Review of HR Planning Article Titled Consider Outsourced Training - Essay Example

H R planning Review of HR Planning Article Consider Outsourced Training Based on the Textbook Strategic Human Resources Planning, 5th Canadian Edition Introduction In today’s competitive business environment, organizations must strive to retain the best personnel their industries have to offer if they are to remain in business(Bates, 2014). To this end, an organization must always be on the lookout for new talent and harness it as soon as it becomes available. The organization will do well to retain their best employees. However, by itself, retention is inadequate. The organization must continually refresh the knowledge and sharpen the skills of their employees. It is at this point that employee training comes in handy. This paper reviews an article titled Consider Outsourced Training that was published on Workforce, an online HR magazine, on December 23, 2014. The analysis is based on Part II of Strategic Human Resources Planning, 5th Canadian Edition titled HR Planning. Summary of the Article The article under review outlines several factors that an organization must consider when outsourcing the training of their human resources(Srivastava, 2014). These factors are summarized below: 1. Analyze the organization and the industry within which it operates: The author of the article argues that different companies operating in different industries have different training needs. For instance, there are firms operating in highly dynamic industries such as electronic manufacturing. For such firms, it is paramount that employees stay abreast as far as industry innovations are concerned. Otherwise, they risk getting stuck in outdated technologies that would ultimately lead to the firm losing their competitive edge. 2. Identify a specialized training firm that meets the needs of the organization:Whereas there will be several potential service providers, the organization must do due diligence to ensure that they settle on a service that possesses the needed competencies. 3. Consider the mode of training:besides conventional classroom-based training, today increasingly more and more training programs are delivered online. The mode of training an employer settles on should be informed factors such as the nature of the work of the employees. 4. Sign a well-thought contract:A carefully thought and drafted agreement safeguards the interests of the parties involved. In addition, the agreement will minimize the possibility of conflicts by specifying the rights and obligations of each partner. 5. Consider the advantages of outsourced training besides saving money: Besides helping the organization save money, outsourced training helps the organization to free up some time. That time can be invested in the core activities of the organization. Summary of the Textbook Topic that Corresponds to the Article The authors of the textbook concur that while training is not a core activity of the organization, it is important to the organization and staff for several reasons(Belcourt , McBey, Yap, & Hong, 2013). First, regular training is crucial to ensuring that employees stay up to date with the necessary knowledge and skills to perform their work efficiently. However, they are quick to add that staff training can only be meaningful and effective if it is well-planned and deployed. A well-planned training program involves the affected employees throughout. That way, it is possible for the HR department to identify the felt training needs of employees. Employees who are convinced that the training program meets their needs. Otherwise, training that is imposed on employees is ineffective and counter-productive. Besides increasing employee productivity, staff training is vital in ensuring smooth succession in management. Foresighted managers know that they will be at the helm of the organization only for a limited period. Soon, they will leave the organization, which must continue to operate long after they have left. The authors argue that succession in management is smoother where new managers are sourced from among the employees of the firm as opposed to outside the firm(Belcourt, McBey, Yap, & Hong, 2013). They also argue that the best way managers can train their juniors for succession by letting them learn on the job. Training on the job requires that a manager delegates work to their subordinate. However, the delegated work must be accompanied with the authority to execute it. The authors of the textbook identify outsourcing as a major trend in the training of employees(Belcourt, McBey, Yap, & Hong, 2013). Outsourcing confers on the outsourcing organization several benefits. First, outsourcing training is more cost-effective than hiring and retaining an in-house team of trainers. Secondly, while training is important in enhancing employee productivity, it is a non-core activity that takes valuable time off the core activities of the organization. Thus, by outsourcing training, the firm frees their valuable time that they can spend on their core activities such as producing products for sale. Finally, an established, specialized HR consultancy is better placed to develop and deliver high-quality content that is current than an in-house training team. Analysis of the Article The article implies that if a training program is to be effective and successful, HR managers must plan beforehand(Srivastava, 2014). Otherwise, the program is likely to fail to achieve the intended results. There is practical difficulty in finding an external trainer whose specialization and experience meet the needs of the organization. The process will require the client organization to invite potential service providers to bid for the jobs. Next, the organization must get down to the business of selecting the best candidate based on such factors as the ability to deliver and the cost of delivering the service. The process is a lengthy one. Thus, where the manager treats employee training as an after-thought, they cannot treat the process with the thoroughness it deserves. The article also implies that a deep level of thought goes into the whole process of designing and implementing an outsourced training program, not just at the stage of sourcing a trainer. For instance, the contract signed between the organization and the service provider must be well-thought if employees are to get the most out of the training. Given that a HR practitioner wrote the article under review and that the ideas they put forward resonate with the principles set out in the textbook, one may conclude that best practice is being adhered to. The textbook identifies outsourcing training as a major trend and best practice in employee training. Similarly, the author of the article identifies the same trend. On the flipside, both the article and the textbook seem to have taken a rather narrow perspective of the concept of outsourcing. First, both see the benefits of outsourcing from the point of view of the organization. While it is true that outsourcing training saves the organization money, it likely that there are benefits that accrue to individual employees. Srivastava alluded to this fact when they stated that more benefits that can be derived from outsourcing training, other than saving money. In addition, both sources appear oblivious of the fact that external training is only a part the several services that the organization outsources and that the procurement function of the organization plays a major role in the process(Bates , 2014). Conclusion From the analysis of the article, it appears that harmony exists between the principles of HR planning as set out in the textbooks and the practice of HRM. The match between theory and practice augurs well for HRM both as a discipline and a profession. This match ought not to come as a surprise. The concept of outsourcing is a well-understood and largely accepted one among organizations, both profit-making and non-profit. The findings of a more obscure concept would no doubt be more interesting. Meanwhile, employee training remains a vital strategy for competitiveness and the practice of outsourcing training is likely to persist(Bates, 2014). References Bates, R. (2014). Improving human resources for health planning in developing economies. Human Resource Development International, 17(1) 88-97. Belcourt, M., McBey, K., Yap, M., & Hong, Y. (2013). Strategic Human Resources Planning, 5th Canadian Edition. Nelson Education. Srivastava, N. (2014, December 23). Consider Outsourced Training. Retrieved from Workforce.com: http://www.workforce.com/articles/21007-consider-outsourced-training Read More