Subject Is Learning,Training and Development - Assignment Example

?INTRODUCTION This paper attempts to analyse the importance of incorporating the learners’ needs into the planning, designing as well as implementation of a training process. It also explores the numerous constraints that a trainer might face during the course of the programme, as well as how to eradicate these successfully. These themes are discussed in context of Unilever’s regional sales manager training programme. The main body of this paper attempts to examine the various stages of the training process. In addition, how the learners’ needs can be implemented during the whole process of training is also discussed in great detail. Lastly, the various potential crisis situations or constraints that can arise during this process are also analysed in a comprehensive manner, as well as how a trainer can tackle them in a more effective way. IMPORTANCE OF A SYSTEMATIC TRAINING PROGRAMME Training programmes in an organization are crucial for the developing and improving the skills of the human resource, while at the same time imparting vital information and knowledge to them, which will aid them in the future. It is also related to making the employees capable of implementing that knowledge and information in order to improve the organization productivity as well as effectiveness, and invariably improving the quality of supervision of people (Walton, 1999). Training employees is not only beneficial from the point of view of the organization, but also that of the nation. It will make the organization capable of contributing towards the progress of a country’s human capital, which is one of the most valuable resources for any society. Not only will the employees succeed in serving the business organization in a more effective way, but will also become assets for the nation in terms of expertise (Armstrong, 2009). Training the employees can also lead to greater returns for the business, as they will now be better-equipped to perform at their optimum levels. Moreover, it will also persuade the training staff to improve their own knowledge in order provide expertise to their other employees. The knowledge that will be required for this training will also increase the quality of the various other services provided by the business – advisory, representation services as well as policy lobbying. Lastly, the business can meet their corporate goals and aims more effectively with better-trained personnel, and can successfully improve their overall image in the corporate sector (Buckley & Caple, 2000). That training programme that an organization decides to implement should be connected to the final outcomes that the organisation strives for. This can also prove to be an essential test of whether a training need exists for the human resource or not. Moreover, it is absolutely necessary to note that not all administrative problems or prospects will require training as a solution. It has to be evidently recognized that the specific organisational shortage or deficit can easily be resolved by a prepared training event (Tulip, 2003). COMPONENTS OF A SYSTEMATIC TRAINING PROGRAMME Training is a component of the business’s overall planning process in search of corporate goals. The firm has a training tactic which notifies the approach to employee development. Moreover, in systematic training, managerial abilities are intended for and established using a mixture of formal training, planned experience as well as coaching. There is an unbroken rotation of training analysis, evaluation as well as activity (Dunphy & Stace, 1993). The systematic training process can be summarised as follows: 1. Recognize and describe organizational difficulties/prospects related to industry/service strategy that can be resolved by training. 2. Investigate the information/skill essential 3. Examine the learning mandatory – what information/skills are to be acquired for full expertise 4. Formulate the learning objectives for the training programme 5. Design the training process by selecting methods as well as determining the content and order 6. Implement the design 7. Assess the influence of training – data from workplace, trainees and managers 8. Change approach to training according to success achieved after the implementation (Fenwick, 2008). LEARNERS’ NEEDS IN DESIGNING, PLANNING AND IMPLENTING A TRAINING PROGRAMME During the initial stages of the cycle, it is important for a trainer to recognize the information and ability demands of jobs, so that the organisation can take up chances or cure insufficiencies. This ties the knowledge and ability demands in jobs with the essential standards of performance. If we apply this to the training programme for the regional sales managers of Unilever, we see that the gauging the amount of knowledge required for the job as well as abilities needed to perform their job description successfully is important. This will help the trainer design the training programme in a more effective way (Fenwick, 2008). Among the numerous skills required for the job of a sales manager, some hold utmost importance. These include complete knowledge of the organization, product knowledge, pricing and incentives, presentation skills, prospecting as well as knowledge of how to close a sale (Unilever, 2011). If all these requirements are taken into consideration