Training Program for Westland Banks Plc: Benefits, Necessity and Practicability of the Program - Assignment Example

 Training program for Westland Banks Plc. The Benefits, necessity & practicability of the program Contents Contents 1 Terms of reference 3 Section 1: The Primary steps 4 Section 2: The Rationale 4 Section 3: Viability of Location and Cost 5 Section 4: Suggested techniques of Evaluation 5 Introduction 6 The Methods and structure 6 The importance of training 7 Rationale 8 Learning Outcomes 8 Rationale for our procedure 9 Rationale for Location 11 ratonale for Methods of Assessment 12 Details of the Course 12 An Introduction to the Structure 12 The Process 13 Evaluation Techniques 15 Works Cited 16 Bibliography 17 Terms of reference Training of staff or employees has become a very crucial part of employee retention; since in this epoch of e - commerce and finance, only the best of the best are able to survive, and therefore to be able to retain any company’s name on the top lists, it is essential that the new and / or old employees keep getting proper training on the latest buzz of the industry and any new techniques. (Phillips, 1987) Within this report we will manage to fulfil the following: Substantiate the importance of a training program in the current scenario. Build a foundation for the proposed training course. The technique, manner, and routine for our training program. We will have covered the following three steps in the training and development process of employees: Communication. Delegation. Conflict management. Endow the Bank’s management with suggested methods of evaluation. To be able to accomplish all of the above mentioned tasks within this report we will be required to divide the report into a number of sections to be able to clearly prove our point. Thus the following sections of the report have been planned and according to these sections we will carry on our project further… Section 1: The Primary steps The first and foremost task is to collect the basic information and make some assumptions which will be necessary for the further development of our training program. According to the officials at Westland Banks Plc. the bank has recently recruited 15 team leaders, so here we will have to make and choose from the following assumptions: 1. The 15 team leaders have been promoted from within the bank itself. 2. The bank has hired freshers and they do not have any previous experience in tackling clients or managing a team. 3. The team leaders are experienced and are hired from other similar companies. Based on the information provided to us the first choice is the most likely one, as there is no mention of “new employees”, instead the term “new leaders” has been used, so that clearly states that our team has already been working for the same bank and all of the 15 employees are promoted from within the bank itself. Section 2: The Rationale Within the second section of this business report we will discuss the foundation or rationale of our purpose which is to train the 15 employees in terms of communication skills, work delegation and conflict management skills. (Greer, 1994) Within this part of our report we will also discuss the cost and the duration of the project. It is to be noted that the duration of the project is to be kept at the most minimal level since once this training program is over, we will be ready to take up other training projects from Westland. Section 3: Viability of Location and Cost Within this section of the report we are to discuss the feasibility of the location and the cost of the project, except for the above mentioned purposes we will also create a time table and work schedule based on the comfortableness of the 15 team leaders as well as the bank officials. Section 4: Suggested techniques of Evaluation Under this section several methods of evaluation will be discussed, whereby, the officials at Westland may check the effectiveness and efficiency of our training methods. This will also enable the bank to prioritize us in other training modules. Introduction The employee training programs came into effective practice since after the World War II. Not only were these programs had gained a superior popularity during that time, but almost all the large scale industries had opted for employee training programs to increase their employee’s efficiency, management, and marketing and communication abilities. (Dinero, 2005) Several management experts had gained immense popularity during that period of time and had managed to attain a distinguished fame by training various executives of companies as freelancers. Some examples of such people could be the time management expert Ivy Lee and entrepreneur Victor Kiam (Bly, 2004); it is the management leaders such as these that had been able to succeed in their gamble of proving the effectiveness of employee training programs. The Methods and structure The rife of such training methods have led to the further development of these methods in terms of communication, teaching techniques and technology. Although several old school methods are still popular such as the famous case study technique and role playing. But with the development of several new techniques such as the TNA (Training Needs Analysis) and Sensitivity training, it has become as easy as ever to create an ideal from a wide of the mark employee. (Gooderl, 2006) Based on our assumptions (please refer to the “Terms of reference” section on Page 3) and the obligation of our situation, we have decided to use several procedures in our training program, starting with the TNA technique, we will move forward with several renowned training techniques, that are bound to