ORIENTATION AND TRAINING
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Entry Issues
Realistic Job Preview (RJP) and The
Psychological Contract
 Developing commitment in the new
recruit
 Understanding Culture/Climate
 Orientation
 Socialization

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What is Socialization?

Process by which an employee begins to
adapt to the values, norms, and beliefs of
the organization and its members
◦ Focus on a long term program
◦ Involves learning the organization’s climate
and “learning to fit in”
◦ Foster links between employees and
organization
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Strategic Importance of Socialization

Sets the tone of employment relationship

Clarifies expectations / how things are
done

Reduces anxiety for new employees
◦ Will I fit in? Will I enjoy the
job/coworkers/etc?

Effects employee attitudes and behaviour
◦ Job satisfaction, commitment
◦ Job performance
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Socialization vs Orientation

Socialization
◦ Process of employees adapting to organization
◦ Long-term process, often informal

Orientation
◦ Program that informs new employees about
their job and company
◦ Short-term, often formal

Examples of Tim Hortons employee
orientation and socialization
techniques
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Stages of Socialization
1.
Anticipatory (Pre-Arrival)
• Employees begin with certain expectations
about organization and job
◦ May be unrealistic – if unmet, result in
dissatisfaction, turnover, etc.
◦ Realistic Job Preview (RJP) may be
helpful
 Info about job demands and working conditions
– both positive and negative aspects
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Stages of Socialization
2.
Encounter
◦ Employee has started new job
◦ Inconsistencies between expectations and
reality emerge
◦ Needs info re: policies, procedures, etc.
 E.g., via Orientation program
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Organizational issues, policies, etc.
Benefits
Introductions
Job Duties
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Stages of Socialization
2.
Encounter (cont’d)
◦ Benefits of a good orientation
program





Shows organization values to employee
Reduces employee anxiety and turnover
Reduces start-up costs
Clarifies job and organizational expectations
Improves job performance
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Stages of Socialization
3.
Change (Settling in)
◦ Inconsistencies start to get worked out
◦ Employee begins to identify with
organization
◦ Transition from being an “outsider” to
feeling like an “insider”
◦ Often involves taking on new attitudes,
values, and behaviours to align with
organization’s
◦ Misalignment = dissatisfaction and turnover
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Summary

New employees face many challenges

Realistic job previews and employee
orientation programs can:
◦ Reduce stress
◦ Reduce turnover
◦ Improve productivity
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The challenge?
Information overload
 Information irrelevance
 Too much “selling” of the organization
 No evaluation program
 Lack of follow up

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Training and Development

Training vs Development
◦ Both refer to the learning of job-related behaviour

Training
◦ Focuses on job performance
◦ Emphasis is on acquisition of specific KSAs needed for
present job

Development
◦ Focuses on personal growth, longer-term
development
◦ Emphasis is on acquiring KSAs needed for future job
or organizational need
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Trends Affecting Training

Low unemployment = tight labour market
◦

Alternatively, high unemployment , or economic
recession
◦
◦

T&D opportunities to attract & retain employees
T&D opportunities to create more and better work
opportunities
However, some companies may offer less T&D to cut costs
Globalization
◦
Training for employees with international assignments

New and changing technology – new KSAs

Mergers, acquisitions, restructuring
◦
Jobs change, employees need new KSAs
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Training Process Model
1.
Needs assessment
2.
Design training objectives
3.
Develop program content
4.
Implement training program
5.
Evaluate effectiveness of training
program
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Step 1: Needs Assessment

Needs Analysis
◦ Proactive or Reactive
◦ Diagnosis of problems and future challenges that can be met
through training & development

Organizational analysis
◦ Culture, values, mission, goals, strategy

Job / task analysis
◦ KSA requirements

Person analysis
◦ Consider pre-training states: predicted by individual (e.g., age,
anxiety, cognitive ability, etc.) and situational characteristics
(e.g., organizational climate) (Colquitt et al., 2000).
◦ Gaps between employee KSAs and KSAs required by jobs
◦ E.g., performance evaluations, self- or supervisor
identification
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Step 2: Develop Training Objectives

Must include:
◦
◦
◦
◦

The desired behaviour
The conditions under which it is to occur
Performance criteria
E.g., “By the end of this week, you will be able
to list and define the 5 main steps involved in
the development of a training program,
without referring to your notes”
Objectives are standards that allow the
success of training to be measured
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Step 3: Develop Program Content and
Learning Principles

Issues to consider
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
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Needs assessment
Training objectives
Audience
Class size
Time availability
Cost
Training format
Learning principles
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Learning Principles

How do people learn most effectively?

