- No category
Managing Human Resource Development: A Strategic Learning Approach
advertisement
MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT A STRATEGIC LEARNING APPROACH Fifth Edition MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT A STRATEGIC LEARNING APPROACH Fifth Edition Editor Marius Meyer Members of the LexisNexis Group worldwide South Africa DURBAN JOHANNESBURG CAPE TOWN Australia Austria LexisNexis (Pty) Ltd www.lexisnexis.co.za 215 Peter Mokaba Road (North Ridge Road), Morningside, Durban, 4001 Building No. 9, Harrowdene Office Park, 124 Western Service Road, Woodmead, 2191 First Floor, Great Westerford, 240 Main Road, Rondebosch, 7700 LexisNexis, CHATSWOOD, New South Wales LexisNexis Verlag ARD Orac, VIENNA Benelux LexisNexis Benelux, AMSTERDAM Canada China LexisNexis Canada, MARKHAM, Ontario LexisNexis, BEIJING France LexisNexis, PARIS Germany Hong Kong LexisNexis Germany, MÜNSTER LexisNexis, HONG KONG India LexisNexis, NEW DELHI Italy Japan Giuffrè Editore, MILAN LexisNexis, TOKYO Korea LexisNexis, SEOUL Malaysia New Zealand LexisNexis, KUALA LUMPUR LexisNexis, WELLINGTON Poland LexisNexis Poland, WARSAW Singapore United Kingdom LexisNexis, SINGAPORE LexisNexis, LONDON United States LexisNexis, DAYTON, Ohio © 2016 First Edition 1999 Reprinted 2001, 2002 Second Edition 2002 Reprinted 2003, 2005 Third Edition 2007 Fourth Edition 2012 Reprinted 2016 Fifth Edition 2016 ISBN 978 0 409 12568 9 E-book ISBN 978 0 409 12569 6 Copyright subsists in this work. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the publisher’s written permission. Any unauthorised reproduction of this work will constitute a copyright infringement and render the doer liable under both civil and criminal law. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information published in this work is accurate, the editors, publishers and printers take no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of the reliance upon the information contained therein. ABOUT THE EDITOR Marius Meyer is CEO of the HR professional and quality assurance body, the SA Board for People Practices (SABPP). He has a master’s degree in human resource management and is a registered master human resource professional and mentor with the SABPP. Marius facilitates training and organisation development interventions in the areas of global and strategic HR/HRD, leadership development, mentoring, corporate governance, ethics and quality improvement and is a regular speaker at corporate meetings and local and international conferences. Before accepting a lecturing position, Marius was employed as a training practitioner. He has lectured at the University of South Africa and University of Johannesburg and lectures at several other universities such as North-West University. Marius developed the first bachelor’s and master’s degrees in human resource development offered at a university of technology in South Africa. He is also a member of the Talent Advisory Board of the University of South Africa, as well as Partners for Possibility, an initiative to improve education in underperforming schools. Marius has written numerous articles in the field of human resource management and development and is author or co-author of the following books: • Organisation Development and Transformation in South Africa • ETD Practices in South Africa • Occupationally-directed Education Training and Development Practices • All About Human Capital Management • Measuring Return on Investment in Training • Effective Facilitation: Guidelines for Managers, Trainers and Consultants • Organisation Development Nuts and Bolts Series • Introduction to Human Resource Management • Mentoring and Coaching: Tools and Techniques for Implementation v vi Managing Human Resource Development • Measuring the ROI in Mentoring and Coaching Programmes • Integrating Training Needs Analysis, Assessment and Evaluation Marius has a passion for people development, change management, mentoring, business ethics and world-class management and has facilitated interventions for more than a hundred companies. He is also a managing member of ROI Online, the first South African specialist company to measure the financial impact of HRD interventions, and Lemar Consulting specialising in mentoring programmes. Under his leadership, SABPP developed the first set of National HR Standards in the world, as well as an audit framework to audit organisations against these standards. Moreover, the Minister of Justice approved SABPP registered HR professionals as ExOfficio Commissioners of Oaths in 2015. In addition, Marius is an advisory editor of two HR magazines, HR Voice as well as South Africa’s first Talent Management publication, Talent Talks. He is happily married to his lovely wife, Hanlie, and has one daughter, Nadia. THE AUTHORS Melanie Bushney Associate Professor in Human Resource Development, University of South Africa Moira Katz Managing Director, Kavan Africa Consultants Georg Knoke Education and Communications Expert John Ludike Independent Talent Management Specialist Marius Meyer Chief Executive Officer, SA Board for People Practices Marjon Meyer Managing Director, Marjon Meyer & Associates Belia Nel Managing Director, ImprovID Heinz Schenk Associate Professor: Human Resource Management, University of South Africa Stan Smith Human Resource Manager, Transnet Robyn Wolfson People Development Consultant, This Way Up vii FOREWORD In this day and age, in a world where chaos and uncertainty reign, the ability to learn from experienced human resource and business experts has never been more prevalent. People that have attempted to work it out in the midst of constant change and in a workplace that demands critical thinking skills at its best, is certainly the order of the day. Therefore the sharing of people’s experiences, through journeys of both success and challenges, is why this book is so appropriate for human resource experts that need to function in a 21st century workplace. The authors of Managing Human Resource Development have attempted to scan the horizon of international best practices in the field of human resource development. Many of the concepts emanate from work initiated through research by the leading international institution in the field of workplace learning, the Association for Talent Development (ATD) and, in the local context, the African Society for Talent Development (ASTD). Now with the fifth edition, the content of the book has already been tested as relevant to the training industry in subsequent annual ASTD State of the South African Training Industry Benchmarking Reports. The authors have attempted to portray new scenarios and applications of these international best practices for forward-looking local companies aspiring to become global players. These scenarios deal with coping mechanisms pertaining to employment equity, transparency, intellectual capital, electronic learning, mentoring and coaching and a diversity of elements, which exceed challenges that no other country on the globe could envisage. Even our education paradigms are switching from knowledge-based to outcomes-based learning, which is a more focused and pragmatic solution for education, training and development today. The authors have identified international best practices and integrated them into the principles of the National Qualifications Framework and South African Qualifications Authority requirements, and also aligned with the National Skills Development Strategy. Furthermore, the incorporation of HR and learning and development standards have been included in this edition of the book; the first HR standards in the world, adding significantly to the quality and cadre of this learning resource. Managing Human Resource Development proves that the phenomenal growth in the science and practice of talent management has opened new opportunities for the authors in providing a unique African perspective to talent development – uniqueness coupled with a complexity like no other, infused with lessons that all organisations around the globe can learn from. ix x Managing Human Resource Development In conclusion, this book is a definite enabler and a practical tool that will aid any person dealing with people in a modern working environment. The specific nuances that talk to a South African context are very relevant and fit for purpose, with the book enlightening one through the case studies, reflective questions, useful websites and suggested reading resources. This is proof that we all need to be continuous learners in this modern day with vibrant learning resources such as this, enabling and developing any audience. I love the African proverb that says: “If a child washes his hands, he can eat with kings”. If we all do our part, we can make a significant difference to this country and the continent at large. Yes, South Africa can be a great nation because we have the greatest people! URSULA FEAR Director: Talent Talks PREFACE It is widely acknowledged that human resource development in South Africa has been seriously neglected. However, legislation aimed at human resource development, such as the Skills Development Act, Employment Equity Act, Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act and the National Qualifications Framework Act will ensure that profound changes take place. The education, training and development system in South Africa embraces a national skills development approach to human resource development. When new strategic learning approaches and the NQF were introduced across all industries, an attempt was made to address the need for practical guidelines to assist human resource development professionals in adapting to this new education and training paradigm. Equally focused on the learner and training professional, Managing Human Resource Development examines the essential aspects of the theory and practice of managing human resource development from a strategic learning approach. This means that the reader will be able to implement certain human resource development interventions after each chapter. In the light of the fast-changing business environment, a comprehensive list of internet and other sources is provided, to assist readers in accessing a particular area of interest to them. Everyone responsible for the development of people needs to acquire a far higher level of analytical, problem-solving and creative skills – precisely the skills that this book seeks to stimulate and develop. Human resource development practitioners should first become learners before they can begin the important process of developing the nation’s human resources. To enhance competence in the field of human resource development, international best practices have been identified, primarily by considering the international trends identified by the Association for Talent Development (ATD) in the USA and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the UK. These trends have been integrated with the local requirements of the NQF from a strategic learning perspective. xi xii Managing Human Resource Development I thank all those companies and managers who were willing to share their experiences with us and allowed us to include this information in the book. Thank you, too, to all the HRD academics, consultants and practitioners for their wonderful support, ideas and encouragement. You have clearly shown your commitment to the development of the people of South Africa. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the following individuals for their support: • Amanda Werner, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University • Andrew Zondi, Training Force • Angela Donnelly, RMB Private Bank • Annette Bredenkamp, Compliance Institute • Anthea Saffy, Anglo Platinum • Anton Pelser, Central University of Technology, Free State • Barney Erasmus, University of South Africa • Braam Rust, Cape Peninsula University of Technology • Buyani Zwane, Talent Talks • Charlotte Mokoena, Tongaat Hulett • Chris Andrews, Bond University (Australia) • Chris Botha, Tshwane University of Technology • Christopher Tshilongamulenzhe, University of South Africa • Christine Fritz, BANKSETA • Dean Retief, Nedbank • Diederick Stoel, Profitwise, The Netherlands • Dirk Lotriet, Haldron Marketing • Elizabeth Dhlamini-Kumalo, HR Governance Working Group • Esther Palmer, Central University of Technology, Free State • Fathima Mahomed, Vaal University of Technology • Firoza Patel, University of South Africa • Fortunate Seketso, Institute of People Management (Zimbabwe) • Gert Kriel, First National Bank • Guy Blackbeard, Emergence Growth • Hanneli Diedericks, University of South Africa • Heinz Schenk, University of South Africa • Irene James, Dionysus Skills Development Initiative • Jan Nel, University of Free State • Jean Grundling, University of the Free State • Johan Möller, University of South Africa • Karel Stanz, University of Pretoria • Karin Jonck, Cape Peninsula University of Technology • Kate Tucker, Syngenta • Lathasha Subban, SA Board for People Practices • Lazarus Nenungwi, University of South Africa • Leon Fourie, South African Navy Preface xiii • Leonie van der Vaart, North-West University • Liiza Gie, Cape Peninsula University of Technology • Lyal Markham, University of Free State • Lydia Cilliers-Schmidt, Talent Hub • Lynette Naidoo, University of South Africa • Marica Richter, Braxton Group • Marius Stander, Northwest University • Mark Orpen, Institute of People Development • Melanie Bushney, University of South Africa • Michael Glensor, Liviero Civils • Michelle Ally, University of Johannesburg • Michelle Mey, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University • Miemsie de Jager, Sereni-T • Mike Stuart, The Skills Handbook • Naren Vassan, SA Board for People Practices • Nico Schutte, North-West University • Nicolene Barkhuizen, North-West University • Paul Poisat, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University • Penny Abbott, SA Board for People Practices • Peter Cheese, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (UK) • Petrus Nel, University of Free State • Philip Marsh, Mentoring4Success • Pierre Joubert, Vaal University of Technology • Renjini Joseph, University of Johannesburg • Rina Opperman, ROI Online • Roy Braxton, Braxton Group • Sakkie van Greunen, University of Pretoria • Sam Setati, University of Venda • Shamila Singh, SA Board for People Practices • Shirley Zinn, Woolworths • Siegie Brownlee, Regenesys Business School • Sindiswa Majova, Walter Sisulu University • Siphiwe Moyo, SA Board for People Practices • Spuds Horne, Walter Sisulu University • Stan Smith, Transnet • Sue de Waal, Talent Talks • Suzanne Hattingh, Learning for Performance • Terry Meyer, Leadership SA • Theo Veldsman, University of Johannesburg • Tobie Engelbrecht, independent ETD consultant • Ursula Fear, Talent Talks • Yvonne Poolman, Cape Peninsula University of Technology xiv Managing Human Resource Development • Wilhelm Crous, Knowledge Resources • Wilson Wong, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (UK) • Xolani Mawande, SA Board for People Practices The fifth edition of Managing Human Resource Development represents an update on NQF and QCTO developments according to the latest international trends and HRD developments. An exciting development since the publication of the fourth edition of this book is SAQA’s registration of professional bodies and professional designations in accordance with the NQF Act. In practice this means that all qualifying professional readers and students of this book may be formally registered as HR professionals according to the NQF Act and thus be uploaded by SABPP on the National Learners’ Records Database at SAQA. Furthermore, now that HR professionals registered with SABPP has been approved as Ex-officio Commissioners of Oaths by the Minister of Justice, the significance of HR work has been accepted by another government department and further paves the way for the statutory recognition of HR as a profession. Moreover, since the previous edition of this book, South Africa became the first country in the world with National HR standards. These HR standards, and the learning and development standards in particular, are now covered in this new edition to ensure that HR students and practitioners are updated with the context and application of the HR standards. I want to thank the more than 500 HR Managers who contributed to the development of these standards. Their input have now been incorporated into this book which, in essence, means that this edition has more than 500 authors! As world leaders in HR standards development, we now need to build on this great achievement by improving our professional practice by eliminating the biggest gap in both the private and public sectors, that is to say the strategyexecution gap. I wish to thank my co-authors for their excellent contributions. The staff of LexisNexis also deserve a special word of thanks for their diligent assistance, support and service. I hope that you find this book useful and that you also experience a sense of achievement when you are contributing to the growth and development of people. We have to accelerate the process of learning and human resource development if we, as South Africans, Namibians, Zimbabweans and citizens of other developing nations, want to improve our competitiveness in the global business environment. I invite readers to send me their comments about the book, case studies and suggestions for improvement for the sixth edition in 2020 by e-mail at marius@sabpp.co.za or by connecting with me on Twitter, @MariusSABPP or @SABPP1 or Instagram on @sabpp_1. In this way you are not only passive readers or students of the field of HRD, you are extending your learning network and impact by being connected on a daily basis via our smart phones. I look forward to be engaged and connected with you as we practice our HRD work with the highest level of professionalism as life-long HRD students and practitioners. MARIUS MEYER CEO: SA Board for People Practices (SABPP) CONTENTS About the editor ........................................................................................................... The authors ................................................................................................................... Foreword ...................................................................................................................... Preface .......................................................................................................................... Page v vii ix xi Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT.................................................................................. 1.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1.2 International trends in HRD .............................................................................. 1.2.1 Globalisation ...................................................................................... 1.2.2 Strategic HRD and talent management .............................................. 1.2.3 Electronic, mobile and social learning ............................................... 1.2.4 Management and leadership development ......................................... 1.2.5 Performance consulting ..................................................................... 1.2.6 Career and performance management ............................................... 1.2.7 Proactive needs identification ............................................................ 1.2.8 Training design .................................................................................. 1.2.9 Evaluation of training ........................................................................ 1.2.10 Employment equity and diversity training......................................... 1.2.11 Learning organisation ........................................................................ 1.3 Local trends in HRD ......................................................................................... 1.3.1 Training legislation ............................................................................ 1.3.2 ETD practices..................................................................................... 1.3.3 HR and L&D standards...................................................................... 1.4 Integrating ETD, L&D and HRD...................................................................... 1.5 Principles underlying the development of L&D practitioners .......................... 1.6 Outcomes-based education (OBE) .................................................................... 1.7 Company example ............................................................................................. 1.8 An integrated framework for HRD ................................................................... 1.9 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 1 1 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 6 6 8 8 10 11 13 19 20 xv xvi 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Managing Human Resource Development Case study ......................................................................................................... Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. References ......................................................................................................... Suggested reading ............................................................................................. Internet sites ...................................................................................................... Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... Chapter 2 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT LEGISLATION ............ 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 2.2 Origin of the Skills Development Strategy and the NQF ................................. 2.3 The strategic intent of the Skills Development Strategy .................................. 2.4 Relationship to other skills and labour policy initiatives .................................. 2.5 The National Qualifications Framework Act (2008) ........................................ 2.5.1 The strategy underpinning the NQF .................................................. 2.5.2 Intended transformation through the NQF ........................................ 2.6 Establishment and composition of the SAQA .................................................. 2.7 SAQA’s functions in terms of the NQF Act ..................................................... 2.7.1 Quality councils ................................................................................. 2.7.2 Professional bodies ............................................................................ 2.8 Principles of the NQF ....................................................................................... 2.9 The NQF as a transformation mechanism......................................................... 2.10 The description of “competence” ...................................................................... 2.10.1 Expanding descriptions of competence ............................................. 2.10.2 Different kinds of competence ........................................................... 2.10.3 Competence ........................................................................................ 2.11 Standardising concepts and terms ..................................................................... 2.11.1 A standard format for describing competence ................................... 2.11.2 Generic abilities (“critical cross-field outcomes”) ............................ 2.11.3 Credits assigned to unit standards...................................................... 2.11.4 Standardised levels............................................................................. 2.11.5 Level descriptors ................................................................................ 2.12 The relationship between standards and qualifications .................................... 2.13 Rules of combination ........................................................................................ 2.14 Qualifications .................................................................................................... 2.15 NQF Implementation Framework ..................................................................... 2.15.1 Priority 1: Completion of the Transition from the SAQA Act to the NQF Act ....................................................................................... 2.15.2 Priority 2: Development of a system of collaboration between SAQA and the QCs ............................................................................ 2.15.3 Priority 3: Co-ordination of the three sub-frameworks of the NQF .............................................................................................. 2.15.4 Priority 4: Establishment of standard-setting and quality-assurance mechanisms within each of the three sub-frameworks ...................... Page 20 21 22 22 23 23 25 25 26 26 27 27 28 29 29 29 30 30 30 31 31 31 32 33 33 33 33 34 34 35 38 38 39 40 40 40 40 41 Contents xvii Page 2.15.5 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 Priority 5: Completion and operationalisation of the progression and articulation apparatus of the NQF ............................................... 2.15.6 Priority 6: Further development and improvement of the information apparatus of the NQF ..................................................... 2.15.7 Role of the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) ... Vision and strategic approach of the Skills Development Act ......................... 2.16.1 Principles underpinning the proposed new system............................ 2.16.2 Purposes of the Skills Development Act ........................................... Core components of the Skills Development Strategy ..................................... 2.17.1 National co-ordination ....................................................................... 2.17.1.1 Functions .......................................................................... 2.17.1.2 Composition...................................................................... 2.17.2 Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) ........................ 2.17.2.1 Criteria for establishment ................................................. 2.17.2.2 Functions .......................................................................... 2.17.2.3 Composition...................................................................... 2.17.2.4 Chambers .......................................................................... 2.17.2.5 Financing SETAs and their chambers .............................. 2.17.3 Learnership system and skills programmes ....................................... 2.17.4 Funding of skills development ........................................................... 2.17.4.1 Skills development levies ................................................. 2.17.4.2 Collection of the levy ....................................................... 2.17.4.3 National Skills Fund ......................................................... Grants and tax deductions available to employers and providers..................... Sector skills plans .............................................................................................. National Skills Development Strategy .............................................................. Case studies: Sector and workplace skills plans and learnership implementation .................................................................................................. 2.21.1 Transport Education and Training Authority .................................... 2.21.2 Transnet Rail Engineering ................................................................. Practical implications for HRD practitioners .................................................... Conclusion......................................................................................................... Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. References ......................................................................................................... Suggested reading ............................................................................................. Internet sites ...................................................................................................... Acknowledgement............................................................................................. Chapter 3 STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ................. 3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 3.2 The emergence of a new competitive landscape ............................................... 3.3 Reconceptualising and repositioning HRD as a strategic partner .................... 3.4 Strategy formulation versus implementation .................................................... 3.5 Strategy options and choice .............................................................................. 41 41 41 43 43 44 44 45 45 46 46 46 47 48 48 49 49 51 52 53 53 54 54 54 55 55 55 56 56 57 57 60 60 60 61 62 62 64 65 67 xviii 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 Managing Human Resource Development Implementation design criteria .......................................................................... 3.6.1 Alignment........................................................................................... 3.6.2 Implementability ................................................................................ 3.6.3 Coherence and governance ................................................................ Company example: Managing the Wesbank Way ............................................ Outsourcing as a strategic HRD implementation option .................................. 3.8.1 Planning outsourcing strategy and selecting an appropriate vendor or training partner .............................................................................. 3.8.2 Managing the risks and pitfalls of outsourcing ................................. Conclusion......................................................................................................... Case study: The Key Talent Programme of Syngenta ...................................... Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. References ......................................................................................................... Suggested reading ............................................................................................. Internet sites ...................................................................................................... Acknowledgement............................................................................................. Chapter 4 THE LEARNING ORGANISATION ................................................. 4.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 4.2 Workplace learning to support a learning culture standard (SABPP) .............. 4.3 Problems with training programmes ................................................................. 4.3.1 Training does not meet business needs .............................................. 4.3.2 In training, one size does not fit all .................................................... 4.3.3 Managers do not support training ...................................................... 4.3.4 Employee workload ........................................................................... 4.3.5 A lack of measurement ...................................................................... 4.3.6 Incorrect time allocation .................................................................... 4.4 The shift to the learning organisation ............................................................... 4.5 Types of learning............................................................................................... 4.5.1 New learning ...................................................................................... 4.5.2 Incremental learning .......................................................................... 4.5.3 Unlearning.......................................................................................... 4.5.4 Transformational learning.................................................................. 4.6 Types of learner................................................................................................. 4.6.1 Reluctant learners............................................................................... 4.6.2 Leisurely learners ............................................................................... 4.6.3 Life-long learners ............................................................................... 4.7 Characteristics of learning organisations .......................................................... 4.7.1 Flat organisational structure............................................................... 4.7.2 Open communication ......................................................................... 4.7.3 Teamwork .......................................................................................... 4.7.4 Empowerment .................................................................................... 4.7.5 Inspired leadership ............................................................................. 4.7.6 Innovation and change ....................................................................... Page 70 71 71 71 72 74 75 76 76 76 86 86 88 89 89 91 91 92 94 94 94 94 94 94 94 95 97 97 97 98 98 98 98 98 99 99 99 99 99 100 100 100 Contents xix 4.7.7 Shared vision of quality ..................................................................... 4.7.8 Systems approach............................................................................... 4.7.9 Job satisfaction and commitment ....................................................... 4.7.10 People-orientated and talent focus ..................................................... 4.7.11 External focus .................................................................................... 4.7.12 Technology-driven ............................................................................. 4.7.13 Learning opportunities ....................................................................... 4.7.14 Action and results focus ..................................................................... 4.7.15 Customer-orientated ........................................................................... Barriers to organisational learning .................................................................... Learning organisation implementation plan ..................................................... 4.9.1 Assess learning culture ...................................................................... 4.9.2 Analyse results ................................................................................... 4.9.3 Communicate and disseminate results ............................................... 4.9.4 Present results to top management..................................................... 4.9.5 Create a knowledge management system .......................................... 4.9.6 Develop learning strategies ................................................................ 4.9.7 Market and communicate learning..................................................... 4.9.8 Implementation .................................................................................. 4.9.9 Evaluation .......................................................................................... Company examples ........................................................................................... Conclusion......................................................................................................... Case study ......................................................................................................... Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. References ......................................................................................................... Suggested reading ............................................................................................. Internet sites ...................................................................................................... Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... Page 100 100 100 100 101 101 102 102 102 102 103 104 106 106 107 107 108 108 109 109 109 112 113 113 114 115 116 116 Chapter 5 PERFORMANCE CONSULTING ..................................................... 5.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 5.2 The contextualisation of performance consulting ............................................. 