Interventions - Research Paper Example

Interventions – One-to-One Training Introduction In the fast changing business world employees and job roles are altering at a quick pace. Training programs have to be flexible to meet this new challenge in the business world. One-to-one training programs offer flexibility, adaptation, and just in time delivery of job skills (Shermon, 2008, p.343). Key Features of One-to-One Training One-to-one training moves the site of the training from classrooms, where there is limited scope for simulation of the job environment, to the actual live environment of where the job will be performed (Shermon, 2008, p.343). The scope of one-to-one training programs is enlarged to take in the actual job requirements vis-à-vis the knowledge and skill levels on an individual basis, whereby the learning needs of the individual are identified, and the training program removes this deficit in the individual (Buckley & Caple, 2010, p.108). Analyses of the training needs are from two perspectives.

The first perspective relates to the knowledge and skills required for the job or task, while the second perspective pertains to the specific learning needs of the individual for the job or task. The analyses provide a list of knowledge and skills that need to be delivered to the individual. The list is then translated into the behavioral objectives of the training, which paves the way for opting for the most appropriate sequence for delivering the training needs. Transfer of the training is achieved through putting into practice the knowledge and skills received through the training at the workplace.

No training is complete in the absence of evaluation of the exercise. Evaluation of the training is done through examining the effectiveness of the training and the value provided by the training (Buckley & Caple, 2010, p.108).System Level for Which One-to-One Training is most appropriate The system level at which one-to-one training is most applicable is when the individual is about to start on a new job or task assigned. This may occur when a new employee joins the organization, and needs to be trained on the new job.

Alternatively, an existing employee may be assigned a new job function or a new job task. In both these eventualities one-to-one training is the most appropriate training method (Buckley & Caple, 2010, p.108).Three Best Practices for One-to-One Training There are three elements involved in the best practices for one-to-one training. The first element is delivering the training at the right time. Immediately prior to an individual undertaking a new job or task is the right time to deliver the training.

The second element is delivering the training at the right place. By right place, the meaning pertains to giving required importance to the knowledge and skills that have to be learned in relation to the job or task context, and taking into relevance the on-and-off job options available for the individual. The final element relates to the delivery of the training by the right person. By right person it is meant that the trainer should not merely be a person with expertise on the subject, but also possess a desire to be a trainer.

Thus, the right person should not only have had appropriate training, but possess a positive attitude for the function of training (Buckley & Caple, 2010, p.108).Examples of Effective use of One-to-One Training in Organizations At Virgin Media the employees are across a wide range in terms of age and technical capability. In the introduction of the new Quad social tool, Virgin Media faced the problem of bringing all employees to competency in its use, within a short span of time. One-to-one training was one of the means used to achieve this objective (Stillman, 2012).

IBM promotes gaining of knowledge and skills among its employees, as a means of enhancing the knowledge asset of the organization. Instead of pushing employees in the direction of training to meet this objective, IBM uses one-to-one training to pull employees towards the training initiative (Margolis, 2011). Literary ReferencesBuckley, R. & Caple, J. (2010), Developing One-to-One Training Programs, T & D, vol.64, no.4, p.108. Margolis, D. (2011). ‘The Client Knows Best’. Chief Learning Officer, [Online] Available at: http://clomedia.

com/articles/view/4304 (Accessed March 25, 2012).Shermon, G. 2008, Competency Based HRM: A Strategic Resource for Competency Mapping, Assessment and Development Centers, Tata-McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi, India. Stillman, J. (2012), ‘The lessons of Virgin Media’s flexible working initiative’, WebWorkerDaily, [Online] Available at: http://gigaom.com/collaboration/the-lessons-of-virgin-medias-flexible-working-initiative/ (Accessed March 25, 2012).