increase the efficiency of the employees, which is directly correlated with the success of the organization. The importance of training As we had stated in the previous paragraph that the increase / decrease in the efficiency of employees is directly correlated with the increase in the success / failure ratio of the organization, therefore it is extremely necessary. Training of the employees is not only essential to increase the efficiency of employees, but it has several other advantages also such as: Development of morals and ethics in employees. Better and more effective communication skills. Better capacity to manage stress. Determination to work harder. To get things done in the lowest possible time. Increase in work efficiency (as stated above). Make a better person out of the employees. The feel good factor. Increased confidence levels. Increased faith in the management of company. And many more… Rationale The convolution and intricacy of work load has been constantly increasing on the employees of just about every company in the world that struggles to survive and prosper. Since the work load has increased along with increasing complexities in the employee’s working environment, the necessity of a decent training course has developed. Along with the above mentioned necessities, there are several other internal as well as external affairs that might make it necessary to get your employees trained periodically; such as the change in banking policies, or innovation of newer merchandise or service, or change of employees between departments. The above mentioned factors make it almost necessary to select and work on a great training program that will be able to further develop the employee’s communication skills, delegation skills as well as conflict management techniques. Learning Outcomes The learning outcomes of the employees will be as follows: A. Development of morals and ethics in employees. B. Better and more effective communication skills. C. Better capacity to manage stress. D. Determination to work harder. E. To get things done in the lowest possible time. F. Increase in work efficiency. G. Increased confidence levels. The above mentioned are the basic learning outcomes of our training program. (Cyril Charney, 2005) Except for the above mentioned outcomes, there still remain several other peripheral outcomes such as the generation of respect for the company within the employees. Rationale for our procedure To achieve the above mentioned outcomes we have used many techniques based on the sole discretion of Training needs analysis and the human psychology. The following procedures will be used to achieve the targets: Simulation Case Study Observation Viva Simulation In a simulation situation (also known as Role Playing), the participants try to act or act like they are some one else or in some one else’s position. This enables the chief participant to understand the complexity of situation from the target role model’s situation. This has been proved to be a very effective exercise in case of conflict management and conflict resolution techniques, many psychologists have supported this statement and have proved that this exercise helps understand the problems faced by the second party in any sort of conflict, thus enabling the primary participant of the role playing technique to understand the problems faced by others if they agreed or disagreed to your side of the conflict, which will then enable the conflict to get resolved. (Saunders, 1999) As a matter of fact, role playing or simulation is considered to be the most important exercise of our training program, as it not only helps in conflict resolution (although, it is the best way to resolve conflicts) but it is also effective in other stages of our program such as work delegation and communication skills. The role playing techniques may also be able to judge a man’s character and what others feel about him / her. Case Study Case study is an easy form of survey and judgement, the process of case study doesn’t involve a survey based on a large number of populous, but rather it involves the study of a particular situation, event, or a CASE. That’s where it gets its name from “CASE Study”. It is basically a research strategy, which will be used to fulfil our work delegation development techniques. The Case study technique will also be used for the communication development skills, by providing random client interaction cases in front of the participants. (Chruden & Sherman, 1976) Observation The Observation technique or rather the “demonstration of a new skill” is also necessary as the employees have recently got promoted and now have to accept managerial roles in their work. This will enable them to clearly face the situation when actually pressed upon. (Chruden & Sherman, 1976) Viva / Interview The viva basically means to evaluate the participants, their psychology and behaviour orally. This technique is basically used in the Training needs analysis (TNA) part of the report. The Viva method is also very effective in case of development of communication skills and confidence levels in employees. Although, this technique is most commonly used for evaluating edification standards, rather than managerial standards; but yet, since he time management experts have been using the Oral Viva techniques it has proved very effective, especially in the job interview segment. (Chruden & Sherman, 1976) Rationale for Location Since the bank contains the required infrastructural support such as presentation viewers and meeting space, we will conduct the training program within the bank itself, secondly, we leave that up to the bank to decide whether they would