Developing a Workplace-Learning Environment - Assignment Example

DЕVЕLОРING A WОRKРLАСЕ LЕАRNING ЕNVIRОNMЕNT Name Institution Professor Course Date Introduction Promoting and supporting learning, capturing what persons learn and making it accessible to others helps in ensuring organisational survival. Learning is important and benefits learners and the organisation. It ensures continuity of organisations besides enhancing professional and personal development. In this regard, learning should be limitless. This paper highlights the strategies involved in developing a workplace-learning environment. It explores learning opportunities available in organisations, their methods of identification, factors to consider when identifying the most appropriate learning opportunity, who to consult , how to conduct the selected learning method and how to measure the impact of learning opportunities. Questions 1. Discuss the range of learning opportunities available in your workplace Learning helps in avoiding extinction of an organisation as it helps the organisation to grow. According to Cole (2013, p. 827), learning should be something that takes place constantly and methods of inspiring learning should be limitless. Employers can extend their employees’ experience and skills via additional empowerment, responsible, up-Skilling, multiskilling and job redesign. Employers can also foster employees’ learning through special assignments, team projects, coaching, retreats, workshops, committee work, delegated duties, observation, job rotation, on-the-job experience, mentoring and training. However, the learning method preferred depends on the amount of time and money involved the temperament of the training requirements and the number of persons that need training (Cole 2013, p. 837). Cole (2013, p. 832) asserts that coaching and training people’s skills enhances the employee's capacity to work together, communicate clearly and improve performance. Good training attracts and retains competent employees, besides promoting productivity and boosting employees’ morale. Training lowers accidents, clients’ complaints, promotes global competitiveness in organisations and promotes a positive image of an organisation. Besides training, mentoring and coaching are major learning opportunities for employees in an organisation. Mentoring and coaching reinforces the skills and comprehension of employees, and allows mentors and coaches to share their skills and experience. Coaching facilitates awareness improvement to promote certain behavioural conduct while mentoring entails helping a person to grow cognitive capabilities and skills. Special projects and assignments as a learning opportunity available in most organisations helps employee in broadening their perspectives besides expanding their experience, skills and knowledge. 2. Name 3 typical reasons for employee training and development Employee training and development is prompted by job changes, organisational changes and performance shortfalls (Cole 2013, p. 832). 3. Name 4 general benefits from employee training and development a) Upgrading or updating technical skills to enhance organisational global competitiveness b) Improvement of employees’ to work together with others c) Attracting and retaining quality employees d) Improving productivity and employees’ morale (Cole 2013, p. 832) 4. What strategies can be used to identify learning needs and determine learning opportunities According to Cole (2013, p. 832), there are several ways that help in the identification of learning needs. They include a comparison of the current skills and desired knowledge, competencies and performance of an individual or a team of employees. Any underperformance indicates the need for development and learning. Other strategies include: Assessment of employees’ profile, performance reviews and business records Evaluation of the customer reaction and information such as quality measures and accident statistics Comparison of employees’ competencies and their job competency statement Performance comparison with in-house or industry benchmarks Consideration of the future plans of an organization Making employees fill special questionnaires and proficiency checklist Group meetings that allow the group to brainstorms its call for training Observation of employees’ performance 5. Who can you consult with to identify training strategies? When? How? Employees’ training is essential in any given organisation as it helps employees to grow and develop their skills and knowledge. Training also increases the level of productivity in a company. Employees should be involved in identifying their learning and development needs. Several factors among them excessive absences, increased accident rates, increased errors, low productivity, excessive clients complaints indicate the need for an employee training. However, to determine the training strategies suitable for employees, Learning and Development specialists should be consulted. These specialists help in developing the most practical training perspective. The managers involved in the training should provide the specialists with crucial information regarding employees’ performance, learning styles and needs. Moreover, the leader should provide the learning and development specialists with information regarding the most suitable learning activities employees enjoy and the learning interventions and training that have been least and most successful in terms of timing, style and content. A matrix facilitates identification of learning needs and development of the best training strategy (Cole 2013, p. 833). 