Training The Front-Line Employment - Assignment Example

Training The Front-Line Employment How is training used in front-line employment and what are the implications of this for workers and employers? Discuss with reference to relevant theories on skills. Introduction In this competitive world of business and economics senior executives and managers demand more from their front-line managers than considered. Therefore, the low level of satisfaction is a result of the way front-line managers operate and how the hierarchy and the organizational structure is created which results in adequate training. One simply cannot blame the employees for having lesser skill set because the changing trends of the organization demand respective adjustments and learning from workers. Therefore, training the front-line workers is becoming a highly discussed and a critical feature of corporate management. Training front-line employees requires empowering the front-line managers so that they can make decisions, anticipate problems and customize operations that work in the best interests of the company. This area of corporate management is highly untapped and misunderstood because of the way it has been handled in the history. Most of the companies have not reached the epitome of enabling front-line management so that they focus on tasks that truly matter and making the company operations more productive. The front-line managers are merely stuck in performing assigned tasks, consuming time in identifying and fixing problems. Their energies and skills remain engaged in confronting the unexpected everyday challenges. Different theories have evolved over the years as to how to train front-line employees. The nature of the industry and the corporate goals determine which version or theory a company adopts. Main Body Theoretical grounding Skills, control, and front-line work When referring to front-line workers the medium of work means what is typically worked on during the course of completing the assigned tasks. Therefore, this medium includes materials such as the ones used in the traditional production process, people (especially the service personnel), information (such as in clerical work and information flow in an organization), or knowledge (scientific professional work). Working refers to the activity or the process that includes several media; knowledge, creativity and skills to complete a task. Contemporary production workers and front-line employees share a common aspect of information technology as a crucial and empirical work medium. There are many types of work that organizations need done on front lines of the operations. To cater for these needs, an organization needs front-line employees to have the adequate skills. For instance, in the industrial era the majority of work was closely related to manufacturing. Production work was associated with machines producing different objects. The front-line employment training used to work in such a way that a person would be trained in a specific skill such as connecting the door with the body of the car. This task was repetitive, and the worker would be extremely skilled in only one task. Hence, it is obvious that every task demands different levels of control. Not every skill set can be treated like the rest. Moreover as time has progressed the changes in the industry and economics have also transformed the level of control that the managers have on the front-line employees. Front-line work: 1) Meaning, types, and nature To understand the company operations in simple terms there is a back end and a front end in an organization. The front-line work means that is in closer proximity (or close connection) with the customers. For instance, making policies and company guidelines at the top management level is not front-line work. Even the production work is not considered strictly front-line. For instance unlike production workers the front-line workers regularly interact with customers (Frenkel et al., 1999). Their relations with the customers, which has been referred to as "the moment of truth" (Carlzon, 1987) is crucial because the front-line workers intercede with the customers on behalf of the organization (Frenkel et al., 1999). The types of front-line works cannot be categorized into simply one or two classes. Every organization will have different front-line operations and employees. For instance, a manufacturing company would have a different team with distinct skill set compared to a services company handling electric bills, configuration of taxes or managing health insurance over the phone providing services to the customer. 2) Skills needed (e.g. emotional/aesthetic) and justification The company needs to train its front-line employees in different skill set that require emotional and aesthetic intelligence and potential. For instance, the contact center industry requires extreme tolerance and patience level coupled with empathetic ability to put the CSR (Customer Services Representative) into the customers’ shoes to understand their problem. Simply regurgitating the protocol or the guidelines is never going to solve the problem of the customer. Emotional intelligence is the key to operating a successful call center industry. Hence, a service oriented company specifically trains people in handling difficult customers and scenarios where the time is short, and they have to resolve the customers problem while remaining patient and polite. This type of training is justified because the customers call such company and expect to be treated politely with a competent agent and expect to resolve their issue. Skills and control (theoretical grounding) There are many theories surrounding the skill training and control management of front-line employees. What makes a theory relevant is the goals that an organization has outlined for that particular task. These goals usually correlate with the mainstream company vision and mission. For instance, the open systems perspective is the most commonly used in the technology industry (Chau & Tam, 1997) because it aids in productivity. The relevance of theories is judged by scenario. An organization might be considered as a framework, control systems, or open systems by the organization scholars (Frenkel et al., 1999). The open systems have gained popularity in the recent years and due to this recognition the open systems in organizational computing has made an important to understand the key features of adopting it. The only problem with this perspective is its inability to provide adequate stability for an organization to rely on the system (Chau & Tam, 2000). It is a sort of responsive training system which needs to be consistently modified and require spontaneous