Investing in the Training of Employees - Term Paper Example

Running Head: STAFF TRAINING Investing in the training of Employees Name Course Instructor Date Table of Contents Executive summary 3 1. Introduction 4 Report aims and scope 5 Industry information 5 2. Research plan 5 Issues to be studied 5 Research methodology 7 i. Observation 7 ii. Interrogation/ interviewing 8 iii. Appraisal of available literature 9 3. Findings and implications 10 Improve workforce productivity 10 Customer service 11 Development of departmental capabilities 12 4. Reviewing or organisations 12 A review of Apple Inc. 12 5. Summary and recommendations 13 6. References 15 Executive summary This evidence based consultancy report is aimed at studying diverse organisations in order to find out how these organisations’ investment in training staff is generating returns in terms of improved workforce productivity, customer service and the development of departmental capabilities that will sustain them in the longer term. In order to come up with the evidence, the Human Resource set out a study so as to figure out how these organisations have over time benefitted from the returns of their training programme, and the returns of that study is this report. Through this consultancy report, the HR’s organisation will be able to invest in the employees in order to cut on the costs and thus be able to realise the necessary improvement in the targeted areas of their organisation. Before delving into how other organisations have realised returns from the training of their personnel and employees, the report will first dwell on how the HR’s organisations has managed to improve the workforce productivity, the customer service department and the development of other departmental capabilities through the training programs that they have initiated their employees into. Investing in the employees has been noted by the majority of the performing organisations as the major stimulus in ensuring that they attain their long term goals and objectivities because they view the empowerment of organisational employees as the pivot in their endeavours. The findings of the report showed that there was still much to be learnt by the HR’s organisation because there were little areas within the employee empowerment programme that had to be ironed out before the entire project bore the desired fruits. The areas to be straightened have been highlighted in the recommendations. The study that had been carried out in the established organisations will enable the HR’s organisation to pinpoint the areas that require boosting so as to attain the organisational as well as individual goals and objectives. 1. Introduction In order to ensure the continued existence of their organisations in a world where spirited organisations are springing up in the world market, enhancing employee productivity is usually the major objective of organisations that are willing to cut a major chunk of the market share that they are involved in. In order to remain very competitive in a changing worldwide business environment, employee training has been held by many as an efficient way augmenting employee productivity and effectiveness. The training of employees is usually a tedious process but a healthy one for the reason that its productivity often runs across several years later, and in so doing, an organisation is always sure of a brighter future. Such forums often empower the employees with work capabilities and ethics that they were not familiar with prior to the training programme, and thus at the end of any employee training forum, the participants are usually more energetic to start their work because they are often more knowledgeable in what is expected of them. Employee training often ensures that expertise advancement is met and thus the realisation of the organisational goals (IBM, 2010). Kronos (2008) asserts that the only way to ensure that organisations, especially the manufacturing industries achieve their purposes and goals in productivity, effectiveness, cost effectiveness and profitability, the only way is to ensure that the employees are well trained to effectively handle the needs and requirements of both the organisation and the customers. The report asserts that the only way of ensuring that productivity is maintained at the desired level is by empowering the workers through avenues that will increase their capabilities by making them self reliant, effective and efficient in product delivery. The International Labour Office (2008) asserts that employee skill enhancement is essential in the process of ensuring that an organisation’s productivity is kept beyond the other competitors reach. Report aims and scope This report explores the benefits to an organisation of training employees in order to ensure that this venture generates returns in terms of improved workforce productivity, customer service and the development of departmental capabilities that will sustain the organisation in the longer term. After finding out how employee training has been of benefit to the HR’s organisation, the report will them analyse other organisations that have effectively employed employee training programs in various departments and how successful their endeavours have been. From the literature attained from the organisations that the outlay of the programme has been successful, the HR’s organisation will then be able to test run theirs against the available evidence in order to ascertain the progress of their own. In order to fully address the issue at hand, the report has been divided into five areas. The first section issues a concise overview of the HR’s industry, which is a major government department. The second section of the report looks into the nature of the issue to be studied and the research methodology employed in order to successfully assemble the relevant data and thus be able to examine the available evidence to the problem being studied, while the third performs a decisive appraisal of the available evidence to the issue being studied. The fourth section studies how other organisations have successfully overcome the same problem and thus are reaping the results of the strategies employed while the fifth segment looks into the summary of the report and also offer recommendations for subsequent studies in the same area. Industry information The HR’s industry is a major government department in Australia that deals with the standardisation of the consumer products that come into the country thus ensuring that the Australian population is well protected from exploitation and harm by foreign goods and service providers. Moreover, this government department ensures that the guidelines that have been set for exportation and importation of goods and services are adhered to. Moreover, it also ensures that the Australian customs clientele are well attended to and also the small enterprises that have never partaken in business dealings on a global front are assisted to settle in and thus transact their business dealings undeterred. Keeping in mind that the small enterprises are the economic outlook of Australia, this department has been given the mandate of ensuring that the mushrooming businesses are promptly initiated into the international trade dealings and guidelines (Australian Customs Service, 2002). 