5.2.1 The need to partner with management ............................................... 5.2.2 The link with business needs ............................................................. 5.2.3 The link with Human Resource Development (HRD) ...................... 5.2.4 The link with Organisation Development (OD) ................................ 5.2.5 The link with the NQF critical outcomes........................................... 5.3 Emerging roles and competencies within the HRD framework ....................... 5.4 Performance consultant framework .................................................................. 5.4.1 The researcher role............................................................................. 5.4.2 The professional role ......................................................................... 5.4.3 The change facilitator role ................................................................. 5.4.4 The communicator role ...................................................................... 5.5 Additional competencies for performance consultants ..................................... 117 117 119 119 119 120 120 121 122 124 125 125 126 126 127 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 xx 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 Managing Human Resource Development Page Performance consulting approach and process ................................................. 128 The performance consulting approach .............................................................. 130 Facilitation and the performance improvement consultant ............................... 132 Networking and communication and the performance improvement consultant .......................................................................................................... 134 International standards for performance consultants ........................................ 135 5.10.1 Focus on outcomes ............................................................................. 135 5.10.2 Take a systemic view ......................................................................... 136 5.10.3 Add value ........................................................................................... 136 5.10.4 Work in partnership with clients and other specialists ...................... 136 5.10.5 Determine need or opportunity .......................................................... 136 5.10.6 Determine cause ................................................................................. 136 5.10.7 Design solutions, including implementation and evaluation ............. 136 5.10.8 Ensure solutions’ conformity and feasibility ..................................... 136 5.10.9 Implement solutions ........................................................................... 137 5.10.10 Evaluate results and impact ............................................................... 137 Introducing a performance improvement strategy ............................................ 137 Assessment of performance consultant competencies ...................................... 139 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 143 Case study ......................................................................................................... 143 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 151 References ......................................................................................................... 152 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 153 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... 154 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... 154 Chapter 6 LEARNING NEEDS ANALYSIS ........................................................ 6.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 6.2 Terminology definition ..................................................................................... 6.3 Rationale for learning needs analysis ............................................................... 6.4 National standard on learning needs analysis (SABPP) ................................... 6.5 The stakeholders in learning needs analysis ..................................................... 6.6 The learning needs analysis phases................................................................... 6.6.1 Collect information on an ongoing basis to identify potential issues or problems .............................................................................. 6.6.2 If an issue or performance problem is identified, consult with management ....................................................................................... 6.6.3 If training-related, identify relevant criteria ...................................... 6.6.4 Select a data-collection method and procedures appropriate to the problem being analysed ............................................................... 6.6.4.1 Written surveys or questionnaires .................................... 6.6.4.2 Diagnostic instruments ..................................................... 6.6.4.3 Interviews ......................................................................... 155 155 157 158 161 162 165 165 166 166 167 167 168 168 Contents xxi 6.6.4.4 Focus groups ..................................................................... 6.6.4.5 Training committees ......................................................... 6.6.4.6 Observation....................................................................... 6.6.4.7 Examining work samples ................................................. 6.6.4.8 Critical incident analysis .................................................. 6.6.4.9 Assessment centres ........................................................... 6.6.4.10 Performance appraisals ..................................................... 6.6.4.11 Exit interviews .................................................................. 6.6.4.12 Comparing the needs analysis methods............................ 6.6.5 Collect data and analyse results; compare information with relevant criteria to determine gaps; draw conclusions....................... 6.6.6 Report results and recommendations to client ................................... 6.7 Other types of analyses ..................................................................................... 6.7.1 Organisation or situation analysis ...................................................... 6.7.2 Target population analysis ................................................................. 6.7.3 Task analysis ...................................................................................... 6.7.4 Skills and competency analysis ......................................................... 6.7.5 Attitude analysis................................................................................. 6.8 Skills audits ....................................................................................................... 6.8.1 What is a skills audit? ........................................................................ 6.8.2 The skills audit process ...................................................................... 6.8.3 Skills audit application....................................................................... 6.9 Company example ............................................................................................. 6.10 Key learning points ........................................................................................... 6.11 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 6.12 Case studies ....................................................................................................... 6.13 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. Appendix 6.1 Training-needs analysis questionnaire for first line supervisors ........ Appendix 6.2 Management style diagnostic instrument............................................ 6.14 References ......................................................................................................... 6.15 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 6.16 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... 6.17 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... Chapter 7 DESIGNING HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS ............................................................................... 7.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 7.2 National Learning Design Standard (SABPP) .................................................. 7.3 Selection of HRD interventions ........................................................................ 7.4 Implementation of interventions ....................................................................... 7.5 HRD interventions ............................................................................................ 7.5.1 Conferences........................................................................................ 7.5.2 On-the-job training ............................................................................ Page 168 169 169 169 169 170 170 171 171 171 172 172 173 174 175 175 176 177 177 177 179 180 182 182 183 187 188 189 191 192 192 192 193 194 194 197 198 198 199 200 xxii Managing Human Resource Development Industrial theatre sessions .................................................................. 7.5.3.1 Applications and usage of industrial theatre sessions ..... 7.5.3.2 Company examples........................................................... 7.5.3.3 Ambush training ............................................................... 7.5.4 Action learning................................................................................... 7.5.5 Adventure learning ............................................................................ 7.5.6 Team-building .................................................................................... 7.5.7 Learning programmes ........................................................................ 7.5.7.1 Introduction ...................................................................... 7.5.7.2 Planning of learning programmes .................................... 7.5.7.3 Programme strategy .......................................................... 7.5.7.4 Curriculum development in terms of the QCTO .............. 7.5.7.5 Checklist ........................................................................... 7.5.7.6 Learning aids .................................................................... 7.5.8 Games and simulations ...................................................................... 7.5.9 Design thinking .................................................................................. 7.6 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 7.7 Case study ......................................................................................................... 7.8 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 7.9 References ......................................................................................................... 7.10 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 7.11 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... Page 202 203 204 207 207 209 209 211 211 212 212 213 214 216 216 218 218 219 219 220 221 221 Chapter 8 PLANNING AND ORGANISING TRAINING ................................. 8.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 8.2 Compiling a training plan.................................................................................. 8.2.1 Alignment with NQF and QC requirements ...................................... 8.2.2 Consultation with stakeholders .......................................................... 8.2.3 Planning the method of training and development ............................ 8.2.4 Managing ETD staff .......................................................................... 8.2.5 Budgets .............................................................................................. 8.2.6 Marketing and selling training ........................................................... 8.2.6.1 Selling to management ..................................................... 8.2.6.2 Motivating learners ........................................................... 8.2.6.3 Steps in marketing ............................................................ 8.2.7 Training aids ...................................................................................... 8.2.8 Planning the venue ............................................................................. 8.2.8.1 Selecting the right venue .................................................. 8.2.8.2 Venue checklist ................................................................ 8.2.8.3 Doing homework about the chosen venue ....................... 8.2.9 Administration ................................................................................... 8.2.9.1 Pre-course administration ................................................. 8.2.9.2 Post-course administration ............................................... 8.2.10 Planning for training evaluation ........................................................ 223 223 224 226 226 228 230 230 232 233 233 234 234 236 237 238 239 240 240 242 243 7.5.3 Contents xxiii A project management approach....................................................................... 8.3.1 Handling a successful project ............................................................ 8.3.2 Key principles for training project management success .................. 8.4 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 8.5 Case study ......................................................................................................... 8.6 Learning points.................................................................................................. 8.7 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 8.8 References ......................................................................................................... 8.9 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 8.10 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... Page 243 244 246 248 248 249 249 249 250 250 Chapter 9 MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ............. 9.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 9.2 Changing role of management .......................................................................... 9.3 International best practices................................................................................ 9.4 Learning opportunities for management development ..................................... 9.5 Management concerns ....................................................................................... 9.6 Managerial learning .......................................................................................... 9.7 Leadership development standard for South Africa (SABPP) ......................... 9.8 Managing resources .......................................................................................... 9.9 Transfer partnerships......................................................................................... 9.10 South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) requirements ....................... 9.11 Performance management ................................................................................. 9.12 A process approach to management development ............................................ 9.12.1 Why some management development programmes fail .................... 9.12.2 A process for individual management development ......................... 9.12.3 When does the need for individual development arise? .................... 9.13 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 9.14 Company example: Telkom .............................................................................. 9.15 Case studies ....................................................................................................... 9.16 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 9.17 References ......................................................................................................... 9.18 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 9.19 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... 9.20 Acknowledgement............................................................................................. 253 254 256 258 261 263 264 265 266 266 269 269 270 270 271 271 272 272 281 282 283 284 285 285 Chapter 10 MENTORING AND COACHING ..................................................... 10.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 10.2 Benefits of mentoring and coaching ................................................................. 10.3 Pitfalls of mentoring and coaching ................................................................... 10.4 Types of mentoring and coaching interventions ............................................... 287 287 290 290 292 8.3 xxiv Managing Human Resource Development 10.5 Role of HRD ..................................................................................................... 10.6 The coaching and mentoring standard (SABPP) .............................................. 10.7 The mentoring and coaching implementation process...................................... 10.7.1 Introducing the intervention .............................................................. 10.7.2 Training of steering committee .......................................................... 10.7.3 Identifying mentors/coaches and mentees/coachees ......................... 10.7.4 Capacity-building for all role-players ................................................ 10.7.5 Matching of mentors/coaches and mentees/coachees........................ 10.7.6 Relationship goal-setting ................................................................... 10.7.7 Implementation .................................................................................. 10.7.8 Evaluation .......................................................................................... 10.7.9 Improvement ...................................................................................... 10.8 Guidelines for effective mentoring and coaching ............................................. 10.9 Company examples ........................................................................................... 10.9.1 Study Sample and Data Collection and Analysis Method ................. 10.9.2 Methodology and Approach .............................................................. 10.9.3 Findings.............................................................................................. 10.10 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 10.11 Case study ......................................................................................................... 10.12 Key learning points ........................................................................................... 10.13 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 10.14 References ......................................................................................................... 10.15 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 10.16 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... 10.17 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... Page 293 294 296 296 297 297 298 298 298 298 299 300 300 301 301 302 303 305 305 306 307 307 307 308 308 Chapter 11 ELECTRONIC, MOBILE AND SOCIAL LEARNING .................. 11.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 11.2 Terminology definition ..................................................................................... 11.3 Benefits of e-learning ........................................................................................ 11.3.1 Course administration ........................................................................ 11.3.2 Financial management ....................................................................... 11.3.3 Management reports........................................................................... 11.3.4 Resource management ....................................................................... 11.3.5 Cost savings ....................................................................................... 11.3.6 Learner needs ..................................................................................... 11.3.7 Effective learning ............................................................................... 11.3.8 Evaluation .......................................................................................... 11.4 Disadvantages of e-learning .............................................................................. 11.5 Different types of e-learning methodologies .................................................... 11.6 E-learning implementation ................................................................................ 11.6.1 Training-needs analysis ..................................................................... 11.6.2 E-learning platform and design.......................................................... 11.6.3 Implementation of e-learning delivery .............................................. 309 309 311 315 315 315 315 316 316 316 317 317 319 319 320 320 321 323 Contents xxv 11.6.4 Evaluation .......................................................................................... 11.6.5 E-learning improvements ................................................................... 11.7 Electronic performance support systems (EPSS) ............................................. 11.8 Company example: ABSA ................................................................................ 11.9 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 11.10 Case study ......................................................................................................... 11.11 Key learning points ........................................................................................... 11.12 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 11.13 References ......................................................................................................... 11.14 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 11.15 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... 11.16 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... Page 324 325 325 326 327 327 328 328 329 330 331 332 Chapter 12 EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION ........................................................... 12.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 12.2 Objectives of a formal orientation process ....................................................... 12.3 National standard on on-boarding (SABPP)..................................................... 12.4 Phases of planning orientation .......................................................................... 12.4.1 Interview phase .................................................................................. 12.4.2 Pre-employment ................................................................................. 12.4.3 The first day ....................................................................................... 12.4.4 The first month and beyond ............................................................... 12.4.5 Monitoring of process ........................................................................ 12.4.6 Exit interviews ................................................................................... 12.5 Elements of successful orientation programmes ............................................... 12.5.1 Give new employees what they need................................................. 12.5.2 Allow enough time for orientation..................................................... 12.5.3 Provide a bonding experience ............................................................ 12.5.4 Make orientation universal ................................................................ 12.5.5 Immediate implementation................................................................. 12.5.6 Announcing the appointment ............................................................. 12.5.7 Simplicity ........................................................................................... 12.5.8 Emotional element ............................................................................. 12.5.9 Management involvement .................................................................. 12.5.10 Human resource involvement ............................................................ 12.6 Pitfalls in orientation programmes .................................................................... 12.7 The ABSA case study ....................................................................................... 12.7.1 Background ........................................................................................ 12.7.2 Orientation within ABSA .................................................................. 12.7.3 Further details pertaining to phases one to four ................................ 12.7.3.1 Pre-employment activities ................................................ 12.7.3.2 Functional and role orientation......................................... 12.7.3.3 Monitoring, evaluation and refinement ............................ 333 333 335 336 337 337 337 338 338 339 339 339 339 339 340 340 340 340 340 340 340 341 341 341 341 342 343 343 344 344 xxvi Managing Human Resource Development 12.7.3.4 Checklist ........................................................................... 12.7.3.5 Accountability for orientation .......................................... 12.8 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 12.9 Case study ......................................................................................................... 12.10 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 12.11 References ......................................................................................................... 12.12 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 12.13 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... Page 344 345 346 346 347 347 348 348 Chapter 13 EMPLOYMENT EQUITY AND DIVERSITY TRAINING ........... 13.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 13.2 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act ........................................... 13.3 Employment Equity Act .................................................................................... 13.4 Implications of employment equity and diversity for HRD ............................. 13.5 Employment equity training .............................................................................. 13.6 Diversity training .............................................................................................. 13.6.1 Pitfalls of diversity training ............................................................... 13.6.1.1 Lack of management commitment ................................... 13.6.1.2 Improper needs identification ........................................... 13.6.1.3 Political orientation .......................................................... 13.6.1.4 Reactive approach ............................................................ 13.6.1.5 Unbalanced content .......................................................... 13.6.1.6 Facilitators’ profile ........................................................... 13.6.1.7 Participant profile ............................................................. 13.6.1.8 Project approach ............................................................... 13.6.1.9 Inadequate transfer of learning ......................................... 13.6.1.10 Superficial evaluation ....................................................... 13.6.1.11 Lack of change management ............................................ 13.6.1.12 Consultant liabilities ......................................................... 13.6.2 Guidelines for effective diversity training ......................................... 13.6.2.1 Obtain visible management support ................................. 13.6.2.2 Diversity-needs identification .......................................... 13.6.2.3 Integrate into business strategy ........................................ 13.6.2.4 Balanced and objective approach ..................................... 13.6.2.5 Diverse facilitators............................................................ 13.6.2.6 Diverse participants .......................................................... 13.6.2.7 Change management......................................................... 13.6.2.8 Consultant co-ordination .................................................. 13.6.2.9 Compile action plans ........................................................ 13.6.2.10 Provide support structures ................................................ 13.6.2.11 Monitoring and evaluation ............................................... 13.6.3 Diversity training process .................................................................. 13.6.3.1 Diversity-needs assessment .............................................. 13.6.3.2 Diversity training design .................................................. 13.6.3.3 Facilitation ........................................................................ 349 349 352 353 355 355 357 357 358 358 358 358 359 359 359 359 359 360 360 360 360 360 360 361 361 361 361 361 361 362 362 362 362 362 364 367 Contents xxvii 13.6.3.4 Support and reinforcement ............................................... 13.6.3.5 Programme evaluation ...................................................... 13.7 Company example ............................................................................................. 13.8 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 13.9 Case study ......................................................................................................... 13.10 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 13.11 References ......................................................................................................... 13.12 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 13.13 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... Page 368 368 369 370 370 371 372 372 373 Chapter 14 LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS ............................ 14.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 14.2 Benefits of HR Standards .................................................................................. 14.3 L&D within the National HR Standards Model ............................................... 14.4 The L&D Application Standard ........................................................................ 14.5 Company example ............................................................................................. 14.6 L&D standard implementation plan .................................................................. 14.7 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 14.8 Case study ......................................................................................................... 14.9 Key learning points ........................................................................................... 14.10 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 14.11 References ......................................................................................................... 14.12 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 14.13 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... 14.14 Acknowledgement............................................................................................. 375 375 376 377 379 382 384 384 385 386 386 387 387 387 387 Chapter 15 MULTISKILLING ............................................................................... 15.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 15.2 Concept and nature of multiskilling .................................................................. 15.3 Factors that support multiskilling ..................................................................... 15.3.1 Factors that support multiskilling from the organisation’s perspective ......................................................................................... 15.3.2 Factors that support multiskilling from the learner’s perspective ......................................................................................... 15.4 Value of multiskilling ....................................................................................... 15.5 Generic skills of a multiskilling programme..................................................... 15.6 Strategies to promote multiskilling ................................................................... 15.6.1 Job design........................................................................................... 15.6.2 Job rotation......................................................................................... 15.6.3 Job enlargement ................................................................................. 15.6.4 Job enrichment ................................................................................... 389 389 390 391 391 392 392 393 394 394 394 395 395 xxviii Managing Human Resource Development 15.6.5 Alternative work arrangements .......................................................... 15.6.6 Career development ........................................................................... 15.7 Practical implementation of multiskilling ......................................................... 15.7.1 Strategy .............................................................................................. 15.7.2 Consulted process .............................................................................. 15.7.3 Skills audit ......................................................................................... 15.7.4 Implementation .................................................................................. 15.7.5 Monitoring the process ...................................................................... 15.8 Factors to consider during implementation....................................................... 15.9 Limitations of multiskilling............................................................................... 15.10 Developing a competency model ...................................................................... 15.10.1 Consider the organisational context................................................... 15.10.2 Link the model to organisational goals and objectives...................... 15.10.3 Use job-analysis methods to develop competencies .......................... 15.10.4 Consider what is to be achieved through multiskilling ..................... 15.10.5 Define the anatomy of a competency................................................. 15.10.6 Include generic and job-specific competencies ................................. 15.10.7 Example of a competency model ....................................................... 15.11 Developing a structured learning programme................................................... 15.12 Documentation of a multiskilling programme .................................................. 15.13 Maintaining skill levels ..................................................................................... 15.14 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 15.15 Case study ......................................................................................................... 15.16 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 15.17 References ......................................................................................................... 15.18 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... Page 395 396 396 397 397 397 398 398 398 399 399 399 399 399 400 400 400 400 401 403 403 403 404 404 405 406 Chapter 16 CAREER MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE ..................... 16.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 16.2 Career development in a changing world of work ............................................ 16.2.1 The meaning of work and the new psychological contract ............... 16.2.2 Defining the “new” career ................................................................. 16.2.3 Talent management: the strategic context for career development ... 16.2.4 The new meaning of career development .......................................... 16.2.5 Responsibilities in career development ............................................. 16.3 Career stages ..................................................................................................... 16.4 Linking career stages to development interventions......................................... 