6. How diverse are the needs of people/ teams in organisations? How can your learning plans address the diversity of needs amongst individuals and teams? Learning is effective if a synergy amid the aspects and forces that facilitates learning exists. Individuals and teams hold different needs. However, understanding the fundamental principles of the manner in which people learn facilitates establishment of a learning atmosphere that allow people to learn and apply what they have learnt. The first step is to comprehend is that different people and their different intellectual abilities learn novel skills and conducts when the trainer relates the training to their personal objectives. Teaching aids and training materials also help in addressing the different needs of people and teams in an organisation. Given that people hold different needs and learn at diverse rates, the trainer should realize this difficulty when training and give particular attention on personal training needs of an employee. 7. In selecting appropriate learning opportunities, what factors should be considered, including access of individuals and teams? According to Cole (2013, p. 827), learning and development specialist should enhance learning from the experience of the employees. Productive learning and development is a crucial portion of employer value proposition and it is significant in retaining and attracting quality employees. In selecting learning opportunities, learning and development specialists look for teams and individuals who require learning, the time and money involved in the learning opportunities, the nature of the learning opportunity, employees’ aptitude and special needs, learning needs and the effect of the learning opportunities for the employees and the entire organization. 8. How can you ensure that learning opportunities enhance individual, team and organisational performance To ensure that learning opportunities promote individual, team and organizational performance, Learning and Development specialists should select the most practical learning perspective. They should enhance learning from the experience of the employees besides cultivating employee knowledge bases. Information sharing should be encouraged where individuals and team members share their attained knowledge and skills. Moreover, tools such as learning cycle should be used to assist teams and individuals in identifying their learnt ideas as they perform their roles in the organization. 9. What is the difference between mentoring and coaching? Although mentoring and coaching are applicable interchangeably, there is a great difference between the two terms. With respect to coaching, coaches’ might be managers, selected specialists or professionals such as computer experts from inside or outside the organization (Cole 2013, p. 845). On the other hand, mentors are highly respected and experienced individuals who consider their mentees long-term professional and personal goals. As a result, mentoring is a more extended link than coaching. Mentors facilitate employee’s career development and expertise. Mentors offer support, advice and information, open doors to novel information besides developing the cognitive and affective skills of employees. Mentors also support employees’ networking and help them handle negative or difficult feedback and experiences. Coaching is a short-term process that centres on specific growth issues while mentoring is a long-term approach that centres on employees career and personal growth. While coaching entails supporting, guiding and explaining ideas to employees, mentoring is enabling, inspires self-development and it entails listening, questioning, sharing ideas, and advising (Cole 2013, p.847). 10. How should organizations determine their workplace training goals Once the organisation has identified the learning needs, the next step entails determining the outcome of the training or learning process. Organisation can determine their workplace training goals through considering the desired conduct of the trainees and understanding the specific upshot that the organisation wants its learners to attain. In additional, organisations create practical learning and development processes that attract different people in the organisation. Involving learners in identifying their learning requirements ensures effective and productive training. Understanding the need and desired outcome of the trainee helps organisations in determining their workplace training goals. The content of the training programs, the temperament of the workplace training, and the resources available for training, helps in identifying training objectives in an organisation. More importantly, an evaluation of the training program helps employers in determining the amount of learning attained, and assess whether the employee productiveness has improved as a result. Techniques of measuring the effectiveness of workplace training include the trainee opinion where questionnaires are applied to engage informal discussions between employees and employer to determine the appropriateness and relevance of the training program. Supervisors’ evaluation, monitoring and measuring workplace improvement also help in determining the training goals of workplace training. The five levels of evaluating workplace-training goals include reaction of the learners to the training program, learning, behaviours, result and return on investment. 11. What are 2 basic requirements of learners The most important requirement of a learner is the desire and capacity to obtain new skills through learning. Learners should be creative, flexible, and adaptive, and develop a positive attitude towards learning. 