2. Research Plan Issues to be studied For there to be any meaningful report, the research plan has to be one that will adequately address the issues that are to be analysed in the report (Kimberly, 2008). This research was meant to demonstrate how the HR organisation’s investment in training staff was generating returns in terms of improved workforce productivity, customer service and the development of departmental capabilities that were to sustain the organisation in the longer term. Moreover, the research was to find out how other organisations had effectively trained their employees and thus were reaping the very returns that the HR’s organisation expected to reap. In order to fully address the issue, the consulted firm had to first review the effectiveness of the employee training program that had been put in plan to assist the organisation achieve its objectives. It could only be possible to give the most accurate report by studying how effective and efficient the approach that the HR’s organisation had decided to adopted was. Equipped with this information, the consulted firm seeks to demonstrate how the HR’s organisation is generating returns from the employee investment that it undertook. Research methodology The consulted firm decided to use a triangulated approach that had observation, interrogation and the appraisal of the available literature as its key pillars in its bid to collect the relevant information that was aimed at addressing the research question. Olsen (2004) is of the view that triangulation is usually an essential approach in research work for the reason that it not only authenticates the findings but also intensifies and broadens an individual’s understanding of the issues that are being studied. This approach will be helpful in the demonstration of how effective the training programs have been because it takes into focus all the involved participants thus achieving the desired but necessary points of view. A study of the participants will be essential because it will enable the consultants to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the training program. Observation Observation was the first approach that the consultancy decided to use in the determination of how the organisation’s employee training input program was generating the expected returns. The consultants observed the organisation’s workers as they discharged their tasks at their work stations. Their approach to the customers was also recorded because this was going to be effective while reviewing the customer service department. Most of the tasks that the employees were doing while attending to the customers were also recorded. To have a proof of this, photographs too were taken in order to accompany the report that was to be set up. The chief reason for observing the employees as they carried on with their tasks and duties was to note the positive traits that the training program had inculcated in them in order to determine how productive that was in enabling the organisation reap the expected gains. Moreover, the customers; who were small business owners, shipment agents, producers and the general public; were also observed and their reactions recorded on a questionnaire, structured by the consulting firm, which was to be used in the tabulation of the final report. This method experienced a few hiccups because the employees were not relaxed as they went about their duties because they felt that the consultants were observing them as they went about their daily chores. To remedy this, the consulting firm requested the organisation’s management in advance to inform the employees that there would be consultants carrying out a research on their conduct as they undertook their normal organisational duties. Moreover, another setback was that since they knew that they would be observed, they could decide to carry out their tasks and duties faster than they normally do thus limiting the appropriate outcome to the report. Interrogation/interviewing In the second approach, structured interviews were used to interview the workers, the customers and some of the departmental heads in order to find out how things had transformed in the organisation since the training programs had been introduced. The consultants could not attach the questionnaire to this report because it was only for their own consumption in enabling them attain the relevant information that was to constitute the report. The interviews were meant to enhance the data that had been collected through observation and also to attend to some of the issues that had arisen during the observation approach. Through interviewing, the unanswered areas in the observation approach were adequately handled, thus filling any gaping openings. The organisation’s customers were interviewed in order to find out their views about the customer services offered. The interviewing too, as compared to observation, had its limitations. Some employees who had been noted during the observation were not available to be interviewed because they were either too busy or had been sent out on official duties. The ones that were available were either evasive or asserted that they were too taken into their tasks and duties to notices some of the happenings. The strength of this approach was that the customers were too frank because they felt that they had nothing to lose by giving the best they could. Moreover, since an understanding had been built during the observation phase, it was easier to talk to