Training and Development of Employees Essay Example for Free

Training and Development of Employees Essay Objectives of the Project Report Training and Development of Employees Finding is the main objective of this project report and some of the sub-objective in this report. They are : * To know the effectiveness of the training programme conducted by the company. * To know whether employees are aware about their responsibilities and authorities or not. * To improve Organizational Climate and increase the morale of employees. * To know whether training programme is conducted successfully or not. * To know about the work culture of the organization. Training and Development of Employees : Training and Development of Employees : After employees have been selected for various positions in an organization, training them for the specific tasks to which they have been assigned assumes great importance. It is true in many organizations that before an employee is fitted into a harmonious working relationship with other employees, he is given adequate training. Training is the act of increasing the knowledge and skills of an employee for performing a particular job. The major outcome of training is learning. A trainee learns new habits, refined skills and useful knowledge during the training that helps him improve performance. Training enables an employee to do his present job more efficiently and prepare himself for a higher-level job. The essential features of training may be stated thus: * Increases knowledge and skills for doing a particular job; it bridges the gap between job needs and employee skills, knowledge and behaviors * Focuses attention on the current job; it is job specific and addresses particular performance deficits or problems * Concentrates on individual employees; changing what employees know, how they work, their attitudes toward their work or their interactions with their co-workers or supervisors * Tends to be more narrowly focused and oriented toward short-term performance concerns. Training is needed to serve the following purposes: * Newly recruited employees require training so as to perform their tasks effectively. Instruction, guidance, coaching help them to handle jobs competently, without any wastage. * Training is necessary to prepare existing employees for higher-level jobs (promotion). * Existing employees require refresher training so as to keep abreast of the latest developments in job operations. In the face of rapid technological changes, this is an absolute necessity. * Training is necessary when a person moves from one job to another (transfer). After training, the employee can change jobs quickly, improve his performance levels and achieve career goals comfortably * Training is necessary to make employees mobile and versatile. They can be placed on various jobs depending on organizational needs. * Training is needed to bridge the gap between what the employee has and what the job demands. * Training is needed to make employees more productive and useful in the long-run. * Training is needed for employees to gain acceptance from peers (learning a job quickly and being able to pull their own weight is one of the best ways for them to gain acceptance). Importance of Training : * Training offers innumerable benefits to both employees and employers. It makes the employee more productive and more useful to an organization. The importance of training can be studied under the following heads: Benefits to the business: * Trained workers can work more efficiently. They use machines, tools, and materials in a proper way. Wastage is thus eliminated to a large extent. * There will be fewer accidents. Training improves the knowledge of employees regarding the use of machines and equipment. Hence, trained workers need not be put under close supervision, as they know how to handle operations properly. * Trained workers can show superior performance. They can turn out better performance. They can turn out better quality goods by putting the materials, tools and equipment to good use. * Training makes employees more loyal to an organization. They will be less inclined to leave the unit where there are growth opportunities Benefits to the employees: * Training makes an employee more useful to a firm. Hence, he will find employment more easily. * Training makes employees more efficient and effective. By combining materials, tools and equipment in a right way, they can produce more with minimum effort. * Training enables employees to secure promotions easily. They can realise their career goals comfortably. * Training helps an employee to move from one organization to another easily. He can be more mobile and pursue career goals actively. * Employees can avoid mistakes, accidents on the job. They can handle jobs with confidence. They will be more satisfied on their jobs. Their morale would be high. Thus, training can contribute to higher production, fewer mistakes, greater job satisfaction and lower labour turnover. Also, it can enable employees to cope with organizational, social and technological change. Effective training is an invaluable investment in the human resources of an organization. Learning Principles: The Philosophy of Training Training is essential for job success. It can lead to higher production, fewer mistakes, greater job satisfaction and lower turnover. These benefits accrue to both the trainee and the organization, if managers understand the principles behind the training process. To this end, training efforts must invariably follow certain learning-oriented guidelines. Modelling Modeling is simply copying someone elses behavior. Passive classroom learning does not leave any room for modeling. If we want to change people, it would be a good idea to have videotapes of people showing the desired behavior. The selected model should provide the right kind of behavior to be copied by others. A great deal of human behaviour is learned by modelling others. Children learn by modelling parents and older children, they are quite comfortable with the process by the time they grow up. As experts put it. managers tend to manage as they were managed Motivation For learning to take place, intention to learn is important. When the employee is motivated, he pays attention to what is being said, done and presented. Motivation to learn is influenced by the answers to questions such as: How important is my job to me? How important