Role of National Training Awards in Improving Employee Development - Coursework Example

Role of National Training Awards (NTAs) in terms of improving employee development in the current political, economic, social, and technical environment. Word count: 1514 A well known adage says that employees are the biggest assets of any organisation. Employees have the power and audacity to move a company from being just a local outpost to being known internationally (Noe 2006). In the same vein, the power to make a performing company sink on its knees and collapse is also a preserve of employees. As such, smart company managers will always strive to involve employees at all levels in the day to day running of the organization. Those who want to be at the top spend sleepless nights in trying to make their employees understand that their contribution to the company is of great importance. Managers across the world are investing heavily on employee training so that they can help them pursue their roles more efficiently. For maximum productivity, employees need to be trained to become self aware and on how they can work as a team. They need to be trained on how they can contribute to the overall growth of the company and on problem solving (National Training Awards 2008). It is on this premise that the National training Awards (NTAs) was established. The Department for education and Science formed the NTAs in 1987. It was given the function of rewarding organisations, businesses, and individuals who have achieved a lasting success through learning and training. The British government was very keen on encouraging employers to provide decent and effective training for their employees. The National Awards merged with investors in People Training Awards to develop a strong platform for training excellence. Currently, the awards are managed by UK skills, a totally independent body. Their concept remains the same - to reward organizational successes that have been achieved through employee development. According to National Training Awards (2008), they have short listed 223 finalists in 25 industry sectors this year alone. The winners are expected to be known by November and will be awarded some national or local training awards, depending on their outstanding achievements, either locally or nationally. Roles of NTAs in improving employee development The NTAs has continued to play some major functions in ensuring that the country's political, social, economic, and technical environment improves through employee development. As already mentioned elsewhere, it seeks to reward businesses which have achieved admirable lasting success through offering their employees an extensive training programme. First, the NTAs chief role is to provide a methodical process by which all the training practices are reviewed and their effectiveness reviewed (What are the benefits 2008). Companies should not conduct training programmes on employees for the sake of training them. There should be set targets that training programmes must achieve for them to be seen as effective. The NTAs provide companies with objective systematic processes by which such successes can be measured and rewarded. According to Ford et al. (1997), there are basic indicators that could prove if any training programme has been effective or not. These indicators include skills assessment, trainee amplitudes, and training instructional design. Such indicators can be best reviewed by the NTAs because of its professional expertise and its objectivity. Upon reviewal, companies will always be advised on the strengths and weaknesses of their training programmes, thus giving them room for improvement. Peter Cresswell, a judge at the national panel of the NTAs and an employee of Siemens Inc. has Infact blamed improper training practices on the lack of innovation that has characterized the competition for the past few years. Organizations should always strive to know what they want to gain or achieve out of undertaking a training programme. They should also be able to quantify or measure their training programmes to know if they are in line with their goals and objectives. NTAs also provide companies and organizations with a golden chance to evaluate and discuss their development and training with qualified training experts from NTAs entry support team. This is very crucial if employee development through training is to be attained. The experts readily offer the companies some important fundamentals and expertise in training (What are the benefits, 2008). According to Han (2005), effective employers must seek out expert advice to ensure that employee training programmes achieve the desired objectives. He argues that improper training programmes often achieve nothing. To this extent, the NTAs and other institutions sharing the same mission comes in handy to help businesses evaluate their training and development programmes, and offer useful insights. The NTAs has been in the forefront in providing a personalised feedback to businesses on the status and viability of their training programmes (What are the benefits, 2008). The feedback is often given by qualified judges and assessors and it is a yardstick of measuring the success of any training program. Unsuccessful entries are always encouraged to further improve their employee training programmes while the successful businesses are motivated by the desire to win more trophies and thus improve on their employee training and learning programmes. The feedbacks are very necessary in recognizing the hindrances towards effective employee training processes. The feedbacks, according to Cresswell makes the