16.5 Organisation entry ............................................................................................. 16.5.1 Career choice ..................................................................................... 16.5.2 Organisational socialisation ............................................................... 16.6 Development or mastery ................................................................................... 16.6.1 Performance management and 360-degree feedback ........................ 16.6.2 Mentoring and coaching .................................................................... 16.6.3 Succession planning ........................................................................... 407 408 410 410 413 414 416 418 419 421 423 423 424 425 425 426 427 Contents xxix 16.6.4 Career-planning workshops ............................................................... 16.6.5 Interventions dealing with plateauing and stress ............................... 16.7 Organisation exit ............................................................................................... 16.8 Dealing with flexible work practices ................................................................ 16.9 Designing and aligning a comprehensive career development system............. 16.10 Company examples ........................................................................................... 16.11 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 16.12 Case study ......................................................................................................... 16.13 Learning points.................................................................................................. 16.14 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 16.15 References ......................................................................................................... 16.16 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 16.17 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... Chapter 17 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUALITY MANAGEMENT ................................................................................... 17.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 17.2 Principles of quality management ..................................................................... 17.3 Implementation strategy .................................................................................... 17.3.1 Phase one: management meeting ....................................................... 17.3.2 Phase two: management training ....................................................... 17.3.3 Phase three: strategic planning .......................................................... 17.3.4 Phase four: form quality council ........................................................ 17.3.5 Phase five: culture assessment ........................................................... 17.3.6 Phase six: communications strategy .................................................. 17.3.7 Phase seven: organisation-wide training ........................................... 17.3.8 Phase eight: form quality teams ......................................................... 17.3.9 Phase nine: training of teams ............................................................. 17.3.10 Phase ten: problem identification and improvement techniques ....... 17.3.11 Phase eleven: change management .................................................... 17.3.12 Phase twelve: audit and reviews ........................................................ 17.4 Aligning HRD with quality management ......................................................... 17.4.1 Customer focus .................................................................................. 17.4.2 Problem-solving and quality techniques ............................................ 17.4.3 Process improvement ......................................................................... 17.4.4 Benchmarking .................................................................................... 17.4.5 Quality management system .............................................................. 17.5 Quality assurance in terms of the QCTO .......................................................... 17.5.1 Functions of an assessment quality partner ....................................... 17.5.2 Criteria for the approval of an assessment quality partner ................ 17.5.3 The QCTO’s obligations in respect of assessment quality partners ............................................................................................... 17.5.4 Practical guidelines for HRD practitioners ........................................ 17.6 Company example ............................................................................................. 17.7 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 17.8 Case study ......................................................................................................... 17.9 Key learning points ........................................................................................... Page 428 428 428 429 431 431 433 434 435 436 436 439 439 441 441 442 444 446 446 447 448 449 449 450 452 453 453 455 455 455 456 457 457 458 458 460 460 461 462 462 463 463 464 465 xxx Managing Human Resource Development 17.10 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 17.11 References ......................................................................................................... 17.12 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 17.13 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... Page 465 465 466 466 Chapter 18 ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION ................................................ 18.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 18.2 Terminology definition ..................................................................................... 18.2.1 Definitions.......................................................................................... 18.2.2 Formative and summative evaluation and assessment ...................... 18.3 Why is evaluation necessary? ........................................................................... 18.3.1 Rationale for the evaluation of training in organisations ................ 18.3.2 Why people do not evaluate ............................................................ 18.3.3 Consequences of not evaluating or assessing .................................. 18.4 Why people should evaluate ............................................................................. 18.4.1 Focus on inputs ................................................................................ 18.4.2 Focus on outputs .............................................................................. 18.4.3 Focus on managing what is measured ............................................. 18.4.4 Focus on strategy ............................................................................. 18.4.5 Applications ..................................................................................... 18.5 Results-based HRD ........................................................................................... 18.5.1 What is results-based HRD? ............................................................ 18.5.2 Activity-based HRD ........................................................................ 18.6 The role of evaluation in South Africa ............................................................. 18.7 Evaluation and the individual ........................................................................... 18.8 Key role-players in evaluation .......................................................................... 18.9 Models of evaluation ......................................................................................... 18.9.1 Kirkpatrick ....................................................................................... 18.9.2 Warr, Bird and Rackham ................................................................. 18.9.3 Phillips’s five-level ROI framework ............................................... 18.9.4 South African ROI model ................................................................ 18.9.5 Learning evaluation standard model (SABPP)................................ 18.10 Methods of evaluation ....................................................................................... 18.10.1 Questionnaires ................................................................................. 18.10.2 Reactionnaires.................................................................................. 18.10.3 Interviews......................................................................................... 18.10.4 Critical incident review.................................................................... 18.10.5 Written and computer-based tests.................................................... 18.10.6 Practical tests ................................................................................... 18.10.7 Focus groups .................................................................................... 18.10.8 Action planning ............................................................................... 18.10.9 Behavioural analysis ........................................................................ 18.10.10 Cost-benefit analysis and ROI ......................................................... 18.11 Competence-based assessment according to QCTO requirements................... 469 470 471 471 472 473 473 474 475 475 476 476 476 477 477 477 477 478 479 479 480 481 481 483 484 486 490 492 494 494 495 495 495 496 496 496 497 498 499 Contents xxxi 18.12 Methods of assessment ...................................................................................... 18.12.1 Oral assessments .............................................................................. 18.12.2 Case studies...................................................................................... 18.12.3 Examinations and written tests ........................................................ 18.12.4 Portfolios .......................................................................................... 18.12.5 Role plays ........................................................................................ 18.12.6 Simulations ...................................................................................... 18.13 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 18.14 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 18.15 Case study ......................................................................................................... 18.16 References ......................................................................................................... 18.17 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 18.18 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... 18.19 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... Page 504 504 504 504 504 504 504 505 505 506 507 508 508 509 Chapter 19 INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ..... 19.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 19.2 Globalisation and HRD ..................................................................................... 19.2.1 International HRD practices .............................................................. 19.2.2 Global competencies .......................................................................... 19.3 Regional and country diversity ......................................................................... 19.3.1 Asia .................................................................................................... 19.3.2 Middle East ........................................................................................ 19.3.3 South America ................................................................................... 19.3.4 United States ...................................................................................... 19.4 Problems experienced by expatriate employees ............................................... 19.5 Guidelines for international HRD ..................................................................... 19.6 International HRD strategy ............................................................................... 19.6.1 Review globalisation strategy ............................................................ 19.6.2 Develop HRD strategy ....................................................................... 19.6.3 Expatriate training .............................................................................. 19.6.4 Repatriate training .............................................................................. 19.6.5 HRD global alignment ....................................................................... 19.7 Company example: IBM ................................................................................... 19.8 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 19.9 Case study ......................................................................................................... 19.10 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 19.11 References ......................................................................................................... 19.12 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 19.13 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... 511 511 512 514 514 516 517 517 518 518 518 519 519 520 520 520 521 521 521 521 522 522 523 524 525 Chapter 20 CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ..................... 20.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 20.2 Historic development of CPD ........................................................................... 527 528 528 xxxii Managing Human Resource Development What is CPD? .................................................................................................... What is CPD not? .............................................................................................. Why CPD? ........................................................................................................ Comparability with other countries................................................................... 20.6.1 AHRI (Australia) ............................................................................... 20.6.2 CIPD (UK) ......................................................................................... 20.7 What counts as CPD? ........................................................................................ 20.8 Who does CPD affect? ...................................................................................... 20.9 The variety of approaches to CPD .................................................................... 20.9.1 Formal courses ................................................................................... 20.9.2 Workshops and seminars ................................................................... 20.9.3 Conferences........................................................................................ 20.9.4 Tutorials ............................................................................................. 20.9.5 Independent study and reading .......................................................... 20.9.6 Presentations and publishing ............................................................. 20.9.7 Mentoring and coaching .................................................................... 20.10 Learning options for CPD ................................................................................. 20.10.1 Structured ........................................................................................... 20.10.2 Semi-structured .................................................................................. 20.10.3 Unstructured ....................................................................................... 20.11 Core competencies of the thinking performer................................................... 20.12 Personal development plans .............................................................................. 20.13 Complete the necessary CPD work ................................................................... 20.14 Building an organisational CPD strategy .......................................................... 20.15 Practical guidelines for CPD ............................................................................. 20.16 CPD example: SA Board for People Practices (SABPP) ................................. 20.17 Case study: Help! I’m stuck in the mud! .......................................................... 20.18 Key learning points ........................................................................................... 20.19 Conclusion......................................................................................................... 20.20 Self-assessment questions ................................................................................. 20.21 References ......................................................................................................... 20.22 Suggested reading ............................................................................................. 20.23 Internet sites ...................................................................................................... 20.24 Acknowledgement............................................................................................. Page 529 530 530 532 532 533 535 535 536 536 536 536 536 537 537 537 537 537 537 537 537 541 541 542 543 544 546 547 547 548 549 550 550 550 Assignment, portfolio and examination questions ....................................................... Glossary ....................................................................................................................... HRD Internet index ...................................................................................................... Index............................................................................................................................. 551 567 575 579 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT Marius Meyer People want skills and knowledge. Learning is the ticket to lifetime employability. (Kathryn Heath) LEARNING OUTCOMES • Identify international trends in human resource development and indicate their relevance to the South African situation • Provide a critical analysis of the readiness of South African organisations to adapt to international trends in HRD • Identify local trends in HRD with specific reference to ETD practices and legislation • Design a learning programme to help HRD managers apply the principles underlying the development of ETD practitioners • Formulate an implementation strategy to conform to national ETD standards and practices • Integrate ETD within the broader framework of HRD 1.1 Introduction People play a crucial role in a company’s ability to produce products and services and, moreover, in a country’s ability to improve productivity and economic growth. The role of human resource development is therefore essential, especially in a country like South Africa in which its human resources are underdeveloped and the potential of its people is not fully realised. Subsequent World Competitiveness Reports have identified the lack of people development as one of the major stumbling blocks in regard to the South African 1 2 Managing Human Resource Development economy’s ability to compete in the global marketplace. No country can sustain economic development and international competitiveness if its human resources are not developed to contribute significantly to the economy. Likewise, while the highest level of future economic growth is expected from African countries, these initial anticipated high levels of economic growth (albeit from a low base) may not be sustainable. The need for strong national systems of human capital development can therefore not be over-emphasised. The field of human resource development (HRD) in South Africa and abroad has evolved so rapidly over the past ten years that traditional training is under threat. Traditionally, training has been seen as a tool to give employees knowledge and skills to perform their work more effectively. Today this view is changing. An increasing number of companies view HRD as an important business imperative to enhance competitiveness and overall business performance. South African companies that use HRD as a strategic business strategy are likely to outperform their competitors who fail to do so. HRD can be defined as all the processes, systems, methods, procedures and programmes an organisation employs to develop its human resources in order to equip its employees to be able to contribute to organisational performance. From this definition it is evident that HRD encompasses both training and non-training interventions. People must be continuously developed, whether this process occurs as part of a training intervention or as a component of people development that occurs on a daily basis. The role of HRD has broadened beyond training programme design. Effective instructional design remains important, but HRD practitioners are increasingly asked to create innovative systems and mechanisms to ensure performance improvement in the workplace. Moreover, the speed of technolocial and other changes, both in the workplace and the broader business and social envrionment, requires more dynamic and flexible appraoches to learning. The HRD practitioner is no longer only a trainer, but becomes a consultant to the rest of the organisation in providing the support that enables the achievement of business objectives. From a South African perspective, HRD is increasingly influenced by the new skills development system based on skills development within occupations, which is to be driven by the quality councils and in particular the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO). In this new paradigm, the emphasis is on what the learner must be able to apply in the workplace as a result of learning. HRD practitioners should align their HRD programmes and systems to support the implementation of a QCTO system. HRD is also a key element of the National Skills Development Strategy and other supporting government initiatives aimed at alleviating poverty and inequality, and improving our competitiveness as a nation. 1.2 International trends in HRD A global revolution is taking place in the field of workplace learning. It is driven by the requirements of the information explosion, increased globalisation, the changing nature of work and business, as well as changing learner needs and aspirations. The following international trends and developments in the field of HRD have evolved from the international conferences hosted by the world’s largest training and development institutions: the Association for Talent Development (www.atd.org) in the USA and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the UK (www.cipd.co.uk). These trends should be internalised by South African organisations if they want to become competitive in the global world. Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Development 3 1.2.1 Globalisation In the modern business environment, companies are forced to approach the way they conduct business activities with a more external focus. Not only are business partnerships extending across regional, national and continental borders, but international standards are also increasingly becoming the norm. While production and other business standards have been the norm for decades, in recent times the International Standards Organization (ISO) has started to develop international Human Resource (HR) standards. This new trend has major implications for HRD in the workplace. Human resources need to be developed to acquire knowledge and skills to function effectively in a global business environment. Thus, today a focus on global HR is key to business success (Haynes, 2016). 1.2.2 Strategic HRD and talent management The importance of managing HRD from a strategic point of view has evolved very rapidly over the past five years. However, it is now more difficult than ever to strategically plan HRD over the long term. The changes in the business environment are so rapid and unpredictable that strategic HRD must be aligned on a more regular basis, with the typical time span of a strategic plan being reducced from 10 years to three years. This means that strategic HRD plans must be flexible enough to accommodate changes in the environment. In addition, major strategic decisions, such as whether to outsource the organisation’s training activities wholly or partially, have to take costs savings and business improvements into consideration. Moreover, the worldwide skills gaps have forced companies to institute aggressive talent management strategies to attract, develop and optimise the available talent in both the broader marketplace and specific industries. 1.2.3 Electronic, mobile and social learning An increasing number of organisations worldwide are making use of electronic learning (e-learning) to facilitate the learning process. The latest technology, such as multi-media, computer-based training, virtual classrooms, Internet training and video-conferencing, is being used. In fact, the rapid advancement in technology has resulted in e-learning being transferred from computers to laptops to smaller devices, such as ipads and smart phones. The explosion of social media platforms has now precipitated the emergence of a new mobile form of social learning – essentially, the availability of learning at any time and anywhere the learner finds themself. 1.2.4 Management and leadership development It is evident that the role of managers and leaders is changing dramatically. Managers were previously expected to plan, direct, staff and control. Now, however, they must learn to govern, coach, empower and lead. This necessary paradigm shift requires new skills and behaviours on the part of management. If managers are not trained and developed to embrace and internalise the new managerial requirements, they will find it difficult to adapt in a fast-changing business environment. World-class companies need highly talented leaders and managers. It is therefore not surprising that the emerging field of mentoring and coaching is popular among leading companies worldwide. While the 1990’s were dominated by management development, the early 2000s were charactertised by the shift to leadership development. Now, moving towards the 2020 workplace, management and leadership development are converging. This has resulted in the need for both dynamic and innovative leaders driving change and business 4 Managing Human Resource Development transformation, while simultaneously creating systems, governance mechanisms, processes and controls to maintain some order amidst the chaotic change, uncertainty and complexity around us. Thus, the elusive paradigm is still to create the optimum balance between management and leadership. Signficant investment in management and leadership development will be required in the years to come. 1.2.5 Performance consulting The ongoing shift from traditional training to workplace performance is another international trend. Key features are: linking organisational culture and bottom-line business results, benchmarking performance, as well as satisfying client needs. The HRD professional is no longer a trainer, but becomes a performance consultant by virtue of their new role of assisting the rest of the organisation in improving their performance. Developing people at the centre of efforts to improve performance remains an ongoing challengee, in particular getting people to perform better in a fast-changing envrionment. 1.2.6 Career and performance management The traditional system of career management is no longer applicable in the modern business environment. The time has gone when an individual would join a company and work for that organisation for more than ten years. Rather, moving from one organisation to another more frequently, is becoming the norm rather than the exception. In addition, an individual is also more likely to move into different positions that are not necessarily related to one another. Flexible work practices are also contributing to the erosion of fulltime employment. More part-time staff are being employed, which will have a significant effect on HRD. Different skills will be needed such as flexibility, versatility, information technology and processing skills. A significant trend in the area of performance management has been the shift from traditional single-rater performance appraisal to 360-degree or multi-rater feedback systems as the modern approach to performance management. Multi-rater performance feedback is used when a person receives performance ratings from a range of parties, such as supervisors, peers and subordinates and, in some cases, even customers, using some type of standardised instrument which is computerised in many companies. All the Fortune 500 companies use 360-degree performance systems. 1.2.7 Proactive needs identification The demands of the modern business environment, globalisation and the speed of change require a different approach to the assessment of training needs. Organisations will no longer be in a position to sit back and wait for problems to occur before training interventions are decided upon. Rather, a more futuristic approach is needed, one that anticipates future problems and takes proactive action by means of training and development interventions. For example, it is more appropriate to provide safety training to prevent accidents, than to present the training after a number of accidents have already occurred. Hence, business drivers will play a key role in driving a more proactive approach to learning needs analysis. 1.2.8 Training design As a result of new developments such as electronic learning, the design of training will focus increasingly on the human-computer interface. Classroom training is still a popular Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Development 5 training method but is more frequently supplemented with new training techniques such as industrial theatre and outdoor training, self-directed learning and electronic learning. Many companies outsource design completely. 1.2.9 Evaluation of training Although organisations worldwide neglect the measurement of their education and training efforts, there is an increasing awareness of the importance of evaluating training programmes. Particular emphasis is placed on feasibility analysis, cost and benefit analysis of training, as well as evaluating the return on investment from training. HRD practitioners are increasingly being called upon to make sure that training will have an impact on performance in the workplace and produce the required return on the training investment. Companies are focusing more on performance and business problems when implementing training interventions. In addition, training managers must devote considerable resources and effort to indicate how an intervention contributes to the bottom-line. Measurement and evaluation form an integral part of all training interventions. 1.2.10 Employment equity and diversity training With the increasing importance of aligning training to international business practices comes the realisation that training across cultures has some potential pitfalls. If training is conducted without prior consideration to cultural differences, the outcomes can be disastrous. Various organisations in the United States of America, United Kingdom, China, Singapore and South Africa have embarked on major diversity management initiatives in order to address these issues. A holistic approach to diversity management is advocated, one that recognises a diversity initiative as a process of organisational change that is associated with the acknowledgement of diversity as an important business strategy. The importance of diversity training as an important tool in supporting a diversity initiative and the ultimate goal of employment equity is increasingly emphasised. 1.2.11 Learning organisation A major shift in the area of HRD is the creation of the learning organisation as an alternative to traditional classroom training. Traditional training is based on the notion that training occurs in a classroom or instructor-controlled setting. A reactive model is followed, which is based on a training needs analysis prior to the design and presentation of training programmes. Whilst this approach has reaped multiple benefits for organisations worldwide, the complexity, speed and reality of change and development in the business environment necessitates a more proactive and dynamic approach to training. The latter approach requires a fundamental shift from training to organisational learning in order to improve productivity. The most important challenge is to create a learning organisation, i.e. a learning culture enabling learning to take place quicker and continuously (with or without formalised learning interventions). 1.3 Local trends in HRD Local trends in HRD are driven by skills development legislation and national HRD needs. For the first time in history we have a national HRD strategy driven by the government. Although South African organisations should implement the international HRD trends as discussed above, the underdeveloped nature of our human resources 6 Managing Human Resource Development requires additional interventions. Most of these interventions, such as the Skills Development Act, necessitate a broader approach to HRD. From an HRD perspective, three important phases have emerged. First, the current training legislation; second, the outcome of the Education, Training and Development (ETD) Practices Project, namely the ETD unit standards; and third, the development of National HR standards, including Learning and Development (L&D) standards providing a clear framework for sound HRD practice. 