Training Needs at Wal-Mart - Assignment Example

?Training Needs Analysis at Wal-Mart Prior to conducting training development and talent managementprogram, it is essential to conduct training needs analysis. Training Needs Analysis (TNA) helps organizations to decide where the training should be directed, who should receive the training and what the content of the training should be (Clarke, 2003). The diagnosis of training needs is the process of information gathering which helps to improve its effectiveness (Leat & Lovell, 1997). Typically performance appraisals help identify the skills gap and thereby analyze the training needs. However, this method has flaws such as appraiser bias or the employee may tend to de-emphasize or over-emphasize depending on whether the goals have not been set or the goals are being monitored (Leat & Lovell, 1997). As the business environment has changed, so have the skill requirements. This necessitates identification of training needs analysis. The training strategy is essentially aligned with the business objectives but the situation that Wal-Mart now faces, is more of youth employment. The youth come with their own expectations of the job role and their career progression. Besides, as employee turnover in the retail sector is high, cross-training becomes essential. Now more than 20% of Wal-Mart employees have university degrees. To retain talent and to assure career progression, Wal-Mart needs to identify talent with good skills and potential. The training needs of such employees would differ from mainstream employees. Such employees are sent to the US for specialized training but in Asian countries and particularly in China, Wal-Mart identified that some of the best people could not communicate in English fluently enough to benefit from the training in the US (Trunick, 2006). As the situation has changed, organizations would have to reinvent themselves to retain talent. This requires identification of training needs. Essentially most of the training takes place in English but the training needs analysis would help to evaluate if the employees are comfortable with the training being conducted in English. With the ever-changing customer demands, it has become essential to have employees that are more customer-friendly, more knowledgeable and more professional (Speizer, 2006). Besides, the employees or the associates, as they are known at Wal-Mart, must have different qualifications for different function areas such as on the sales floor, in logistics and in the back room. Training needs of each individual associate would differ based on the job role. The trainer is responsible to conduct the training needs analysis without which training may be rendered ineffective. TNA is conducted based upon the objectives of the organization and can be conducted at the organization, person or the task level. When all of these are integrated it provides an effective strategy (Leat & Lovell, 1997). The training needs should be best directed to match the organizational needs. In the retail sector organizational effectiveness results from customer satisfaction which in turn depends upon process improvement. Therefore, Wal-Mart would need to explore the organizational climate in addition to the skills resources available. At the task level, the training needs analysis would be based on the demands of the job role. The associate in that particular position would be able to reveal inherent difficulties that may not be readily apparent. At the individual or the person level also TNA would help improve performance and employee development and career progression. TNA is not merely meant to assist employees in their work but to achieve greater proficiency and satisfaction. A typical TNA, according to Chiu, Thompson, Mak and Lo (1999) would aim to answer four related questions: Source: Chiu, Thompson, Mak and Lo (1999) Therefore, to conduct TNA at the organization, person and task level requires gathering information. The first step therefore, at Wal-Mart should be to conduct an initial scan known as the broad sensing stage (Anderson, 1994). This would immediately reveal the situation that has warranted the need to conduct an analysis. For instance, customers are their biggest stakeholders and customer-demands are ever-changing. Customer satisfaction is their organizational objective and the initial scan would reveal the extent to which customer satisfaction is being achieved. It would also help identify the constraints and the concerns of the management. The scan would also reveal the commitment that managers have towards the organization. It is also essential to know if the managers have been able to effectively disseminate organizational culture to their subordinates. After the basic information gathering the future trends in the retail sector would need to be identified. Focus group interviews of managers at individual retail stores should be conducted as managers would be freely able to discuss issues relevant to the training program. This may also reveal the competency requirements. The next stage is the data interpretation stage during which the significance of the data gathered needs to be ascertained. Apart from logical deduction, at this stage insight and intuition also help when managers try to correlate the data with their observation and experience at the stores and in different function areas. This would help the managers at