Employee Resourcing and Development - Report Example

Employee resourcing and development Employee resourcing is a part of human resource management that is concerned with employee development, reward management, employee relations, human resource planning, recruitment, selection and retention of employees in an organization. Employee resourcing is that constituent of human resource management that deals with obtaining and retaining a workforce with the necessary knowledge, skills, attitudes, and other attributes. It includes the decision that how many employees should be hired and under which employment contract as every organization has different timings and schedules e.g. full-time, part-time, temporary, permanent or contractual. Here we are concerned with employee training and development and training evaluation, which is an extremely important part of employee resourcing. What is training and development? Training and development is a process dealing primarily with transferring or obtaining knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to carry out a specific activity or task. Training processes model Overview of training process Need analysis phase When a particular training need is identified, a training program may be developed to address that need. A performance deficiency would be indicated such as low profitability, these deficiencies reflect the current state of the organization. Once performance deficiencies are identified, the cause must be determined. In this process data is gathered and analyzed to determine problems, and then these problems are addressed. Design phase In this process training is designed and programs are developed to facilitate learning and the transfer of learning. It also identifies factors needed in the training program to facilitate the learning, including identification of alternative methods of instructions. Development phase Program development is the process of formulating and instructional strategy to meet a set of training objectives. It focuses on order, timing and combination of elements to be used in the training program. The specific content, instructional methods, materials, equipment and media, manuals and facilities are considered in this phase. Implementation phase Actual training is provided in this stage. Evaluation phase There are two types of evaluations: Process evaluation is a determination of how well a particular process achieved its objectives. Logical rather than statistical analysis is used for this type of evaluation. Collecting and analyzing processed data can provide early warning of potential problems in the training program. Outcome evaluation is conducted at the end of training to determine the effects of training on the trainee, on the job and the organization using training objectives as the standard. It can also be used to improve training process. Outcome evaluation data by itself does not provide enough information for program improvement, but in combination with process evaluation data it serves as a powerful tool for improving programs. Training Evaluation: Evaluation means to measure the results of a process. Whenever you make a decision or perform an activity, evaluation is must to check whether the system is working properly or needs any rectification in the process. Same is the case with training and development process. Providing training is not an easy task, it takes a lot of effort, time and money to identify the training needs of workforce, then design the training program and then implement the results. So it is absolutely necessary to evaluate the results of training and find out what the employees learnt. What actually you need to evaluate out of the training is the learning that the trainees achieved. You need to evaluate that whatever was taught in training session, was it understandable by the trainees? Did they understand its importance? Are they ready to implement it on their jobs? What results are achieved after the application of learning on the jobs? Did the performance of employees improve after the training session? Kirkpatrick’s four levels of evaluation model The four levels of Kirkpatricks evaluation model essentially measure: Reaction- is the measures of the trainee’s perceptions, emotions and subjective evaluations of the training experiences. They represent the first level of evaluation and are important because favorable reactions create motivation to learn. Learning outcomes– are measured by how well the learning objectives and the overall training objective were achieved. The type of measurement used will depend on the measurement technology available to the evaluator and the type of learning being evaluated. Job behavior outcomes- are similarly measured in a manner consistent with training need analysis. It is the extent of behavior and capability improvement and implementation or application. Organizational results – are the effects on the business or environment resulting from the trainees performance. All these measures are recommended for full and meaningful evaluation of learning in organizations, although their application broadly increases in complexity, and usually cost. Training Evaluation and Feedback Form, based on Kirkpatricks Learning Evaluation Model  Kirkpatrick’s four levels of training evaluation level evaluation type (what is measured) evaluation description and characteristics Measures Methodology 1 Reaction Reaction evaluation- how the trainees felt about the training or learning experience. Training evaluation forms Surveys or questionnaires. Quick and very easy to obtain. Not expensive to gather or to analyze. 2 Learning Learning evaluation- the measurement of the increase in knowledge - before and after. Assessments or tests before and after the training. Interview or observation can also be used. Relatively simple to set up Less easy for complex learning. 3 Behavior Behavior evaluation- implementation of learning on the job Observation and interview over time are required to assess change, relevance of change, and sustainability of change. Measurement of behavior change typically requires cooperation and skill of line-managers. 4 Results  Results evaluation-the effect on the business or environment by the trainee. By checking the increase in productivity, efficiency and improved job satisfaction by performance evaluation. Complex to obtain result but must for the betterment of organization.  