1.3.1 Training legislation Training legislation in South Africa regulates the training that takes place in organisations. The three main laws are the National Qualifications Authority Act 67 of 2008, which regulates the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), the Skills Development Act 97 of 1998 and the Skills Development Levies Act 9 of 1999 (see chapter 2). Companies and providers can no longer do what they want to do. They have to be involved in the process of NQF alignment if they want their learning programmes to be recognised by the QCTO. 1.3.2 ETD practices The education, training and development (ETD) system in South Africa seeks to achieve a better integration between these three concepts. It is essential to describe these three concepts as they have a major impact on human resource development in organisations. Development Education HRD Training Education Erasmus and Van Dyk (1999:2) define education as the activities directed at providing the knowledge, skills, moral values and understanding required in the normal course of life. Education therefore encompasses a wide range of activities rather than merely equipping an individual with specific skills to perform a particular job or function. In most cases education is long-term orientated in the sense that an individual is prepared for life. This process starts in childhood when parents and teachers educate a child for the future. The education system in South Africa seeks to achieve exactly this goal in the sense that learners are prepared for the challenges that lie ahead in adulthood. Education is, however, not restricted to learning that takes place at school. It can also take place in the work situation, when a company provides education opportunities to its employees to prepare them for the challenges of life as manifest in the work situation, for example, educating employees on the implications of AIDS in the workplace or making employees aware of the changing customer and market profile by means of diversity education sessions. Training The second component of the new ETD system in South Africa is training. Although there is a direct relationship between education and training, the latter is narrower in its focus. Training entails the transfer of specific skills to an employee so that they can perform a Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Development 7 very specific job or task. Training is therefore more task orientated in the sense that it is concerned with skills acquisition and work performance. Training is conducted when a particular training need has been identified such as a gap in performance or the introduction of new technology which requires new skills. If we take the example of AIDS again, training would mean providing an employee or manager with specific skills to deal with an AIDS employee in their department. Other types of training interventions include technical training and computer training. Development The third component of ETD is development. Erasmus and Van Dyk (1999:3) contextualise development in a broader perspective in which emphasis is placed on employee development rather than the development of a particular individual. Development occurs when ongoing learning opportunities are created so that employees can improve and maintain high levels of performance. Examples of development interventions are mentorship programmes, career development and ongoing seminars in which employees are given opportunities to keep abreast of changes and trends in the business environment or in a particular field. The end result is a better developed workforce, which contributes directly to the achievement of business goals. The mandate of the Education, Training and Development Practices Project was to develop a model of the progression paths, standards and qualifications in the field of ETD. “ETD” is the term used to describe the practices which directly or indirectly promote or support learning. Presenting training, designing learning materials and managing training programmes are all examples of such practices (ETD Practices Project, 1998). The ETD Practices Project aimed to establish national standards for ETD practitioners in South Africa in order to professionalise ETD. In organisations in which ETD takes place, ETD supports the main activity or purpose of the organisation. For example, the purpose of a company may be to produce products for customers, and ETD is undertaken in this context for the purpose of supporting this broad goal. The company may decide to introduce courses on customer satisfaction in order to ensure that employees are equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills and values to provide products that meet the needs of its customers. Several unit standards in the field of ETD have subsequently been registered, but further qualification development will occur under the banner of the QCTO. A central issue in the transformation of ETD is to improve the quality of ETD practices in organisations. This means that ETD practitioners must have competence in promoting quality in all aspects of the ETD process. In addition, environmental and technological changes are likely to require new competencies on the part of ETD practitioners. They will be required to adapt to the external environment in an appropriate manner according to the needs of the situation. They should therefore be equipped with the competence to solve problems and find solutions in a fast-changing world. ETD practitioners should not only involve themselves in projects like these, but should continuously study the latest developments in their field by making use of networking and development opportunities. An ETD practitioner must be able to generate options and possibilities for skills and personal development strategies at enterprise and sector level (see chapter 20 for some options on continuous professional development). 8 Managing Human Resource Development 1.3.3 HR and L&D standards One of the most exciting milestones in the HR and HRD field has been the development in 2013 of National HR standards for South Africa by the HR professional and quality assurance body of South Africa, namely, the SA Board for People Practices (SABPP). The purpose of the National HR standards initiative was to create a coherent framework for HR practice in driving a consistent standard and reducing inconsistencies in HR practice. This was the first set of national HR standards developed in the world. The first part of the project consisted of developing a set of 13 national HR standards aimed at ensuring the effective implementation of an HR system standard within an organisation. L&D is one of these 13 standard elements, comprising the overarching HR system standard. The second part of the initiative was the expansion of the HR system standard by developing specific HR professional practice standards. The aim hereof was strengthening the overal system by guiding HR practitioners in the daily application of standards, such as learning needs analysis, on-boarding of staff and learning evaluation. These L&D standards will be covered in different chapters in this book where they are relevant, but a full chapter (chapter 14) is dedicated to explaining the overall L&D system standard elements as well as the link to the different L&D professional practice standards. 1.4 Integrating ETD, L&D and HRD The question now arises: what is the difference between ETD, L&D and HRD? ETD forms part of the broader strategy of HRD. ETD provides short and medium-term interventions in order to ensure that the long-term goals of HRD are achieved. HRD is therefore broader than the ETD process which entails the phases of needs analysis, design, delivery and the evaluation of ETD. The HRD function manages the total system and environment in which ETD takes place. In HRD the emphasis is on the continuous management of the learning environment and the support of the necessary transfer and follow-up strategies to make ETD work. Unfortunately, many South African organisations have not reached the stage where training programmes are integrated in an ETD system, let alone incorporating them in a well-managed HRD system. While many governments prefer the term ETD to refer to their HRD practitioners, consistent with international trends, the South African private sector has embraced the term L&D to denote the work of their training staff. In some companies this has become so successful that the highest level of employment in the L&D field is referred to as a Chief Learning Officer (CLO). This is a fully-fledged executive position operating at a comparable level of seniority to a Chief HR Officer (CHRO) or Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Typically, the CLO runs all the learning academies of the organisation and is responsible for executive decisions pertaining to L&D. However, the CLO role is rather the exception than the norm and a lot still needs to happen before this trend becomes the norm. Having said that, most companies have started making the paradigm shift to L&D by renaming their training managers or ETD managers – the new common job title today is L&D Manager. Large companies typically have a Group L&D Manager at its head office and several L&D managers in regions or provinces, or functional L&D managers heading up specific areas of expertise, such as leadership development and technical training. In its broadest sense, all ETD, L&D and HRD work should align to the overall HRD strategy of the country, which is why the government created the Human Resource Development (HRD) Council to oversee HRD nationally. There are simply too many Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Development 9 different components of HRD not working in a coherent manner that need to be aligned and integrated to ensure that the country’s overal HRD framework is optimised. Current weaknesses in the system, such as an inadequate primary and secondary education system, poor tehnical and vocational training, and an ineffective and fragmented skills development system driven by Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) need to be reviewed and improved for greater relevance and impact. Notwitstanding the specific focus areas of HRD, it is evident that L&D practitioners require a wide range of skills in order to play a proactive role in HRD. While the roles of L&D practitioners were developed by the National Training Board several years ago, they are still very relevant as we consider the development of L&D practice towards the 2020 workplace. They are summarised in Table 1.1 below. Table 1.1 Roles in an L&D model Roles Description Administrator Providing support and logistical backup for the enablement of training Assessor Assessing the competency status of individuals against agreed quality standards, using outputs and outcomes as the basis for evidence Evaluator Evaluating the impact of L&D on the effectiveness of individuals or organisations Group learning facilitator Guiding interventions that enable individuals or groups to learn in a group context Individual learning facilitator Guiding interventions that enable individual learning needs to be satisfied Learning experience designer Designing interventions in terms of outputs and outcomes, learning opportunities and delivery to enable learning Learning materials developer Developing learning materials that will assist practitioners and learners in achieving learning objectives Manager Ensuring that the structured learning process is effective through co-ordination of L&D-related activities Needs analyst Identifying L&D needs of both individuals and groups or organisations Strategist Formulating plans for training and development, organisation, policies and practices to accommodate their vision and mission Source: Adapted from National Training Board (1994). If one considers the roles of the L&D practitioners, it appears that most L&D practitioners fulfil a combination of these roles, depending on their level of responsibility and the size of the organisation. These roles are therefore interrelated and interdependent in order to constitute effective L&D practices. Also, while certain aspects of L&D are outsourced, the L&D practitioner still needs to play a key role in managing all relevant L&D processes, practices and methodologies relevant to the different L&D interventions. Thus, the different L&D roles outlined in Table 1.1 are directly aligned to the L&D professional practice standards developed by the SABPP (see chapter 14). 10 Managing Human Resource Development According to Van Dyk et al (1997:544) the L&D roles should be expressed through outcomes, quality standards and competence. Each role should be described in terms of required outcomes. Each outcome, in turn, is based on quality standards that indicate competence and provide a framework for assessment. Competencies are the skills, attitudes and knowledge L&D practitioners require in order to produce the expected outcomes. 1.5 Principles underlying the development of L&D practitioners The development of L&D practitioners cannot take place in a vacuum. It is therefore essential that the managers of L&D systems ensure that the development of L&D practitioners is guided by a set of principles. These 10 principles have been developed for ETD practitioners by Van Dyk et al (1997:540–542) and are repositioned below from an L&D perspective. The development task of the L&D practitioner from an overall reference framework All L&D interventions, like on-the-job training, are part of the larger L&D function and HRD system of the organisation, its sector and the country. In this context, HRD is integrated into the overall business plans. This brings about a change in the nature of L&D, away from the traditional courseware orientation to a broader approach in which HRD interventions are implemented to support organisational strategies. Therefore, L&D interventions should also be supported and enabled by fit-for-purpose HRD interventions, such as mentoring and coaching, career management and leadership development. Approach development requirements proactively Learners in an HRD system should be prepared to handle the HRD challenges of the future. L&D practitioners should therefore develop L&D interventions that take cognisance of the changes taking place in a fast-changing world. A more proactive approach is therefore needed, one in which L&D practitioners identify learning interventions that are of strategic importance to the organisation. During this process, L&D will support HRD interventions by preparing learners for the demands made on them by the environment. Co-ownership for all concerned The learner and the supervisor must be involved in the development of L&D interventions. This will not only ensure buy-in, but will also contribute to the transfer of knowledge, skills and values to the workplace. The ultimate goal is to create an environment in which the learner accepts responsibility for their own learning and development. The development model is also a role model for L&D practitioners In L&D, learners can adapt the L&D model to their own learning behaviour. They will then be better at developing people in the workplace when it is their turn to facilitate L&D programmes. Training of L&D practitioners is a development process HRD interventions are often long-term orientated because of the development process which forms part of career planning. The development of L&D learners should thus be spread over a relatively long period so that new abilities can be fully internalised and integrated into the learner’s frame of reference in order to broaden their perspective. Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Development 11 The L&D practitioner focuses on both the task and process behaviour of a group L&D practitioners should focus on the outcomes that should be achieved as a result of a learning intervention. This will ensure that learning remains relevant. Similarly, the L&D practitioner should manage group processes which take place when L&D programmes are presented. The integration of task and process behaviour is thus very important. Incorporating the transfer of learning into the development model Opportunities should be created for L&D learners to transfer their knowledge and skills to the workplace. This will include the integration of the HRD system in other business systems in which provision is made for practice in a work situation. Constant adaptation and innovation An HRD system should be needs-driven in order to keep abreast of changes in a constantly changing world. This means that the L&D system must be continuously updated by incorporating the latest trends and developments. Socialisation The largest part of the L&D practitioner’s work takes place in a group setting, where they are constantly being exposed to group dynamics and human behaviour. This ensures a high level of socialisation for the L&D practitioner. With the growth in e-learning and social learning by means of social media, the socialisation of L&D will be accelerated (see chapter 11). L&D practitioners who do not use social media to interact with learners will become irrelavant over the short term, and obsolete over the medium term. Application of adult learning principles The L&D model focuses mostly on the creation and maintenance of an environment in which adults can learn effectively. The approach to learning is therefore very problemorientated and adults are stimulated to use their knowledge and life experience to solve real problems. 1.6 Outcomes-based education (OBE) The NQF makes provision for an OBE system. One of the main objectives of the NQF is to create an integrated framework for learning achievements and to facilitate access and progression in HRD. It must enhance quality and accelerate redress of inequalities. It is imperative that the system contributes to the personal development of learners, irrespective of the place or level of learning. The NQF is based on the notion of OBE. In essence, OBE focuses on what the learner is able to do – in other words, each learning programme must have a particular outcome in terms of what the learner can do in the workplace (Olivier, 1998; Van der Horst and McDonald, 1997). OBE is very different from content-based education, in terms of which learning is dominated by theory. Hence, the new occupational learning system driven by the QCTO makes provision for achieving the correct balance between theory, application and practice in ensuring that learners achieve competence in their occupational field of learning. The important question to consider is: to what extent are HRD or L&D practitioners ready to pursue an OBE system? An overview of the differences between content-based education and OBE will clarify this issue: 12 Managing Human Resource Development Table 1.2 Differences between content-based education and OBE Education dimension Needs analysis Content-based education • Very few parties are consulted before the trainer develops the course him or herself. • Trainers decide how needs are determined and expressed. Course design • Instructional designers develop courses around the content. • The outcomes of a course are written as objectives. Learning material • The learning material is called study manuals or textbooks and is content-driven. • The instructor determines the content. Presentation • The instructor presents a predetermined lesson. • The instructor is in control of the learning event. Assessment • Learners do assignments and write tests and examinations in order to indicate their level of competence. • Assessment criteria are nonexistent or vague. OBE • All six stakeholders are consulted prior to curriculum development: employers, employees, government, special interest groups, providers and learners. • The end product of needs analysis is reflected as unit standards. • Learning programmes are designed according to the needs of the above six stakeholders. • Outcomes clearly indicate what the learner must be able to do. • Learning material is called learning guides and is outcomes-driven. • The content is determined by the inputs of various role-players. • A facilitator presents a lesson based on the unit standard in a flexible manner. • The facilitator guides learners to achieve outcomes. • A variety of assessment techniques are used, for example simulations, portfolios, self-assessment and workplace assessment. • Assessment criteria are clearly defined and indicated as part of the unit standard. From Table 1.2 it is clear that HRD practitioners involved in L&D practices in the OBE framework will have to undergo a paradigm shift in order to adapt to the new education system. A significant degree of learning and unlearning will be required to bridge the gap between traditional content-driven training and outcomes-based learning. Thus, the ETDP SETA plays a critical role in skills development in the education and training sector (ETDP SETA, 2015). Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Development 13 1.7 Company example Learnership to Address Business Needs – An Exemplar From SAB Ltd. The South African Breweries Corporate Development Practitioner Programme (CDPP) – NQF level 6 – 169 credits, incorporating the Occupationally Directed Education and Training Development Practices learnership at NQF level 5 has been implemented successfully to address Business Needs over the last few years. Irene James, Dionysus Skills Development Initiative Pty Ltd Siegie Brownlee, Regenesys Business School (ex-SAB employee) The Human Resource profession is still relatively young, but is growing at a remarkable rate. The implementation of the South African Qualification Authority’s (SAQA’s) national standards, with both knowledge and outcomes assessments, coupled with renewal activities is ensuring that the HR profession achieves the same level of respect as other benchmark professions in South Africa. Within South African Breweries Ltd, the learning and development specialists (L&Ds) are acutely aware of the fact that they operate within one of the most crucial departments if they are to continually increase the competitive advantage and value of the business. The organisation has gone beyond mere competence of its employees and is ensuring that their employees are equipped to perform and deliver results that exceed their customers’ expectations. They do this by focusing, not just on productivity, but also on efficiency. This approach won the SAB Ltd an ATD BEST Award and placed them 8th in the world with the Association of Talent Development in 2006. The ATD BEST Awards recognise organisations that demonstrate enterprise-wide success through employee learning and development. According to Tony Bingham, ATD’s president and CEO, “The winners set the standard of excellence for exceptional learning practices, and demonstrate that a skilled workforce is vital to achieving results.” Bingham continues, “The 2006 ASTD BEST Award winners use learning as a strategic tool and have the support of senior leaders who champion a learning culture.” Apart from recently taking the decision to implement e-learning as one of the blended learning approach solutions, SAB Ltd has acknowledged the fact that their drivers of learning and developments rests with their Learning and Development Specialists (L&Ds). In order for them to efficiently perform this role, the L&Ds need to be performance consultants – able to diagnose the cause of a problem, explore who has ownership and be capable of facilitating a solution. This includes understanding the business strategy fully, as well as the HRD strategy to match the Vision, Mission and Values, and the necessity to get buy-in from senior personnel and line managers to implement the learning solution. Therefore, in order to ensure a “pipeline” of readily available well-trained personnel for the business, the L&D Specialists operate as business consultants, who understand key processes, metrics and business drivers. Their key focus areas are knowledge management, performance management and behavioural change. They recognise the extreme importance of maintaining and fostering a learning culture in the organisation, implementing real learning solutions (not just training for the sake of it), and measuring the learning results. This means that their reporting includes reporting to operational management and being accountable for developing solutions and creating measured improvement. Their endeavours are moving increasingly towards being measured in terms of Return on Investment (ROI), performance gaps and added value created. They have to think outside the traditional box of providing training merely to address gaps. In addition, the SAB Ltd learning and development specialists are responsible for: • monitoring and reporting on the results of organisational learning, development and training activities in terms of their effect on organisational performance continued 14 Managing Human Resource Development • identifying, evaluating, and implementing measurement systems for current and future job/team performance • ensuring performance feedback is an integral part of the organisation’s learning, development and training information system • providing development information, support activities and procedures for learners, supervisors, and managers to assist in achieving performance improvement, (for example training, coaching, feedback and techniques for setting objectives) • developing, implementing and monitoring the success of performance feedback and coaching • designing development programmes, consistent with organisational performance requirements at varying stages of the employment cycle • establishing measurement tools and processes to evaluate development programmes for effectiveness relative to the needs of the organisation • helping supervisors/managers to identify career options for employees, which are consistent with the organisational needs and strategy • ensuring performance management information is an integral component of employee development • assisting employees in identifying career paths, establishing learning plans and activities required for achieving personal success. In order to fulfil all these roles, the typical L&D Specialist has to exhibit a sound reasoning and applicable knowledge of international, national and local trends in people development, have an excellent understanding of SAB’s business acumen, be innovative thinkers with the ability to find solutions to business challenges, and have a special willingness to take responsibility for the development of others in the business, as well as ensure ongoing personal development. It was with these factors in mind, that SAB decided to embark on a learnership for their L&D Specialists – one that would address all the above, and more, where necessary. In SAB, learning solutions/programmes are aligned with business and individual development requirements. Learning solutions are developed or sourced to address emerging/identified skills gaps across the organisation, informed by macro business requirements, the company strategy, functional/departmental goals and individual requirements. According to SAB’s Skills Development Facilitator, the following concepts define best practice learning systems within SAB Ltd: • Flexibility – promoting life-long learning with minimum clutter • Utilising technology as widely as possible • Orientating and up-skilling employees as quickly as possible • Have assessments that simulate real-life situations • Linking learning, assessment and performance closely • Linking assessments to job outputs (such as hardwired) • Providing learning plans for the learner to take responsibility for learning • Using certification and linkages to the NQF where appropriate. In 2005, SAB approached private training company, Dionysus SDI Pty Ltd to source or create, if necessary, an ideal learnership that would address the development needs of their Learning and Development Specialists as well as prepare them for the business needs. In addition to the regular institutional component of the programme, workplace assignments were researched and compiled. Parallel to the learnership process was the continued implementation of Individual Development Plans (IDPs) in order to indicate to what extent the development and training requirements for individual employees were being met, as well as fostering the concept of life-long learning for individuals. In keeping with the concept of workplace support, mentoring and coaching that is so essential to a learnership, whilst the individual is responsible for his or her own development, the manager and other specialists play a supportive, coaching, guiding and assessment role. continued Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Development 15 A search of the SAQA website revealed that the closest match to their needs at the time was the Occupationally Directed: Education Training Development Practitioners’ learnership. Although it was not perfect, it formed a good match against the base competencies required for the L&D Specialists. The unit standards’ specific outcomes, assessment criteria and essential embedded knowledge were matched to the L&D Specialists’ internal (SAB) competency guide, and where a gap existed, an additional unit standard was sourced to close the gap. This exercise resulted in the development of a special programme (with the majority of its unit standards at NQF level 6) for SAB. Titled the “SAB CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONER PROGRAMME (CDPP)”, the programme focuses on the training and development aspects of the profession, and addresses the professional capabilities and indicators based on international trends for the individual involved in Organisational Learning, Development and Training. It is a credit-bearing unit standard based programme that is not only aligned to the current SAB Ltd Training and Development Specialist’s internal competency guide, but also incorporates the SAQA registered OD ETDP certificate (level 5) and a selection of registered SAQA unit standards, including the professionally developed (SA Board for People Practices – SABPP) unit standards for Skills Development Facilitators. With all these factors in mind, the methodology used for the learnership had to match business practice. The following model was used to design, develop and implement the programme: Underpinning Support and Tolerance It was essential to consider the existing learning methodology within SAB Ltd, in order to determine the value of a development programme for the L&Ds. Within SAB, the learning methodology is known as Competency Acquisition Process (CAP). CAP was introduced into SAB in 1994 based on the UK/Australian Model and in anticipation of the SAQA and Skills Development Act requirements. The model was designed to ensure that integrated learning processes embed learning. continued 16 Managing Human Resource Development CAP is an outcomes-based learning framework used to define and develop competence within the organisation; therefore the results of learning are measurable. Its objective is to provide an easily accessible, simple-to-use learning platform aimed at defining specific role competencies and encouraging individual ownership for learning and the achievement of competence. It involves specifying the competence for a job and then aligning learning to meet the competence required for that job. CAP gives every employee an opportunity to access learning solutions and develop competence in line with organisational needs and their own capability and aspirations. Owing to the fact that competencies are aligned with business strategies and goals, CAP is viewed as a key strategic tool and an important competitive advantage. Numerous internal studies have reflected a proven direct correlation between competence, performance and business results. Because of its design, CAP is well suited to an outcomes-based approach to learning and development based on the following key elements: • Learning must be defined by outcomes, be learner-centred and not content or syllabus driven • People learn differently • Competence assessment and evaluation of training is crucial • Performance and learning outcomes must be integrated • Programmes must help learners achieve success • Learners must be measured against what needs to be learnt • Learners must be involved in real life situations. SAB’s previous SDF, Siegie Brownlee, further goes on to state that “the CAP process focuses on acquiring competence. Competence refers to the knowledge, skill and psychomotor capability (affective, cognitive or integrative) to perform a job to standard.” Competence is, however, only one factor in overall performance. Individual attributes for example behaviour, experience, values, motivation and personality mindsets that drive behaviour; also influence performance. A comparison between the OD ETDP certificate and L&D Specialist’s Competency guide was made to determine the extent of the match. A close match was established (with two small areas of exception). The match between the SAB L&D internal competency requirements and the SAQA qualification and unit standards was as follows: L&D’s SAB competency requirements and CDPP correlation SAB Competency Requirement CDPP Theory and Practical Evidence Initiate the Development Process 1. Integrate National Strategy 2. Conduct Training Needs Analysis 3. Co-ordinate the Design and Development of Learning Solutions • Understanding current skills development legislation and global and national trends in training and development • Understanding SDF Role and Business needs • Understanding NSDS • Understanding Learnerships skills programmes, etc • Promoting a learning culture in an organisation • Research methodology and basic questionnaire design Workplace Evidence for CAP • Regional Training and Development Strategy is developed as per skills development requirements, based on Business Plan, Central Office HRD Plan and National Development Strategy • Workplace Skills Planning process is implemented linked to TNA, Training Plan, Training Budget, WSP (show link) • Training committee consultation taken place • Understand the dynamics of the L&D’s role in regard to SDF Unit Standard continued Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Development 17 SAB Competency Requirement 4. Contribute to Organisational Change CDPP Theory and Practical Evidence Workplace Evidence for CAP • Conducting a Training Needs Analysis and compiling a Training Plan • Compiling an Annual Training Report and Workplace Skills Plan for submission to SETA • Knowledge of theories of Mager and Pipe, Romiszowski • Administrative requirements for skills development • Knowledge of QM systems and contribution towards establishing a QMS for T&D • Complete and submit a Portfolio of Evidence (POE) against the National SDF Unit Standards • Outcomes Based Education • Knowledge of Diagnostic Models such as Mager and Romiszowski • General Androgogy • Spady, Wiggens approach to learning • Competency Models • Learning Styles (Kolb, VARK, Honey and Mumford) • Complete and submit a Portfolio of Evidence (POE) to show evidence of programme and material design and facilitation • ETQA Assessor Certification Standards are met • Complete and submit a Portfolio of Evidence (POE) against the National Assessor and Moderator Unit standards • Complete and submit a Portfolio of Evidence (POE) to show evidence of a mentoring intervention – real or hypothetical • Full Skills Levy rebates received • Proof that training needs are identified through needs analysis at strategic, operational and individual level • Proof that needs are agreed with the line manager and learner, and performance versus training gap differentiated • Proof that departmental training and individual development plans are agreed and link to Individual Development Plans • TNA, Training Plan and Training Budget exist linked to business strategies and goals, National HRD strategies and company HRD strategy. Evidence of meeting systemic operational requirements. Proof of effectiveness in regard to business results • Provide evidence of a Training Budget developed and provide a brief explanation of the Budget, Budget Splits and Ratios • Establish the appropriate learning solutions required to achieve the objectives and the requirements of the Training Plan • Training solution that is designed appropriately based on theory learnt in CDPP. Must be checked against checklist in HRD Handbook • Training solution meets learning methodology requirements outlined in the HRD policies and procedures viz Outcomes Based Learning Principles and Human Performance Improvement precepts • A pilot programme for the evaluation of newly designed training materials is arranged and evaluated • Show evidence of role regarding assessments for example coaching, conducting assessment, etc • Evidence of a change management programme that has been implemented (linked to OD workshop) continued 18 Managing Human Resource Development SAB Competency Requirement CDPP Theory and Practical Evidence Workplace Evidence for CAP Implement the Learning Process 5. Record and Analyse Training Data 6. Manage Trainees and Learnerships 7. Effect Quality Assurance of HRD Efforts • Current SAQA Guidelines on Learnerships • SAB Ltd Policies and Procedures on Trainee and Learnership Programmes • Facilitation Techniques • Training reports are compiled and issued according to Regional and Company requirements • An administration system is maintained that is both effective and efficient • Guidance and Mentoring of Trainees • The concept of Recognition of Prior learning (RPL) • Policies and Procedures on the company Quality Management System • Literature on Quality Management Systems • Curriculum Cycle • Training spend is effectively controlled and records maintained, analysed and reported on • Provide examples of data on training spend that has been recorded and analysed • Show implementation of all steps of learnerships (from linking and pipeline requirements to managing and completion) • 100% completion rate where pass • All required details are on SAPHR • Show evidence of accreditation and evidence of QMS implementation throughout entire curriculum/training cycle Evaluate Effectiveness of Training 8. Design Integrated Assessment for a Learning Programme 9. Implement Summative Assessment 10. Apply Recognised Evaluation Processes • Understanding of Integrated Assessment • Moderation theory and registration • Systematic Evaluation Models including Kirkpatrick, Brinkerhoff and Phillips • Techniques and models on Return on Investment (ROI) • Show evidence of where an Assessment developed is integrated into a learning programme by linking assessment activities meaningfully to learning activities and through formative assessment • Provide examples of integrated assessment activities and instruments • Show implementation and management of summative assessments and how the predictive moderation process is applied to the broader Assessment process • Show evidence of Steps 1–6 of Brinkerhoff applied to a learning solution The programme was modularised into the following modules, totalling 163 credits: Title Credits Module 1 Skills Development Facilitation 37 Module 2 Assessment 20 Module 3 Instructional Design and Research 18 continued Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Development 19 Title Credits Module 4 Moderation 10 Module 7 Quality Management and Programme Evaluation 36 Module 5 Guidance and Counselling 14 Module 6 Learning Material Design and Facilitation 28 Formal contact time for each module was scheduled over a period of ten months, with two months for close out time, and approximately six weekly periods were allowed back in the workplace for assignments to address the workplace (CAP) requirements to be completed. On 20 March 2007, 30 graduates on the programme were capped. The programme’s success can be attributed to the following factors: • Internal alignment to CAP requirements • An internal person (the SAB Ltd SDF) who took ownership of the programme and drove it from within, encouraging all participants throughout the process • Customisation of the programme content for SAB Ltd • Moderation of the programme throughout the Curriculum Process • Continual review of the appropriateness of the programme and inclusion of the latest global and NQF trends and developments • The candidates’ opportunity to start working on their Portfolios of Evidence (POE) during the formal contact period because of the customisation of activities to address the outcomes of each unit standard • Successful group work and sharing of information and experiences • An endorsement of the SAQA and NQF principles and support for Outcomes Based Education and Learnership Methodology from top management within SAB Ltd • Support from the FoodBev SETA. 1.8 An integrated framework for HRD HRD practitioners are continuously challenged to integrate international trends in the field of HRD and the local requirements of the NQF and skills development systems. Not only does this require an in-depth understanding of international best practices in the field of HRD, but it also necessitates knowledge and skills to integrate these best practices with the imperatives of the NQF, QCTO and SAQA requirements. In order to assist HRD practitioners in this process, the rest of this book is organised around the achievement of international and local best practices in the field of HRD: Chapter 2: HRD legislation Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development Chapter 4: The learning organisation Chapter 5: Performance consulting Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions Chapter 8: Planning and organising training Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 20 Managing Human Resource Development Chapter 10: Mentoring and coaching Chapter 11: Electronic, mobile and social learning Chapter 12: Employee orientation Chapter 13: Employment equity and diversity training Chapter 14: Learning and development standards Chapter 15: Multiskilling Chapter 16: Career management and performance Chapter 17: HRD quality management Chapter 18: Assessment and evaluation Chapter 19: International Human Resource Development Chapter 20: Continuing professional development. 