Creating a Learning and Development Strategy: Ventura Organization - Case Study Example

Topic Problems and issues The Ventura organization faces a multitude of problems the main challenge being that of attracting quality candidates from a demographic pool where core skills might not exist. The majority of the population are comprised of semi-skilled workers/unqualified agents who cannot be taken into work immediately. There is also a need for training this people and to debunk myths such as the perception that call center work is a temporary job and is mostly repetitive. This will ensure that those taken for the jobs dedicate all their time into their work and consider it a career. Another issue is the challenge of providing expert training from a centralized resource. There is need to centralize and diversify training programs from the headquarters to the branch offices. This will cut down on costs of training and effectiveness at the branch offices. Another issue facing the Ventura organization is the need to deliver training against very tight timetables. This is because when anew client is acquired there is a need to deliver the requirements needed by the customer in a timely manner without the client experiencing any level of uncertainty as relates to service provision according to Harrison (2009, p. 29) 1. On-the-job experience Committees Committees are involved in the everyday activity of any organization. Committees can become effective learning tools, by employing the right focus Committees may comprise of staff sourced from different areas of the organization and can contribute greatly to learning by allowing members to view issues from different perspectives  Conferences and forums By allowing employees to attend conferences that focus on topics of relevance to their position and the organization and ensuring that the organization have the employee make a presentation to other staff as a way of promoting the individuals learning experience and as a way of enhancing the organization. This should act as some form of off-the-job learning. Critical incident notes By realizing that day-to-day activities are always an important source of learning opportunities, new staff can gain greatly from taking advantage. By selecting the best of these opportunities and coming up with critical incident notes for staff to learn from and apply in their daily work life. For example a case of a client complaint that was handled effectively. By writing a brief summary of the incident and identifying the employees actions that led to a successful resolution and then sharing the notes with the employee involved and with others as appropriate. Alternately, if the situation was not handled well, it is again important to write a brief description of the incident plus identifying areas for improvement. Then discuss the critical incident notes with the employee and identify the areas for the employee to improve upon and how you the organization will assist the employee in achieving this. Field trips Field trips provide a way of employees connecting. For example if your organization has staff at more than one location, arrange to provide employees with an opportunity to visit the other sites. By doing this, it helps employees gain a better understanding of the full range of programs and clients that the organization serves and the diversity of the organization. Planning field trips to other organizations operating in a similar environment or industry can also provide a valuable learning experience to the employees The best way to achieve this is to give staff going on field trips a number of questions to answer or a list of things to check or look for while on the trip. Fieldtrips can be seen as an off-the-job activity. It is important to do a follow up the field trip by having staff share and explain to the rest what they have learned and how they can apply that learning to the organization. Job aids There are several tools can be made available to employees to help them perform better in their jobs. These tools can range from; manuals, procedural guidelines, checklists, phone lists, decision guidelines and so on. The importance of Job aids are especially very useful for new employees, these are employees taking on new responsibilities or can be used for activities that happen less often.  Job expanding It is important to ensure that once an employee has become an expert on the requirements of his or her job and is performing satisfactorily note that she or he may want greater challenges. Make plans to assignnew or additional duties to the employee Some organizations who have a flat organizational structure normally startto give some managerial tasks to experienced staff as a means of keeping those staff challenged and engaged in their work. Job rotation Mostly on a temporary basis, some employees can be given the chance to work in a different department of the organization. In these, an employee keeps his or her current job but fills in for or swaps responsibilities with another employee.  Job shadowing This is where if an employee wants to learn someone else’s work in an organization, the employee can then follow that person and observe him or her at work. This usually does not involve the person doing the shadowing doing or helping with the work that is being done Peer-assisted learning This is where two employees agree to help each other learn and practice different tasks. The two employees should both have an area of expertise that the co-worker can gainfrom. The employees can thereby take turns helping their co-worker to master the knowledge or skill that they are sharing. Stretch assignments These are assignmentsthat give an employee the opportunity to stretch beyond his or her current abilities. A stretch assignment could for example require an employee to chair a meeting if the person has never done so. To ensure that by taking a stretch assignment results in a good learning experience, the manager in charge should take time after to discuss