Future of Employee Training and Development - Essay Example

? Future of Employee Training and Development Future of Employee Training and Development The global competition and swiftness of change emphasize on the importance of human capital in organizations as well as swiftness of knowledge gaining for that capital. In the current economy, knowledge is becoming a reliable source of sustainable competitive advantage. Knowledge has developed to become a basic organizational capital and a trigger for the development (Gitman and McDaniel, 2009). Competition that was previously based on possessing resources and low costs is now based on skill possessing and efficient knowledge management. Several organizations, therefore, use a large percentage of their resources for permanent and continuous employee training and advancement. Organizations that are constantly developing knowledge, extending it to the entire organization, and implementing it inside the new technology develop high quality products and excellent services. These activities portray the company as a learning institution with constant innovation in its business activities. These are organizations that have realized that learning and employee development is a key determinant for their business. The increasing complexity and uncertainty of the business environment requires different and advanced knowledge. Modern business activities require improved skills and knowledge that are still inadequately present in the formal school education. The gap between business requirements and training acquired at school is increasing. Current customers are highly selective, and organizations cannot continue with mass production. Increased and sophisticated customer demands require new solutions and knowledge. Organizations have to constantly revise their products and service mix due to increasing competition. Dynamic competition, sophisticated technology, knowledge economy, and globalization have changed the importance of employee training in organizations (Gitman and McDaniel, 2009). Differences between organizations are caused by differences in human capital. This has transformed employee knowledge and development to become the most reliable source of competitive advantage. Other factors of production are still valid, but employee skills are more relevant in the current environment. Employee training and development has become an important aspect for future organizational development. Learning and development professionals experience a wide range of issues, but the most prominent challenges revolve around training itself. The current training offered in institutions is not very effective due to the courses themselves. Courses offered and presentations made in training sessions need to change dramatically for a better return on investment (Daly, 2011). Current training professionals provide courses that are too dull and not compelling enough for employees to attend long hours of training. Majority of courses on offer are too long, too boring, and have little learner participation due to overreliance on PowerPoint presentations. Training specialists have to look at how effectively the courses are delivered and if they match the current learner expectations. Future employee training courses must teach topics that help the management drive business, and not just build foundational skills. Current courses deal on team-building and the importance of difficult important. However, courses addressing current issues like competitive trends, open collaboration, and social networking are necessary. Several organizations use classroom workshops as the primary means of learning. Flexible training is necessary due to tight budgets and dispersed teams (Woodruff, 2006). This helps employees learn at their own time and utilize learning methods that are most suitable. The current vendor trainings are time consuming due to long training sessions. An improvement in the course design is necessary to respect employee time in the next level of learning and development. This will leverage the brain power of employees better and lower the stress levels. The current training procedures are based on presentations, and there is little learner engagement. Employees require training sessions that are engaging, experiential, team-exercise driven, and a balance between teaching and application. Employee involvement and inspiration by trainers will help them reach their full potential faster than presentation training. Trainers have to motivate and inspire trainees to learn and take on new challenges. Future training sessions have to inject a sense of passion on employees to make learning a bit exciting. Several organizations have realized that learning and development does not only involve offering courses, but plays a great role in generating value for the company. Trained teams of employees have become strategic business partners in the current environment (Romans, 2006). In that vein, employee training professionals are responsible for shaping the next generation of leaders. As a result, training and developing talent has become a crucial responsibility for business organizations. Courses and training sessions are offered across a wide range of audiences to ensure that the correct population acquires the right skills and content. High potential is created in companies by providing the right training to the growing population of employees. A heavy emphasis should also be placed on offering training to managers, leaders of business units and teams. Employee training sessions operate on a fixed budget depending on the previous fiscal year. This makes employee learning and development a form of investment by the organization. Therefore, organizations have to segment their employees to prioritize those eligible for certain training. Demands on the market place determine the audience for training. New growth initiatives, quality indicators, customer satisfaction determine the high potentials for training (Woodruff, 2006). Talent review processes and performance levels determine the employees that are most qualified for training. Business heads also identify gaps in productions to determine teams that are required to perform things differently. Business heads understand the needs and challenges in the business environment, which determines the gaps that have to be reduced in production. Employees with leadership potential are also best suited for training and development. This helps them reach their reach full potential quickly and get promotions into leadership positions. Viable leadership and minimum gaps in output give the organization a competitive advantage over other players in the industry. Current training methods have to be improved to increase their value in organizations. Current courses deal on leadership skills, subject expertise, and business