problem-solving. Similarly, the skilling debate is also highly discussed in training front-line employees. Jos Benders (1995) discusses this issue that pessimistic and optimistic views on developing skill structure varies a lot. And in this debate three different positions are found; 1) Downgrading or deskilling 2) Upgrading a upscaling 3) Polarization In organizational sociology the widespread support is for coupling the so-called output characteristics and organizational structure (Benders, 1995). This is usually referred to as the contingency argument. But a better approach would be to distinguish the output characteristics for instance, the volume of output and the complexity should distinguish the characteristics (Benders, 1995). The management influences the routes through which the strategic intentions are carried out. Specific orientation towards the organization and its control on the labor processes are governed by these managerial strategies. Therefore, the strategies establish a corporate parameters for the labour processes (Child, 1988). Hence, the relevancy of theories depends on the different organizational goals. A company would research an empirical study that resonates with its mainstream goals. It can then modify it to suit its needs. Nominally identical performances might conceal different strategies (Darrah, 1992). Studies have suggested through consensus and survey that actual patterns and trends in the skill distribution of jobs are more complex than the ‘deskilling’ or ‘upgrading’ theses would explain (Darrah, 1992). The 60s and the 70s are marked with skill content of the labor force that grew at an unprecedented rate, which was a result of the expansion of new middle-class professionals, technical people and managers (Myles, 1988). These patterns within the working class occupations turned out to be more ambiguous because the estimates that were based on consensus distribution of occupations ranked by skill sets indicated a monotonic pattern of upgrading (Myles, 1988). The survey results of early 80s suggests a split labor market for skill sets in the job (Myles, 1988). History tells that the changes in the skilled distribution resulted from a shift in the employment from production of goods to the production of services. In the future, however, changes will occur largely within the service sector because currently this is an area where most jobs are located. An example is Canadas economy where the service economy like the American economy is marked by a distinctly bifurcated skill distribution. Having said that, the comparative studies suggest that this is "contingent rather than a necessary feature of the postindustrial economy" (Myles, 1988), which is a product of the political and market forces. Empirical studies and discussion The management literature suggests that the managers need to recognize front-line roles that are the strategic asset of the company. Recognition of job content and relations with the immediate supervisor is a good indicator of this vision of recognizing front-line roles (Korczynski et al., 1996). The long-term debate about the direction of skill trends has taken a central stage in the economic sociology, however, the virtual absence of relevant representative data has remained a question of concern. While there is little evidence of extensive deskilling a marked tendency towards polarization of skills in the 1980s is undeniable (Gallie, 1991). It is very difficult to take one side and defeat the other by saying that one skill set or training approach is better for front-line employees. As it has been the thesis of this paper that the organizational goals (that also vary in different situations and timings) determine the training skill approach. The skills that employers require are ever changing, and the soft skills are replacing the technical ones. The new skills have polarized the workforces. For instance, the highly skilled computer professionals have an advantage because soft skills give them an additional dimension to shine and prove their abilities (Grugulis & Vincent, 2009). While, on the other hand, the benefits caseworkers with intermediate skills were at a great disadvantage because the soft skills were offered as an alternative to technical competence. In an experiment about the outsourced public sector work it was discovered that women caseworkers suffered a double penalty because their technical skills were discovered to be devalued, moreover, many were considered to be traditionally feminine and unskilled when they offered services at the reception desk (Grugulis & Vincent, 2009). The soft skills have aided the acknowledgment of womens skills, but they have done nothing to increase their value (Grugulis & Vincent, 2009). Simply investing in the soft skills for the front line employees might not be the best strategy. Analysis of Empirical studies The frequently categorized low skills have made it obligatory to recognize the fact that skills-bundling in services (like hospitality), cannot be seen only in terms of technical attributes of work (Baum, 2006). In other words, aesthetic and emotional dimensions have greatly added to the service skills bundle. This added dimension of Pine and Gilmores experience economy referred to a further component within this bundle, which is the experience skills (Baum, 2006). The learning demands of the population sector brought up in a Western modern environment, are comparatively small and primarily reflect the strongly Americanized operating culture of hospitality (Baum, 2006). Moreover, those people working in hospitality in the most developed countries have been facing this sector as both consumers as well as employees. A strange contrast exists where employees in international hospitality in the less developed countries do not have the same benefits of experience. This is shown either though general acculturation or in the consumers of hospitality services (Baum, 2006). Such divergent experience profile brings significant implications for the skilled demands of hospitality work and therefore results in the proposition that experience bears critical importance for determining the skills demands in the hospitality industry. This factor leads to the supposition that the experimental intelligence (ExQ) is an indicator for this difference in terms of workplace skill set (Baum, 2006). This shows how different skill sets emerge and how the industry demands improvement and variability in them. Comparisons between empirical studies and between different types of front-line work The book On the Frontline: Organization of Work in the Information Economy lists ideal types of work environments with which examination can be carried out for similarities and differences in the forms