Introduction to Human Resource Management - Coursework Example

? Introduction to Human Resource Management By Edinburgh Napier This report is in response to the request to outline a two-day training course for all new baristas from Cafe Company. The objectives of the training will be covered. Other items included will be how the training will improve employee performance, a detailed agenda, resources needed, training methods, and media choices. An evaluation strategy for training results will also be provided. This report details the response to a request to design a two-day training session for new baristas working for Cafe Company. The emphasis is on improving performance and retention for the employee as well as improving the performance of the company according to the new vision statement of Nowhere else makes you feel this good. Cafe Company wants to regain market share and believes that the way to do that is to provide tools to the person who is in direct contact with the customer – the barista (Green and Duncan n.d.). The overall aim and learning objectives (Green and Duncan n.d.; Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright 2003) The barista will see clearly how significant their value is in creating the ultimate experience as a barista around the globe at Cafe Company (Oakland and Oakland 1998); Each new barista will adopt the vision statement that Cafe Company creates the best coffee experience in the world by stating, Nowhere else makes you feel this good; Each new barista will have the skills and the coffee know-how to do prepare basic coffees per customer request. The barista will adopt the skills as taught at the two-day session ensuring the barista will be able to provide the ultimate coffee experience for the customer; By providing the ultimate coffee experience for the customer, the barista will be capable of retaining the existing customers and win over new customers. How this training programme will improve the performance of the employees Mathis and Jackson (1991); Noe et al. (2003); and Senge, Roberts, Ross, Smith, and Kleiner (1994) give many reasons this training programme will improve the performance of the employees. The primary reason it improves performance is that the programme provides a structure for the new staff so they know what to expect when they are getting started. This is referred to as a systems approach to training. Previously, there has been nothing formal. The new employee was essentially left to their own devices or if they lucked out and happened to get partnered with an experienced barista they may succeed. To deter the level of turnover in the locations, this training programme will provide a solid jumping off spot for all new colleagues to ensure they have the basic tools of a professional barista. Creating an experience for a customer is not the same as simply making a cup of coffee. Learning the difference and creating that experience is what this training is all about. Timetable for Two Days Programme, Timing and Resources The timetable is outlined using the tables for each day below. The resources needed will be a formal training area such as a classroom size room large enough to fit 12 – 16 people comfortably. Based on the training model provided the class will need access to an area to make coffees that is not a live coffee house at the time the training takes place (Mathis and Jackson 1991). The training is structured over two days and includes a multitude of alternate speakers rather than residing solely on Human Resources or Training and Development personnel. Access to these staff and agreement from the authorities these staff report to that they will be present and available and focused on the new Baristas will be vital for the success of this model. This model also requires that a Barista training manual be designed with the core components of customer service, quality, cleanliness and coffee know-how. This manual may be a hard copy, but could be purely electronic as well. This will serve as a ready reference for information provided in this session as well as future training that may be added to this foundational course. Additionally, Cafe Co. will be providing some food and snacks for participants, albeit, on an economic scale. We do not want the participant to be more concerned about the impending lunch or break time, but rather have them partake of a snack or beverage as needed to allow them to concentrate on the learning before them. Day One New Barista Training Programme Day One Activity Speaker Other Comments 8:30 – 9:00 Welcome, introductions, the next two days agenda, housekeeping items such as where are the restrooms HR designee Everyone introduces themselves, keep it moving, and keep it light. 9:00 – 10:00 Cafe Co Welcome and Company Overview Senior Leader PowerPoint slides to accompany regarding mission, vision, values, strategic plan for the company (Iltis 2005). Give the employees a sense of the big picture without going into too much detail. 10:00 – 10:15 Break 10:15 – 11:00 Presentation of Barista Training Manual – Part I Customer Service Senior Barista Present how it is not just the coffee but the experience there is nowhere better 11:00 – 11:30 Creating the Cafe Co. Experience Senior Barista No matter how busy the Cafe is, it is the Barista’s job to create a sublime experience for the customer each and every time. Whether they are in person in the Cafe or in the drive through. 