Employee Training and Development - Research Paper Example

The transfer of training process is of crucial importance to a given organization. When the training process if fully embraced, the organization cannot only benefit from the training, but can actually change its culture to meet the demands of an ever-changing fiscal environment in ways that can assure its survivability. To accomplish this, training must be supported from the organization’s highest levels and applied at the lowest levels. The union of organizational support and the application of training can lead to optimal transfer of training.

The ability to transfer the concepts and skills acquired in training is the ultimate transfer of training goal. (Cormier) Training enhances the skills, knowledge, new information, and cultural awareness of an organization. The transfer is accomplished when the subject matter of the training is passed to the members of the organization, who then apply the skill set in the job environment. While the transfer of training process sounds simple and rudimentary, several barriers exists that can hinder the transfer of training process, or even nullify it completely.

It is essential to understand the barriers to training in order to enhance the success of transfer of training. Several common barriers exist; lack of reinforcement on the job, non-supportive organizational culture, immediate work environment interference, impractical training programs, irrelevant training content, discomfort with change, lack of inspiration or support of the trainer, poorly designed / delivered training, and pressures from peers to resist change associated with training. Barriers to training exist in every organization to varying degrees. (Broad) These barriers all hinder the importance of the training process and can mitigate the positive effects intended by the training process.

Of equal importance to the transfer of training process is the ability to identify the existing barriers within a given organization to ensure the effectiveness of the complete training process. Once these barriers are overcome, effective training can benefit the organization in a myriad of ways. Return on investment, performance improvement, behavior change, and increased knowledge are but of few of the benefits of the transfer of training process. The organization must provide an environment that immediately applies the newly acquired skills on the job to support the adult learning process.

The organization or organizational elements can meet with its employees and supervisors following training. This added step allows for direct training feedback while simultaneously providing a communication tool for the organization to better support the training process. In aggressively following up on training evolutions with the intent to enhance, the training experience leads to “optimal transfer.” (Cormier) In defining optimal transfer, one must explore the process in which training is transferred into organizational behavior.

The optimal goal for training is the application of training behaviors without conscious thought. When this occurs, the training has become organizational culture and the training itself can be deemed fully optimized. Works Cited Broad, Mary L. and Newstrom, John W. Transfer of Training: Action-Packed Strategies to Ensure High Payoff from Training Investments. New York, NY: De Capo Press, 1992. Cormier, S. M. Transfer of training: An interpretive review. Technical Report 608. Alexandria, VA.: US Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, 1984.