of work organization. These conceptual constructions act as benchmarks for exploring variations in the elements of work organization and to examine them in greater detail. The ideal types are precipitated from an inference process from empirical data and deduction from theory, relating to relative costs and benefits of various forms of work organization under different conditions and complexities (Frenkel et al. 1999. p. 27). Therefore, it is safe to state that any consensus in different work organization literature aside, the changes occurring in the workplace undermine the effectiveness of bureaucratic organizations. The justification for this argument is that the work is becoming more complex because of customization and high labour costs (Frenkel et al. 1999. p. 27). The introduction of information technology coupled with a reduction in the demand for lower skilled jobs and the ever increasing demand for jobs with higher competence levels are reshaping the skills that employers require in the front-line of work. Workers are generally encouraged to become more customer focused "under conditions of intense market competition" (Frenkel et al. 1999. p. 27), which brings to the natural conclusion that employers cannot simply rely on standardized work processes or directly controlling through supervisors. Moreover, the uncertain product markets as well as the survival of firms in their current form makes it very difficult for employers to assure employment security and career progress. In conclusion, the environmental instability and innovation have taken the driving seat of advanced societies, the cost of bureaucratic organization no longer drives the front-line employees training. Hence, these combination of influences stimulate the growth of alternative organizational structures. For instance, the network structure is an alternative of the traditional structure where organizations are labeled as knowledge intensive (KI). The reason for this title is the creation or the processing of knowledge holds central importance and drives all organizational behaviors (Frenkel et al. 1999). At the work organizational level, the highlight is the occupational specialization and lateral relations. Peer interaction does occur in teams that are governed by divergent and convergent cycles of knowledge creation as well as shared understandings and routines (Frenkel et al. 1999). The long-term relationships with clients hold critical importance in developing feasible and acceptable solutions. Moreover commitment and trust among peers, managers and clients instead of short-term contracts or strict hierarchy of controls, form the foundations for achieving goals. Interpretation of Theories The network structure has comparatively porous boundaries because resources are mixed and matched. This strategy is usually carried out in the form of temporary projects where the aim is on resolving diverse problems. The individual and organizational learning assumes significance because innovation demands rapid continuous and systematic extensions whereas the diffusion of current knowledge and skills remains intact because it needs to be there to successfully meet or preempt the emerging marketing developments. The level of work uncertainty influences the nature of work organization. Because the uncertainty is related to work complexity, more routine service work is amenable to bureaucratic (B) form of organization. In addition, more complex sales work is likely to be categorized according to the entrepreneurial (E) model. On the contrary, the knowledge work which is the most complex type of work is organized along network lines or the knowledge intensive (KI) arrangement. In the KI (Knowledge Intensive) organization, the management relies heavily on the knowledge and competencies of individuals as collectivities. This is the same case as with Mintzbergs adhocracy and black letters communication intensive organization (Frenkel et al. 1999). Because individuals are the main strategic resource and therefore they are not easily substitutable, employees in KI organizations receive favorable treatment in the form of high salaries and career opportunities that transform into mobility of management and results in prestigious projects. The knowledge workers are extremely motivated by intrinsic considerations, therefore, they are not welded to certain organizations; they are highly likely to change organizations so they can find exciting projects that appeal to their desires. Knowledge and expertise have become marketable commodities and therefore the expert professionals in effect are at the center of both organizational and occupational labor markets. Structural theory in the organization considers the conduct of the front-line workers central to its success. The interpretive micro sociologists and labor process analysts have suggested that the key features of work can be described in major concepts: the medium of work (for instance the characteristics of what is being worked on) and the act of the work (the knowledge skills and creativity) (Frenkel et al. 1999). Hence, this criteria makes it easier to reveal that front-line work varies in complexity and therefore demands different training strategies. There are different skills needed in voice-to-voice and face-to-face front-line jobs. Face to face business requires spontaneous job handling right in front of the customer. Voice to voice services allows the worker some space and technology at their disposal that the customers might not be aware of. This is not to say that one form of work is easier than the other as both offers their pros and cons. Focus on the findings and conclusions of the empirical studies. Littler (1982) and Sorge & Streeck (1988) suggest that a distinction exists between vertical relations where the hierarchical division of labor and the natural relations hold significant positions. In vertical relations, the hierarchical division of labor holds central importance whereas, in lateral relations, the functional or horizontal divisions of labor occupies the driving seat. Employment relations explain the conditions of employment e.g. the training, promotion systems, salaries, etc. The employment relations theory depends on national and regional laws, social customs and financial circumstances. These aspects determine the general form of control. Control relations related to various means by which managers exercise direct hierarchical powers over their workers. This is a concept that endorses Edwards (1986) ID of detailed control that can be mediated with technology or other structures like unions. Lateral relations refer to the ties between front-line workers and their colleagues (or what is referred to as coworker relations) and