12. What are 3 basic requirement of supervisors To ensure the effectiveness of training programs, organisations employ the services of supervisors who help in ensuring that the goals of the training programs are achievable. Supervisors should be well-equipped with formative, instructional and conflict management skill to ensure the success of the training programs. Supervisors should be friendly to their trainee in order to lower high absenteeism levels. They should be motivational to inspire their learners, and they should hold good communication and interpersonal skills to enhance good communication during the training process. They should have positive personal attributes and qualities, technical skills, knowledge and experience to enhance the learning process. 13. How can organisations have an approved and promoted methods of providing feedback to workers Monitoring and evaluation are good strategies used in promoting feedback to workers. Monitoring centres on certain efficiency and use of resources, and it offers result and activity records besides indicating problems that needs to be handled. Evaluation, on the other hand, assesses the cause and effect, and focuses on relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and intervention sustainability. Employee and supervisor’s relations succeed only when the employee comprehends the supervisor’s expectations and is in a position to fulfil them. To have a promoted and approved means of providing feedback to workers, organisations create performance appraisal that facilitates a discussion and review of the performance of employees. The performance appraisal is founded on the on the results attained by the employee and it measures accomplishments and skills with practical uniformity and accuracy. Performance appraisal facilitates identification of areas that need improved performance and it assist in enhancing professional development. Organisations can ensure such approved and promoted methods through evaluating and developing suitable performance indicators that measure project performance. 14. Describe the process organisations can use to complete a well-planned performance review interview A performance review interview is a private face-to-face session between an employee and a leader. The performance review interview demonstrates how the supervisor or the manager has assessed the performance of an employee, and it highlights improvement areas for prospective performance. A well-planned review interview should occur in a quiet place. The interviews should be planned well in advance and enough time allowed to cover the interview setting. The supervisor should encourage employees to be cooperative and receptive. Reviewing the written evaluation before the interview and planning how to communicate it to the interviewee is paramount. In addition, having a copy of the employees’ evaluation before the interview helps in generating interview questions. 15. Identify some strategies organisations can use for gaining innovative ideas from workers Workplace learning is crucial to employers in developing innovative ability in their organisations. While the employee benefits from the learning, the organisation can as well benefit from the employees innovative ideas. This can be made possible through information sharing between the employer and the employees that is facilitated through positive employer-employee relationship. Employees understand that employers like creative ideas that improve the productivity of an organisation. To gain innovative ideas from employees, leaders should be involved in special assignments or projects, understand what the project entails and the progress made and how the progress has been made. The employer should articulate the employees’ vision and seek for their opinion. Employers can also gain innovative ideas from employees through feedback process where employees are allowed to voice out their views and concerns. Rewarding employees and a good learning environment is another strategy that facilitates attainment of employees’ innovative ideas. 16. Identify and describe the nature of learning specialists organisations could approach for advice regarding the development of their workers The learning setting and learning procedures within an organisation offers a strong blueprint that shapes the manner in which a workplace trainer functions. Understanding the responsibility of a workplace trainer calls for inclusion of formal on-the-job learning and informal and incidental learning that occurs as the normal work. Learning specialists learns cooperatively with the learner through organising activities resources and time to promote learning. A good learning specialist learns with others through sharing experiences, and he/she promotes self-direction and independence in trainees and learners. A preferred learning specialist advocates on the learners’ behalf through negotiating access to learning facilities, he or she reconciles experiences of learning and working through making connections between training programs needs and immediate learning requirement, and they alter learning or work program for better upshots. A good learning specialist work alongside his learners and discusses learning experiences with learners, evaluates learning and work via informal and formal process besides demonstrating processes and techniques to the learners. 17. Why competency records important to your organisation? Competency evaluation helps in assessing a person’s skills and knowledge of the needed learning and work procedures and process. Competency records help in ascertaining the strengths and weaknesses of a learner. It helps in determining the learning needs of the learner, and the accomplishments of the learner through the learning process. Competency records also help in the effective running of an organisation and it facilitates the preparation of performance appraisals, and identification of training needs. 