Benefits of Training and Development for Individuals and Teams - Case Study Example

Carl Robins at ABC, Inc I. Introduction The success of an organization’s training and development activities lies with strategic planning and management. Clearly, there is a direct link between employee motivation and their willingness to attend training programs. Good career development programs can keep employees motivated always. Effective career management would encourage employees to actively participate in development activities. Appropriate planning would assist organizations to implement their training programs and development activities successfully. In other words, training is a crucial factor that can make or mar the prospects of a business firm. The given case scenario clearly points to the failure of a recruitment firm in respect to strategic management and professionalism. The first part of this report will identify the major problems occurred in ABC, Inc due to the unprofessional attitude of the new recruiter Carl Robins. The second part will recommend some short term and long term solutions to the issues. II. Scenario 1. Carl Robins, the new campus recruiter for ABC Inc, hires 15 new trainees to work for Monica Carrolls, the Operations Supervisor. 2. He schedules a new hire orientation to take place on June 15 and assures Monica that everything would be ready in time. 3. Carl later finds out that; A) Some of the new trainees do not have applications completed or their transcripts on file, B) None of them has been sent to the clinic for the mandatory drug screen, C) Only three copies of orientation manuals are available with several pages missing from each, and D) Joe, faculty from technology services, is found to have reserved the training room for the entire month of June for computer training seminars for the new database software implementation III. Problems The case clearly points to Carl’s inexperience in the field along with lack of coordination, communication, professionalism and many other factors. 1. Inexperienced faculty: As the case indicates, Carl himself is a new recruit with hardly six months’ job experience in the organization. Although strategic flaws are likely when it comes to new recruits, Carl seems to have shown exceeding carelessness and over confidence. The top management of the firm should have anticipated some issues in this regard since Carl is only a new faculty. Obviously, Carl has to undergo an internship program. As Best reported in Minnesota Daily (April 23, 2012), majority of the graduates in the country is lacking job experience. 2. Inaccurate procedures: the case shows that some of the new trainees have not met their requirements fully. This indicates that Carl has not been following a proper procedure for recruitment. He had the responsibility to ensure that trainees have submitted all essential documents on time. 3. Lack of coordination: Any training program requires good coordination in order for meeting the intended outcomes. An organization consists of various departments that carry out numerous independent and collaborative functions. Hence, a department alone cannot plan and implement an internal development program. Carl failed to coordinate related departments and faculties for the success of the training program he planned. 4. Lack of communication: organization that does not enhance effective communication throughout its various sections cannot achieve sustainable growth and competitive advantage in the modern business environment. Obviously, Carl has not understood the significance of this factor, and thus failed to communicate his plan with other people involves. If he had timely informed his program to other responsible individuals, he would not have lost the training room to Joe. According to Fielding (2006), individuals who join an organization must understand “the formal procedures by which departments and organization are run” and the “informal rules by which people work together” (p. 103). 5. Overconfidence: It is likely that new recruits overlook task and the challenges they involve. Carl also did not take things seriously and blindly relied on his ability. He took the success of campus recruitment, which was comparatively easy, for face value. The result was that he could not even align a group of trainees who have completed all recruitment criteria. Also, he lost orientation manuals and the training room itself posing great threat to his job position. 6. Lack of clearly defined objectives: Goal setting is an important step in every venture. It is the goal that determines all short term and long term strategies of a program. It is toward the goal that all organizational activities and managerial functions are aligned in a firm. In the given case, Carl did not have clearly defined goal when he started his recruitment and training program. If otherwise, he would have identified the challenges he would face during his planning phases. Once problems are identified, finding solutions is easy for a skilled employee. IV. Short Term Solutions 1. Carl is now aware that he cannot keep his promise. It is advisable for him to contact Monica Carrolls, the Operations Supervisor and inform that the completion of the training program may delay. As the next step, he has to contact Joe, the technology service faculty, to confirm if the computer training seminars could be postponed so that the training room would be available. However, it depends on Carl’s persuasive communication skill that Monica and Joe are convinced of the situation and its importance. 2. The trainees should be asked to provide the missing documents with urgent effect so as to ensure their enrolment in the program. They should be convinced about the fact that incomplete application will result in job termination. 3. Meanwhile, trainees who have completed their application process should be sent for mandatory drug test. 4. Higher authorities should be informed about the missing orientation manuals. It advisable for Carl to request investigation on the issue so as to check if any malpractice has been going on in his department. 5. Inform the top management that training room is already booked for another program. V. Long Terms Solutions 1. In order to ensure the effectiveness of recruitment and training programs, there should be clearly defined strategies and guidelines. The management must monitor the whole program from its initial stage to the completion so as to ensure quality. There should be good mechanisms to collect feedback and complaints so that the firm can review its recruitment and training strategies. The management must not rely fully on the ability of a single faculty particularly when he/she is a fresher. Instead, the very staff also must be treated as a trainee in the respective field. This will help both the individual and the organization in the long run. 2. Organization should have a long term vision with regard to all programs. This is possible only if the management sets up a clear monitoring system. Training is not complete unless it is evaluated. After the program, a ‘before-after’ analysis should be conducted to see if employee efficiency has increased to some extents. 3. Before commencing any training program, a mandatory meeting with the management is required. This will help one to determine the nature of training required. The persons undergoing training should also be contacted at this stage. Only then the company will get a correct picture about the training required. Sometimes, specific requirements of employees will have to be entertained separately. Only after considering all such aspects, the total cost of the program can be determined. There are situations that lapse back to the pre-training period. Support should be provided for a prolonged period until the next training program takes place. Moreover, as Cardon and Stevens (2004) point out, training interacts with other human resource factors like pay and other initiatives. Success of a training program depends on the collective effort of all the stakeholders involved. In other words, stakeholders can make use of resources and opportunities at their disposal to make the program a success. 4. The results of the program should be documented for future reference. It should be analyzed from the perspective of the stakeholders involved in the process. As Aguinis and Kraiger (2009) insist, the result of the program should satisfy the specific needs of each stakeholder in the training process. Conclusions ABC, Inc should pay high attention in helping employees to plan their career because this strategy will benefit the firms to achieve its short term as well as long term objectives successfully. An outstanding career development model would assist the company to keep its employees motivated. This in turn may assist the organization to avoid issues like “Carl Robins” case. Lindner (1998) points out that an organization can improve its profitability by helping employees in planning their career, because motivated employees are more productive than others. In this particular case, Carl should be assisted by some experienced persons until he develops the all essential skills. The logic is that an employee with high level of career resilience can easily deal with his worksite troubles. Also an employee’s career insight may indirectly influence the company’s operational efficiency in the long run. References Aguinis, H & Kraiger, K. (2009). Benefits of Training and Development for Individuals and Teams, Organizations, and Society. The Annual Review of Psychology. 60:451–74. Best, E. (April 23, 2012). The importance of work experience: Education isn’t cutting it anymore in the job market. Minnesota Daily. Retrieved from http://www.mndaily.com/2012/04/23/importance-work-experience Cardon, M, S & Stevens, E. E. (2004). Managing human resources in small organisations: What do we know? Human Resource Management Review, 14: 295 – 323. Fielding, M. (2006). Effective Communication in Organisations. Juta and Company Ltd. Lindner, J. R. (1998). Understanding Employee Motivation. Journal of Extension 36 (3). Retrieved from http://www.joe.org/joe/1998june/rb3.php Read More