11:30 – 12:30 Lunch Hiring managers have lunch with the new Baristas Lunch is provided by a sub shop or other economical option. The key is that the new crew is having lunch together with the individuals who hired them and they are all having a chance to get acquainted more on a personal level. 12:30 – 1:30 Regulatory requirements for working in a coffee house Compliance specialist There will be questions regarding compliance issues on the test. 1:30 – 2:15 Computer Based Learning Coffee How To’s 101 Employee Learning Coordinator There is a wealth of information on the computer regarding how to make and deliver coffee to your customer in the best manner possible. 2:15 – 2:30 Break Get a refreshment or tour the facility, review materials 2:30 – 3:30 Presentation of Barista Training Manual – Part II Quality Quality Specialist It is all about making good quality coffee and in the presentation of that quality coffee. The quality specialist will present some quality tips such as wiping off the spoke that is inserted in each cup to ensure one cup of coffee does not taste like another. 3:30 – 4:15 HR requirements HR designee Assorted forms and paperwork necessary to process payroll that may not have been completed yet. Any other housekeeping issues that could prevent the employee from moving ahead. 4:15 – 4:30 Conclusion, Q & A HR designee Day Two New Barista Training Programme Day One Activity Speaker Other Comments 8:30 – 8:45 Welcome, the days’ agenda, any further housekeeping items HR designee 8:45 – 9:00 What did the new Baristas learn yesterday? HR designee facilitate Summary of what was learned yesterday provided 9:00 – 10:00 Presentation of Barista manual Part III Cleanliness Senior Barista Focus is on personal hygiene and continued cleaning as equipment is used rather than setting things aside for someone else to clean later. 10:00 – 10:15 Break 10:15 – 11:00 CBL Coffee Know-How HR Designee 11:00 – 11:30 Coffee Lab Senior Barista Coffee House lab to allow those who are learning to make coffee in a practice environment. 11:30 – 12:30 Lunch Lunch is provided by a sub shop or other economical option. The employee is free to study for final, take a break from activities, explore the facility, and talk with the hiring manager as the hiring manager is available. 12:30 – 1:30 Presentation of Barista Manual Part IV Coffee Know-How Senior Barista The senior barista will start in the presentation room, but will finish in the Coffee Lab by demonstrating what is shown in the manual. What the barista demonstrates matches the manual. Consistency is critical for a successful demonstration. 1:30 – 2:15 Coffee Lab Senior Barista Coffee House lab to allow those who are learning to make coffee in a practice environment. Scenario A – No experience just coffee Scenario B – Experience and coffee The class will be split into two groups and they will wait on one another to “see” the difference 2:15 – 2:30 Break 2:30 – 3:30 Final Review HR Designee Review of all materials provided. Q & A. Have fun. 3:30 – 4:15 Barista final (open book and computer) Utilizing everything they have learned the last two days, the new Barista will complete a final written exam which includes multiple choice questions from four key areas: customer service, quality, cleanliness, coffee know-how Make a basic coffee per participant requests. 4:15 – 4:30 Conclusion, Q & A Training methods and media for delivering each part of the programme PowerPoint presentations and PowerPoint projector will be used for the initial presentation and for the presentations with the manual. The trainers’ preference is that the employee be given a hard copy of the manual, but the company may prefer to retain an electronic copy for employee reference due to the efficiency of updates and maintenance. The main point is that each employee has access to the manual. If the hard copies are not available a computer will need to be available for each new employee in the room with the manual available in electronic form. The training will be taking place in a small group workshop format for the most part. This allows for the adult-center learning principles to take place (Forrest and Peterson 2006; McKeachie and Svinicki 2011; Senge et al. 1994). When working with new hires, the trainer/facilitator is not teaching children, but independent adults. Those adults come with a plethora of experiences to share. A workshop format allows those experiences to come forth for discussion and does not stifle the adult learning process. Adults learn best by being allowed to connect the current learning with the previous experiences they have had. Whether in the classroom setting or in the Coffee Lab environment, the new hire will have questions and try to make connections based on previous learning and experience. McKeachie and Svinicki state that when working with adults the trainer/facilitator is to prepare the person for a changing world. Common instructional strategies listed are labs, role-playing, multiple choice, mentoring, small group, class presentations, and readings to name a few. Additionally, some training is placed on the Computer Based Learning modules and the employee will use a personal computer or laptop. Adults can be very self-directed. Not only will this ensure the learner can learn, but it will also ensure a variety to maintain learner interest. Robinson and Udall (2004-05) discuss a framework for learning conversations that will be incorporated into the two-day training sessions. The key features of the intervention recommended which enables learners to initiate conversations about their learning are: 1. Classroom learning has stated outcomes (objectives), which these sessions have. 2. The activities require learners to conduct self-assessments as to whether they have met the requirements during the sessions. A form will be incorporated to allow the learner to self-assess. 