Wal-Mart take a more strategic view of the training needs. The action stage would involve Wal-Mart managers to actively consider the different training programs to meet the training needs. At this stage it is essential that the training staff work in cohesion with the line managers or the supervisors because the training staff alone would not be able to design the training program. During the process non-training needs may also be revealed. However, the managers must ensure that all tasks at the organization, person and task level are met. Once the training needs have been identified the training methods would have to be ascertained. The focus of traditional training methods was on job performance but today the business environment has changed. The focus is now on enhancing skills to meet the changed labor market demands or the new economic imperatives (Anderson, 1994). It is not sufficient to pass on the technical skills to cope with the job. Transformative learning has to take place. The traditional training methods include presentation method, hands-on method and team-building methods (Noe, n.d.). The presentation method, through lectures and audio-visual techniques, depends upon the effectiveness of the trainer, and besides, these sessions are not interactive. The participants remain passive recipients of information. As organizations such as Wal-Mart are geographically dispersed, such methods are not cost-effective either. Hands-on methods are interactive as it takes the form of on-job-training, or simulations and case studies or role playing. In case studies the trainees get an opportunity to analyze and critique actions taken during a given situation and suggest an appropriate action. Team-building methods help improve team performance. However, the trainees must be willing to share ideas and experiences and understand interpersonal dynamics. The most effective method of training for Wal-Mart would be hands-on training method. OJT is the most appropriate hands-on method for Wal-Mart employees. Wal-Mart employs the youth without prior work experience and OJT is meant for inexperienced employees that learn through observing peers or through imitating the managers. OJT is self-directed learning and is useful not merely for newly hired employees but also for upgrading skills when new technology is introduced. Wal-Mart is ahead of its competitors in adoption of technology and embraces new technology. This needs to be disseminated among its associates and for this hands-on training is the best method. Hands-on has other advantages such as cross-training or during orientation when employees are promoted. Wal-Mart can regularly update its OJT training programs and lesson plans. It also requires conducting an evaluation of employees’ levels of basic skills. Hands-on training is also known to reduce attrition. Computer-based training (CBT) came into practice as an alternative to traditional face-to-face training (Bedwell & Salas, 2010). CBT can be beneficial in training at Wal-Mart provided it is designed for just-in-time demand and relevant to the job roles of individuals. However, in Asian countries and particularly in China, the associates are not fluent in English which can be an obstacle to CBT. Besides, CBT lacks direct contact with the trainer which may be essential for the associates in the early stages of their employment. Moreover, CBT at Wal-Mart should not be very sophisticated as the associates may not be comfortable with such training. Tailor-made e-courses may be difficult to design specific to every region and a standardized course may not be suitable for associates from different regions. However, Wal-Mart can combine other forms of training with CBT, known as ‘blended learning’. For instance, Wal-Mart can have classroom training followed by online forum for discussions and clarification of doubts. This is not only cost-effective but offers more convenience and flexibility. Moreover, associates may be reluctant to clarify doubts face-to-face and may find it comfortable to post questions on the forum. This form of CBT would combine the traditional hands-on training to deliver better results. Thus, after assessing the training needs, Wal-Mart should adopt hands-on training, one of the traditional training methods and combine it with CBT to achieve the best results. However, the combination would depend upon the geographical region and the level of the employees. This would ensure that objectives at the organizational, individual and process levels are met. References: Anderson, G. (1994). A Proactive Model for Training Needs Analysis. Journal of European Industrial Training, 18 (3), 23-28 Bedwell, W.L., & Salas, E. (2010). Computer-based training: capitalizing on lessons learned. International Journal of Training and Development, 14 (3), 239-251 Chiu, W., Thompson, D., Mak, W., & Lo, K. L. (1999). Re-thinking training needs analysis. Personnel Review, 28 (1/2), 77-90 Leat, M. J., & Lovell, M. J. (1997). Training needs analysis: weaknesses in the conventional approach. Journal of European Industrial Training, 21 (4), 143–153 Noe, R.A. (n.d.). Employee Training & Development. Chapter 7, http://www.uploadtak.com/images/o9646_chap007.ppt Speizer, I. (June 22, 2006). Wal-Mart training goes into wholesale overhaul. Workforce Management, 85 (10) Trunick, P.A. (2006). Wal-Mart reinvents itself in China. Logistics Today, 47 (1), 17-18 Read More