Why is training evaluation necessary? Good management practice dictates that organizational activities be routinely examined to ensure that they are occurring as planned and are producing the anticipated results. Otherwise people, processes and products or services that stray ‘off track’ are provided with no means of getting back on. It also helps to determine any flaws in the training design which are felt by the trainees. They can mention it and the trainer can overcome these flaws in the next session and can come up with more conducive and interesting methods of training. To make sure that whatever is being delivered in the training is learnt and implemented on the jobs by the employees and improved performance is achieved as a result of this process. What should be evaluated? What actually we need to evaluate is the reaction of the employees towards the training. We need to evaluate the following things: Were training needs diagnosed correctly? Were all objectives identified? Was the instructional strategy easily understandable by all trainees? Was the training an interesting and learning event for the trainees? Are they ready to follow the new learning on their jobs? We actually need to evaluate what the trainees’ reaction was towards the training, because most of the time the trainees feel that training is a waste of time where they learn nothing new and whatever is delivered has nothing to do with their jobs. Trainee resistance towards the training is not a new thing. Employees want to use the old and obsolete methods of work on their job and resist in adopting new methods of learning. So it is absolutely necessary to realize this fact and before anything, make the trainees aware that training is absolutely necessary for them to keep themselves updated on their jobs. Tools and methods used in evaluation: • Audience surveys • Focus groups • Computer-based laboratory testing • Development of training materials from brochures to videos • Field studies • Statistical analyses • Education and curriculum development Stake holders involved in training evaluation: Trainer Training manager Trainees supervisor Upper management Department manager All these stake holders are interested in obtaining information regarding training evaluation because they want to see the results of the training, whether the trainee has actually learnt something or the effort was a waste. After the evaluation these stakeholders come up with an overall view of the training and find out what could be done to improve it and make it more effective next time. How to gather evaluation data? To gather evaluation data, several methods could be used. Survey Method: The best and the popular one is to give training evaluation forms to the trainees. This method is known as the survey method. It is used to find out what was the impact of training on the employees. However it has a drawback that it is time consuming and most trainees doesn’t feel that filling forms is important. So they don’t take it seriously so responses are usually false. One more disadvantage is that, trainees don’t give negative responses in forms as they think it will be treated as a document proof to threaten their job at any time. A sample training evaluation form is attached below. TRAINING EVALUATION FORM 1. Trainee’s Name: 2. Trainee’s Designation: 3. Training Department: 4. Course Title: 5. Date & Duration: 6. Venue: 7. Medium of instruction (language): 8. Nature of the training: Skills [ ] Knowledge [ ] Other attributes [ ] Training Objectives and Course Contents: a. Please check to what extent you agree or disagree with the following statements as they relate to this training program: Strongly agreed Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Objectives of this program adequately met. Subject matter was appropriate for your background & experience. Training will greatly assist you in your profession / area of work. Program duration was adequate to cover all material. Training institution’s staff was helpful & supportive. Trainer has good presentation skill/style, knowledge and grip over the subject. b. How would you plan or in what way will you apply the benefits from the course when you return to your work place: (in detail) Overall Rating: Poor Average Satisfactory Very Good Excellent General Comments, ( if any): Interviews: interviews with participants (trainees) are an easy and convenient method of gaining information about the training. But however it has a drawback that many trainees are hesitant and doesn’t give true information. But an advantage is that, probing could be used and face to face feedback is much more effective than any other method used. Direct observation: this method is used frequently when trainees and managers observe the participant and want to record the performance change. But however nobody can realize what is going on in employee’s mind so results achieved are not very accurate. But on the other hand, in some cases it is a useful technique to observe changed behavior in job. Not to forget an easy n cheap method to use. Evaluation phase takes place when training is provided to trainees and the trainer or the manager wants to have a feedback of what was the impact of training on employees In the process of evaluation we must consider and make decisions regarding what training techniques could be used in future and which ones to be abandoned. Which learning programs should be continued and what amendments could be made. Hence it is a process which is performed for the betterment of the organizational training. In the first stage evaluation phase we have the input stage in which we decide what are our objectives of evaluation and what we want to achieve. In the process stage we design a strategy to evaluate the training. In this stage we design surveys forms, interview questionnaires and other techniques to be used in the evaluation process In the output stage we measure the results that are achieved after the training. We are actually measuring the employees reaction and behavior and what learning they have made from the training process. Sources http://www.jrank.org/business/pages/470/employee-resourcing.html http://www.businessballs.com/trainingprogramevaluation.htm www.ispcan.org/ITPI/MDP/7.Training%20Evaluation%20Form.doc http://www.businessballs.com/kirkpatricklearningevaluationmodel.htm http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/Training/ http://www.wikipedia.com http://www.google.com http://www.bu.edu/hr/glossary/STU/ http://www.bized.co.uk http://humanresources.about.com/od/training/Training_Development_and_Education_for_Employees.htm Effective training (system, strategies and practices) by P.Nick Blanchard & James W.Thacker Human resource management by Gary Dessler Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision in Business by Carter McNamara Read More