want these sessions to be conducted at another sundry location like a convention centre or a hotel, the decision regarding this matter will be at the sole discretion of the bank and so will be the rental of the space and equipments. ratonale for Methods of Assessment The methods of assessments in this report are based on historic circulation, that is, all of these principles have been used at some point or the other by prominent companies to reshape and develop certain skills within their employees. Details of the Course An Introduction to the Structure As stated in the Introduction section of this report, we will start with the Training Needs Analysis procedure. Once we have successfully analyzed the training needs of individuals at Westland Banks Plc. we will then move forward to designing a training program that will enable us to carry forward our planning in such a manner so that we could achieve all our training targets. Finally, we will move for the evaluation stage that will enable us to evaluate our progress and work. This process may be explained in the following simple diagram: Fig. IV.1. Training Cycle The Process The training needs analysis will be conducted at 2 levels here: Team Level. Individual Level. Duration (3 hours per session, except for Wednesday) Day/Time What Venue Who (if applicable) How Monday & Tuesday / 1:00 p.m. Business Communication In house N/A Simulation / Case Study / Viva Wednesday / 1:00 pm Intro to delegation In house Head of HR Role play Wednesday / 2.30 p.m. Entrustment and deputation In house Head of HR Case Study Thursday / 1:00 p.m. Stress Management & Confidence development In house All marketing execs. Observation / Simulation Friday / 1:00 p.m. Conflict Management In house N/A Observation / Simulation Table IV.1 NOTE: N/A = All the 15 Team Leaders. Cost of the Project The total value of the 15 hour training program is £ 375 / employee. The division of this amount is as follows: Particular (Per Employee / Individual) Cost Training needs analysis £ 50 Business Communication skills development £ 125 Delegation, Entrustment, and deputation £ 75 Stress Management (Will be fully outsourced) £ 25 Conflict management £ 100 TOTAL £ 375 Table IV.2 Therefore, the total amount payable by Westland Banks Plc. will equal £ 375 x 15 (no. of trainees) = £ 5625. As the esteemed executives at Westland must have noticed that the evaluation is on the house, and the charges of TNA are nominal, well this is because of the fact that this is our first deal and we would like to show our worth at the minimal cost of the bank. Also, another particular exercise that the executives must have discovered is that we will be outsourcing the stress management classes. Well... first and foremost, this has been done because we think that hiring professional and renowned psychologists might get the job done in a better and enhanced manner, another factor why we have considered this as a good option is that we have already made contact with Mr. Mentalrational [sham and mocked - up name], the most renowned psychologist in the Warrington region and the winner of many national awards. Location Since the bank contains the required infrastructural support such as presentation viewers and meeting space, we will conduct the training program within the bank itself, secondly, we leave that up to the bank to decide whether they would want these sessions to be conducted at another sundry location like a convention centre or a hotel, the decision regarding this matter will be at the sole discretion of the bank and so will be the rental of the space and equipments. Evaluation Techniques Basically, what needs to be evaluated in our training program is that the target purpose (s) will be achieved or not? Our chief target purposes of the report are: Development of communication skills. Proper delegation of task, with trust and motivation. Conflict resolution and training to handle conflicts. To evaluate the performance by our company, the chief executives at Westland banks Plc. may follow the following steps... (Wigdor & Green, 1991) Interview the 15 team leaders after the course is over. The evaluation of the success of the trainees could be easily evaluated via simulation or via creating various mock conflict situations. Although, the best technique would be to provide the trainees to deal with some tough nut customers. Works Cited Bly, R. W. (2004). Time Management: Make every second count. New York: Jaico Publishing House. Chruden, H., & Sherman, A. (1976). Personnel management. Texas: South - Western. Cyril Charney, K. (2005). The Trainer's Tool Kit . San Francisco: AMACOM Div American Mgmt. Dinero, D. A. (2005). Training Within Industry: The Foundation of Lean . New York: Productivity Press. Gooderl, J. (2006). Small Business Management: An Entrepreneurial Emphasis . Texas: Thomas South Western. Greer, C. R. (1994). Strategy and Human Resources: A General Managerial Perspective. Michigan: Prentice Hall. Phillips, J. J. (1987). Recruiting, Training, and Retaining New Employees: Managing the Transition from College to Work. Tennese: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub. Saunders, D. (1999). Simulation and games for strategy and policy planning . New York: Routledge. Wigdor, A., & Green, B. (1991). Performance Assessment for the Work. Washington: National Academies Press. Bibliography Bly, R. W. (2004). Time Management: Make every second count. New York: Jaico Publishing House. Greer, C. R. (1994). Strategy and Human Resources: A General Managerial Perspective. Michigan: Prentice Hall. Wigdor, A., & Green, B. (1991). Performance Assessment for the Work. Washington: National Academies Press. Read More