1.9 Conclusion HRD forms an integral part of business improvement in South African organisations and indeed in companies all over the world. This chapter discusses the international and local trends in HRD. It is evident that there are new and increasingly complex challenges for the HRD manager who wants to make a significant contribution to organisational performance in an increasing complex and fast-changing business and social environment. A strategic learning approach is needed to optimise HRD. The impact of worldwide trends and developments in a competitive business environment will constantly change the role of the HRD function. Companies are beginning to recognise the need for L&D and HRD professionals in their organisations to keep their human resources at the cutting edge. Moreover, it appears that the information age requires a different kind of learner, one who can learn very fast, one more highly skilled than in the past. The same principle applies to L&D managers as professionals. HRD managers will no longer simply be managers of training departments. Theirs is a complicated job that requires competency in more than just human resource or training management. The HRD manager’s new role constitutes a synergistic combination of various fields of knowledge. Particular emphasis has been placed on the L&D standards and the role of the L&D practitioner in the strategic learning context. The rest of this book provides details of the HRD professional’s wide-ranging, complex and challenging role, with specific reference to the South African situation from a strategic learning perspective. 1.10 Case study New Life Insurance Company has a staff complement of 793, of which 234 are frontline people responsible for the call centre in sales, client care and claims. New Life Insurance Company was formed as a result of the realisation that most clients have a problem with insurers, as insurers have with clients. Insurers believe that clients are loading their claims while clients believe that short-term insurance is a rip-off. In an industry better known for its small print than for innovation, New Life is gaining a reputation based on its vigorous operating style, its ability to analyse data and react swiftly, and its focus continued Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Development 21 on retaining customers through service. The management team’s goal is to build a company that is recognised as world class. One of the keys to the company’s ability to deliver quality service is the emphasis on training. Staff are intensively trained not just in systems, procedures and products but also in values and, above all, customer service excellence. Although the company does invest considerable funds in training, this training is not aligned with the NQF. The company’s trainers have also not been exposed to the new QCTO system. The training manager, however, addressed this need by recruiting two L&D practitioners to assist her in this task. The L&D practitioners will need to ensure alignment to the SABPP National HR Standards and in particular the L&D Standards. This will ensure that New Life applies best practice as agreed by the HR and L&D professional community at a national level. One thing that had to be decided on was what kind of culture management wanted and needed within the new company. They decided that it had to be a value-driven company, not a rules-driven company. Certain core values were agreed upon and everybody in the company is expected to be a custodian of these values. There are six core values which guide the behaviour of staff: professionalism, profitability, integrity, transparency, passion and innovation. The managing director spends half a day with every new staff intake to familiarise them with the vision and values of New Life. The company tries in an unforced way to break down the traditional barrier between management and employees. Questions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Which international trends in HRD are applicable in New Life? How can the company assist its trainers in implementing strategic learning? Identify the ETD roles required of the New Life’s training staff members. How can ETD contribute to HRD at New Life? Develop an HRD plan that will help the company to internalise its values in the company’s culture. Indicate how the principles underlying the development of L&D practitioners can be applied at New Life. Which SETA will New Life be registered with? Explain how alignment to the National L&D standards can benefit L&D practice at New Life. 1.11 Self-assessment questions 1 Provide a critical analysis of the readiness of South African organisations to adapt to the international trends and developments in the field of HRD. 2 Explain the ETD practices model and indicate how training managers in South Africa should change in order to conform to ETD practices. 3 Describe the notion of OBE. 4 How can ETD be integrated within the framework of HRD? 5 Develop a plan to assist ETD practitioners in changing from traditional training to OBE. 6 Indicate the principles underlying the development of L&D practitioners. 7 Critically evaluate the following statement: “If an HRD practitioner can master the 20 chapters of this book, s/he will be able to become a world-class HRD practitioner.” 8 Evaluate the extent to which the National HR and L&D Standards can promote consistency and professionalism in L&D practice. 22 Managing Human Resource Development 1.12 References Heath K, 1999, “Training’s impact, value, and ROI at First Union”, ASTD International Conference: Atlanta. ETDP SETA, 2015, Education, Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority Annual Report 2015, Johannesburg: ETDP SETA. Haynes R, 2016, “Professional People Products, Top Employers 2017 Advertising Supplement”, Mail & Guardian, October 14–20. IMD, 2016, World Competiveness Report 2016, Lusanne: IMD. Nadler L and Wiggs GD, 1986, Managing Human Resource Development, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. National Training Board and German Technical Co-operation, 1998, “Education, training and development practices project”. Olivier C, 1998, How to Educate and Train Outcomes-Based, Pretoria: JL van Schaik. QCTO, 2011, QCTO Curriculum and Assessment Policy, Pretoria: Quality Council for Trades & Occupations. QCTO, 2011, OCTO Policy on Delegation to DQPs and AQPs, Pretoria: Quality Council for Trades & Occupations. SABPP, 2014, National HR Standards for South Africa, Johannesburg, SABPP. SABPP, 2015, National HR Professional Practice Standards for South Africa, Johannesburg, SABPP. Smith N, 2016, “The human factor”, Financial Mail, 1–7 September. Van Dyk PS, Nel PS, Loedolff P van Z and Haasbroek GD, 1997, Training Management: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Human Resource Development in Southern Africa, 2nd edn, Halfway House: International Thomson. 1.13 Suggested reading Barker F, 2006, The South African Labour Market: Theory and Practice, 5th edn, Pretoria: Van Schaik. Blanchard PN and Thacker JW, 2007, Effective Training: Systems, Strategies, and Practices, 3rd edn, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Buckley R and Caple J, 2004, The theory and practice of training, 5th edn, London: Kogan Page. Coetzee M and Schreuder D, 2016, Personnel Psychology: An Applied Perspective, 2nd edn, Cape Town: Oxford. Department of Higher Education and Training, 2011, National Skills Development Strategy III, Pretoria: Department of Higher Education and Training. Gold J, Holden R, Iles P, Stewart J and Beardwell J, 2012, Human Resource Development: Theory & Practice, Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Mankin D, 2009, Human Resource Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Meyer M and Orpen M, 2012, Occupationally-Directed Education Training and Development Practices, 2nd edn, Durban: LexisNexis. Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Development 23 Meyer T, 1996, Creating Competitiveness through Competencies: Currency for the 21st Century, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Nel JP, 2010, Establishing a Positive Quality Culture in Education, Training and Development, Pretoria: Mentornet. Noe RA, 1999, Employee Training and Development, Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Philips B, 1997, Getting to Grips with the National Qualifications Framework, Johannesburg: Sigma. Rigg C, Stewart J and Trehan K (ed), 2007, Critical Human Resource Development: Beyond Orthodoxy, Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall/Pearson Education. Pietersen W, 2010, Strategic Learning: How to be Smarter than the Competition and Turn Key Insights into Competitive Advantage, New Jersey: John Wiley. SAQA, 2010, Towards a Map of NQF-related Research, Pretoria: SAQA. SAQA, 2011, National RPL Conference: Bridging and Expanding Existing Islands of Excellent Practice, Pretoria: SAQA. Smith A and Hayton G, 1999, “What drives enterprise training? Evidence from Australia”, The International Journal of Human Resource Management 10(2): 251–272. 1.14 Internet sites Academy of Human Resource Development: http://www.ahrd.org Achiever Online: http://www.achieveronline.co.za Association for Talent Development (ATD): http://www.astd.org Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development: http://www.cipd.co.uk Department of Higher Education and Training: http://www.dhet.gov.za ETDP SETA: http://www.etdpseta.org.za HRD Press: http://www.hrdpress.com HRDQ: http://www.hrdq.com Institute of People Development: http://www.peopledev.co.za International Society for Performance Improvement: http://www.ispi.org Quality Council for Trades and Occupations: http://www.qcto.org.za Skills Portal: http://www.skillsportal.co.za SA Board for People Practices: http://www.sabpp.co.za South African Qualifications Authority: http://www.saqa.org.za Talent Talks: http://www.talenttalks.net 1.15 Acknowledgements The contribution of Irene James of Dionysus Skills Development Initiative and Siegie Brownlee of Regenesys Business School to provide a company example is ackowledged. CHAPTER 2 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT LEGISLATION Marius Meyer Skills development has to be at the core of this country’s strategy to shift from an isolated past into a new competitive and global economy. (Christoph Vorwerk) LEARNING OUTCOMES • Explain the rationale of the Skills Development Act and the Skills Development Levies Act to your work colleagues • Relate the Skills Development Act to other skills and labour policy initiatives • Explain to your work colleagues the transformational purpose and underpinning principles of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) as embodied in the NQF Act • Discuss how evolving views of competence are related to the format for describing competence that was adopted by SAQA and the QCTO • Explain the implementation structures and processes to establish and utilise the NQF to your work colleagues • Relate the Skills Development Act to the NQF • Explain to your work colleagues the purpose and functions of each of the core components of the Skills Development Act • Indicate the implications of the provisions of the Skills Development Act and the Skills Development Levies Act for your organisation’s strategic human resources planning • Design HRD strategies and plans to implement the NQF and Skills Development Act in terms of a workplace skills plan for your organisation 25 26 Managing Human Resource Development 2.1 Introduction The Skills Development Act 97 of 1998, promulgated in 1999, makes provision for a “new approach to skills development that compliments [sic] the formal education. It links skill formation to the requirements of a growing economy and extends education and training to people both within and outside formal employment” (RSA, 1997:1). In tandem with the Skills Development Levies Act 9 of 1999 (RSA, 1999a), the Skills Development Act places a legal obligation on all employers to improve the competency levels of their workforce. The Skills Development Levies Act 9 of 1999 (RSA, 1999a) imposes a skills development levy on most employers, and obliges government departments to allocate a percentage of their budget to skills development. The Skills Development Strategy is based on the National Qualifications Framework Act 67 of 2008, which makes provision for the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) established by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). This body of skills development legislation has fundamentally changed the face of education and training in South Africa. The implications of these Acts for human resource development (HRD) are discussed in this chapter in order to provide guidelines for designing and implementing relevant organisational strategies. In this chapter we will look at: • the origin and strategic intent of the National Skills Development Strategy • how the National Skills Development Strategy relates to other policy initiatives • the principles and structure of the NQF as the basis of the National Skills Development Strategy • the institutional structures and processes through which the NQF is being established and implemented • the core components of the National Skills Development Strategy • what the implications of the National Skills Development Strategy and the NQF for strategic human resource development in a typical company in South Africa are, and • a few examples of how organisations have implemented the legislation reviewed in this chapter. 2.2 Origin of the Skills Development Strategy and the NQF The Skills Development Strategy is based on the outcomes of two processes: • four skills development strategy workshops convened between November 1995 and September 1996 by the Chief Directorate: Human Resources Development and Careers Services, which included industrial training boards, government departments and nongovernmental organisations involved in HRD • a concurrent investigation by a Counterpart Group under the National Economic Development and Labour Council, following the recommendations of the NTSI concerning the funding and governing structures of skills development in South Africa. 2.3 The strategic intent of the Skills Development Strategy To plan and implement a HRD strategy in accordance with the Skills Development Strategy requires a sound understanding of the intended outcomes of the latter. Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 27 The research done prior to the design of the Skills Development Strategy indicated a need to develop an integrated skills development system for South Africa. South Africa has been rated as having one of the poorest human resource development records in comparison with other countries at equivalent stages of development (IMD, 2012). Problems in the schooling and university systems inherited from the past have contributed to this poor record. In addition, there has been a serious failure to address middle-level competency requirements as evidenced by the decline of the apprenticeship system and the failure to put anything in its place. Skills shortages at these and higher levels lead to organisations operating inefficiently. Such training programmes as there have been have been poorly aligned with social and economic strategies. South Africa’s poor record in mathematics and science and the repeated failure of technical college graduates and of those completing unemployment training programmes to find employment are illustrative of this. In the Skills Development Strategy Green Paper (RSA, 1997) a new conceptual approach to skills development was proposed to address these problems. The strategy is also a response to the huge challenges facing South Africa of employment growth and service delivery. Since the Green Paper was published three five-year and updated national skills development strategies have been conceptualised. 2.4 Relationship to other skills and labour policy initiatives The Skills Development Strategy was developed as one of five major policy initiatives of the government: • promulgation of the NQF Act in 2008 • the Employment Equity Act in 1998 • Green Paper on Post-School Education in 2011 • transfer of the skills development system from the Department of Labour to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) • establishment of the HRD Council reporting to the Deputy President. 2.5 The National Qualifications Framework Act (2008) This section introduces the key concepts contained in the legislation that governs the development of the National Qualification Framework (NQF) and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). We will review the purpose, principles and processes involved in the establishment of the NQF and the structures required for this. It is the SAQA’s responsibility to determine the implementation details of the NQF, but it has to consult stakeholders in doing so. From time to time, SAQA publishes regulations and guidelines in the Government Gazette as well as the SAQA Internet home page (http://www.saqa.org.za). Regulations and guidelines that have already appeared, are listed under the references at the end of the chapter. The NQF Act 67 of 2008 was promulgated to provide for the further development, organisation and governance of the NQF. It replaces the SAQA Act of 1995. The NQF Act applies to qualifications offered by educational institutions and skills development providers as well as to professional designations (RSA, 2008). The NQF is a comprehensive system approved by the Minister of Higher Education and Training for the classification, registration, publication and articulation of quality-assured national qualifications (RSA, 2008). It is a single integrated system comprising three 28 Managing Human Resource Development co-ordinated qualifications sub-frameworks, i.e. General and Further Eucation and Training, Higher Education, and Trades and Occupations. The objectives of the NQF outlined in the Act (RSA, 2008: section 5(1)) are as follows: (a) (b) (c) (d) create a single integrated national framework for learning achievements; facilitate access to, and mobility and progression within, education, training and career paths; enhance the quality of education and training; accelerate the redress of past unfair discrimination in education, training and employment opportunities. The objectives of the NQF are designed to contribute to the full personal development of each learner and to the social and economic development of the nation at large. In terms of section 5(3) of the Act SAQA and the QCs must seek to achieve the objectives of the NQF by: (a) (b) (c) developing, fostering and maintaining an integrated and transparent national framework for the recognition of learning achievements; ensuring that South African qualifications meet appropriate national criteria . . . that are internationally comparable; and ensuring that South African qualifications are of an acceptable quality. 2.5.1 The strategy underpinning the NQF A number of other countries have introduced qualification frameworks to transform education and training; notably the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The broad strategy in each case has been to use the qualification frameworks to centralise control of the right and requirements to accredit learners with national qualifications, while deregulating how education and training should be provided. The strategy can be characterised as “loose on inputs, but tight on outputs”: a central authority decides on detailed criteria that any learner should meet before being issued with a qualification. These are registered as national “standards”. Standards include a description of the competencies (in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes) that a “qualified” learner should be able to demonstrate at the end of the learning process. The emphasis is on acquired competencies as the outcomes of the learning process, and not on the learning process itself. This means that the standards are based on an analysis of what a person, who is qualified in any particular area, needs to know and be able to do now and in the future, rather than what educationists and trainers think they should impart to trainees. To put a qualification framework to use, statutory mechanisms have to be put in place to ensure that only learners who meet the prescribed standards are issued with a qualification. Once the standards have been set, education and training providers have to ensure that their learning programmes enable learners to acquire the abilities described in the standards. Because the standards are oriented toward the future, providers have to continuously review their learning programmes. National education and training standards do not in themselves constitute a curriculum, so that a provider can obtain a competitive edge by finding the most creative and efficient way of helping learners earn qualifications. Learners, who have informally acquired the competencies required by a particular qualification, may even hold that qualification without having attended a formal learning programme. Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 29 2.5.2 Intended transformation through the NQF According to the Final Report of the Education, Training and Development (ETD) Practices Project (National Training Board, 1998:13–19), the NQF is intended to transform: • who controls education and training and the ways in which this is done • the purposes which education and training serve in South African society and economy • the systems, institutions and practices through which education and training are provided • what learning is achieved. 2.6 Establishment and composition of the SAQA The South African Qualifications Authority was established on 31 May 1996 in terms of the SAQA Act. The composition, goals, principles and work of the SAQA as defined in the Act, echo the principles of the Reconstruction and Development Programme as well as many of the transformation themes discussed above. After calling for nominations from national stakeholder bodies and organisations and consulting the Minister of Labour, the Minister of Education appointed a chairperson and 24 members. Of the latter 20 were nominated by stakeholder groupings as stipulated in the SAQA Act and four are discretionary appointments by the Minister (the Act allows a maximum of six discretionary appointments). The 20 nominated members represent the six “social partners” in South Africa: government, business, trade union, education and training providers, critical interest groups (such as the disabled, women, youth and other groups whose presence is believed to be important) and community groups (who may represent learners). 2.7 SAQA’s functions in terms of the NQF Act SAQA has formulated its mission on its Internet web page as being “To ensure the development and implementation of a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) which contributes to the full development of each learner and to the social and economic development of the nation at large”. In terms of the NQF Act (RSA, 2008) SAQA must: • oversee the implementation of the NQF and ensure the achievement of its objectives • develop a system of collaboration to guide the mutual relations of SAQA and the QCs • develop level descriptors for the different NQF levels • register qualifications that are recommended by QCs and that meet the relevant criteria • recognise professional bodies and register professional designations • conduct research on the NQF • create and maintain the National Learners’ Records Database with learner records and professional designations • evaluate foreign qualifications. Moving forward from the previous focus of the SAQA Act, the NQF Act has two new chapters that will play a major role in the development of the NQF from 2013 onwards, namely those regarding quality councils and professional bodies respectively. 30 Managing Human Resource Development 2.7.1 Quality councils The three quality councils will be responsible for: • developing and managing their sub-frameworks • considering and agreeing to level descriptors • developing and implementing policy and criteria regarding the development, assessment and quality assurance of qualifications • conducting research on its sub-framework. 2.7.2 Professional bodies An exciting new development is SAQA’s recognition of professional bodies as outlined in chapter 6 of the NQF Act. A professional body must co-operate with the relevant QCs in respect of qualifications and quality assurance in its occupational field (RSA, 2008). It must apply to SAQA to register a professional designation on the NQF. Many professional bodies have been formally recognised by SAQA, including the SA Board for People Practices (SABPP). This means that all readers of this book are elligible to apply for professional registration as HR professionals with SABPP (see www.sabpp.co.za). Their professional designations such as HRP or CHRP will then be uploaded on the National Learners’ Records Database. 2.8 Principles of the NQF The SAQA goals listed above reflect a structured set of principles regarding the intended outcomes of the NQF (Human Sciences Research Council, 1995:11): Principle Definition Integration form part of a system of human resources development which provides for the establishment of a unifying approach to education and training Relevance be and remain responsive to national development needs Credibility have national and international value and acceptance Coherence work within a consistent framework of principles and certification Flexibility allow for multiple pathways to the same learning ends Standards be expressed in terms of a nationally agreed framework and internationally acceptable outcomes Legitimacy provide for the participation of all national stakeholders in the planning and co-ordination of standards and qualifications Access provide ease of entry to appropriate levels of education and training for all prospective learners in a manner which facilitates progression Articulation provide for learners, on successful completion of accredited pre-requisites, to move between the components of the delivery system Progression ensure that the framework of qualifications permits individuals to move through the levels of national qualifications via different appropriate combinations of the components of the delivery system continued Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 31 Principle Definition Portability enable learners to transfer their credits or qualifications from one learning institution and/or employer to another Recognition of prior learning through assessment, give credit to learning which has already been acquired in different ways, for example through life experience Guidance of learners provide for the counselling of learners by specially trained individuals who meet nationally recognised standards for educators and trainers From a quality assurance perspective, this list of objectives, and the principles embedded in them, present a vision of quality education and training that the adoption of the NQF as a transformation mechanism has to achieve. 2.9 The NQF as a transformation mechanism There is a worldwide debate in which many different interpretations and definitions of outcomes-based education and training (OBET) concepts are in use. Here we will only outline in broad brushstrokes the perspectives and concerns that HRD practitioners in South Africa should be aware of when interpreting the NQF in the workplace. 2.10 The description of “competence” The concept “competence” was initially used to describe what a worker needed to be able to do within a job. A clear enough description would enable employers to assess whether particular workers were able to do particular jobs and it would enable them to plan how different jobs related to other jobs in the overall organisation of work. The competence required in any kind of job was usually analysed to determine what the “elements” of competence were. These elements were written down as “unit standards”, and sets of unit standards were combined to form qualifications. Unit standards were intended to describe: • what the employee is expected to do (“outcomes”) • how well the employee is expected to perform (“standards”) and • how to tell when the employee is at the expected level of performance (“assessment criteria”). In the South African context the concept of competence itself and the concepts and terms used to describe it have changed for the following reasons: • Descriptions of competence are used for more purposes • The kinds of competence people are aiming to promote have changed • A better understanding of how complex competence is, has developed and • The way in which competence has been described is not always yielding the hoped-for results. 2.10.1 Expanding descriptions of competence The descriptions of competence used for job descriptions did not include a stipulation of the knowledge required to effectively undertake the outlined tasks. This is required to provide the education and training of learners. Standards increasingly began to include 32 Managing Human Resource Development descriptions of the “underlying knowledge” and “range statements”, which indicate the range of contexts within which it is expected the person being assessed should be able to demonstrate the intended learning outcomes. As one aim of education and training is to prepare people for work, employers wanted education and training providers to base their curriculum development on standards. For this purpose standards have to shift their focus as follows: • Outcomes have to describe the learning to be achieved and/or what somebody should be able to do as a result of learning • Assessment criteria have to describe what would count as evidence that learning has in fact been achieved as a result of education and training provision. For basic levels of training, such as that described in the above example, this was not found to be too problematic. For higher levels of training, however, in which the nature of work is more complex, such descriptions were often found to be inadequate. They were also inadequate in education, which makes a much less direct contribution to how competent somebody is and which seldom prepares learners for specific jobs but rather for life (including the possibility of unemployment). As the standards were used in a wider range of purposes and in a wider set of contexts, so people began to rethink how these standards could be expressed in a way that would serve all these purposes better. 2.10.2 Different kinds of competence There is another reason why descriptions of the knowledge underpinning the ability to work effectively became more important: as the nature and organisation of work began to change, employers required workers to change the kinds of competence that they brought to the workplace. Broadly, the changing nature of work and work organisations now requires much more sophisticated thinking skills, self-management skills, life-long learning abilities, interpersonal skills and technological understanding than the old assembly lines required. It requires an integration of mental and manual labour (thinking and doing); therefore standards need to describe both the thinking and the doing. The “doing” was described under the outcomes – so people writing standards began to graft a category called “underlying knowledge” or “knowledge required” onto the outcomes. The details of the knowledge required, however, could often not be specified in the same kind of detail as is possible for what somebody should be able to do. As work and workplace organisations changed, employers began to focus more on the knowledge and skills which equipped workers to undertake both routine and unpredictable tasks successfully. This was the important shift in outcomes-based thinking: from a focus on performance to a focus on the competence underpinning performance. It was increasingly seen as important that standards should describe competence. As competence can only be assessed through looking at someone demonstrating the required abilities, descriptions of performance remained an important part of standards. However, performance was increasingly described less in terms of specific activities, but more as a listing of the range of activities which a competent leaner should be able to undertake successfully. Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 33 2.10.3 Competence The third factor that led people to think differently about competence resulted in more detailed descriptions of the underlying knowledge. In the new occupational qualifications system competence requires knowledge, skills and workplace application. 2.11 Standardising concepts and terms As South Africa begins to adopt an outcomes-based framework to transform education and training, the SAQA needs to ensure that the concepts and terms used to build our NQF help to achieve our intended transformation and to avoid the problems other countries have experienced. 2.11.1 A standard format for describing competence To steer the development of all education and training standards in South Africa, the SAQA prescribed a format for “unit standards” as a template with a uniform set of concepts and terms (RSA, 1998a: Regulation 7). The unit standard format decided on by the SAQA has led to controversy and has been criticised along the following lines: • a format that has been adapted from attempts to describe performance is not well suited to describing competence • the format is more suitable at further education than at higher education levels • the format is more suited to training than to education or development. Hence, under the new QCTO system three types of unit standards are envisaged, namely knowledge unit standards, practice unit standards and workplace unit standards, to cater for all three domains of learning and occupational functioning. 