while formulating the sales manager training programme it is likely to be highly effective. The next stage involves forming the ‘learning gap’ by recognizing the current capabilities of the workforce and how these vary from the needed demands. A ‘training gap’ is said to occur for employees if their present understanding and skills are less than those required by their particular jobs (Fenwick, 2008). By identifying this gap, it becomes easier for the trainer to plan and design the training programme as to make it more relevant to the learners. This will ensure that all the trainees benefit from the training programme and acquire skills that they were previously lacking. For this, it is vital for a trainer to assess the levels of performance of the sales manager in the various requirement slots mentioned above. By doing so, they can measure it against a set criteria in order to design the programme to complement the already existing skills as well as developing new skills in the trainees (Grugulis, 2006). For example, looking at Unilever’s sales managers it can be seen that one of the skills that is vital that all sales people be proficient on the products they are proposing. According to the variety of items they offer, it will be important to identify the gap between the existing abilities and the required abilities of the sales managers. The process of training the employees to be well-versed in this slot will take some time and will generally include doing presentations on the numerous products, providing employees with product information they can comprehend and review, and ultimately have employees take quizzes to demonstrate their product knowledge (Unilever, 2011). This will be covered in the implementation stage. Having recognized the ‘learning gap’, the following stage is to identify how training will effect alteration in performance/actions in the employees who are to be trained (Pont, 2003). This is accomplished by jotting down learning objectives for the training process, which state exactly the knowledge and abilities trainees need to attain to bond the ability gap as well as accomplish the demands of their work. For this part, the trainer will give thought to which ones of the aforementioned skills hold the utmost importance for the organization’s sales management, and which ones are lacking the most. By ranking these, the trainer can now set the appropriate objectives for the sales manager training programme (Stewart, 1996). Now there is a strong idea of what has to be accomplished, training can be planned in detail. At this point numerous decisions have to be taken under considered, related to the content, sequence, place, duration, method as well as the costs of training. This means that the trainer has to decide what topics are to be covered in order to meet the training objectives more effectively, in addition to their order. The location of the training process also has to be taken into consideration as to make sure that it is accessible to all trainees. A decision of how long the training session will last will also be decided, besides the most appropriate methods. Lastly, an estimate of the cost has to be reviewed to make sure that training is the best alternative available to the organization compared to the other options and their benefits (Pont, 2003). For the sales manager training programme for Unilever, the trainer will take into consideration all the above mentioned factors in order to come up with a viable programme which will satisfy both the needs of the company as well as the trainees in the programme (Reeves, 1993). At this point, the trainer will make sure that while taking these decisions under consideration the needs of the learners are given the top-most priority. This is because a critical success factor during this training process will be the trainees, or the employees whose skills are to be improved over the course of the implementation of the process. Therefore, it would be beneficial to take their opinions as well as suggestions and expectations into consideration before coming to a decision (Reeves, 1993). As training ensues, it may be essential for the trainer to adjust its original plan to take account of changing situations or clear errors in the plan. Evaluation should take place at all phases of the course in order to produce improvement in training strategies and approaches. It is concentrated at several diverse levels. As we make our way through the numerous levels of evaluation, it becomes progressively tough to measure (Storey, 2007). All the way through the designing, planning as well as the implementation stage it is obvious that the needs of the trainees hold the utmost importance. Successful designing and planning will require the trainer to know what the trainee’s needs are and what they expect from the training course. During the implementation stage, the accessibility of the location, method, content etc. will have to adapt to the needs of the trainees in order to be beneficial (Pfeffer, 1994). In order to gauge the requirements, deficiencies and expectations of the trainees, there are numerous methods which will ensure the success of the programme. During the process to find out how valuable the training programme will be for the employees, it is absolutely essential to make use of questionnaires, interviews as well as group