The Differences between on-the-Job Training and off-the-Job Training - Essay Example

Introduction Training and development have recently been considered to be effective managerial and strategic efforts that can help organizations create value as well as deal with competitive challenges. As business contexts and workplace environments change rapidly, organizations tend to adapt to the changes and this has brought major changes in the way employees are treated, trained and developed in the organizations. Organizations that spend much on innovative training and developments are observed as achieving high performance working as well as gaining better financial advantages (Noe, 2002). Training and development helps a company meet its competitive advantages because employees’ ability to work well will be a major factor in determining whether a company can meet its business. Customers demand high quality products and services and therefore it is imperative that employees must be able to understand how to monitor and bring high quality goods or services in order to meet customers’ requirements. This can be achieved through ongoing training and development designed by the company to help employees bring better results. This research paper examines the importance of on-the-job training and off-the-job training practices and outlines the advantages of both of these methods. This paper also details the differences between these two types of training and analyses the circumstances in which each of on-the-job training or off-the-job training are more appropriate. On-the-job Training Learning occurs not only while people are in the classroom, but also while performing a particular job or while getting in to specific incident or experiences. On-the-job training refers to the training offered to the employees at their workplace. Skilled and experienced employers or experts guide trainees in practicing specific job skills at the workplace environments. Lawson (1997) defined on-the-job training as “a structured process conducted at employee’s work-area to provide the employee with the knowledge and skills to perform job tasks” (p. 2). It is described as a process that helps employees gain increased competencies and high performing skills. On-the-job training is a method of learning by doing in which trainees are requested to perform a task on a machine, workshop or a laboratory so that his performance can be well measured and evaluated by the trainer so as to help him correct it and develop himself further. The success of this training depends on the availability of experts and suitability of the work as well as workplace. Bohlander and Snell (2007) described that on-the-job is one of the most poorly implemented training method even though it is used by almost all types of organizations worldwide. The on-the-job training is poorly implemented because of:- 1) Lack of well structured training environments, 2) Poor training skills of managers and trainers, and 3) The lack of well defined job performance criteria (p. 308). These general difficulties and problems can be overcome if managers can develop realistic organizational goals, plan specific schedules for the training programs, structure periodic evaluation, find most talented and skilled experts for training etc. Even though some organizations fail to conduct effective on-the-job training due to the above mentioned reasons, it is generally often considered to be most effective because of a number of advantages. Advantages of On-the-job Training As training is conducted at the work site, it has more relevance to the employee. The employee can understand the work and process from doing and it will be more effective than classroom learning or theoretical analysis as learning by doing is psychologically more useful than the other methods. Following are the advantages of on-the-job training. Cost: On-the-job training is relatively less expensive because, training is conducted while employees are at work, and they are doing a specific work, and therefore the company doesn’t need to spend much on the training program expect the expenses that may be incurred in arranging experts. Time: The on-the-job training is comparatively better because, the company doesn’t need to spend more time on specific classroom learning program because the training is conducted during the time of manufacturing or machine works and employees are indulged with works. The production process can be continued unhindered. No special facilities and equipments: In classroom learning, trainers may require specific tools, equipments and additional facilities that cause increased expenses as well as more risks for the company (Arthur, 2005, p. 249). Immediate practice: The trainee can practice what he has learned immediately because on-the-job training is learning by doing and doing along with learning. For instance, an employee who is being trained in a Chocolate blending process can practice blending it while he learns. Motivation: One of the major benefits of on-the-job training is that it is moreover a tool for motivating the employees. Employees who are provided training at their workplace feel that they are better helped by management in order to develop them and become high performing employees (Arthur, 2005, p. 249). Difficult situation remains in the learning time too: Arthur (2005) emphasized that any unusual or difficult situation that are likely to be present in the job will be present during the training time also. This also helps trainer or employer recognize the difficulties and risks associated with specific task that an employee has to do. Better relation between trainer and trainee: As employees learn from doing and trainers help them in doing the task, there can be closer relation between trainer and trainee or employer and employee. Suitable circumstances of on-the-job training Most of the jobs related with manufacturing and machine works are appropriate for conducting on-the-job training. According to Lawson (1997), it is estimated that around 80 % or more of all critical work skills is acquired from on-the-job trainings (p. 4). The appropriateness of the on-the-job training can be well examined only if various forms of on-the-job training are detailed. It is because; the appropriateness may be different for different forms of on-the-job training method. On-the-job training includes apprenticeship and internship. Apprenticeship is a work study training that is designed to teach job skills through a combination of on the training and off-the-job training. Internship is an on-the-job training sponsored by educational institution as a part of academic program. The sponsoring school or college may work with employers to place students in those positions where they can get experiences (Noe, Hollnebeck and Gerhart, 2003, p. 215). Apprenticeship training is more appropriate for carpenter, electrician, plumber, printer and welder etc. whereas internship is suitable to jobs of accountants, doctors, journalists and Lawyers