3. The students then record on a type of progress report how they are doing throughout the training. The form will include a section for the employee to record their progress. 4. The students record questions they may have through the training on the same form. That same form will be used to record their questions. The above technique was found to achieve a higher learning outcome for the students when utilized as it raised their cognitive level about what they were learning as they were learning it. The Coffee House simulation area is a practice lab only. No coffee will be served to customers yet. Rushing new hires into a live environment can be one of the reasons for excessive turnover. New employees are hired, do not get sufficient training and are placed in front of customers to plod along while they are learning. No one is receiving the ultimate experience when this happens – the employee or the customer. The employee needs to visit a coffee house that is known for following the proper protocols and creating the ambiance the company is looking for. Once that environment is experienced by the employees they will then know what they are attempting to re-create for their customer. The colleagues will be taking what they learned and transferring it over to the workplace immediately. Mathis and Jackson (1991) say this is the most important part of effective training. For training to be effective it must be used as quickly as possible or it will be forgotten. That is why part of the program involves the new hires making a coffee and creating the experience. The goal would be for the employee to make a coffee but to do so in a safe environment rather than a live environment with the pressure of customers, a cash register and the boss being around. Also, by applying what they have learned this reduces the length of their learning curves. Utilizing behavior modeling as described by Mathis and Jackson (1991) and having senior baristas conduct some of the training, the new baristas were able to observe another person carrying out the tasks in a very effective manner. The senior baristas have learned many things through experience that cannot be captured in a manual. Those learning will be transferred through the class and tips and pointers will be invaluable to the new baristas. By providing numerous ready resources to the baristas their performance will also be improved. Rather than scrambling to recreate the wheel each time an orientation session is carried out, the new staff will have a hard copy manual or the electronic version to use as a resource after the two-day session is finished. As various situations present themselves they can look back at the manual and review the solutions to use the answers as needed. Because there will be two complete days of training, there will be time for reinforcement (Mathis and Jackson 1991; Noe et al. 2003). The staff will have time to provide proper positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement if it is necessary. Rather than waiting for the employee to be at work for weeks on end, create a scene with a customer and walk off the job, if things don’t go well, the company will be investing a good amount of time up front to give the employee a sense of what being a barista is really like and the company will get a sense of how that person can handle themselves in the various paces of a day in a coffee house. Along that same concept is the learning idea of immediate confirmation or some refer to it as immediate gratification. In the small groups of 12 – 16, the facilitator/trainer will more than likely be able to see pretty quickly when a learner is doing something well or not so well and can comment immediately. Crossen (2003) interviews Chris Argryis, an expert in learning and organizational theory, and quotes him as saying “People withhold information – they massage it- because they see that as a sign of effective leadership.” By incorporating the leaders and senior baristas into the training program, the program is leveraging the knowledge that is inherent in the minds and hearts of those individuals. In a traditional business setting, those workers may never transfer that knowledge to the new barista in the way that this training will prompt. They may either withhold the information as Argryis points out many leaders to or the situation may not present itself for the employee to share the knowledge. The two-day training session provides that venue to say to the new