discussions (Reid, Barrington & Brown, 2004). Moreover, after the implementation stage it is important for the trainer to find out if the learning objectives were successfully achieved and if there were any deficiencies that need to be dealt with. This will require on-spot examinations and tests to find out the current expertise of the employees, demonstrations, questionnaires and group discussions to analyse the success of the programme (Senge, 2003). Moreover, to find out how relevant the training programme was to the learners’ needs, the job behaviour will have to be monitored consistently. This will mean that the trainer will check if the employees’ performance at a certain job improved as a result or not. This means a constant monitoring of output as well as quantity, performance appraisal in addition to colleague assessment (Harri-Augstein & Thomas, 1992). By employing the various methods mentioned above, a trainer will be able to establish the success of the training programme and if it was catering to the needs of the leaners. Feedback from the employees will also help enhance the understanding of the trainer as to how their needs can be met more effectively. This feedback can then be incorporated into future training programmes like these, so that that the prospective trainees can benefit from the experience of their counterparts (Phillips & Stone, 2002). CONSRAINTS There are a number of constraints that a trainer might face in this role for the programme. Training must be regarded as something that can be incessantly improved and updated. That means recognizing and overpowering constraints and restrictions. The major constraints will be in the form of budgets, time and culture, lack of training personnel, poor motivation as well as lack of training material. 1. Budget Training does cost the organization a lot of money. This is because of the complex process which requires intense preparation as well as substantial investment by the firm. By estimating the costs for the programme, some of the organizations might be reluctant to give it a go-ahead. Some are unwilling to look at the bigger picture in the form of better returns and more efficient employees, and only see this as an expense. This might prove to be a challenge for the trainer, as it is important to gain financial backing from the company. In order to overcome this, it is suggested that trainers convince the employees to spend two percent of their yearly payment on formal training each year. Devoting two percent of an employee’s wages into sustaining and refining approaches, knowledge and expertise is a small price when it’s compared along with the long-term costs of employees deteriorating—which genuinely relates to going backward (Pedlar, Burgoyne, & Boydell, 2001). Employees should be made aware of the fact that training is not just a new employee fad, but a portion of a continuous-enhancement strategy which attempts to involve every employee of an organization. If the business has not dedicated any annual budget for developing each employee, the trainer should consider doing so (O’Donnell & Garavan, 1997). 2. Time It is fairly easy for an organization to shove training away as the thing they will do when there is no other alternative left to consider. The negative effects of absence of training may not be noticeable until something is erroneous, so organizations tend to look at training in a reactive manner. However, when it comes to both new worker training and veteran employee growth, taking out the time to train can evade substantial time lost to tackling problematic situations and response later. (Holcomb, 1998) It is important for the trainer to establish that an organization’s top level management understands the importance of the training programme in order to make them more open to its prospect. The benefits should be laid before them as well as the costs, so that an accurate comparison can take place. Moreover, while making this comparison the future of the market should be kept in mind, and how this will change the way business takes place. Future managers need to be equipped with the most current form of knowledge in order to be able to compete effectively with their counterparts. Any inadequacy can result in huge losses for the company. Therefore, once the need has been identified by the trainer, the organization can be convinced to back it up (Harrison & Kessels, J, 2004). In an organization, a veteran employee should learn to recognize that learning is part of their concern as a member of the training programme. As for newly appointed employees, appropriate time should be assigned to the training as to make sure that they don’t slack and at the same time are not pressurised to learn too much in a short period. Motivation will go down with too much time. But the trainees are not given substantial time, they won’t absorb the information well (Storey, 2007). If the trainer seems to face trouble scheduling classes for training, they can choose alternative training methods such as off-hours training or multiple, computer based training modules as well as small classes in order to allow training and business coverage. They can also consider proposing skill-based or professional enrichment over a small lunch-based training sitting which will offers instruction as well as lunch to your employees simultaneously (Pfeffer, 1994). 