basics. However, business unit leaders have to provide courses on strategic and timely issues (Noe and Winkler, 2012). Business teams have to stay competitive by analyzing complex business situations. New courseware on timely topics such as digital fluency, understanding global markets, and business analysis should constitute the majority of the training sessions. This also requires shifting from seminars and in-person workshops to social media, E-learning and collaborative learning. The young generation of employees prefers online learning compared to classroom sessions. Constrained resources and time require organizations to provide learning materials online through webinars and E-learning (Daly, 2011). Organizations cannot afford to send a group of employees for training workshops for several days since it will reduce their productivity due to time spent attending training. This necessitates the adoption of micro-learning through web technologies and resources. Future employee training will be more collaborative due to the presence of social networking and emails for rapid communication. Webinars, social networks, and dynamic e-learning technologies increase interactivity and simulations for employee learning. The future of the business environment is becoming more and more complicated, and employees will have to manage, anticipate, and communicate change. Availability of technology will enable organizations to stay connected with people and have access to data in order to remain successful. Therefore, employees need a strong sense of inquiry and collaboration in order to remain competitive. Organizations have to teach their employees how to collaborate, share, and drive change in the market. Interactive, inspiring, and collaborative learning is compelling and useful, and will increase productivity among employees. Collaborative learning will help organizations realign their goals and objectives to meet the current business environment. The changing customer demands and globalization requires business heads to prepare their employees to handle the changes in the business (Daly, 2011). Organizations are bound to increase their business potential by improving individual capabilities of their employees. Training increases management responsibilities for employees that are necessary for increasing investments. Strategic thinking, creativity, and innovation are core requirements of employees that help an organization maintain the quality of products and services. Successful planning and management development creates a long-term process of talent management. Modern organizations are structured around teams. Employee training in these teams is fundamental for future development of the organization. In most cases, team members undergo several stages of group development to strengthen their relationship to form a productive team. Employees in a team have to share knowledge and experiences to build individual and organizational capability. Employee learning improves their competency to achieve high levels of commitment, trust, and understanding. Current technologies facilitate future employee learning by providing avenues for knowledge sharing. Employee training is essential in organizations to improve the levels of competency among employees. Organizations have to invest on employee training in order to produce better products and services in order to maintain a competitive advantage. Training helps in developing employees to realize their full potential and job satisfaction. The current competitive business environment requires organizations to improve their training methods to accommodate changing trends in the technology world. Human development and knowledge is necessary to meet the changing trends of consumption. Organizations have to anticipate, manage, and share changes in the market. Competitive advantage can only be achieved by organizations that exploit the full potential of their employees. Full potential can only be achieved by exposing employees to effective training sessions that improve their productivity. This involves utilizing current technologies such as social sites as training avenues. References Daly, J. L. (2011). Human resource management in the public sector: Policies and practices. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. Training provides employees with a better understanding of acceptable work behavior in the organization. This training helps create psychological stability for new employees as they start on their work responsibilities. New technology provides better methods for training employees such as E-learning methods. HR systems must embrace technological advancements related to training and direct the organization towards new training methodologies. Gitman, L. J., & McDaniel, C. D. (2009). The future of business: The essentials. Mason, OH: South-Western Cenage Learning. Organizations invest in employee training and development to ensure that both new and experienced employees have the knowledge and skills to perform their jobs. Employees have to be trained to predict the probability of a client reaching his or her financial goals. Employees are also trained on psychology and behavioral finance to help client avoid impulsive catastrophic decisions. This is necessary for improving business activities to maintain a competitive edge Noe, R. A., & Winkler, C. (2012). Training and development: Learning for sustainable management. North Ryde, N.S.W: McGraw-Hill Australia. Organizations have to participate in socially, environmentally, and economically responsible training and development for achieving organizational success. Future training and development should help employees make decisions that help the organization maintain a competitive advantage. These training sessions must be environmentally friendly and within the budget allocation of the company. Romans, J. (2006). Developing high-potential talent at Hughes Supply. Strategic HR Review, 5, 32-35. Employee training is not only an intervention for poor performers, but also helps employees perform better. Training and development is a powerful catalyst for transforming employee performance. New technology facilitates employee training by improving information sharing and collaborative learning by employees. Woodruff, C. (2006). Coaching: A powerful catalyst for transforming performance. Training & Development Methods, 20, 401-406. Organizations use coaching to develop leadership, creativity, and strategic thinking in employees who have high potential. This is important to impart necessary skills on employees instead of putting them in managerial positions and expecting them to develop these skills on their own. Skill building helps in talent management that helps individuals achieve managerial status that can help the organization achieve its goals and objectives. Read More