barista “here is what you need to know and here is what I know that will help you”. Outline the Evaluation Strategy for the Course The evaluation strategy for the course will be three fold. First, there will be a formal final written exam for the new Baristas coming through the learning programme. This is to ensure that the information that is being presented is being properly adopted and understood by the students. The second strategy will be for the students to provide a qualitative assessment by asking them to write down what they think they learned in a free form format. This can be done in the last 15 minutes of the session on the second day on a single sheet of paper. This is a similar technique to Green and Duncan (n.d.) used at the end of this session in the student reflective statement and questions that were answered. If the students write down what they would like to learn at the beginning of the session the trainer could then compare the two to ensure that what they wanted to learn they did indeed learn while they were in the sessions for two days. Thirdly, we can ask for the trainers and managers, leaders that were involved directly to give their impression of the learners’ accomplishments. McKeachie and Svinickie, 2011and Noe et al. 2003 show that when alternate trainers get time with the learners, the learner may share a thought or concern that may not have otherwise been noted. Various training methods will be utilized to ensure a break in method and means to avoid trainee loss of attention. Different people learn via different methods better than other methods, so a variety of methods will ensure learning is maximized (Mathis and Jackson 1991). References Crossan, Mary. 2003. Altering Theories of Learning and Action: An Interview with Chris Argryis, Academy of Management Executive, volume 17, number 2, 40-46. Forrest, Stephen and Peterson, Tim. 2006. It’s Called Andragogy. Academy of Management Learning & Education, volume 5, number 1, 113-122. Green, Norma and Duncan, Fiona. 2009. Introduction to Human Resource Management, School of Management & Law, 1-26. Iltis, Ana. 2005. Values Based Decision Making: Organizational Mission and Integrity, HEC Forum, volume 17, number 1, 6-17. Mathis, Robert and Jackson, John. 1991. Personnel/Human Resource Management. New York, New York: West Publishing Company. McKeachie, Wilbert and Svinicki, Marilla. 2011. McKeachie’s Teaching Tip’s: Strategy, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, Inc. Noe, Raymond, Hollenbeck, John, Gerhart, Barry, and Wright, Patrick. 2003. Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage, London: England: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Oakland, John and Oakland, Susan. 1998. The Links Between People Management, Customer Satisfaction and Business Results, Total Quality Management, volume 9, numbers 4 & 5, S185-S190. Robinson, Alan and Udall, Mark. 2004-05. A Framework for Formative Assessment: Initiating Quality Learning Conversations, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, issue 1, 112 – 115. Senge, Peter, Roberts, Charlotte, Ross, Richard, Smith, Bryan, and Kleiner, Art. 1994. The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization, New York, New York: Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Reflective Statement What have you learnt in the process of completing this assessment? I used to think school or theory as way off of real life, but it seems theory is coming closer to real life. I was able to apply real world experiences to suggested solutions, going back to the literature for confirmation that this was in fact, a wise solution. What helped or hindered your progress? Aspects of this assignment appeared to be more like training and development rather than Human Resource Management, but that is the problem with HRM. It gets muddied up and with some companies it is everything to everybody. There is no distinction. To a large extent, Part two is designing a curriculum or an orientation program, which in many companies would actually fall under the training department advisement. For each section please reflect on whether you are satisfied with your submission or not, if not, why not? I am satisfied with my work. I would not have turned it in otherwise. What would you do differently next time? I would have researched more on training and development ideas and incorporated some fun suggestions into the curriculum. I would think that baristas would be a hard group to retain and anything the trainer can do to make them want to come back for more using humor would be a way to get them to stick around. Make the training relevant to them. What action will you take as a result of what you have learnt while doing this assessment? This was a very comprehensive assignment and I enjoyed the case study. Further actions I will be taking will be to review orientation training for future employers more closely. There are missed opportunities to tie the programs into performance results for the employer. The orientations are too much about getting required paperwork done and not enough about why that person is coming there to work. It takes too long to get them through all the red tape and bureaucratic pieces to get to them really learning the job. Read More