with the employee what went well and what could have been improved in the exercise. Special projects This is where an employee is an opportunity to work on a special project that is not part of his or her job duties. Relationships and feedback Coaching This refers to a pre-arranged agreement between an experienced manager and his or her employee junior most likely. The role of the coach is to teach skills and to give the employee guidance, feedback, and some form of reassurance while s/he employs the new skill. Mentoring Mentoring is somewhat similar to coaching. There is mentoring when a senior or experienced manager provides guidance and advice to a junior employee. In most cases, the two people normally have usually developed a working relationship that based on common interest and values. Networking Networking links professionalsin a kind of an informal network designed to meet the professional development need of its members. They from time to time meet to discuss current issues and to share information and resources. Performance appraisal These are partly evaluation and partly developmental in a way. These is meant employees to identify employee’s strengths and weaknesses. It involves getting feedback from supervisors, peers, staff, other clients and also colleagues. The results of an appraisal can be used to identify areas for further development of the employee Drawbacks and benefits On- the job training Training an employee within their own working environment where they can use the tools and equipment which will be needed to carry out their specific role is way better than trying to simulate their role in an external setting. According to Moingeon & Edmondson (1996, P.56), the employee can be given customized job training and can be shown what to do and as they practice under the supervision of a more experienced staff, they’ll gain more confidence in their work as well as the trainer being able to guide them towards doing the job correctly and being ready to point out any mistakes and to give feedback. Additionally, the job training can be tailored to specifically meet the needs of the company and its staff, it allows a new trainee to be integrated easily into the organization as opposed to them having an off-the-job training learning a similar skill. In addition, on the job training means that the employee is infact working as they are learning and they’ll become more productive as they become more adept. Looking at it from a financing point of view, it’s a very cost effective method for the company of imparting skills and knowledge that are suit the company’s needs. The negative effects of on-the-job training is that, it’s not enough that the person passing on their skills and knowledge is competent in what they do. Infact,most important fact not keenly observed is the fact that teaching or any form of worker training or mentoring is a ‘skill’ in itself and which people must be trained on and if they are not then the trainingthat will be delivered to the workforce will not be satisfactory, is not planned perfectly or is delivered in such a way where the trainee is not able to grasp the concepts easily. Relationships and feedback Pros Coaching and mentoring provide an avenue with which new employees can forge strong professional relationships with their seniors and experienced employees responsible for providing them with guidance. Through this, the respective mentors and coaches can now improve both the performance and motivation of those they are guiding through those sessions. Also, feedback obtained from the performance appraisals can be used to assess the employee’s strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, relationship and feedback form of training is not effective because of the relationship aspect that it brings with it, the new staff and the assigned mentors and coaches must develop a good working relationship otherwise the training will not be effective. The new staff should be comfortable seeking clarifications and asking ‘stupid’ questions. The performance appraisal as well does not necessarily reflect the employee’s capabilities and weaknesses and can be at times biased. In conclusion, on-the-job training is the most effective method of training new staff because it not only reduces expenses that would have been incurred for an external training while at the same time it positions the employee on the real work that he/she will be working on Swart (2005, p. 88). References HARRISON, R. (2009). Learning and development. London, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. MAYO, A., & MAYO, A. (2004). Creating a learning and development strategy. London, Institute of Personnel and Development. MOINGEON, B., & EDMONDSON, A. C. (1996). Organizational learning and competitive advantage. London, Sage Publications. SWART, J. (2005). Human resource development: strategy and tactics. Oxford, Elsevier, Butterworth Heinemann. MAYO, A. (2004). Creating a learning and development strategy the HR business partners guide to developing people. London, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. http://www.lib.sfu.ca/cgi-bin/validate/books24x7.cgi?bookid=18488. JOHN, S. (2009). Strategic learning and leading change: how global organizations are reinventing HR. Oxford, UK, Butterworth-Heinemann. RYAN, R. (2008). Leadership development a guide for HR and training professionals. Amsterdam,Butterworth-Heinemann. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=298268. HOLBECHE, L. (2009). Aligning human resources and business strategy. Amsterdam, Butterworth-Heinemann. http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=435295. CARTWRIGHT, R. (2003). Implementing a Training and Development Strategy. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons. http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=164867. BELASEN, A. T. (2000). Leading the learning organization: communication and competencies for managing change. Albany, N.Y., State University of New York Press. Read More