business managers employ a more positive solution to any activity. They positively motivate businesses to realize that nothing is unattainable or unique if proper personal or organisational development is used. Perhaps one of the most enticing roles of the NTAs is to promote and heighten the profile and publicity of businesses which have embraced employee development through training and learning (What are the benefits, 2008). Various photo shoots and press releases are vital in exposing successful businesses to be even more productive. The companies that win the awards not only shine in glory but also expose their good management practices in employee development for all to see. Such an exposure is good for overall growth of the business as well as the general social, economic, and political improvement of the country. Despite wining a coveted trophy, businesses which participate also wins external recognition, prestige, and publicity. This often gives them a competitive advantage over their business counterparts. The NTAs also raises the morale of employees as well as their trainers in knowing that their efforts have been fulfilled (What are the benefits, 2008). Motivation is always a key ingredient to success. If a business invests in training and development of its employees, morale and motivation will always be high and this will automatically translate to an increase in profitability. According to McNamara (2008), there exist many benefits for employee training and development. First, job satisfaction, motivation, and morale are increased exponentially. Also, employee training programmes makes businesses to be efficient in their dealings thus increasing their financial gain. As already mentioned elsewhere in this essay, training and development programmes among employees have increased their capacity to adapt to new methods and technologies as well as increased their innovation in products and strategies. The case of Nando's Success is there for all to see. Due to its management training programme aimed at empowering its managers to become more self-aware and to work as a team, its business opportunities have scaled up from good to better. The staff training programme has worked wonders for them as employees have learnt to use new innovative methods and techniques to increase their sales revenues. In WM Morrisons Supermarket, Pauline Mosey, the company training manager has used this training strategy in the supermarket's takeover of Safeway. The staff training programme she has introduced has ensured that the conversion of the stores is well ahead of time. McNamara (2008) has also suggested that employee training and development has helped reduce employee turnover. This is a ratio comparison between the number of employees that a company must substitute in relation to the typical number of all employees. It is always a costly affair for most businesses and thus curtailing its existence will always be of interest to business managers (What is employee turnover, 2008). It would thus be imperative for businesses to conduct their training for employee development as it will save on costs of hiring time and again. According to Graeme Hall, the CEO of UK skills, skills should be achieved for a purpose and thus training should also be done for a purpose. This is what NTAs is trying to achieve. Training should never be done in a haphazard manner as it is unlikely it will achieve the desired objectives. In the same vein, training should not be considered as a prerequisite for new employees only. Training should be an ongoing process even for current employees as it will effectively help them to fine-tune themselves to the swiftly varying job requirements (Employee Training and Development, 2008). This will be a plus for businesses and has been one of the core missions of NTAs. Judging by NTAs principles and practice, the long-term profitability of any business enterprise will be dependent on the quality of its employees and their development through training and education. The astute of managers will readily agree with the principle that it is a good business policy to invest heavily in the development and training of employees so that their productivity can be enhanced (Employee Training and Development, 2008). References Employee training and development 2008, Zeromillion.com, Available from: http://www.zeromillion.com/business/personnel/employee-training.html [7 October 2008] Ford, J.K., Steve, W.J.K., Kurt, K., Eduardo, S, Mark, S.T. 1997, Improving training Effectiveness in Work Organizations, Lawrence Erlbaum associates, Available from: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst'a=o&d=28584135 [7 October 2008] Han, Jane 2007, "Corporate Training Expert says Employees Leave Bad Leaders," The Korea Times, 17, May, 2007. Available from: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2008/09/175_3045.html [7 October 2008] McNamara, Carter 2008, Employee Training and Development: Reasons and Benefits, Free management library, Available from http://www.managementhelp.org/trng_dev/basics/reasons.htm#anchor1287840 [7 October 2008] National Training Awards: What are the Benefits 2007, Department for Employment and Learning, Available from: http://www.delni.gov.uk/index/iip-nta/nta-new/what-are-the-benefits.htm [7 October 2008] National Training Awards 2008, City & Guilds, Available from: http://www.nationaltrainingawards.com/ [7 October 2008] Noe, Raymond Andrew (2006), Employee Training and Development, MQWH. What is Employee Turnover 2008, wiseGEEK, Available from: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-employee-turnover.htm [7 October 2008] Read More