the relationship between customers and workers. The relationship between workers and the customers is governed or structured by the management. This is the direct level of control because no matter how much autonomy front-line workers might enjoy, they still have to respond to their managers and supervisors for the tasks assigned to them. Hence, the customer worker relations are marked with significant control by the management. The coworker relations have two aspects: the relationships between the workers that work together (this is generally referred to as immediate coworker relations) and the relationships with employees in other sections of the organization that the workers frequently get in touch with. This lateral form of relations is referred to as the adjacent coworker relations. Immediate coworker relations vary from competitive individualism to cooperative teamwork. The adjacent coworker relations vary in frequency, and the extent of the nature of dependence and hence the degree of cooperation also varies. All these components greatly depend on the managerial design and enforcement that determines the formal division of labor. Hence, significant managerial control seeps into this aspect of organizational control. The relationship between front-line workers and customers is contradictory because workers are required to satisfy individual customers’ requirements (these demands can be very complex and demand a lot of customization), while on the other hand, they are also expected to forecast a positive image of the company. When they are solving customers problems (such as the one seen in contact center industry) it invites less managerial control. However when they are supposed to project a positive image of the company it encourages closer managerial attention and control. Tensions arise from contradictory behavior and other differences as interests are materialized and resolved among workers, customers and management. From this long discussion of empirical studies and organizational structures, it is safe to say that the training programs vary according to the different circumstances and organizations. Before starting a training program, its value needs to be considered. This is especially true for managing the front-line employees because the training process raises a number of questions that the managers need to answer. For instance: • Is training the solution to the identified problem? • Are the training goals clear and realistic? • Is the investment in the training session a good investment? The main objective of training the front-line employees is to eliminate or improve performance problems. Not all performance problems require training however. Performance deficiencies can have many causes, and there are many factors that the employees cannot control, therefore, they lie outside the scope of training. Unclear or conflicting requests, morale problems or poor quality materials simply cannot be improved through training. The theory that that management needs to keep strict control over workers when they are projecting the company’s image plays out in the call centre industry. When an agent is on call, they have to prove the competency and managerial skills of the company to the customers. Competency in technical skills leads to low discretion as it provides everyone a level playing field. The labour process theory is an effective managerial concept to understand how front-line employees behave and to train them. It governs how the workers work and get paid for their efforts. The agents might also have to operate under the design orientated towards responsible autonomy. The self-regulating work groups follow the design strategy facilitating group development and responsible autonomy (Cummings, 1978). Training the employees plays a role that is educational for workers, as well as surveillance for the management. The managers know exactly how an employee is performing. The training is usually accompanied with certain parameters that help gauge the performance of the workers. For example, the call centre agent might be trained in guidelines or code of conduct. Breaking this protocol can be calculated by supervisors in mathematical form. Hence, on one hand it equips the worker with a new skill set and also governs the performance. The example above can also be related to aesthetic and emotional labour. The workers are required to display certain characters and emotions in such labour forms. Hence, it allows provides the management with an increased level of control on their workers. Conclusions In conclusion, the nature of skills needed in the front line employment greatly varies. Front-line workers might need soft skills or require hardcore training of machines. When the soft skill training approach is used, the women are at a greater disadvantage. The soft skill training is a great approach but needs customization for its full effect. These skills are developed through organization goals and requirements. They are controlled by immediate supervisors as well as top managers that craft company policies. The purpose of training the front-line employment is to achieve better productivity or better customer retention (satisfaction). The company needs to decide whether the identified problem can be resolved through training program or not. Front-line employee training is a form of control because the workers hone their skills better to achieve the company goals. The company would want to train its front line workers in the new software or better time management skills. These skills ultimately serve the interests of the company. Hence, such training is a form of control as it generates the desired behavior in workers. Organizations need to maintain control on its employees no matter how much decentralized the company might be. It is the top management that determines the directions of operations. Thus to mould the company’s working for better output front-line employees are given training. The training serves the interests of both the employees and the management. The management wants efficient employees while the workers want to remain indispensable for the company. The workers might also aspire to become more valuable by acquiring new skills to get a promotion or to get a job in a bigger firm. Front-line employee training also serves that managerial interests in many ways. The training either get them ahead of the competition or the company achieves its target in an efficient way. The consequences of such practices are highly favorable in the interests of all. It is a win-win situation. The employees remain up to fate with the market skill sets while the company can compete in its niche. 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