most of the employees. Appraisal of the available literature The final approach was the appraisal of the available literatures that had been published by the organisation. The consultants also studied the unpublished materials because they too had relevant information regarding the organisation. The essence of studying the existing literatures was to get a general approach to the issues being studied because organisational publishing’s often touch on the key issues that they are involved in. Moreover, such literatures often have the information regarding the progress of the organisation and this would prove crucial in the effective demonstration of the issues to be addressed by this report. The analysis of all the available material, be it in print or not, was meant to ensure that there were foregone conclusions whatsoever in order to arrive at undeniable conclusions. Such a study would guarantee a transparent report, one that would clearly address the issues that had been sought after by the organisation (Tranfield, Denyer, & Smart, 2003). 3. Findings and Implications The major conclusions from the research methodologies employed; observation, interrogation and the appraisal of the available literature; showed that employee training had greatly influenced the operations of the HR’s organisation. From the findings of the employee training program, the program had greatly improved workforce productivity, customer service and the development of departmental capabilities that were aimed at sustaining the organisation in the longer term. The study showed that with the continued empowerment of the employees, the organisations productivity was going to increase. Moreover, from this training, the different departments of the organisation were also realising a considerable change that was auguring well with their objects and quarterly forecasts. The research findings and their implications have been discussed more under the specific areas that were being looked into. Improved workforce productivity From the data gathered during the research, it was evident that training had greatly improved the workforce productivity in the HR’s organisation. As was evident from the observation and interviews carried out during the research, it was evident that the employees knew what they were doing and what was expected of them. Moreover, their efficiency and effectiveness had doubled as compared to the literatures that the consultants were able to study. The skills and dexterity that the employees were exhibiting could only have been learnt from the training programs that they had been taken through (Commonwealth of Australia, 2011). Moreover, from the interviews, they were confident that the training programs had instilled in them a sense of duty and knowledge that had been inadequate in their previous dealings. The data available from the research showed that the organisation’s employees were professionals who had the necessary skills to transform the organisation in the way that the management intended it to. Through the interviews conducted, it was evident that the employees knew the guidelines and any other relevant information that the customers desired because most of them left satisfied that their needs had been attended to. The from the literatures that the consultants studied, the quarterly profit margins for the last quarter were higher than that of the previous years, a rise that had been attributed to the improved workforce productivity, a fete enabled by the employee training programs. The literatures had further asserted that senseless spending and unaccounted for losses had reduced tremendously. These findings implied that the HR’s organisation had achieved the objectives of the training program and thus the organisation’s future was guaranteed provided the players remained constant or enhanced even further. Moreover, the knowledge and expertise that the workers had attained had brought the deference and thus were of great essence to the organisation’s survival (Singh & Mohanty, 2012). The resources that the organisation had spent on the training of the employees had been realised through their improved productivity (Noe et al., 2006). Customer service From the observation, the interviews conducted and the appraisal of the literatures, the customer department too had been transformed because the customers left satisfied. The interviewed customers asserted much had changed but they but they were yet to know what had transformed the positive change. They asserted that previously, they could wait for long to be served, but currently, everything was handled faster and expertly. Moreover, the queries that they had were expertly handled and a satisfactory reply issued timely (United States Office of Personnel Management, 1997). From observation, the files at the customer care desk were well arranged and if one cared to check the in and out tray, both had been really worked on. Moreover, there were direction indicators showing the customers the different places that they could be served at. One of the customers in an interview asserted that it was much easier to be attended to currently than it had been before. This implied that the employee empowerment programme had greatly improved the customer service department and thus more customers were being attended to effectively and efficiently. In addition, from the available literatures, the backlog of customers that had issued to be attended to had been adequately cleared. Development of departmental capabilities From the organisational literatures, it was evident that the training had facilitated the development of departmental capabilities for the reason that most of the organisation’s employees had managed to rise through the ranks and most of them were heading major department. The literatures further showed that the inbred departmental heads were not just heading departments but leading them from the front because the departmental reports proved that. The improvement showed that the employees had attained much from the training forums that the organisation had organised for them (Puvanasvaran et al. 2010). Moreover, the study showed that the training had amplified the creativity of the employees and thus they did not have to constantly refer to their supervisors for guidelines on how to handle the assigned tasks. The said innovativeness was responsible for the development of the departmental capabilities that were being experienced within the organisation (Rahab, Sulistyandari & sudjono, 2011). 