is the information? Will learning help me progress in the company? etc. People learn more quickly when the material is important and relevant to them. Learning is usually quicker and long-lasting when the learner participates actively. Most people, for example, never forget how to ride a bicycle because they took an active part in the learning process. Reinforcement Positive reinforcement consists of rewarding desired behaviors. If a behavior is rewarded, it probably will be repeated. People avoid certain behaviors that invite criticism and punishment. A bank officer would want to do a postgraduate course in finance, if it earns him increments and makes him eligible for further promotions. Both the external rewards (investments, praise) and the internal rewards (a feeling of pride and achievement) associated with desired behaviors compel subjects to learn properly. To be effective, the trainer must reward desired behaviors only. If he rewards poor performance, the results may be disastrous: good performers may quit in frustration, accidents may go up, and productivity may suffer. The reinforcement principle is also based on the premise that punishment is less effective in learning than reward. Punishment is a pointer to undesirable behaviors. When administered, it causes pain to the employee. He mayor may not repeat the mistakes. The reactions m ay be mild or wild. Action taken to repeal a person from undesirable action is punishment. If administered properly, punishment may force the trainee to modify the undesired or incorrect behaviors. Feedback People learn best if reinforcement is given as soon as possible after training. Every employee wants to know what is expected of him and how well he is doing. If he is off the track, somebody must put him back on the rails. The errors in such cases must be rectified immediately. The trainee after learning the right behaviour is motivated to do things in a right way and earn the associated rewards. Positive feedback (showing the trainee the right way of doing things) is to be preferred to negative feedback (telling the trainee that he is not correct) when we want to change behaviour. Spaced Practice Learning takes place easily if the practice sessions are spread over a period of time. New employees learn better if the orientation programme is spread over a two or three day period, instead of covering it all in one day. For memorizing tasks, massed practice is usually more effective. Imagine the way schools ask the kids to say the Lords prayer aloud. Can you memorise a long poem by learning only one line per day? You tend to forget the beginning of the poem by the time you reach the last stanza. For acquiring skills as stated by Mathis and Jackson, spaced practice is usually the best. This incremental approach to skill acquisition minimises the physical fatigue that deters learning. Whole Learning The concept of whole learning suggests that employees learn better if the job information is explained as an entire logical process, so that they can see how the various actions fit together into the big picture. A broad overview of what the trainee would be doing on the job should be given top priority, if learning has to take place quickly. Research studies have also indicated that it is more efficient to practice a whole task all at once rather than trying to master the various components of the task at different intervals. Active Practice Practice makes a man perfect: so said Bacon. To be a swimmer, you should plunge into water instead of simply reading about swimming or looking at films of the worlds best swimmers. Learning is enhanced when trainees are provided ample opportunities to repeat the task. For maximum benefit, practice sessions should be distributed over time. Applicability of Training Training should be as real as possible so that trainees can successfully transfer the new knowledge to their jobs. The training situations should be set up so that trainees can visualise and identify with the types of situations they can come across on the job. Environment Finally, environment plays a major role in training. It is natural that workers who are exposed to training in comfortable environments with adequate, well spaced rest periods are more likely to learn than employees whose training conditions are less than ideal. Generally speaking, learning is very fast at the beginning. Thereafter, the pace of learning slows down as opportunities for improvement taper off. Areas of Training The Areas of Training in which training is offered may be classified into the following categories. Knowledge Here the trainee learns about a set of rules and regulations about the job, the staff and the products or services offered by the company. The aim is to make the new employee fully aware of what goes on inside and outside the company. Technical Skills The employee is taught a specific skill (e.g., operating a machine, handling computer etc.) so that he can acquire that skill and contribute meaningfully. Social Skills The employee is made to learn about himself and others, and to develop a right mental attitude towards the job, colleagues and the company. The principal focus is on teaching the employee how to be a team member and get ahead . Techniques This involves the application of knowledge and skill to various on-the-job situations. In addition to improving the skills and knowledge of employees, training aims at moulding employee attitudes: When administered properly, a training programme will go a long way in obt8ining employee loyalty, support and commitment to company activities. Types of Training There are many approaches to training. We focus here on the types of training that are commonly employed in present-day organisations. Skills training: Skill training is most common in organisations. The process here is fairly simple. The need for training in basic skills (such as reading, writing, computing, speaking, listening, problem solving, managing oneself, knowing how to learn, working as part of a team, leading others) is identified through assessment. Specific training objectives are set and training content is developed to meet those objectives. Several methods are available for imparting these basic skills in modern organisations (such as lectures, apprenticeship, on-the-job, coaching etc.). Before employing these methods, managers should: * explain how the training will help the trainees in their