2.11.2 Generic abilities (“critical cross-field outcomes”) The SAQA requires that critical cross-field outcomes “shall be embedded within” standards. Critical cross-field outcomes “include but are not limited to”: • working effectively with others as a member of a team, group, organisation or community • communicating effectively using visual, mathematical and/or language skills in the modes of oral and/or written persuasion • organising and managing oneself and one’s activities responsibly and effectively • collecting, analysing, organising and critically evaluating information • identifying and solving problems in a way that shows that responsible decisions have been made using critical and creative thinking • demonstrating an understanding of the world as a set of inter-related systems by recognising that problem-solving contexts do not exist in isolation • using science and technology effectively and critically, showing responsibility towards the environment and health of others and Managing Human Resource Development 34 • contributing to the full personal development of each learner and the social and economic development of society at large, by making it the underlying intention of any learning programme to make an individual aware of the importance of: – reflecting on and exploring a variety of strategies to learn more effectively – participating as responsible citizens in the life of local, national and global communities – being culturally and aesthetically sensitive across a range of social contexts – exploring education and career opportunities and – developing entrepreneurial opportunities. Critical cross-field outcomes emerged from the debates preceding the promulgation of the SAQA Act. One of the lessons to be learned from other countries, however, is that they have to be integrated in order to be achieved. 2.11.3 Credits assigned to unit standards Unit standards have different weights assigned to them. These are referred to as the “credit value” of a unit standard. The weighting given to a unit standard is determined by the average time it should take learners to acquire the competence associated with the unit standard. Different unit standards describe different competencies that need different learning times to be acquired. To indicate the difference, the SAQA has adopted the concept of “notional hours of learning”. This is the average number of hours learners take to acquire the competence described in the unit standard, including self-study, contact hours and learning at the workplace. The SAQA has decided that 1 credit should be equivalent to 10 notional hours of learning. For example, a credit value of 5 is assigned to a unit standard describing a competency that takes the average learner about 50 hours to acquire. 2.11.4 Standardised levels In order that their purpose be reflected, qualifications and unit standards are registered at one of ten levels on the NQF referred to as NQF levels. The levels are clustered into three bands as indicated in Table 2.1. (See www.saqa.org.za for the latest version.) The placement of qualifications and unit standards on the NQF has to take certain dimensions into account: the education and training band (general, further, occupational or higher), the type of qualification and learning towards the qualifications and unit standards that is to take place. Table 2.1 The National Qualifications Framework NQF Level 10 9 8 Band Higher Education or Occupational Band Type of Qualifications and Certificates Locations of Learning for Units and Qualifications Doctoral degree Higher education/Research Master’s degree Higher education/Research Honours degree Tertiary/Research/Professional institutions continued Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 35 NQF Level Band 7 6 5 Type of Qualifications and Certificates Locations of Learning for Units and Qualifications First degree Tertiary/Research/Professional institutions National diploma Universities/Colleges/Private/ Professional institutions/Institutions Diploma/ Occupational certificate Universities/Colleges/Private/ Professional institutions/Workplace, etc Further Education and Training Certificate School/College/ Trade certificates “Baskets” of unit standards 4 3 Further Education and Training Band School/College/ Trade certificates “Baskets” of unit standards Formal high schools/ Private/ State schools Technical/ Community/ Police/Nursing/ Private colleges RDP and Labour market schemes/ Industry training boards/Union/ Workplace, etc School/College/ Trade certificates “Baskets” of unit standards 2 General Education and Training Certificate 1 General Education and Training Band Grade 9 (10 years) ABET Level 4 Grade 7 (8 years) ABET Level 3 Grade 5 (6 years) ABET Level 2 Grade 3 (4 years) ABET Level 1 Formal Schools (Urban/ Rural/ Farm/ Special) Occupation/ Work-based training/RDP/ Labour market schemes/ Upliftment or community programmes NGOs/ Churches/ Night schools/ ABET programmes/ Private providers/ Industry Training Boards/Unions/ Workplace, etc 1 year Reception 2.11.5 Level descriptors Each of the ten NQF levels has to be distinguished by a set of level “descriptors”. These descriptors are statements describing learning achievement at a particular level of the NQF that provide a broad indication of the types of learning outcomes and assessment citeria 36 Managing Human Resource Development that are appropriate to a qualification at that level (SAQA, 2012). The purpose of level descriptors is to “ensure coherence in learning achievement in the allocation of qualifications and part qualifications to particular levels, and to facilitate the assesment of the national and international comparability of qualifications and part qualifications” (SAQA, 2012). The philosophical underpinning of the NQF and the level descriptors is applied competence which includes foundational competence, practical competence and reflexive competence (SAQA, 2012). The following principles underpin the application of the level descriptors across the three sub-frameworks of the NQF (SAQA, 2012): • one common set of level descriptors for the NQF applies in different contexts • level descriptors incorporate ten competencies • level descriptors are designed to meet the needs of academic and occupational qualifications • there must be correlation between qualification levels and occupational levels in the world of work • the critical cross-field outcomes of SAQA are embedded in the level descriptors • level descriptors are cumulative, i.e. there is progression in the competencies from level one the next level • level descriptors are applicable to RPL • level descriptors are descriptors and not prescriptive • nomenclature for qualifications is dealt with in the sub-frameworks of the NQF. Ten categories are used in the level descriptors to describe applied competencies across each of the ten levels of the NQF. Broadly these competencies are: • scope of knowledge • knowledge literacy • method and procedure • problem-solving • ethics and professional practice • accessing, processing and managing information • producing and communicating information • context and systems • management of learning • accountability. In Table 2.2 is a brief outline of the ten SAQA level descriptors in terms of the first competency, scope of knowledge. Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 37 Table 2.2 Learning descriptors in terms of scope of knowledge NQF level Scope of knowledge 1 A learner is able to demonstrate a general knowledge of one or more areas or fields of study, in addition to the fundamental areas of study. 2 A learner is able to demonstrate a basic operational knowledge of one or more areas or fields of study, in addition to the fundamental areas of study. 3 A learner is able to demonstrate a basic understanding of the key concepts and knowledge of one or more fields or disciplines, in addition to the fundamental areas of study. 4 A learner is able to demonstrate a fundamental knowledge base of the most important areas of one or more fields or disciplines, in addition to the fundamental areas of study and a fundamental undertanding of the key terms, rules, concepts, established principles and theories in one or more fields or disciplines. 5 A learner is able to demonstrate an informed understanding of the core areas of one or more fields, disciplines or practices, and an informed understanding of the key terms, concepts, facts, general principles, rules and theories of that field, discipline or practice. 6 A learner is able to demonstrate: detailed knowledge of the main areas of one or more fields, disciplines or practices, including an understanding of and an ability to apply the key terms, concepts, facts, principles, rules and theories of that field, discipline or practice to unfamiliar but relevant contexts; and knowledge of an area or areas of specialisation and how that knowledge relates to other fields, disciplines or practices. 7 A learner is able to demonstrate integrated knowledge of the central areas of one or more fields, disciplines or practices, including an understanding of and an ability to apply and evaluate the key terms, concepts, facts, principles, rules and theories of that field, discipline or practice; and detailed knowledge of an area or areas of specailisation and how that knowledge relates to other fields, disciplines or practices. 8 A learner is able to demonstrate: knowledge of and engagement in an area at the forefront of a field, discipline or practice; an understanding of the theories, research methodologies, methods and techniques relevant to the field, discipline or practice; and an understanding of how to apply such knowlegde in a particular context. 9 A learner is able to demonstrate: specialist knowledge to enable engagement with and critique of current research or practices; and an advanced scholarship or research in a particular field, discipline or practice. 10 A learner is able to demonstrate: expertise and critical knowledge in an area at the forefront of the field, discipline or practice; and the ability to conceptualise new research initiatives, and create new knowlegde or practice. The level desriptors will be reviewed at least every five years by SAQA in consultation with the three quality councils (SAQA, 2012). HRD professionals can use the level descriptors to write learning outcomes and associated assessment criteria for qualifications and part-qualifications. It will also help to position a qualification at the appropriate level on the NQF together with purpose statements, outcomes and assessment criteria. HRD professionals should help learners gain admission through RPL at an appropriate level on the NQF. The level descriptors will also be very useful in making comparisons across qualifications in a variety of fields and disciplines pegged at the same level of the NQF. Moreover, the level descriptors, purpose statements, outcomes and assessment criteria will also be useful guides to supporting quality management of learning. 38 Managing Human Resource Development 2.12 The relationship between standards and qualifications Having focused on standards as the description of competence, we now look at the relationship between standards and qualifications. The way existing qualifications are structured does not enable one to easily identify overlaps between different qualifications. For example, although a teaching diploma and a teaching degree may deal with similar areas, there is no way of telling what is similar or dissimilar in the competence of those who have degrees and diplomas. By breaking down whole qualifications into the sets of standards of which they are composed they can be recombined more flexibly to make up new qualifications. This allows learners to move more freely between learning and career paths while being recognised for the competences they already have. The “mix and match” logic of standards is intended to achieve the integration, articulation, portability, flexibility, progression, access and recognition of prior learning envisaged in the NQF without losing the overall coherence of education and training. 2.13 Rules of combination The National Standards Bodies Regulations, 2005, prescribe a framework for deciding how many components are required to make up different qualification at different NQF levels, and what credit values are required for different qualification types. Each qualification has to contain three different categories of standards. • The “fundamental” category should contain the standards that describe the competence required at a particular level to meet the learning demands of the particular qualification as a whole and form the basis for learning generally. For example, learners usually need to have literacy or numeracy skills at a certain level to study toward particular qualifications or to be competent in the area in which they will be qualified. • The “core” category should contain compulsory standards which describe the competence that is “contextually relevant” to the qualification. • The “elective” category should contain options “from which a choice may be made to ensure that the purpose of the qualification is achieved”. The distinction between core and elective therefore allows some freedom of choice in putting together qualifications. Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 39 Bellis (1999) represented the different categories with examples as follows: Typically this learning could be: • communication and language outcomes/competencies • use of mathematical, technological and life-sciencerelated outcomes/ competencies • use of “critical outcome” abilities • use of what some refer to as “life skills” for example, ability to learn • use of generic cognitive and affective capabilities Typically this learning would relate to outcomes and competencies that reflect: • all the relevant “theoretical” knowledge related to the field of the qualification at the appropriate level • aspects of the context of the qualification, for example: – the economy – the structures of work – “environmental” issues and Here the idea of specialisation can also be brought in: • outcomes/competencies that relate to specialised areas that may or may not be at a more complex level • outcomes/competencies that broaden the core in that they provide for other career/ occupational directions – the relevant practice • theory in the academic, professional or occupational field 2.14 Qualifications SAQA has assigned each qualification a credit value: • “National Certificates” will be required to contain standards with a credit value totalling 120 (= 1 200 notional learning hours). • “National Diplomas” will be required to contain standards with a credit value totalling 240 (= 2 400 notional learning hours). 40 Managing Human Resource Development • “National First Degrees” will be required to contain standards with a credit value totalling 360 (= 3 600 notional learning hours). Not all the standards in each qualification need to be at the same level, but in each case the majority should be at or above the level of the qualification. 2.15 NQF Implementation Framework The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), SAQA and the three quality councils (QCs), namely the Council on Higher Education (CHE), the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi) and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO), are working together to ensure that the work of each organisation supports the objectives and values of the NQF (SAQA, 2011). The intent of the collaboration of these organisations is to ensure that all three sub-frameworks of the NQF function in an integrated and co-ordinated manner, with each organ in the system supporting the others. Consequently, an NQF implementation framework was published to guide all relevant stakeholders in implementing the NQF. The aim is to ensure a quality NQF system that allows learners and workers to flourish (SAQA, 2011). SAQA (2011) identified the following six priorities for the period from 2011 to 2015. 2.15.1 Priority 1: Completion of the Transition from the SAQA Act to the NQF Act The transition from the SAQA Act (1995) to the NQF Act (2008) requires a co-ordinated effort from all NQF implementation partners. The NQF Forum and CEO Committee play an important role in this regard and SAQA provides secretariat support. Any further and necessary amendments to NQF-related legislation is prioritised when necessary. These changes can be followed on the DHET website (www.dhet.gov.za). The Occupational Qualifications Framework (OQF) must be finalised and an implementation strategy designed by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO). Finalisation of the implementation strategy must take into account the concurrent review of the HEQF and development of the GFETQF. 2.15.2 Priority 2: Development of a system of collaboration between SAQA and the QCs The system of collaboration developed by SAQA in consultation with the QCs must guide relations between SAQA and the QCs in such a manner as to avoid or prevent conflict and resolve disputes. The system of collaboration must include details on the functioning of the NQF Forum, CEO Committee, engagements between SAQA and the QCs, and engagements between QCs, and on the conciliation process overseen by SAQA and the DHET. 2.15.3 Priority 3: Co-ordination of the three sub-frameworks of the NQF SAQA will oversee the further development and implementation of the NQF and ensure the achievement of its objectives. Therefore, SAQA must ensure that all three sub-frameworks of the NQF are developed in a co-ordinated manner, which includes facilitating ongoing Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 41 engagement between the three QCs. Key sub-priorities here are the development of the following outputs: • level descriptors for the NQF • registration of qualifications and part-qualifications • assessment, RPL and credit accumulation and transfer • recognition of professional bodies and registration of professional designations on the NQF. 2.15.4 Priority 4: Establishment of standard-setting and quality-assurance mechanisms within each of the three sub-frameworks The standard-setting and quality-assurance apparatus of the three sub-frameworks will be completed with clear procedures for collaboration in place for interdependent and complementary qualifications and part-qualifications. Each QC will have its own sub-framework policies on the development, registration and publication of qualifications; assessment, RPL and credit accumulation and transfer; and quality assurance. Furthermore, delegations and/or memoranda of understanding by QCs to competent standard-setting and qualityassurance bodies will be developed and implemented. 2.15.5 Priority 5: Completion and operationalisation of the progression and articulation apparatus of the NQF The new progression apparatus of the NQF must be implemented and reported on. The apparatus must include mechanisms for ensuring that learners are able to progress within the learning system and along their chosen career paths. To support these efforts, a national career advisory service has been implemented. Professional bodies are recognised by SAQA and their designations registered on the NQF. 2.15.6 Priority 6: Further development and improvement of the information apparatus of the NQF The National Learners’ Records Database (NLRD) must be further developed and its functionality improved to accommodate national data on professions, including data on professional bodies, professional designations and holders of professional designations. The NLRD must make accurate information available to stakeholders and the public regularly, at least once per year. The databases of QCs must also be further developed and their functionality improved to accommodate sector-specific changes by 2014. Their compatibility with the NLRD must be ensured. 2.15.7 Role of the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) To ensure that the standards transform education and training provision, the QCTO has accredited quality councils (QCs) to undertake quality assurance for qualifications or partqualifications. Every standard and qualification registered on the NQF has to be evaluated against the objectives and principles outlined earlier to ensure that they meet the criteria for an integrated life-long learning system. In the same way, the provision of education, training and assessment services also has to be evaluated according to these objectives and principles. 42 Managing Human Resource Development Only evidence that the implementation of the NQF system achieves its objectives and adheres to its principles will instil national and international confidence in the registered standards and qualifications and the learning programmes leading to their achievement. Quality assurance in education and training provision is thus the process of establishing confidence that the quality of standards set by the three QCs in respect of the level, scope and nature of competencies described in the relevant unit standards or qualifications is achieved in practice. The quality system introduced by the QCTO and the qualifications registered at SAQA are aimed at ensuring that the institutions responsible for deciding whether learners (or others) meet the requirements for qualification have adequate capacity to do so. According to the QCTO (2011a) the functions of the QCTO are to • advise the Minister on all matters of policy concerning occupational standards and qualifications in accordance with the objectives of the Skills Development Act and NQF Act • establish and maintain occupational standards and qualifications • conduct quality assurance of occupational standards and qualifications and learning in and for the workplace • design and develop occupational standards and qualifications and submit them to SAQA for registration on the NQF • ensure the quality of occupational standards and qualifications and learning in and for the workplace • promote the objectives of the NQF • liaise with the National Skills Authority regarding the suitability and adequacy of occupational qualifications standards and qualifications and the quality of learning in and for the workplace • liaise with SAQA, QCs and professional bodies responsible for establishing standards and quality assurance of standards and qualifications. The DQPs will play a critical role in developing occupational qualifications and the AQPs will be responsible for assessment and quality assurance. For more information about the specific role of the DQPs see chapter 7, and for the role of the AQPs see chapter 18. HRD practitioners should ensure that they have detailed knowledge of the new policies and requirements pertaining to the QCTO as far as occupational qualifications are concerned. HRD practitioners involved or affected by Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges or higher education should ensure that they keep up to date with the developments in the TVET and higher-education sectors and should therefore keep an eye on information coming from Umalusi and the Council for Higher Education (CHE). The TVET colleges are prioritised by government as practical education institutions providing vocational or occcupational education with a view towards specific jobs, employment or entrepreneurial opportunities. The QCTO plays a critical role in the quality assurance of occupational qualifications. The Occupational Qualifications Sub-Framework is built on occupations as defined in the Organising Framework of Occupations (OFO). The QCTO (2011b) defines an occupation as a cluster or group of similar jobs that share many common occupational tasks of similar complexity and require similar performance across different processes and industries. Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 43 For example, a marketing specialist will perform more or less the same tasks, irrespective of whether they work in a bank, factory or shop. The occupational profile is developed by expert practitioners, i.e. practitioners in the occupation, and includes a statement of the purpose and tasks to be performed by an individual (QCTO, 2011b). The performance of occupational tasks is underpinned by knowledge and skills (QCTO, 2011b). Three components are involved in occupations: • knowledge, acquired through through a set of organised learning activities offered by a skills development provider • practical skills, acquired when knowledge is applied, very often in a simulated environment • work experience, acquired when the learner integrates knowledge and skills in concrete situations in the workplace. A combination of these three components is necessary for competence in an occupational qualification. An occupational qualification is “a qualification associated with a trade, occupation or profession, resulting from work-based learning and consisting of knowledge unit standards, practical unit standards and work experience unit standards” (QCTO, 2011b). On completion of these unit standards and after a successful summative assessment for an occupational qualification an occupational qualification will be awarded. Formal recognition of competence is recognised by certification. 2.16 Vision and strategic approach of the Skills Development Act The vision of the Skills Development Act is “an integrated skills development system which promotes economic and employment growth and social development through a focus on education, training and employment services” (RSA, 1997:1). The core strategy is to create an enabling environment for expanded strategic investment in skills development. The strategy intends to place skills development within the broader policy context, including: • macro-economic • industrial • labour market • education and • science and technology policy. It contains implementation proposals for the national co-ordination of support for company or industry-level training. Training for specified target groups through intermediary institutions at sectoral levels is also proposed. 2.16.1 Principles underpinning the proposed new system The proposed new system is underpinned by the following principles: • It is intended to be flexible and decentralised • It is intended to be demand-led (in other words, the provision of education and training must be prioritised according to the demand for skills in the market) and • It is based on partnerships between the public and private sectors. 44 Managing Human Resource Development 2.16.2 Purposes of the Skills Development Act The purposes of this Act are: • to develop the skills of the South African workforce in order to: – improve workers’ quality of life, their prospects of work and labour mobility – improve productivity in the workplace and the competitiveness of employers – promote self-employment and – improve the delivery of social services • to increase the levels of investment in education and training in the labour market and to improve the return on that investment • to encourage employers to: – use the workplace as an active learning environment – provide employees with the opportunities to acquire new skills – provide opportunities for new entrants to the labour market to gain work experience and – employ persons who find it difficult to be employed • to encourage workers to participate in learnership and other training programmes • to improve the employment prospects of persons who were previously disadvantaged by unfair discrimination and to redress those disadvantages through training and education • to ensure the quality of education and training in and for the workplace • to assist: – workseekers in finding work – retrenched workers in re-entering the labour market and – employers in finding qualified employees and • to provide and regulate employment services. 2.17 Core components of the Skills Development Strategy To achieve the objectives of the Skills Development Strategy, the Skills Development Act makes provision for five inter-dependent components. These components are briefly introduced below, before discussing each in more detail in separate sections. National co-ordination National co-ordination of the overall skills development policy and strategy is to be effected by the Minister of Higher Education and Training on the advice of the National Skills Authority (replacing the former National Training Board). Sector Education and Training Authorities The Skills Development Act makes provision for the establishment of Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) to assist communities, organisations, industries and individuals in formulating and implementing training plans linked to strategic objectives. Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 45 Learnerships and skills programmes The key component of the strategy is the establishment of a system of learnerships and skills programmes leading to occupationally based qualifications registered on the NQF, or to credits towards such qualifications. Funding of skills development The funds to implement the Skills Development Strategy are to come mainly from three sources: • a levy-financing system that applies to all employers and employees outside national and provincial government departments • a portion of the payroll budgets of all national and provincial government departments and • individual learners and their families. In the following sections, each of these five strategy components are discussed in more detail, with indications of the implications that each component has on HRD practices within organisations. 2.17.1 National co-ordination With the promulgation of the Skills Development Act the former National Training Board has been restructured into the National Skills Authority (NSA). The NSA does not have the same measure of independence as the SAQA, but has to exercise its functions to implement the Skills Development Strategy through advice to the Minister. 2.17.1.1 Functions The National Skills Authority has to perform the following functions: • advise the Minister on: – a national skills development policy – a national skills development strategy – guidelines on the implementation of the national skills development strategy – the allocation of subsidies from the National Skills Fund – any regulations to be made • liaise with SETAs on: – the national skills development policy – the national skills development strategy • report to the Minister in the prescribed manner on the progress made in the implementation of the national skills development strategy • conduct investigations on any matter arising out of the application of this Act • exercise any other powers and perform any other duties conferred or imposed on it by this Act. To conduct its investigations, the Act gives the NSA the prescribed powers of entry and of questioning and inspection. 46 Managing Human Resource Development 2.17.1.2 Composition The Council is to be composed of a total of 25 voting and 4 non-voting members appointed by the Minister. Various categories of stakeholders are represented such as employers, labour, government, the community, learning providers and the SAQA. The representatives of the community and development organisations have to include a woman, somebody representing the youth and a disabled person. 2.17.2 Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) The SETAs are key implementation agencies established by the Act. However, various public consultations are under way to review the role and impact of SETAs. 2.17.2.1 Criteria for establishment The Minister of Higher Education and Training has identified various national economic sectors and established a SETA for each of them. In determining the demarcations between economic sectors, the Minister has to take a number of criteria into account: • the education and training needs of employers and employees who use similar materials and processes, make similar products and render similar services • the potential of the proposed sector for coherent occupational structures and careerpathing • the scope of any national strategies for economic growth and development • the organisational structures of trade unions, employer organisations and the government in closely related sectors • any consensus that may exist among organised labour, organised employers and relevant government departments as to the definition of a sector • the financial and organisational ability of the proposed sector to support a SETA. Table 2.3 lists the 21 established SETAs. Table 2.3 SETAs established by the Minister SETA Full Name Website URL AgriSETA Agriculture Sector Education and Training Authority www.agriseta.co.za BANKSETA Banking Sector Education and Training Authority www.bankseta.org.za CATHSSETA Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality, Sport SETA www.cathsseta.org.za CETA Construction Education and Training Authority www.ceta.org.za CHIETA Chemical and Related Industry www.chieta.org.za ETDPSETA Education Training Development Sector Education and Training Authority www.etdpseta.org.za EWSETA Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority www.eseta.org.za FASSET Finance, Accounting, Management Consulting and Other Financial Services www.fasset.org.za FoodbevSETA Food and Beverages Education and Training Authority www.foodbev.co.za continued Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 47 SETA Full Name Website URL FP&M SETA Fibre Processing and Manufacturing SETA www.fpmseta.org.za HWSETA Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority www.hwseta.org.za INSETA Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority www.inseta.org.za LGSETA Local Government Sector Education & Training Authority www.lgseta.co.za MERSETA Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority www.merseta.org.za MICT SETA Media, Advertising, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority www.isett.org.za MQA Mining Qualifications Authority www.mqa.org.za PSETA Public Services SETA www.pseta.org.za SASSETA Safety and Security SETA www.sasseta.org.za Services SETA Services SETA www.serviceseta.org.za TETA Transport Education and Training Authority www.teta.org.za W&RSETA Wholesale and Retail SETA www.wrseta.org.za 2.17.2.2 Functions SETAs are responsible for: • strategic functions related to developing sector skills plans through labour market research and training needs assessments • implementation functions related to collation and analysis of workplace skills plans, registration of learnerships and disbursement of grants for learnership and skills programme implementation • communication and reporting functions related to the promotion of skills development strategies within and on behalf of the sector concerned and related to liaison with employment services and the NSA • quality assurance functions as accredited ETQAs in terms of the SAQA Act (accreditation of providers, registration of assessors, certification of learners, etc) until the ETQAs are fully replaced by the AQPs. Functions of SETA A SETA must – (a) develop a sector skills plan within the framework of the national skills development strategy; (b) implement its sector skills plan by – (i) establishing learnerships; (ii) approving workplace skills plans; (iii) allocating grants in the prescribed manner to employers, education and training providers and workers; and (iv) monitoring education and training in the sector; continued 48 Managing Human Resource Development (c) promote learnerships by – (i) identifying workplaces for practical work experience; (ii) supporting the development of learning materials; (iii) improving the facilitation of learning; and (iv) assisting in the conclusion of learnership agreements; register learnership agreements; within a week from its establishment, apply to the South African Qualifications Authority for accreditation as a body contemplated in section 5(1)(a)(ii)(bb) and must, within 18 months from the date of that application, be so accredited; collect and disburse the skills development levies in its sector; liaise with the National Skills Authority on – (i) the national skills development policy; (ii) the national skills development strategy; and (iii) its sector skills plan; report to the Director-General on – (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j) (k) (i) its income and expenditure; and (ii) the implementation of its sector skills plan; liaise with the employment services of the Department and any education body established under any law regulating education in the Republic to improve information – (i) about employment opportunities; and (ii) between education and training providers and the labour market; appoint staff necessary for the performance of its functions; and perform any other duties imposed by this Act or consistent with the purposes of this Act. Source: RSA 1998c, Regulation 10. 2.17.2.3 Composition A SETA may only consist of members representing: • organised labour • organised employers, including small business • relevant government departments and • if the Minister (after consultation with the SETA) considers it appropriate for the sector, any interested professional body or any bargaining council with jurisdiction in the sector. 