4. Reviewing other organisations A review of Apple Inc. Apple Inc is one of the organisations where employee training has been of paramount importance because it has put the organisation on a pedestal that makes it harder for their competitors to catch up. At Apple, in order to ensure that the departmental capabilities are well attained, employees are usually trained on how to work with any new software that is arrived at through innovativeness and intense creativity (Apple Inc., 2011). Moreover, it is usually through the intense training of the employees that Apple has continually managed to stay at the top. According to Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative (2013), Apple has greatly invested in its employees in order to achieve its goals and objectives. Through training, Apple’s employees are allowed to sort their own employee grievances amongst themselves without the involvement of the supervisors because the organisation believes in their judgement. Being a consumer service provider, the organisation has greatly invested in the satisfaction of its customers through the customer friendly products that they manufacture. 5. Summary and Recommendations This research found strong evidence to the assertion that employee training was essential for an organisation that wished to have an enhanced workforce productivity, improved customer service delivery and the development of departmental capabilities. The results available showed that the HR’s organisation was reaping the returns of its investment in the employee training programme. A continued training of the employees on regular basis or taking them for refresher courses would ensure that the organisation achieved its short and long term goals and objectives. Moreover, the training seemed to have made the employees happier because they were able to diligently perform their tasks without having to worry about the repercussion because they were surer of themselves than they had ever been before. Although the consultants asserted that the employee training programme seemed to be working for their organisation, it was up to the organisation’s management to constantly show support for their employees because without that, the training alone would not prosper the organisation. Moreover, other advantages situations despite the training, for instance better working conditions, were to be looked into because they too played a role in the productive delivery of an employee. In addition, the consultants recommended that the organisation was to ensure that while setting up the organisational goals, they were to be aligned with those of the employees in order to be achievable. In conclusion, to promote performance, it was recommended that the organisation was to recognise and then recompense the preferred or outstanding performances. References Apple Inc. (2011). Training and Development Programs for Apple Inc. Retrieved 17/5/2013 from http://www.accessessays.com/samples/Training_and_Development_Term_Project_for_A pple_Computers_1_.pdf Australian Customs Service (2002). Customs Guide to Importing and Exporting. Retrieved 17/5/2013 from http://www.arts.qld.gov.au/publications/pdf/ex_im_ex.pdf Commonwealth of Australia (2011). Vocation Education and Training Workforce: Productivity Commission Research Report. Australian Government Productivity Commission. Melbourne: Media and Publications. Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative (2013). Apple Inc.’s Ethical Success and Challenges. University of New Mexico. Retrieved 17/5/2013 from http://danielsethics.mgt.unm.edu/pdf/Apple%20Case.pdf Kronos (2008). Overall Labour Effectiveness: The Business Case for Labour Productivity. Retrieved 16/5/2013 from http://www.workforceinstitute.org/wp- content/uploads/2008/01/ole-business-case-for-labor-productivity.pdf IBM (2010). The Value of Training and the High Cost of Doing Nothing. IBM Whitepaper. Retrieved 16/5/2013 from http://www-304.ibm.com/jct03001c/services/learning/za/pdfs/ibm_white_paper- value_of_training.pdf International Labour Office (2008). Skills for Improved Productivity, Employment Growth and Development. International Labour Conference, 9th Session, 2008. Geneva: International Labour Office. Retrieved 16/5/2013 from http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@relconf/documents/meetingdocu ment/wcms_092054.pdf Kimberly, A. (2008). Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Approaches to Research and Inquiry. Retrieved 17/5/2013 from http://spahp2.creighton.edu/OfficeOfResearch/share/sharedfiles/UserFiles/file/Galt_SPA HP_Methods_Presentation_082609.pdf Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B. & Wright, P. (2006). Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. (6th Ed), (Boston,MA:Mc Graw -Hill Irwin). Olsen, W. (2004). Triangulation in Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods Can Really Be Mixed. Ormskirk: Causeway Press. Puvanasvaran, P., Megat, H., Sai Hong T., Mohd Razali M. & Magid, H. (2010). Lean process management implementation through enhanced problem solving capabilities. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management doi:10.3926/jiem.2010.v3n3.p447-493 Rahab, Sulistyandari & sudjono (2011). The Development of Innovation Capability of Small Median Enterprises through Knowledge Sharing Process: An Empirical Study of Indonesian Creative Industry. International Journal of Business and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 21 Singh, R. & Mohanty, M. (2012). Impact of Training Practices on Employee Productivity: A Comparative Study. Interscience Management Review (IMR) ISSN: 2231-1513 Volume- 2, Issue-2. Retrieved 17/5/2013 from http://interscience.in/IMR_Vol2Iss2/IMR_paper17.pdf Tranfield, D., Denyer, D. & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a Methodology for Developing Evidence-Informed Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic Review. British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207-222. doi: 10.1111/1467- 8551.00375. United States Office of Personnel Management (1997). Improving Customer Service Through Effective Performance Management. Retrieved 17/5/2013 from https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/performance-management/reference- materials/historical/customer_service.pdf Read More