jobs. * relate the training to the trainees goals. * respect and consider participant responses and use these as a resource. * encourage trainees to learn by doing. Â  * give feedback on progress toward meeting learning objectives. Refresher training: Rapid changes in technology may force companies to go in for this kind of training. By organising short-term courses which incorporate the latest developments in a particular field, the company may keep its employees up-to-date and ready to take on emerging challenges. * It is conducted at regular intervals by taking the help of outside consultants who specialise in a particular descriptive. Cross-functional Training: Cross-functional Training involves training employees to perform operations in areas other than their assigned job. There are many approaches to cross functional training. Job rotation can be used to provide a manager in one functional area with a broader perspective than he would otherwise have. Departments can exchange personnel for a certain period so that each employee understands how other departments are functioning. High performing workers can act as peer trainers and help employees develop skills in another area of operation. Cross functional training provides the following benefits to an organisation (and the workers as well) (1) Workers gain rich experience in handling diverse jobs; they become more adaptable and versatile (2) they can better engineer their own career paths (3) they not only know their job well but also understand how others are able to perform under a different set of constraints (4) A broader perspective increases workers understanding of the business and reduces the need for supervision (5) when workers can fill in for other workers who are absent, it is easier to use flexible scheduling, which is increasingly in demand as more employees want to spend more time with their families. Eli Lilly and Company (India), for example, encourages cross-functional movements to make the organisation equally attractive to both specialists and generalists. Team Training: Team training generally covers two areas; content tasks and group processes. Content tasks specify the teams goals such as cost control and problem solving. Group processes reflect the way members function as a team for example how they interact with each other, how they sort out differences, how they participate etc. Companies are investing heavy amounts, nowadays, in training new employees to listen to each other and to cooperate. They are using outdoor experiential training techniques to develop teamwork and team spirit among their employees (such as scaling a mountain, preparing recipes for colleagues at a restaurant, sailing through uncharted waters, crossing a jungle etc.). The training basically throws light on (i) how members should communicate with each other (ii) how they have to cooperate and get ahead (iii) how they should deal with conflict-full situations (iv) how they should find their way, using collective wisdom and experience to good advantage. Creativity training: Companies like Mudra Communications, Titan Industries, Wipro encourage their employees to think unconventionally, break the rules, take risks, go out of the box and devise unexpected solutions. * Postpone judgment: Dont reject any idea * Create alternative frames of reference * Break the boundary of thinking * Examine a different aspect of the problem * Make a wish list of solutions * Borrow ideas from other fields * Look for processes to change or eliminate * Think up alternative methods * Adopt another persons perspective * Question all Assumptions. In creativity training, trainers often focus on three things: (a) Breaking away: In order to break away from restrictions, the trainee is expected to (i) identify the dominant ideas influencing his own thinking (ii) define the boundaries within which he is working (iii) bring the assumptions out into the open and challenge everything (b) Generate new ideas: To generate new ideas, the trainee should open up his mind; look at the problem from all possible angles and list as many alternative approaches as possible. The trainee should allow his mind to wander over alternatives freely. Expose himself to new influences (people, articles, books, situations), switch over from one perspective to another, -arrange cross fertilization of ideas with other people and use analogies to spark off ideas. (c) Delaying judgement: To promote creative thinking, the trainee should not try to kill off ideas too quickly; they should be held back until he is able to generate as many ideas as possible. He should allow ideas to grow a little. Brainstorming (getting a large number of ideas from a group of people in a short time) often helps in generating as many ideas as possible without pausing to evaluate them. It helps in releasing ideas, overcoming inhibitions, cross fertilising ideas and getting away from patterned thinking. Diversity Training: Diversity training considers all of the diverse dimensions in the workplace race, gender, age, disabilities, lifestyles, culture, education, ideas and backgrounds while designing a training programme. It aims to create better cross-cultural sensitivity with the aim of fostering more harmonious and fruitful working relationships among a firms employees. The programme covers two things: (i) awareness building, which helps employees appreciate the key benefits of diversity, and (ii) skill building, which offers the knowledge, skills and abilities required for working with people having varied backgrounds. Literacy Training: Inability to write, speak and work well with others could often come in the way of discharging duties, especially at the lower levels. Workers, in such situations, may fail to understand safety messages, appreciate the importance of sticking to rules, and commit avoidable mistakes. Functional illiteracy (low skill level in a particular content area) may be a serious impediment to a firms productivity and competitiveness. Functional literacy programmes focus on the basic skills required to perform a job adequately and capitalise on most workers motivation to get help in a particular area. Tutorial programmes, home assignments, reading and writing exercises, simple mathematical tests, etc., are generally used in all company in-house programmes meant to improve the literacy levels of employees with weak reading, writing or arithmetic skills.