2.17.2.4 Chambers A SETA may establish chambers and delegate some of the functions within its jurisdiction to the relevant chamber. Like SETAs themselves, chambers also must have an equal number of members representing employers and employees, and may include such additional members as the SETA may determine. A list of the current registered chambers and sector industry coverage per SETA, with their respective Standard Industry Classification (SIC) codes, is available on the Department of Higher Education and Training website (listed at the end of this chapter). Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 49 2.17.2.5 Financing SETAs and their chambers A SETA is to be financed from: • the skills development levy, interest and penalties collected in respect of that sector • moneys awarded to it by the National Skills Fund • grants, donations and bequests made to it • income earned through interest on surplus money deposited or invested, and earned on services rendered in the prescribed manner • money received from any other source. Chambers are entitled to a percentage of the levies collected within their sub-sector. The Minister determines the percentage after consulting the SETA. SETAs and chambers may use their funds in only a prescribed manner to: • meet their obligations under the Act to contribute to the National Training Fund • perform their functions (for instance, to establish learnerships and allocate grants to employers, education and training providers and employees) • pay for their administration up to a prescribed limit. In addition to indirect and direct contributions to the operational cost of the Skills Development Strategy, organisations have to commit people and time resources to participate in the establishment and running of the SETAs and the NSA. Individual organisations also have to monitor the effectiveness of the contribution of their representatives on these bodies. 2.17.3 Learnership system and skills programmes The establishment of the NQF has made more flexible learning arrangements possible. A learnership is a mechanism to link structured learning with work experience, leading to a qualification registered on the NQF as a reliable indicator of work readiness. Through learnerships, structured learning programmes and work experience are integrated and organised for accreditation on the NQF in a way that provides both vertical and horizontal articulation within the qualification framework, and also produce meaningful competencies for productive work. Traditional apprenticeship qualifications should be seen as a sub-set of the learnership system. The structured learning part of a learnership has to include the unit standard categories required to make up a qualification (see section 2.13 above): • Fundamental learning (for instance, mathematics and language) • Core learning (for instance, scientific/social/entrepreneurial/industrial relations and so on) • Specialisation (theoretical and structured practical training in the area of specialisation). Work experience has to relate to the structured learning and prepare the learners for competence assessment. It may take place in a single workplace or be spread across several sites. The Green Paper on Post-School Education placed significant emphasis on work integrated learning and on an overhaul of the FET system (DHET, 2011). Figure 2.1 summarises the process proposed in a previous Green Paper (RSA, 1997:30) for the development of a learnership system in a given industrial sector. The proposals emphasise the link with the NQF and guidelines required to implement the learnership system. Arrangements are proposed through which small and micro enterprises and entrepreneurs may also gain access to learnership contracts for their employees. 50 Managing Human Resource Development Figure 2.1 Development cycle for a learnership system in a sector The main advantage of the learnership system is that it extends the traditional apprenticeship focus on trades to address the needs of the full spectrum of employers (ranging from micro to macro) in each economic sector (including, for instance, the service industries, sports, arts, and so on). In addition to learnerships, the Skills Development Act introduces skills programmes as another learning intervention to achieve its objectives. It describes skills programmes as unit standard-based programmes that are occupationally based and presented by an Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 51 accredited provider, and when completed, constitute a credit towards a qualification registered on the NQF (RSA, 1998c: section 20). A skills programme can further be described as an education and training programme towards a meaningful cluster of unit standards (BANKSETA http://www.bankseta.org.za). Any employer may claim a grant towards the costs of providing skills programmes. It is for each SETA to determine arrangements for the applications and the amounts for grants. Any application for a grant must be submitted to the appropriate SETA, and approved by it, before the skills programmes start. It may be that a person completes a series of skills programmes that result in a full learnership qualification. If the employer receives grants for the skills programmes, the total of the grants that the employer receives must be no greater than the grants they would have received had the employee undertaken a learnership programme resulting in the same final qualification (RSA, 2001b: regulations 28 and 29). Both public-service and private-sector employers are expected to provide opportunities in learning programmes for participants to obtain on-the-job exposure at a specified rate of remuneration. 2.17.4 Funding of skills development Three sources of funds can be used in the implementation of any skills development strategy (see Figure 2.2): • the government, through general government revenues, tax incentives and the skillsfinancing1 scheme • the private sector and private individuals, through direct company expenditure, skills levies, trainee wages, and user fees • donations from local and overseas donors. ________________________ 1 The Skills Development Act used the expression “levy-grant”, but the Skills Development Levies Act has amended the former Act to substitute this with the expression “skills-financing”. 52 Managing Human Resource Development Figure 2.2 Funding for skills development SOURCES OF FUNDS PUBLIC SECTOR DONORS PRIVATE SECTOR • tax revenue NATIONAL FUNDS strategic needs • donations • company investment • enterprise levies • tax incentives • tax incentives • user fees • employee contributions • user fees • employer & employee contributions SECTOR FUNDS ENTERPRISE FUNDS strategic needs √ Employees in sector √ Not yet employed √ ABET √ √ √ √ √ Unemployed Not yet employed Special groups Strategic needs Training infrastructure √ Employees APPLICATION OF F UNDS Whilst the two skills development Acts allow the other sources and means to make their contributions they concentrate on a skills-financing system as a stimulus for the others. In summary, all private-sector and local-government employers registered with the South African Revenue Services (SARS) on the Pay as You Earn (PAYE) system are liable to pay skills development levies as a specified percentage of their payroll, and provincial and national government departments have to budget a specified percentage of their payroll for skills development purposes. A skills development levy was introduced on 1 April 2000. This is a compulsory levy scheme for the funding of education and training. SARS administers the collection of the levy. The levy is payable by employers who are registered with SARS for the purposes of employees’ tax. The rate was set at 1% of the payroll as of 1 April 2001. The levy is deductible for income tax purposes and employers providing employees with training receive grants in terms of this scheme. Significant changes are in the pipeline pertaining to the levy system. 2.17.4.1 Skills development levies The Skills Development Levies Act requires all employers who are not exempt in terms of section 4 of that Act to pay a skills development levy each month. What follows is an explanation in layman’s terms of how an employer must calculate the levy according to the Act, but in real-life situations employers should not rely on the simplified explanation given here. A tax expert should be consulted to ensure compliance with the Act. The levy is calculated as a percentage of the total monthly payroll of the employer (called the “leviable amount”) as defined in section 3(4) of the Act: the total remuneration, paid or payable, or deemed to be paid or payable, by an employer to its employees during any month, as determined in accordance with the provisions of the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act for the purpose of determining the employer’s liability for Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 53 any employees’ tax in terms of that Schedule, whether or not such employer is liable to deduct or withhold such employees’ tax. In other words, the levy is to be paid on all remuneration (salary, wages, overtime pay and bonuses) in a given month, including remuneration for temporary workers and workers who earn less than the tax threshold. Section 3(5) stipulates that the following are not included in calculating the “leviable amount”: • remuneration of employees supplied by labour brokers who have a certificate of exemption for this purpose • amounts paid to any person by way of any pension, superannuation allowance or retiring allowance • amounts paid out to employees in the form of annuities, retrenchment or severance pay, lump sum benefits from pension funds and gains from insurance policies determined according the Sixth Schedule to the Income Tax Act • remuneration to a learner in terms of a contract of employment in section 18(3) of the Skills Development Act. 2.17.4.2 Collection of the levy SARS collects the compulsory levy from employers through its PAYE system. The Act provides that levies may be collected directly by a SETA itself in cases where the Minister has been convinced that such collection is necessary and viable. Whoever collects the levy from an employer has to deposit 80% of it into the account of the SETA with which the employer is registered for skills development and 20% into the National Skills Fund (see section 2.17.5.4 below). Employers liable to pay the skills levy have to apply to SARS to be registered with a specific SETA. In selecting which SETA to register with, an employer has to take three factors into account: • the composition of its workforce in terms of the industry sectors to which their required work competencies belong • the amount of remuneration payable to the different categories of employees • the training needs of the different categories of employees. The employer’s selection of SETA is binding on it, unless SARS directs otherwise on the basis of the three factors listed above. 2.17.4.3 National Skills Fund The Skills Development Act established the National Skills Fund. The fund is financed from: • 20% of the skills development levies • the skills development levies collected in respect of those sectors in which there are no SETAs • money appropriated by parliament for the fund • interest earned on investments • donations to the fund • money received from any other source. 54 Managing Human Resource Development Any unexpended balance in the fund at the end of the financial year must be carried forward to the next financial year as a credit to the fund. The money in the fund may be used only for the projects identified in the national skills development strategy as national priorities or for such other projects related to the achievement of the purposes of this Act as the Director-General determines. The funding framework enables employers and learners meeting prescribed criteria to claim training grants and subsidies from either SETA funds or the National Training Fund for approved training. It also enables small and micro enterprises to obtain government funds for training. The funding framework imposes two costs on employers: • the cost of training its own employees • the payment of the skills levy to fund industry training. 2.18 Grants and tax deductions available to employers and providers The Skills Development Levies Act makes provision for various types of grants that employers and providers may claim for planning and implementing skills development initiatives for employees in their economic sector from the SETA with which they are registered (RSA, 1999a). The amounts and conditions for the various grant claims are prescribed in regulations issued from time to time in terms of this Act and may vary from year to year. In addition to sector grants, employers and providers may also plan and implement skills initiatives that meet the criteria for claiming grants from the National Skills Fund. The total grants received by such employers may exceed their levy payments. The workplace skills plan required for both mandatory and discretionary grants provides the basis for identifying and planning skills development interventions required to achieve an organisation’s strategic objectives and to serve individual development needs. The workplace skills plan has to fit into the priority areas identified in the sector skills plan of the relevant SETA. 2.19 Sector skills plans A key function of SETAs is to design a 5-year skills plan for its sector that will provide the basis for determining scarce skills in the sector and prioritising the allocation of discretionary grants. A sector skills plan should be based on a sound labour market study of the sector. Sector skills plans have to be updated annually. 2.20 National Skills Development Strategy It has become a trend over the last two decades for the Minister to published subsequent versions of a National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) as developed by the Department of Higher Education and Training. The HRD Council of South Africa plays a key role in this regard. The key difference between the first and second versions of the national skills development strategy is a marked shift in focus from input and process indicators to result indicators as the measures of success in achieving skills development objectives. This shift can be viewed as indicating that the quality management system for human resources Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 55 development is maturing. In the early stages of the establishment of any system, the system’s regulators can only measure input and process indicators to assure the quality of the results, but ultimately input and process effectiveness can only be appropriately evaluated against a measurement of the quality of the results. The key driving force of a NSDS is improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the skills development system. The NSDS focuses on socio-economic imperatives, such as improved placement of both students and graduates, especially from TVET colleges and universities of technology. Organisations should align their HRD strategies to the NSDS where relevant. 2.21 Case studies: Sector and workplace skills plans and learnership implementation 2.21.1 Transport Education and Training Authority The Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA) plays a central role in ensuring the transport sector has the right skills by accelarating the funding of training when it comes to scarce, critical and priority skills in all sub-sectors. The transport sector has been demarcated into eight sub-sectors and includes the areospace, forwarding and clearing, freight-handling, maritime, rail, road freight, road passenger and taxi industries. TETA’s primary functions are to develop a sector skills plan, to facilitate the development, registration and implementation of learnerships, skills programmes and strategic initiatives, to approve workplace skills plans, disburse grants to stakeholders and conduct quality assurance of education and training within the transport sector. Highlights from the Freight Handling Chamber include the training of 14 650 employees during 2011. The Chamber approved discretionary grants to train 1 535 learners in critical and scarce skills and set funding aside to train 20 unemployed learners with disabilities in business administration. The Rail Chamber has ensured the training of 27 410 employees since 2010 and funded 50 bursaries to unemployed individuals for engineering degrees and 300 engineering technicians for training in chemical, mechanical, industrial, civil and electrical disciplines. Other major milestones for the Rail Chamber are the training of 400 artisans for all phases in rail-designated trades and the rolling out of 100 discretionary grant projects (TETA, 2012). 2.21.2 Transnet Rail Engineering Transnet Rail Engineering (TRE) is a good example of a company committed to sustainable skills development. The School of Engineering at TRE aims to provide all Transnet Operating Divisions with the right people with the relevant competencies to enable them to perform their functions at the appropriate organisational level. TRE has identified a need for the development of a sustainable and critical skills base in these areas: engineering, maintenance, artisan, technical skills, and leadership. Through its School of Engineering, TRE aims to develop an outcomes-based curriculum that is task-oriented and competency-driven. TRE spends around R180 million annually on skills development. This is 5,6% of its labour costs, exluding levy payments, whereas the market norm is 3%. TRE’s goal is to contribute to a skilled, flexible, productive, costeffective, safe and customer-conscious workforce by encouraging learning to be aligned with business needs. All workplace skills plans and annual training reports have been 56 Managing Human Resource Development submitted for 2011/12 and TRE staff members are active in the Chamber Management Committee (Transet Rail Engineering, 2012). 2.22 Practical implications for HRD practitioners In the light of the above discussion, it is clear that HRD practitioners must ensure that their organisations develop appropriate HRD strategies in order to comply with the necessary legislative requirements. The following practical steps should be applied in the workplace to ensure that HRD strategies are aligned with the skills development legislation: • appoint a skills development facilitator for the organisation • form a training committee representative of all relevant stakeholders • pay the necessary levies to SARS • conduct a skills gap analysis to determine skills development priorities to align your organisation’s skills profile with its strategic objectives • develop a workplace skills plan to address the skills gaps • present outcomes-based learning programmes to promote skills development • liaise with SETAs to determine sector skills priorities • develop quality assurance systems for SETA and QCTO requirements • ensure that learning programmes are aligned with available unit standards • initiate or participate in learnerships and/or skills programmes to accelerate skills development • develop and participate in recognition-of-prior-learning (RPL) projects to accelerate skills development • check that all professionals in the organisation (engineers, accountants, HR professionals, etc) are registered with a professional body so that their designations can be uploaded on the NLRD at SAQA • meet QCTO requirements regarding learning provision, including, for instance, requirements relating to registration of assessors, learner support and so on • keep abreast of all SAQA, NQF, QCTO and SETA developments • evaluate the impact of the workplace skills plan and realign it with the business plan. 2.23 Conclusion This chapter explored the Skills Development Strategy overseen by the Department of Higher Education and Training as a necessary component for economic development and growth in South Africa, as well as the NQF and QCTO established by the NQF Act as the basic mechanism for achieving the goals of the Skills Development Act. The implementation of this strategy has picked up steam in the last six years, with the establishment of QCTO, and will intensify as QCTO structures are established and develop into fully fledged quality assurance governance bodies. However, given the comtinuous prevalence of serious skills gaps in the country on the back of a poor education system, dysfunctional SETAs and other skills development mechanisms, the whole skills development and higher education system is under review. The turmoil in the higher education sector precipitated by the #FeesMustFall campaign by university students in 2015 and 2016 further exemplified the need to redesign the Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 57 education and skills development system. Readers are therefore encouraged to keep abreast of announcements or new documentation published by government, SAQA and the QCTO, as a new skills development system is expected to be implemented from 2017. In the meantime, despite these limitations, skills development acccording to business needs must continue in the workplace and other centres of learning. After completing the assignments below, you should be able to participate in the alignment of your organisation’s HRD policy and practices with current HRD legislation. 2.24 Self-assessment questions 1 Prepare a slide presentation to identify and propose solutions to skills development problems that apply to your workplace or industry. 2 Prepare a slide presentation for a business strategy meeting to explain to your colleagues how the Skills Development Strategy relates to your overall business strategy. 3 Determine the NQF levels and bands of the competencies required of staff in a work unit in your organisation. 4 Write a unit standard for one of the competencies required in your work unit. 5 Identify the critical cross-field outcomes that are supported by the unit standard that you have written in question 4 above, and explain how you will assess whether the identified outcomes have been achieved. 6 After you have worked through this chapter, identify where and how the principles underpinning the Skills Development Act have been used in the core components of the Skills Development Strategy. (Example: The demand-led principle is underpinning the proposal that each SETA must conduct a skills needs analysis to prioritise skill shortages as a basis for establishing learnership programmes in its sector) 7 Explain why it is imperative for HR and HRD practitioners to register as professionals in terms of the NQF Act. 8 If your company wishes to nominate someone as a representative to a SETA or the NSA, what skills should such a person have in each case? 9 If you were your organisation’s skills development facilitator, identify the steps in a project plan to develop a workplace skills plan that would comply with the requirements of the Skills Development Act and its regulations and those set by your organisation’s SETA. 10 Analyse your organisation’s business objectives and skills profile to identify strategic priorities for education and training. 11 Explain the NQF Act to the CEO of your organisation and indicate the major implications, especially of the QCTO and professional designations, for your company. 12 Describe the relevance of the NQF Implementation Framework for your role as an HR practitioner. 2.25 References BANKSETA, 2005, “Banking Sector Learnership Impact Study”, [http://www.bankseta .org.za/research/default.asp]. 58 Managing Human Resource Development Bellis I, 1999, “Qualifications in the Business, Commerce and Management Field: NSB 03” National Standards Body 03 [http://www.saqa.org.za/nsb/bcms/default.htm]. Department of Higher Education and Training, 2011, National Skills Development Strategy III, Pretoria: Department of Higher Education and Training. Human Sciences Research Council, 1995, Ways of Seeing the National Qualifications Framework, Pretoria: HSRC. IMD, 2012, World Competitiveness Yearbook 2012, Lausanne: IMD. Lategan AH, 1997, “A Proposed Skills Development Strategy for Economic and Employment Growth in South Africa”, in Smit E (ed), 1997, Strategic Human Resource Management, 2nd edn, Pretoria: Kagiso. Lategan AH, 1998, “Describing National Qualifications Framework Levels”, Cutting Edge 1(5): 10–20 Johannesburg: Cutting Edge. Lategan AH, 2005, “Report on Return on Investment in Education and Training Interventions April 2004 to March 2005”. QCTO, 2011, QCTO Curriculum and Assessment Policy, Pretoria: Quality Council for Trades & Occupations. QCTO, 2011, QCTO Policy on Delegation to DQPs and AQPs, Pretoria: Quality Council for Trades & Occupations. RSA, 1995, South African Qualifications Authority Act (Act No. 58 of 1995), Government Notice No. 1521, Government Gazette 364 (16725), Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 1996, Green Paper, Policy Proposals for a New Employment and Occupational Equity Statute, Government Notice 804 of 1996 [http://www.gov.za/greenpaper/1996/ equity.htm]. RSA, 1997, Green Paper; Skills Development Strategy for Economic and Employment Growth in South Africa, Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 1998a, Regulations under the South African Qualifications Authority Act (Act No. 58 of 1995) (short title: National Standards Bodies Regulations, 1998) Regulation No. R. 452, Government Gazette 393 (18787), Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 1998b, Regulations under the South African Qualifications Authority Act (Act No. 58 of 1995) (short title: Education and Training Quality Assurance Bodies Regulations, 1998) Regulation No. R1127, Government Gazette 399 (19231), Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 1998c, Skills Development Act (Act No. 97 of 1998), Government Gazette 401 (19420), Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 1999a, Skills Development Levies Act (Act No. 9 of 1999), Government Gazette 406 (19984), Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 1999b, Commencement of the Skills Development Act (Act No. 97 of 1998), Government Gazette 411 (20422): 2, Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 1999c, Regulations regarding the Establishment of Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), Government Gazette 411 (20422): 4–7, Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 1999d, List and scope of coverage of Sector Education and Training Authorities, Government Gazette 417 (20422): 12–24 Pretoria: Government Printer. Chapter 2: Human Resource Development legislation 59 RSA, 2000, Notice of amendment of a list and scope of coverage of Sector Education and Training Authorities, Government Gazette 417 (21012), Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 2001a, Regulations concerning the registration of learnerships and learnership agreements, Government Gazette 430 (22197), Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 2001b, Skills Development Regulations, Government Gazette 432 (22398) Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 2002, Taxation Laws Amendment (Act No 30 of 2002), Government Gazette Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 2005a, Amalgamation of Sector Education and Training Authorities established under Section 9 of the Skills Development Act, 1998, Government Gazette 477 (27445), Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 2005b, Establishment of Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), Government Gazette 477 (27445), Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 2005c, Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs): Grant Regulations regarding monies recceived and by a SETA and related matters (short title: SETAS Grant Regulations, 2005), Government Gazette 481 (27801), Pretoria: Government Printer, Government Gazette 477 (27445), Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 2005d, Proposed SETA Grants and Service Level Agreement Regulations, Government Gazette 481 (27801), Pretoria: Government Printer, Government Gazette 477 (27445) Pretoria: Government Printer. RSA, 2008, National Qualifications Framework Act, Act 67 of 2008, Government Gazette 524 (31909), Pretoria: Government Printer. SETA Handbook and Directory, 4th Quarter 2011, Johannesburg: Swartz Manufacturing Marketing. SAQA, 1998, “Criteria for the Generation and Evaluation of Standards and Qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework”, SAQA Bulletin 2(1). SAQA, 1999, “Draft 5 Criteria and Guidelines for ETQAs”, Pretoria: SAQA. SAQA, 2011, NQF Implementation Framework 2011–2015, Pretoria: SAQA. SAQA, 2012, Level Descriptors for the South African National Qualifications Framework, Pretoria: SAQA. Smit E (ed), 1997, Strategic Human Resource Management, 2nd edn, Pretoria: Kagiso. Standing G, Fender J and Weeks J, 1996, Restructuring the Labour Market: The South African Challenge: An ILO Country Review, Geneva: International Labour Organisation. TETA, 2012, “TETA: In it for the long haul”, Achiever, June, 41, 92–95. Transnet, 2012, “Transnet Rail Engineering: Schooled for excellence in engineering”, Achiever, June, 52–53. Van Rooyen M, 1997, “The National Qualifications Framework and the South African Qualifications Authority” in Smit E (ed) Strategic Human Resource Management, 2nd edn, Pretoria: Kagiso. Vorwerk C, 1998, “New Concepts in Education and Training” Cutting Edge 1(7): 1–8. Wilson R, Woolard I and Lee B, 2004, Developing a National Skills Forecasting Tool for South Africa, Pretoria: Human Science Research Council. 60 Managing Human Resource Development 2.26 Suggested reading Department of Education, 1995, Lifelong Learning through a National Qualifications Framework, Pretoria: Department of Education. HSRC, 1995, Ways of seeing the NQF, Pretoria: Human Science Research Council. Meyer M and Orpen M, 2012, Occupationally-Directed Education Training and Development Practices, 2nd edn, Durban: LexisNexis. Meyer T, 1996, Creating Competitiveness through Competencies, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. SAQA, 2011, National RPL Conference: Bridging and Expanding Existing Islands of Excellent Practice, Pretoria: SAQA. SAQA, 2012, “Key readings: The South African NQF 1995–2011”, SAQA Bulletin, 12(2), February, Pretoria: South African Qualifications Authority. SAQA, 2012, SAQA Update, 14(1), Pretoria: SAQA. 2.27 Internet sites Achiever Online: http://www.achieveronline.co.za Australian Qualifications Framework: http://www.aqf.edu.au Council for Higher Education: http://www.che.ac.za Department of Higher Education and Training: http://www.dhet.gov.za National Occupational Pathway Framework: http://www.nopf.co.za New Zealand Qualifications Authority: http://www.nzqa.govt.nz Quality Council for Trades and Occupations: http://www.qcto.org.za SA Board for People Practices: http://www.sabpp.co.za Scottish Qualification Authority: http://www.sqa.org.uk Skills Summit: http://www.skillssumit.co.za Skills Universe: http://www.skills-universe.com South African Qualifications Authority: http://www.saqa.org.za 2.28 Acknowledgement The original author of this chapter in the first three editions of the book, the late Dr Andries Lategan, is hereby acknowledged. CHAPTER 3 STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT Johan Ludike There is no question that all HRD managers and their units can benefit from strategic planning. (Leonard Nadler and Garland Wiggs) LEARNING OUTCOMES • Identify the new competitive realities contained within the knowledge economy and recognise their influence on strategic HRD • • • • • • • • Comprehend and describe the new repositioned strategic context, role and responsibilities of HRD Develop a strategic HRD plan for a company Distinguish between strategic human resource planning and strategic implementation Differentiate between varying organisational strategic contexts, their response strategies and their underlying rationale Conceptualise appropriate and relevant HRD strategies, architecture, interventions and deliverables Apply criteria of alignment, fit and coherence in the design and development of the HRD implementation strategy Establish linkages and integration between initiatives and the organisational strategic context, objectives, mission and values Assess and evaluate strategic outsourcing as an implementation option • Develop and cultivate strategic partnerships with key implementation stakeholders • Formulate and align a comprehensive range of measures to evaluate implementation of the HRD strategy and measure effectiveness of architecture 61 62 Managing Human Resource Development 3.1 Introduction The globalisation of virtually every major industry has dramatically altered the rules of competition. South African companies today not only face increased local competition but, having been propelled into the realities of the knowledge and information world economy, but also have to live up to the challenge of dealing with foreign multi-national companies in their own markets. South Africa’s human resource competitiveness is inadequate for this daunting task, however (IMD, 2015; Nel, 1997:21; World Economic Forum, 2016) and for the changing people-management context (Khoza, 2011; Ludike, 2011; Veldsman, 1996:14). Organisations need to learn to compete from the inside out by increasing their capacity for change. In order to ensure their survival, organisations need, according to Pedler, Burgoyne and Boydell (1992:46), Smith (2011) and Ulrich (1997:67), to create a strategic architecture, support processes and learning mechanisms that facilitate continued learning and strategic renewal. Studies by numerous authors, researchers and futurists, such as Tapscott (1998:60), Davis and Meyer (1998:24) and Hamel and Prahalad (1994:177), contend that, given the nature of discontinuous change, knowledge-based strategic thinking, innovative strategy development and effective strategic implementation are an organisation’s most powerful means of creating its destiny. Against the background of accelerated skills obsolescence and the shortened shelf-life of knowledge, it is becoming abundantly clear that professional HRD practitioners cannot afford to be perceived as passive bystanders. HRD practitioners will have to participate proactively in their respective organisations’ competitive efforts to create the future, failing which they risk themselves becoming obsolete and their deliverables being outsourced. The purpose and objective of this chapter is to describe briefly the emerging new competitive realities which organisational strategy has to address as well as reflect on the need for HRD to renew its paradigm and reposition itself as a strategic partner. A conceptual distinction between HRD strategy development and its implementation will then be made before a comprehensive overview of the various organisational strategies, their rationale and possible implications for HRD is provided. The commensurate, responsive, effective implementation through the appropriate creation of deliverables, interventions and the need for the deployment and leveraging of strategic partnerships based on specific criteria will then be explored. This will be followed by the provision of an illustrative case study aimed at demonstrating the integrated nature of HRD strategy implementation. Brief consideration of strategic outsourcing as an implementation option will then be discussed. Lastly, a case study will be provided as a means through which self-assessment can be done. First, however, the enormous range of changes impacting on organisations needs to be explored. 