18. During and post training, how can you assess the value and impact of training Many factors influence the impact of training during and after training. This suggests that one can get incontestable proof that training has been effective through evidence. Assessing the effect and value of training calls for self-reports and objective observation and evaluation. Evaluating the impact of training entails understanding the reaction of the learners to the training, learning whereby learners are to prove their learning through action plans and, post and pre-training skills assessments. Assessing the conducts of the learner through observation, surveys, self-reports helps in ascertaining the impact of training. Assessing the results and return on investments demonstrates the effects and value of training. 19. How can you analyse, process and disseminate training data collected? Analysing, processing and disseminating training data can be done through adequate monitoring of learning process and information technology used to process and disseminates the collected training data. According to Cole (2013, p. 841) technology facilitates capturing, processing, retrieval and information sharing. 20. How do you propose to maintain training records? How will data be accessed to provide information on competencies against changing requirements? Training records can be maintained through identifying the names and qualifications of a learner, the training session’s dates, the content of the training sessions and the job titles and the names of the persons conducting the training sessions. These records can be maintained through information technology and can be accessed online when need arise. Case study Questions 1. Gina is very clear about the benefits her company’s new learning packages offer her work team. How important do you think her enthusiasm and support for the packages is to encouraging her team to make the best use of them. The newly introduced learning package is accessible and convenient for all the team members; it is less time consuming and does not require much effort from the team leader. Gina understands that if all her team members make use of the packages, her role as the team leader becomes minimal. The package promotes self-paced learning and it's an interactive package that despite enhancing personal and professional growth, will also promote information sharing among the team members. Gina knows the package will increase the morale and productivity of the team members besides helping them grow professionally and personally. 2. How would you advise Gina to maintain the momentum once the learning packages have been up and operating for several months Although the program have different features and delivers different and additional scenarios and examples that helps in reducing boredom, Gina must uphold the momentum of the team members once the packages has been used for several months. She can achieve this through creating more learning opportunities. Learning should be a limitless affair that expands the employees experience and skills through extra empowerment, up-skilling, multiskilling or job redesign (Cole 2013, p.827). Gina can seek for innovative ideas from her team members, mentor and coach the members besides giving them special assignments that will bring in innovations and changes to the package to avoid repetitiveness . She should also review the procedures and processes of her team to seek for new strategies to improve them. 3. How could Gina monitor and evaluate the packages’ effectiveness and ensure training does not become ‘hit or miss’ but is targeted at individual learning needs and the needs of her team? Gina can monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the package through measuring the performance of the team members after the training. She should ascertain the reaction of the team members and their satisfaction with the new training package. Gina can as well give the team members post-training skill test to confirm whether they have learnt anything new from the package. Assessing the conduct of the team members will help Gina determine whether they are making use of the learned skills. Gina should also monitor the results to confirm if the new novel behaviours of the team members after the training hold a positive effect on the results. However, Gina must allow time for shifts in conduct to materialize. 4. What actions could Gina take to identify further learning opportunities in her organisation? To identify further learning needs, Gina should discuss the progress with her team members. She can also conduct a learning need analysis to identify performance gaps or clear knowledge. For instance, she can compare the current employee effectiveness and compare them with performance results, knowledge and desired competencies of the team (Cole 2013, p. 832). Gina can also observe her team members, put into consideration the future of the organisation, assess the feedback from customers, team meetings and compare the competencies of the employees with the their roles’ competency statement. Conclusion Learning helps in avoiding extinction of an organisation given that it promotes organisational and individual growth. Additional empowerments further the skills of employees and make them more productive in the work place. Learning helps in updating and upgrading employs skills, promote teamwork and productivity. Employees should be assessed for their learning needs through Learning and Development specialists, and thorough evaluation conduct to assess the impact of the learning programs. Keeping records of the learning process helps in identifying the skills gained weakness and abilities of the learner ad future learning needs ad methods. Reference Cole, K 2013, Management theory and Practice. Australia: Pearson. Read More