Participation
◦ Participants are actively involved

Repetition
◦ Repeated review of material

Relevance
◦ Material is meaningful

Transference
◦ Application of training to actual job situations

Feedback
◦ Information given to learners re: their progress
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Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

High self-efficacy
◦ Belief one can achieve a
behaviour

Higher
level of
learning
High outcome expectancy
◦ Belief that behaviour will lead
to an outcome of value
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Organizational Influences on Transfer of
Training

Relates to trainee’s outcome expectancies
◦ Will the behaviour lead to desired outcomes?

Rewards, pay, & promotion
◦ Are there rewards for demonstrating the new behaviour?

Environmental constraints / obstacles
◦ Is equipment, time, etc. avail. for person to use skills?

Supervisory and peer support
◦ Is the training reinforced / encouraged / rewarded on the job?
◦ Train coworkers together – reinforce each other

Organization’s learning climate
◦ Learning is encouraged, supported, rewarded, etc.
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Step 4: Deliver Training
Numerous methods to choose from:
On-the-job
Off-the-job
• Job instruction
• Lectures & videos
• Job rotation
• Role-playing/Cases
• Apprenticeships
• Coaching
• Vestibule training
• Simulation
• Self-Study & Programmed
• Computer-based (CBT)
• Virtual reality
• Internet/Web-based/Intranet
• Video-conferencing
Strengths and Weaknesses
of various Methods
Method
Knowledge
Skills
Attitudes
Transfer
Lecture
Yes
No
No
Low
Video
Yes
No
Yes
Med
Role play
No
Yes
Yes
High
Simulation
Yes
Yes
No
High
Case study
Yes
Med
Yes
Med
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Step 5: Evaluating Training Effectiveness

5 Criteria - Kirkpatrick’s 4 levels plus 1
1. Reaction
 Are participants satisfied with training?
2. Learning
 How much has been learned?
3. Attitude Change (not 1 of Kirkpatrick’s 4
criteria)
 Did training result in attitude change?
4. Behaviour change
 Did the learning transfer to the job?
5. Results criteria
 Was the training worth the cost to the company?23
Evaluating Training

Evaluation method used should assess all
important training objectives
◦ Typically, focuses on whether change has
occurred

If possible, use an evaluation method that
will allow you to draw accurate
conclusions about the program’s
effectiveness
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Training Evaluation Designs

Reaction measures
◦ Important, but don’t refer to effectiveness

Measure behaviour post-training
◦ Can’t determine whether change occurred

Pre-test – Post-test Design
◦
◦
◦
◦
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Measure → Training → Measure
Allows you to see if change has occurred
E.g., # of items produced before training = 10/minute
# produced after training = 16/minute
But, what if other employees who did not receive
training average 15 items/minute?
◦ Is training effective?
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Training Evaluation Designs

Mere passage of time or task experience could
also influence post-test performance.
◦ Could not necessarily attribute post-test scores to
training

Should also use a control group
◦ Employees who did not receive training – often called
a “waiting list” control group
◦ Control group post-test could also be influenced by
time and experience – therefore, the only difference
between the groups would be training
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Cost benefit analysis at Fed Ex Canada


2 week training program for new courier van drivers
Costs of accidents:
◦ $ 399 for a trained driver compared to $1920 for an untrained
driver
◦ Annual cost of all accidents for trained drivers was $2492 and
$4833 for untrained drivers

Value of the training course:
◦ Difference between trained and untrained driver which is $2341


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Costs of training was $1890
Thus net benefit was $451 ($2341-$1890)
ROI is 1.24 ($2341/$1890). Thus training program
resulted in a return of $1.24 on every dollar spent on
training!
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Does training increase turnover?

Debate: Do employers see a return on
investment in tuition reimbursement?
◦ 2 sides of the debate:
 Employee development leads to positive employee
attitudes and motivates them to stay
 Employee development increases employees’
employment options outside the organization and
results in increased voluntary turnover (as per
human capital theory)
◦ Which do you think is true?
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Does training increase turnover?

Study: Benson et al. (2004) AMJ, 47(3), 315-331.
In this study, 9543 workers whose
company provided full tuition
reimbursement were studied
 Results

◦ Turnover is very low while participants are
taking classes or pursuing a degree
◦ When participants complete
advanced/graduate degrees, turnover
increases dramatically
◦ However…
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Does training increase turnover?

When these participants (who completed
advanced degrees) were promoted,
turnover was less
◦ 56% less than participants who earned
degrees but were not promoted
◦ 55% less than participants who were
promoted but did not take part in tuition
reimbursement

Conclusion – tuition reimbursement can
be an effective retention strategy,
provided attention is paid to job-skill
match after someone has received an
advanced degree
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