3. Culture The culture of the company will prove to be the biggest constraint of all against training advantage of the programme. The culture will rise from within the company’s leadership and administration. If an employee is of the view that his or her manager does not provide backing to the training initiative, it will be unsuccessful. Workers will generally try to satisfy and impact their immediate supervisor, and if they understand their supervisor sneer at the idea of training, the efficiency of the program declines significantly. Top managers must hold the whole leadership team answerable for the proper attitudes compulsory of a training as well as education philosophy. A trainer should work in order to found and create a single voice as a leadership team in order to cultivate this culture (Pont, 2003). 4. Lack of Training Personnel Another constraint that a trainer might face in the training programme is the lack of skilled personnel required to produce and present effective training classes. The training personnel are very important for the success of the programme because they will provide assistance to the trainer during the course of it, as this is no one-man task. However, the lack of experts to assist will mean that the efficiency of the training programme will suffer greatly. In order to counter this, it is important for a trainer to look consider looking for training companies which will provide endorsed material for employee training options as well as community resources which will assist greatly in the process (Mayo, 1998). 5. No Training Materials New technologies and in-house established products are not often escorted by training resources or guides. In a number of cases, training materials may not be accessible for purchase until a long while after a product has propelled in the market. Training may be tardy as the trainers must acquaint themselves with the subject matter and improve the wanted training materials. A solution for this could be for the trainer to include training requirements in product development strategic ideas in in-house products. Also, postponing the application of the latest technologies until appropriate materials are accessible to offer satisfactory training to your employees can be reflected on (Jarvis, 2006). 6. Poor Motivation Another constraint that a trainer might face during the training programme will be the poor motivation level of the employees. Employees may not be passionate about obligatory training courses. A few of the employees may sense the training as pointless or a waste of time. This type of demotivated attitude can lead to classes that are uninspiring and unproductive. As a trainer, proposing multi-media training classes that are interactive and are directed towards each position to help boost active class participation could be taken under consideration. Also, for skills-based training, the trainer could contemplate offering training modules that can be accomplished or carefully chosen by each individual to proposition a more tailored training experience for each employee (Hunt, 1992). Any trainer will be well-versed in the idea that training their employees should be an continuing and lasting process that aids in keeping them knowledgeable on business as well as product changes, helps them advance their abilities and helps preserve obedience to state or federal regulations. Some training programmes, such as a sexual harassment training programme, may only be desirable during orientation. Other training themes such as time management, skill-based training and customer satisfaction are often required to be accomplished on routine basis (Harri-Augstein & Webb, 1995). CONCLUSION Hence, it can be concluded that there is a need of planning, designing and implementing a training programme in an organisation to make it relevant to learners' needs. By employing the various methods mentioned above, a trainer will be able to establish the success of the training programme and if it is catering to the needs of the learners or not. Feedback from the employees will also help enhance the understanding of the trainer as to how their needs can be met more effectively. This feedback can then be incorporated into future training programmes like these, so that that the prospective trainees can benefit from the experience of their counterparts. The trainer might face numerous constraints during the systematic training process; however by employing the methods mentioned above these can be avoided to a great extent. REFERENCES: Armstrong, M. (2009) A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. London: Kogan Page Buckley, R. and Caple, J. (2000) The Theory and Practice of Training (4th Edition), London: Kogan Page. Dunphy, D. and Stace, D. (1993) ‘The Strategic Management of Corporate Change.’ Human Relations Fenwick, T. ( 2008) ‘Understanding relations of individual-collective learning in work: A review of research.’ Management Learning, 39, 3: 227-243. Grugulis, I. (2006) Skills, Training and Human Resource Development: A Critical Text. New York: Palgrave Unilever. (2011). (Online) http://www.jobstreet.co.th/jobs/2011/4/default/70/130385.htm?fr=J Harri-Augstein, S. and L. F. Thomas (1992) `Self-organized-learning for personal and organizational growth', Training and Development. 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