Training and Learning for a new System at the Abacus Customer Support Centre - Case Study Example

Training and learning Name Date Course Training and Learning for a new System at the Abacus Customer Support Centre Introduction Abacus is a large company with target market in the United Kingdom. It sells a wide variety of electronics in the market with an aim of meeting the needs of the customers in the competitive market. In order to effectively address the issues that have been raised by the customers, the company has a customer support centre which is comprised of the Customer service Agents who are responsible for communicating with the customers. A new system has been put in place for the purposes of enhancing the experience of the customers. A training program for the employees has also been established. Training is an important concept of human resource management and it plays an essential role in ensuring that the employees are equipped with the required skills and knowledge (Wilson, 2012). Coaching is also applied in the company to enhance the experience of the apprentice. Through coaching, the apprentice can be assed during the process and hence determining their abilities. The concepts of e-learning are also important for the employees within an organization. This is because it improves on the efficiency of the learning process. The paper critically discusses the concepts of training development with regards to the program that has been put in place by the company. Discussion Role of coaching as a learning tool Managing the employees is currently moving away from command and control by the managers. This has led to most of the organizations embracing the concepts of coaching in order to develop the need of the employees. At the company, a new system is being put in place. Coaching plays an essential role in the development of the skills of the employees when new competencies are required. Coaching also plays a significant role in equipping the employees with the required skills and knowledge that may be required to in order to take up new responsibilities. Coaching also ensures that the knowledge obtained by the employees during their formal training is supplemented (Bee, 2003). It also promotes employee development. Through coaching, the organization is able to achieve its overall learning and development objective. Coaching is important to an organization as it enable the observation of change with regards to the development of the skills of the employees. This is usually achieved as the process involves the direct contact with the employees. It also enables employees to learn directly from the managers. This ensures that they are able to perform their tasks as required by the organization. The coaching program that has been put in place by the organization is for the purposes of ensuring that the employees obtain the required skills and competence. This will enhance the performance of the employees when de3aling with the customers. Employees are able to obtain clarification regarding how certain operations should be handled. This plays an essential role in eliminating any form of misunderstandings among the employees. Coaching motivates the employees to perform better because it identifies the needs of the employees and hence addressing them through guiding them accordingly. A good working relationship between employees and the manager is built through coaching activities (Gibb, 2003). Despite the significant roles played in an organization, it has its drawbacks. The main drawback for coaching is that it requires a lot of time in order to obtain the desired results. This is evident in the program that has been set up in the organization as it takes one year for the program to be completed. The development programs that take long to be completed may also require more resources. The coaches involved the programs have to adequately paid. The process also requires a lot of patience before its benefits are fully realized. This means that the company will still have to wait for long before the employees are fully utilized. In some instances, experts and external members are involved in the coaching process of the employees. This may lead to the differences in opinions between the managers of the company and the specialists. It therefore impacts negatively on the aims and objectives of the organization. Types of apprenticeship programs Abacus has introduced an apprenticeship program aimed at developing skills of the employees. The apprenticeship program of the company takes one year and the apprentices are supposed to work with the customer service agents. Different types of apprenticeship are usually used depending on the needs of the company. This type of apprenticeship can be considered as full-time. The full time apprenticeship involves working and training on a full time basis. This means that the apprentices have to work for the same period of time as the employees that they work with. This type of apprenticeship plays an essential role in reducing the skills gap. This is because the apprentices will be fully involved in all the operations of the company. The full time basis plays an important role in ensuring that the apprentice is involved in all the daily operations taking place in the organization and hence filling the knowledge gap (Hackett, 2003). The full time apprenticeship program may take up to four years to be completed. This is depending on the knowledge gap that needs to be filled. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the full time apprenticeship program enables the quick acquisition of knowledge and hence filling the knowledge gap. The skills and knowledge that are acquired during the process enables the apprentice to obtain skills directly from the employees of the company. The full time apprentice also has the ability of carrying out the tasks of the employees of the company after they have completed the program. Part-time apprenticeship is also an important type of apprenticeship which involves lees working hours. The apprentice in the program usually works for about 15 hours every week. They do not have to report on a daily basis like the full-time apprentice. However, the program usually takes more time as compared to the full time program. In some cases, it may double the time taken to complete the apprenticeship program. The program is also effective in terms of filling the knowledge gap since it allows the apprentice to perform other tasks while undertaking the program. This means that the employees of the company can benefit from this program by working on a part-time basis and engaging in the program. Although the program takes a longer duration of time it is still effective as the employees are exposed to different practices taking place within an organization. The part-time apprenticeship program is beneficial to both the employees and the organization. The school based apprenticeship program is also available for the employees who are undertaking different programs in colleges or universities. This program is usually short as it is dependant on the time that has been set by the university. The program is important in enabling the employees to fill the knowledge gap through ensuring that the employees are able to link the theoretical practices and the actual operations at the work place (Mankin, 2009). The process also enables the employees to apply what they have learnt in class into a practical perspective. E-leaning benefits As the learning and development manager at Abacus, E-learning concepts should be embraced in all the departments of the company due to the benefits that are attached to E-learning. Through the use of E-learning, the employees will be trained and hence filling the knowledge gap. E-learning is cheaper as compared to the use of the other methods. This means that the company will be able to lower the cost of training of the employees while at the same time filling the knowledge gap. The employees will also be able to easily access any new information regarding the changes at the company. This is thus useful in terms of enhancing the communication process. An effective communication process within an organization is important in ensuring that the employees of an organization are able to access information at the required time and hence filling the knowledge gap (Pettinger, 2002). E-learning is more flexible. This is because it does not require the employee to be involved in the learning process for the whole day. The E-learning process can be divided into modules and deadline and hence saving time. Through the use of E-learning the employees will not be required to take the whole day of in order to participate in the training programs. The organization will not be required to hire venues for training the employees. This is because the use of the E-learning concepts can be carried out through the use of tablets, mobile phones and laptops. The use of these devices can enable the training to be carried out at any place including when the employees are travelling. The use of the E-learning concepts therefore plays an essential role in ensuring that the organization time is not wasted. The employees can still perform their duties while at the same time training for a short period of time. No traveling is required for the employees during the training process. This is considering that the expenses are usually increased when the employees have to travel to different venues in order to fulfill the training needs. The use of E-learning can be tailored in order to suite the demands of the organization (Reid, et al, 2004). This means that the organization can determine the concepts that should be used for the purposes of training the employees. The amount of interaction between the employees is also enhanced through the use of E-learning. This is because the use of technology plays an essential role in ensuring that interaction can take place easily. All the employees will also be able to receive the same contents depending to what they are learning. It is important to note that the E-learning concepts have potential drawbacks. There is lack of control when it comes to the training of the employees. The employees who lack motivation may easily fall behind as they are responsible for their own learning. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the process may become complicated due to the lack of affixed routine and schedule. Some of learners cannot be able to appeal to all the learners. This will impact negatively on the learning experience of the learners. Other employees may not be comfortable in using the computers and hence impacting negatively on the learning process. The organization will also be required to ensure that all the employees have the technological device that supports the process. The interaction with trainers is also minimal and it may impact negatively on the understanding of different concepts by the employees (Armstrong, 2012). The employees may not be able to fill the knowledge gap if they do not understand the concepts that they have been taught. This will affect the process of filling the knowledge gap and hence impacting negatively on the business processes. However, the benefits of using the concept further outweigh the drawbacks. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that the concepts of learning and development are important in ensuring that the employees are able to meet the goals and objectives of the organization. Coaching is an important tool that will enable the organization to ensure that the knowledge gap of the apprentice is filled. It is also evident that the coaching process also has some drawbacks. The different types of apprenticeship programs are also useful in depending on the needs of the organization. The concept of E-learning is beneficial to the organization in ensuring that time wastage as well as wastage of resources is reduced. This enhances on the efficiency of the learning process despite the few drawbacks of E-learning. List of References Armstrong, M, 2012, Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice, Kogan Page Publishers. Wilson, J, 2012, International Human Resource Development, London: CIPD Bee, F, 2003, learning needs analysis and evaluation, 2nd edn. London: CIPD. Gibb, S, 2008, Human resource development. 2nd edn, Basingstoke: Palgrave. Hackett, P, 2003, Training practice, London: CIPD. Mankin, D, 2009, Human resource development, Oxford: OUP. Pettinger, R, 2002, Mastering employee development, Basingstoke: Palgrave. Reid, M, et al, 2004, Human resource development: beyond training interventions, 7th edn. London: CIPD. Read More