etc. Off-the-job training Off-the-job training is a process by which training is offered to the employees away from the workplace. The main form of the off-the-job training is classroom learning and training. Experienced trainers and skilled managers or academic institutions may conduct training program in order to make employees learn about the process and procedure of a specific task or the way the job is done. It is the method of learning theoretically and not by doing and hence many regard is less effective than on-the-job training. In today’s changing contexts, classroom learning also has been well advanced with the help of innovation and technologies or software assisted learning practices and therefore off-the-job training can be more effective if these advances can be utilized. For example, in order to train employees to work in a manufacturing machine, classroom training can be offered with the help of computer programs and vides that can show detailed process of machine use. In the off-the-job training or classroom learning, the trainer uses various tools of oral questioning, lecturing, group discussing and so on. Most trainers use power point slides and video clips to assist class room learning. The off-the-job training can also be conducted with teleconferencing and video conferencing facilities. As discussed earlier, on-the-job training can be used as a tool by which employers can evaluate the skills and performance of the employees, but it is not the case in off-the-job training. In on-the-job training, the location of the learners will affect because when the learner are distributed nationally or internationally, as in the case of a multinational company, and therefore a centralized training and development program will be more effective. In such cases, instead of on-the-job training, many firms choose off-the-job training (Rae, 1997, p. 98). Time constraint is one of the major challenges in conducting off-the-job training because both trainers and trainees have to arrange different time for the training program and they may not get involved in the production process during that time. As compared to training environments and its structures, training skills of trainers and job performance structures, off-the-job training is comparatively better tool for training. Advantages of off-the-job training Advantage of learning environment: When employees are free from background noises of manufacturing and other sounds, employees can think freely and concentrate more on the lessons being discussed. Employees will be able to think freely and thus to bring newer ideas if the environment in which they are learning is calm and quiet. Cost effectiveness: Off-the-job training can be considered to be cost effective in a way that offering training to a large number of employees will be cheaper than providing on-the-job training to each and every employee at different locations and different times and with different task or jobs (Rae, 1997, p. 100). Freedom from the interruption and pressure of works: On-the-job training is a difficult situation for employees in most organizations because they feel interrupted and they will be under pressures of trainers and employers. But in off-the-job training, employees are free from pressures, disturbances and pressures from trainers (Rae, 1997, p. 100). Group learning: A group of people with similar learning needs can be brought together for learning events in the classroom learning practice. (Rae, 1997, p. 100). Methods: There is large number of effective training and learning methods like lecturing, discussions, assessments, evaluations, questioning, software assisted learning practices etc. Using different methods can be effective for different types of jobs or depending on the nature of the jobs (Rae, 1997, p. 100). Knowledge development opportunities: An off-the-job training is a better opportunity where employees are able to share their knowledge and thus human resource management can ensure better knowledge management practice within the organization. Group learning is a process where employees with more experience may meet with less experienced, or more skilled with less skilled and this may helps share their knowledge and transfer from one to another. For example, older employees may have more knowledge and this can be transformed to the younger workers through off-the-job training programs. Additional information: Learners have opportunity to clarify aspects of learning that they may not be able to understand or they require additional information on that (Rae, 1997, p. 100). Better evaluation: Trainers can evaluate trainees and make sure whether they learned what was trained to them in a better way because a number of tools can be used to evaluate their understanding. Better relation between employees; On-the-job training helps to maintain better relationship between trainer and trainee, but in the case of off-the-job training, many employees and coworkers are met together, may be from different locations and different branches, and they will come to closer relationship among them. Suitable circumstances for off-the-job training Classroom learning, computer based training and audiovisual training are some of the methods of off-the-job training. All these methods are most appropriate for service sectors like education, insurance and banking etc. Employees or students are learning knowledge related to process, service etc. Off-the-job training will be better for banking, for instance, because a number of procedures regarding deposits, accounts and credits are to taught. Similarly, insurance policies, principles and legal procedures are to be explained to the employees and for this purpose off-the-job training will be more effective than on-the-job training. Conclusion This piece of research work outlines basic differences between on-the-job training and off-the-job training and examines advantages of each of these methods. On-the-job training is cost effective, time saving and helpful to motivate employees, whereas off-the-job training is useful for maintaining employee relation and to provide knowledge development opportunities. On the job training is appropriate for both service and manufacturing companies, whereas off the job training is more appropriate for service companies that need more explanations of policies or procedures involved to the employees. References Arthur D (2005), Managing Human Resources in Small & Mid-Sized Companies, Second edition, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn Bohlander G. W and Snell S (2007), Managing human resources, fourteenth illustrated edition, Cengage Learning Lawson K (2007), Improving on-the-job training and coaching, American Society for Training and Development Noe R.A and Hollenbeck J.R (2004), Fundamentals of Human Resource management, McGraw Hill Irwin Noe R.A (2002), Employee training and Development, McGraw Hill Irwin Rae L (1997), Planning and designing training programmes, illustrated edition, Gower Publishing, Ltd Read More