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EMPLOYEE MOVEMENT

Employee Promotion

Employee Demotion

Employee Transfer

EMPLOYEE PROMOTION

An employee promotion is a recognition of that person’s contribution to your company. Employee promotions can come in many forms, but typically will involve some combination of:

Higher salary

More senior job title

More and higher-level responsibilities

Decision-making power

New leadership responsibilities

TYPES OF EMPLOYEE PROMOTION

Horizontal promotions involve an increase in the title and pay for an employee, but with little to no change in responsibilities. These promotions, also known as an “up-gradation,” recognize an employee who has gone above and beyond in their role, offer them fair contribution, but do not ask them to take on more.

Examples of a horizontal promotion include moving from a Manager to a Senior Manager, or a Specialist to a Senior Specialist, with no clear increase in responsibilities.

Vertical promotions are what you typically think of when you think of “promotion.” This involves upward movement, more senior job titles, higher salaries, and more responsibilities. In other words, vertical promotions ask the employee to contribute more and give them a more senior seat at the table. This type of promotion may also change the nature of the job by adding leadership responsibilities or more direct reports.

Examples of vertical promotions include moving from a Manager to Director, or Director to C-level Executive, with an increase in direct reports and decision-making responsibilities.

Dry promotions involve all the responsibility of a new title, but without the benefits that come with it. In other words, the company will ask more of the employee, but will not provide compensation or recognition in return.

Unsurprisingly, employees don’t typically look favorably on dry promotions, and they should be avoided wherever possible.

THE BENEFITS OF PROMOTING EMPLOYEES

Motivating other employees. Promotions are typically visible to other employees in the organization, meaning they serve as a model for the kinds of actions, behaviors, and values that you’d like to promote as an employer.

Showing that you value and reward effort. Consistently showing employees that you recognize, value, and reward strong effort will encourage employees to go the extra mile in their daily work. This, in turn, boosts, morale, engagement, and company loyalty.

Reducing hiring costs, especially those associated with hiring more senior employees. Instead, promotions let you develop your own employees into leaders. Hiring a new employee costs roughly 20% more than promoting someone, making this a real cost saver for companies.

Reducing employee turnover. It’s a general expectation that hard work and commitment to the company come with promotion and more money at some point. If employees realize that a promotion isn’t coming, then they often look to greener pastures.

Showing that you value and promote career growth. Promotions, at their core, are the next step in an employee’s career. Lack of career growth is a major factor in employee attrition, making promotions an important technique for retaining your best talent.

THE EMPLOYEE PROMOTION PROCEDURE

Determining if someone is eligible for a promotion

Knowing when to promote an employee

Determining what type of promotion to give

Identifying who is responsible for giving promotions

Announcing the promotion

EMPLOYEE DEMOTION

Employee demotion is the reverse of employee promotion. It is the act of downgrading an individual's rank and status as a result of disciplinary action. This can be because of an employee's work, behavior, violation of rules, etc.

Demotion is one of the most dreadful situations an employee can suffer. It harms employee motivation, morale, and peace of mind. What's even worse is that there are countless reasons why a worker might face this dilemma. This brings us to our next matter.

CAUSES OF EMPLOYEE DEMOTION

Lack of workplace discipline

Inadequate knowledge of the assigned work/designation

Organizational Restructuring

Declining performance

Violation of company rules

Improper work ethics

THE DECISION FOR EMPLOYEE DEMOTION

In the current day and age, demotion is quite normal. Considering certain reasons, the demotion of an employee is justified in most cases as well. Nonetheless, it is an act of repercussion that can shatter one's confidence level. Therefore, you must be sure of your decision.

For instance, a demotion may not work if you demote an employee solely based on the work. However, proper employee training and development will solve this performance issue much better.

If you are demoting an employee to cut costs or encourage favoritism in the workplace, that won't work either. It will only result in employee turnover. So, you must be sure in such cases of your decision.

After much discussion, if you still think a demotion is right, then here is how you can handle it better.

EMPLOYEE TRANSFER

Employee Transfer is the process of horizontal movement of an employee, wherein there is a change in the job, without any changes or revision in the remuneration, pay, or modification of responsibilities. It is a form of internal mobility, in which the employee is shifted from one job to another usually at a different location, department, or unit.

Transfer can either be temporary or permanent depending on the decision of the organization, and it is initiated by any of the two, i.e. employer or employee. Sometimes, it also includes promotion, demotion, or even no change in status and responsibility.

REASONS FOR EMPLOYEE TRANSFER

Some positions require distinctive skills, competency, and expertise from the transferred employees.

The transfer is also affected when there is a shortage of employees in one department of the organization due to high demand, and there are surplus employees in another department. So, the workers are shifted from one department to another.

It is also initiated when there are some clashes between the superior and subordinate or between two workers.

4. To break the monotony of the work, employees are transferred, as the productivity of an employee decreases by doing the same job again and again.

5. An employee may request the human resource department, to transfer him to another location, due to health issues because the climate is not suitable for his/her health.

6. Female employees commonly request a transfer when they get married, and they have to live with their spouses.

TYPES OF EMPLOYEE TRANSFERS

Production Transfer‍

‍Production transfer is usually practiced to prevent lay-off that is to say when there is a surplus of the workforce in the factory, excess workers are laid off. But, if they are transferred to another factory or plant, where there is a shortage labor, a massive layoff can be

2. Replacement Transfer‍

This form of transfer also helps in preventing the lay-off of senior employees by replacing a junior employee. The organization opts for this transfer when there is a continuous decrease in operations, and the organization wants to retain an employee who has been serving the organization for a long time.

4. Shift Transfer‍

In general, industrial establishments operate on rotational shifts, and the workers usually request a transfer to the shift of their choice.

5. Remedial Transfer‍

When the initial placement of an employee is faulty, or the worker is not comfortable with the superior or with the coworkers, or there are some health issues, then these transfers are affected as a remedy to the situation. As the transfer is requested by the employee himself, it is also called s a personal transfer.

Versatility Transfer‍

‍To make the employees competent and versatile, these transfers are initiated. It is also called job rotation which can be commonly seen in banks where employees working at clerical levels has to work at different profiles.

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