3.2 The emergence of a new competitive landscape In an increasingly turbulent environment, organisations are becoming engrossed in finding new ways of gaining and sustaining a competitive advantage. Organisations and scholars across the world view strategy as a continuous process which is foremost preoccupied with the interpretation (anticipation) of the competitive environment and the creation of a sustainable competitive advantage (Porter, 1996:61). Earlier predictions by Drucker (1993:26), Handy (1990:14) and Birchall and Lyons (1995:2) foretold a changing workforce, a changing workplace and a changing, more competitive, global and predominantly Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development 63 knowledge-driven as well as increasingly borderless economy. Both those tasked with formulating organisational strategies as well as HRD professionals were faced with questions such as: • What do these changes in the future world of work look like? • How does the increasing detachment from time and space as a result of greater technology utilisation (office automation) impact on organisational structure? • How will organisational culture and strategic architecture (mission, vision and values) have to be reconceptualised in order for the twenty-first century organisation to continually experiment with reconfiguring itself in a search for more responsive, innovative and entrepreneurial solutions? Tapscott (1998:24), Downes and Mui (1998:46) and Moss Kanter (1997:117) have continued this reflection on what was classically yet aptly described by Anshoff (1988:12) as discontinuous change, further emphasising and advocating that: • strategy requires a new mindset, one that leans towards experimentation and creativity rather than merely a rigid planning and budgeting process • a methodology referred to as “digital strategy” must be adopted • knowledge now permeates throughout the new economy and innovation and human imagination are the main source of shareholder value creation • time frames are immediate, with planning and high performance results being measured in months rather than years • globalisation implies that knowledge knows no boundaries. The world, with the advent of the Internet, needs to be thought of as merely a very large network. Local businesses become global overnight and many a commentator refers to a post CNN world. The new competitive landscape is faced with the rapid spread of news via advanced telecommunications satellite technology. Further, given that knowledge is the primary performance driver as regards value creation, there is only a world economy • the forces of digitisation, deregulation and aforementioned globalisation are rapidly transforming companies, markets and complete industries from physical to electronic commerce with an increasing virtual character • digitisation of everyday life implies that, given that both communication and computing power become cheaper and even disposable on a daily basis, a large number and range of activities are migrating from the physical and tangible to the virtual and the intangible • concepts, competence and connective partnerships and alliances are increasingly being accepted as the prerequisite main intangible assets of world-class organisations. This leads to the need for the sources of competitive advantage as well as their sustainability to be constantly rethought • these dynamics within the global marketplace are radically altering the structure, boundaries, nature and even definition of entire industries. How do organisational strategists and HRD professionals need to respond to these new competitive realities which drive, force and compel change? Initially, one could make the mistake of believing that these were mostly “foreign concepts and ideas” which had little impact and/or relevance to South Africa; that is, until one considers the local presence of well-known global brand names such as Intel, Microsoft, MacDonald’s, Nokia, Coca-Cola, Johnson and Johnson, Nike and Levi’s. Research by Bassi and Van Buren (1997:33) into these revered, high performance global companies has proven continually that they have 64 Managing Human Resource Development mastered the art of leveraging their HRD strategies and system of practices to the optimum. Principally, this is achieved through the understanding of their ever changing competitive landscape (drivers and forces of change) and reinventing the manner in which HRD provides value, commencing with the adoption of a radically new paradigm. 3.3 Reconceptualising and repositioning HRD as a strategic partner The word “paradigm” originates from the Greek paradeigma and means pattern, model or example. By implication the paradigm therefore defines the rules and boundaries within which, in an emerging new world order, high performing organisations have to excel in order to survive. The increased complexities emerging within a global competitive landscape compel HRD practitioners to adopt a completely new paradigm as to how they conceptualise their roles and responsibilities and how they execute the provision of their range of deliverables. The objective and outcome of reconceptualisation needs to result in a considerable improvement in the image and credibility of HRD. Gilley and Maycunich (1998:3) argue that HRD needs to be viewed not only from a reactive provision of training perspective, but also to be perceptually repositioned within the organisation. This repositioning should result in HRD being considered a strategic partner who is entrusted with the joint responsibility of improving organisational performance as well as organisational effectiveness. This would result in HRD extending and having a broader influence as well as a renewed sense of purpose. This leaves one with the question of what strategic partnering entails? What are its logic, processes and best practices? In order for HRD and its practitioners to be both successful as well as effective in making the transition to being a strategic partner, HRD needs to: • interpret and understand the trends and commensurate practices in corporate strategy formulation • align and link HRD processes and practices to the external, competitive marketplace, ensuring the creation of short and long-term competitive value • adopt a high value-added agenda, which creates and ensures a competitive customer focused culture • design and develop a range of deliverables which contribute to improving the organisation’s capability not to just respond to discontinuous change but to innovate strategically • focus on organisational performance issues (see chapter 5) • strategically integrate HRD through ensuring that both strategies and interventions are designed to fit internally with the organisation’s mission, vision, values, structures, procedures and management systems as well as leadership policies and practices • develop the commensurate individual level competencies within the organisation’s staff which will ensure that the staff are not only equipped to perform but to excel, providing a rich source of competitive advantage (intellectual capital) • define and create learning systems which encourage and sustain change, and which enhance personal as well as organisational learning and growth • provide for the development, deployment and leveraging of business unit level capabilities, enabling the business unit to distinguish itself within the marketplace Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development 65 • contribute significantly towards the galvanisation of organisational culture in order to provide legendary high performance. Achieving all the aforementioned through a high degree of collaboration with all relevant stakeholders will, according to Ulrich (1997:67), ensure that the HRD architecture is so well established as to literally enable the organisation to execute and accomplish its strategy. Galagan (1994:22) and McLagan (1996:63), in anticipation of HRD being judged in the future on whether it adds real measurable economic value, advocate the need for most of these activities to be integrated into the roles, responsibilities and skills repertoires of the professional HRD practitioner. The internalisation of these skills and their constant revision and renewal will enable professional practitioners to execute their new strategic partnering mandate. Needless to say, the continuous demonstration of the causal relationships between the various HRD interventions and their contribution towards improved shareholder value in a disciplined monetary sense is at the heart of these newly formulated strategic partnerships. The credibility and integrity of all stakeholders within this strategic partnership could be greatly enhanced through the collaborative design as well as implementation of both the organisational and the HRD strategy. 3.4 Strategy formulation versus implementation Strategic HRD is generally defined by many authors, such as Rothwell and Kazanas (1994), Garavan (1991) and Gilley and Maycunich (1998), as a combination of strategic processes which, if correctly aligned and integrated, are directed at providing for the learning of all relevant stakeholders which will equip stakeholders and their organisations to cope with the challenge of creating the future. It is necessary at this stage to differentiate between HRD strategy formulation or planning and the actual implementation thereof. It is therefore not surprising that the new national HR Competency Model has positioned strategy at the top of the list of competencies for HR professionals (Meyer, 2012). Although traditionally a conceptual distinction has been made in terms of representing strategic management as two distinguishable and separate phases, planning and implementation as per Table 3.1, these are increasingly being absorbed in the organisational value chain (bearing in mind the seamless nature of the knowledge-based organisation). Effective strategic operationalisation and implementation are greatly influenced by the actual process and content of strategy formulation and vice versa. It is necessary to view the strategic management of HRD as critical to the overall attainment of the organisation’s vision and mission, inclusive of the creation of improved shareholder wealth and respecting its core values. Table 3.1 Integrated strategic HRD strategy Strategic planning and formulation Strategic implementation Develop HRD vision/mission statement Break vision, mission and strategy down into specific objectives Scan the external environment focusing on organisational strategy Communicate, create understanding and assign responsibilities continued 66 Managing Human Resource Development Strategic planning and formulation Strategic implementation Conduct internal self-analysis to determine capabilities and capacity to create future through strategic partnership Establish and create appropriate strategysupportive policies, processes and procedures Formulate future-focused HRD strategy and objectives Link measurable accountabilities, rewards and incentives to achievement of key strategic objectives Evaluate according to criteria of alignment, fit and coherence (integration) with organisational strategy and execute HRD strategy Evaluate practical progress of strategy implementation on a continuous basis and assess impact of overall HRD strategy The strategic HRD planning and formulation phase normally entails the development of an HRD mission statement, the setting of objectives and the crafting or designing of a comprehensive and integrated strategy which in itself, according to both Rothwell and Kazanas (1994:19) as well as Gilley and Maycunich (1998:231), requires that one undertakes and adopts both an external environmental scanning exercise as well as an internal self-analysis. When undertaking an external environmental analysis the majority of strategists observe, examine and anticipate trends within and from a political economic, social and technological perspective. Issues emerging within these various sectors could influence how strategy is formulated and implemented. This will help both the organisation and HRD practitioner determine the extent to which HRD has acquired not only the capability to distinguish between various organisationbased strategic options, but to what extent it has internally developed the necessary level and depth of strategic foresight. This will enable the HRD practitioner to participate meaningfully in co-designing and developing a range of individual (competencies), team (capabilities) and organisational (culture) deliverables which fit internally and are aligned with specific strategic options that the organisation has elected to deploy. The most important component of the strategic management process is, however, according to Human (1998:160), the actual implementation, the success of which he states is greatly influenced by whether the aforementioned strategic development is done properly. Putting the strategy into practice requires one to concentrate on both the organisational level strategy supportive policies, procedures and requirements as well as the practical actions which need to be taken to move from ideas (planning and formulation) to implementation (action, communication, clarification and measurement). When making the strategy happen, the first step is normally to break down the strategic objectives, programmes and tasks and assign them to teams and/or individuals who have the resources (capability and capacity) and commitment to execute them. It is important to make the mission, priority issues and actions that need to be taken relevant to and clearly understandable by those that have to execute them. Ensuring that strategy supportive policies and requirements are in place normally entails ensuring that all role-players have the commensurate authority (empowerment) and necessary resource allocation (budgets, human resources and equipment) to execute their respective responsibilities. These strategy supportive policies, procedures and processes also include individuals and/or teams being kept measurably accountable for the effective completion of their strategic assignment(s) and/or task(s). In addition to comprehensive communication Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development 67 processes, rewards and incentives, that is, gain sharing, could also be linked to the achievement of these strategic objectives. Implementing the strategy is the tough part, the success of which is greatly influenced by the HRD practitioner’s level of insight into the various organisational strategies and their underlying rationale. 3.5 Strategy options and choice According to Pearce and Robinson (1985:16) strategic decision-making is not only futureorientated but also affects the long-term financial prosperity of the organisation. By understanding the broader organisational strategies and their underlying rationale the HRD practitioner can, through the strategic integration of deliverables, significantly contribute towards reducing the cycle time of actual strategy implementation resulting in improved financial performance for the organisation. The increasingly complex external global marketplace provides organisations with a wide range of strategies to choose from, each one having different implications for HRD. It is important to note that a wide range of external environmental factors ranging from macro socio-political factors to micro factors such as customer demand and competitors’ pricing policies as well as internal leadership and structure influences, normally direct this dynamic strategic decision-making. The ultimate objective is for strategically focused professional HRD practitioners to develop the necessary strategic foresight and proactively participate in this process. In order to facilitate this discussion the various strategies, their rationale and possible implications for both HRD strategy formulation and strategy facilitation or implementation purposes will be discussed as per Table 3.2. It is important to note at this stage that in order to achieve both strategic integration (fit and alignment) and be considered a strategic partner, it is necessary to anticipate and formulate the possible implications for HRD at the individual (competency), team (capability) and organisational (culture) level. Table 3.2 Organisational strategies and their possible HRD implications Circumstances and rationale Strategic implication for HRD Organisation strategy 1: Increasing market share • Organisation wants to concentrate and focus on current well-known market and/or product utilising its current competencies, resources and technology • Customers must therefore be won over from the competitors through better quality of service and product • Service and quality at both the point of sale or production could be enhanced via quality management (process and measurement) • Organisation could also elect to concentrate on reducing operating costs or maintaining its market share in its particular market niche • Leadership and management could also benefit from interventions that facilitate quality, sales and service performance management • Culture needs to measure, incentivise and reward team, service, quality and • Frontline customer interaction and improvement and refinement of selling skills and/or cross-selling continued 68 Managing Human Resource Development Circumstances and rationale Strategic implication for HRD Organisation strategy 1: Increasing market share interpersonal skills as well as technical competencies • Outsourcing range interventions could accelerate competency and capability development processes within organisation to enable sales and service orientation particularly if current culture is lacking in this regard Organisation strategy 2: Reducing operating costs to become a low-cost producer within the industry • Organisation wants to create and sustain as well as take advantage of lower costs • It could improve market share as a result of lower prices • Represents a continuous search for cost reduction without sacrificing quality • Overall objective is to manage costs down, year after year • Particularly effective in a market where consumers are price sensitive and price competition thrives • Productivity could be improved via multiskilling (see chapter 15) • Assisting in technology integration and utilisation • Cross-boundary or functional team learning exercises • Team problem-solving to reduce error rate • Develop company-wide financial management capability and awareness of budgeting, costing, prices, etc • Identification and management of cost drivers • Re-engineering (process) skills could help to enable redesign and development of customer value chain • Develop quality management culture (chapter 17) • Benchmark and teach cost management best practices • Process-orientated interventions could be outsourced or in-sourced to, for example, IT department if they have software toolkit which facilitates the effective completion of intervention Organisation strategy 3: Market development • Organisation emphasising the marketing of existing products to customers in related markets via new, changed distribution channels • Normally associated with new promotional and advertising campaigns • New markets could be local or offshore • Marketing and sales staff need to be able to sell, service and communicate value to customers • Foreign offshore or global expansion requires staff to have technical competence, interpersonal skills, diversity management skills, career development and life skills • Foreign language and cultural awareness • Reorientation when foreign assignee returns could also be considered continued Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development 69 Circumstances and rationale Strategic implication for HRD Organisation strategy 4: Product development • The emphasis is on extending organisation’s product line through modifying existing products • Entails the extension of product life cycle • Organisational culture needs to support and value change • Creative thinking abilities of staff to be developed • Foster employee involvement and suggestion schemes • Participative management and democratic leadership skills to be developed • Technical and product knowledge of staff always to be renewed Organisation strategy 5: Innovation • Although it appears similar to product development the emphasis of this strategy is on new and/or different products • Requires organisation to be highly explorative and sensitive to environmental, market and competitive trends • Develop strategic and innovative thinking capabilities of staff • Entrepreneurial orientation of both teams and individuals important • Business case and proposal preparation or presentation skills valuable to obtain sponsorship • Culture to encourage risk taking and embed entrepreneurial climate Organisation strategy 6: External growth and/or acquisition • Objective of company is to integrate resources or diversify its holdings • Integration can occur in a number of ways, such as, horizontal integration which occurs when organisation acquires another business which is in the same production or marketing chain • This enables organisation to gain access to new markets, eliminates the competition as well as provides organisation with more sources of profit • Vertical integration provides the acquiring business with the advantage of cost control as it normally acquires the business which previously supplied it with materials, etc • Conglomerate integration is directed at the acquisition of businesses that do not have much in common with the dominant acquiring company. The objective is merely to expand potential profit base • External growth strategies normally result in either restructuring and/or layoffs, which require staff to be re-skilled • Skills-based outplacement programmes might also be necessary • Cultural disparity as a result of the merging of different organisations will need to be addressed via focusing on the creation of a unified culture • Mission, values, behavioural norms and belief systems will need to be revisited • Both competency audits and culture, climate assessments, which are action learning orientated, could be considered • Complete range of individual and team learning interventions contained in curriculum need to be re-customised to fit new organisation and its culture continued 70 Managing Human Resource Development Circumstances and rationale Strategic implication for HRD Organisation strategy 6: External growth and/or acquisition • Various external growth approaches require that cross-functional or divisional perspectives are developed by the integrated management teams • Profit growth originates from improved co-ordination and transfer of products, services and know-how across the newly merged corporation • Cross-selling and marketing comes from rapid dissemination of capabilities and the real profit growth originates from uniform transfer of best practices across the organisation • A high premium is placed on all measures of success and effectiveness, such as, ROI, income to staff ratio, cost to income ratios and assets per staff number, etc Organisation strategy 7: Co-operative alliances • Strategic alliances are co-operative agreements between companies that extend beyond company to company dealings but which do not represent a partnership or full and/or part co-ownership agreement • Many reasons for co-operation exist, for example providing parties with the advantage of collaborating and sharing research and development (joint expertise) and production and technology facilities • Economies of scale in both production and marketing result from co-operation; greater access to markets is obtained • Allies learn from each other and could share distribution facilities and dealer networks • Could over time evolve into joint venture where collaborative parties pursue expansion opportunities • Successful collaboration requires the development of new skills, mindsets and corporate architectures • A view of partnership as opportunity needs to be introduced into culture • Cross-boundary and team learning skills are important to develop cross-functional or divisional perspectives • Communication and conflict resolution skills need to be refined to develop trust and respect • Joint and participative problem-solving, decision-making, system design, planning and budgeting techniques essential to partnering skill set • Internal customer value chain perspective and process perspective also important It further needs to be borne in mind that the particular stage in the organisation’s life cycle (introduction, growth, maturity and decline), which is to a large extent continuously being influenced and determined by the competitive landscape, in turn shapes the aforementioned organisational strategies. In order to effectively implement a range of matching HRD strategies, it is necessary to consider a few prerequisite implementation criteria. 3.6 Implementation design criteria In the same manner that considerable attention had to be paid to the organisational strategy planning formulation, the design of the actual implementation of the HRD strategy is vital to its effective execution. The execution of the strategy needs to adhere to as many of the following criteria as possible because they represent, according to Ulrich (1997:69), the pillars or architecture which greatly determine the actual translation of strategy into action. Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development 71 3.6.1 Alignment Alignment is the extent to which the various HRD initiatives at individual competency, team capability and organisational culture level align with overall organisational strategy externally and its vision, mission and values internally. Another way of addressing this question is to ask to what extent the actual HRD interventions will accomplish (enable) organisational strategy and enable the organisation to achieve its mission while adhering to a set of values to which all its stakeholders subscribe? 3.6.2 Implementability To what extent are the various HRD interventions practical, easily understood by all roleplayers and to what extent are resources available to accomplish the objectives in a reasonable time frame? All possible barriers and inhibitors to strategy implementation need to be correctly identified, defined and addressed via high involvement and participative management practices and processes, (sensitising) making the transfer climate conducive to learning implementation. 3.6.3 Coherence and governance Creating coherence during implementation of the HRD strategy has to do with the various linkages that need to be established between management work processes, leadership structures, governance systems and the company’s core competencies, ideologies and values. These linkages are all designed to achieve specific outcomes so that both management and staff participate in the creation of an agreement on measures of individual and business unit performance with the purpose of establishing the link between specific performance drivers and the organisation’s achievement of its strategic intent. Coherence acts as a binding force to establish a sense of direction and purpose for effectively executing the HRD strategy. Proper HRD governance includes the following key elements: • a robust strategic HRD framework aligned with business strategy • a clear HRD governance framework specifying roles and responsibilities • a learning council and other governance structures to govern learning • a learning charter with explicit principles and guidelines • HRD risk management plans to mitigate any risks faced by the learning function • proper learning policies, processes and procedures • mechanisms such as service-level agreements to govern outsourcing • compliance with all requirements such as SETA and QCTO rules • monitoring and control systems to report back to the learning council and management about the success of learning. Giving consideration to these criteria when developing HRD implementation strategy will contribute to the HRD strategy’s being strategically integrated as reflected in the Managing the Wesbank Way illustrative case study. 72 Managing Human Resource Development 3.7 Company example: Managing the Wesbank Way Wesbank is a division of First National Bank which specialises in instalment finance and benefits from both the strength and resources of this as well as the First Rand banking group. The extensive branch and technological infrastructure of First National complements Wesbank’s countrywide representation. Wesbank was the first bank and currently remains the only bank that committed itself inextricably to the motor industry. All its resources and energies are directed towards this sector and it focuses exclusively on providing asset-based financing at the point of sale. Through this niche strategy it has positioned it as the dominant player and currently enjoys the majority market share in instalment-based vehicle financing. This remains true to its mission as defined during 1987 in which it stated: “Wesbank is to be the acknowledged leader in instalment credit in our elected market in terms of profitability and size.” It was also during this period that the executive and staff of Wesbank jointly decided it was necessary to articulate and define the following set of principled and deep-seated values, which would guide all conduct: We believe the customer comes first We believe in our people as individuals We believe in quality in all that we do We believe in profitable growth A range of individual, team and organisational performance standards linked to each value was also jointly defined and agreed to by all stakeholders. The mission, values and standards have become known as “The Wesbank Way”. The HRD function and all its staff proactively participated in the creation of the above and formulated the following HRD mission to align with the Wesbank Way: “We are committed to the development of learning that is dynamic and which enables the Bank to achieve its corporate objectives through staff who are equipped to excel.” Given the high participative climate which was created during the collaborative creation of the Wesbank Way and its stated value of “believing in people as individuals”, HRD with the senior executive’s sponsorship, proceeded in generating interest from line management in participating and serving on a training advisory forum. The objective was to have credible members of line management contributing towards the creation of a future-orientated learning curriculum. This was achieved via a future search type workshop during which line management (training advisory forum) articulated and defined the individual competencies, team capabilities and organisational culture issues as per Table 3.3. This was to further enable the bank to manage the Wesbank Way. The consolidation of this collaborative effort resulted in and represented the integrated future focused and, most importantly, measurable human resource development (HRD) strategy. Wesbank, in keeping with Kaplan and Norton’s (1997:46) “balanced scorecard” approach, designed an integrated strategy which does not just use measures based on past performance as measured by traditional financial indicators but also takes future performance drivers such as the perspective of both the customers and staff into consideration. The learning and growth that result from continuous review and benchmarking of internal processes is also provided for. Utilising this methodology does not just enable Wesbank to determine the causal linkages (coherence) between performance drivers (activities, initiatives and processes) and outcome measures (customer and employee satisfaction indexes, profits and benchmarks) but also enables HRD to constantly rectify its range of deliverables accordingly. All employees understand what their individual as well as team contribution towards achieving Wesbank’s mission and values are and, more specifically, what individual competencies, team capabilities and organisational culture need to be developed or nurtured in order to be “the acknowledged leader” in its marketplace. It serves the purpose of communicating to all members of staff continued Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development 73 what needs to be done exceptionally well in order to succeed in the future and what needs to be learned to get there. As can well be deduced from Table 3.3, the range of competencies and capabilities contained in the various interventions at both management as well as non-managerial support staff level have been customised to reflect Wesbank’s particular marketplace and strategic context, that is, motor dealerships and the motor industry. Transformational leadership and change skills (cross-functional learning and flexibility) which are embedded in the various management courses make Wesbank’s organisational culture and leadership receptive and responsive to radical changes such as e-commerce in its “emerging competitive landscape”. As such, it represents a highly resilient and change receptive organisation, capable of strategically innovating itself into new market opportunities or beyond the grasp of any real competitive threat. Implementing HRD in this manner has enabled Wesbank’s HRD practitioners to prove their contribution towards achieving the strategic organisational performance improvement objectives and they are as a result considered true strategic partners. For example, actual real improvements in customer satisfaction and loyalty, as measured by a comprehensive customer satisfaction index, have been causally linked back to individual managers’ overall management proficiency or competencies and the successful completion of, for example, the Wesbank MBA (Management Basics in Action) extended competency based management development programme. Given that these causal relationships between performance drivers and actual performance outcome measures have been established over time it gives HRD and line management via the training advisory forum the opportunity to constantly reflect on the range of deliverables contained in the integrated HRD strategy. The role-players involved are committed to using this approach as a means of renewing both the content and processes contained in the curriculum with “real world” practical case studies, simulations and best practice solutions which further enhance the credibility and integration of the HRD strategy and its interventions. Needless to say in this manner a high performance and achievement-orientated culture has been created and line managers compete in order to participate or act as facilitators on the various programmes. The integrated alignment of strategies, values, interventions and performance measures, as displayed in Table 3.3, enables HRD to distinguish the exceptional individual performers from the average or low performers and to make reasonably reliable predictions, based on the competency or capability and performance mix or fit. Again it needs to be kept in mind that these results have been achieved over a decade and required a considerable investment in terms of resources. The results could not have been achieved without high degrees of commitment from senior management and without line management involvement. The integrated alignment of strategies, values, interventions and performance measures, as displayed in Table 3.3, enables HRD to distinguish the exceptional individual performers from the average or low performers and to make reasonably reliable predictions, based on the competency or capability and performance mix or fit. 74 Managing Human Resource Development Table 3.3 Competencies, capabilities and culture to manage the Wesbank Way Profitable Growth People As Individuals Quality In All That We Do Customer Comes First Front Line Management/ Supervisory Customer Service Support Staff Organisational Culture • Budgeting cost and income, that is, “finance for non-financial” personnel • My branch is my business • Managing sales performance • Implementing the balanced score card • Cross-functional team up and win workshops • Project management • Enterprise wide performance management system • Balanced score card • Managing front line staff • Team building development • Employee involvement • Multi-skilling • Situational leadership management basics in action (MBA) integrated and extended management development programme • People management • Managing people diversity • Empower leadership • Measurement and management of employee satisfaction index (ESI) • 360-degree management satisfaction index (MSI) • Administrative technical competence and workflow, process design • Managing quality processes and systems • Benchmarking and process redesign • Statistical quality management techniques • Quality management indicator (QMI) • Benchmarking best practices • Customer interaction skills • Customer service forums • Managing customer service value chain • Customer interaction skills • Tele-servicing techniques • Customer satisfaction index (CSI) • Sales negotiations • Professional selling 3.8 Outsourcing as a strategic HRD implementation option There is a definite role for new and revised policies, procedures and processes in the strategy implementation process. Effectively constructed policies and procedures help enforce strategy implementation by directing actions, behaviours, decisions and practices towards improved strategy execution. One such revised policy might be to release line and support managers from spending inordinate amounts of time, energy and resources wrestling with what could be considered functional support activities. This can be achieved by reducing the number of internal staff support activities and sourcing more of what is needed from outside vendors, an approach commonly known as “outsourcing”. Quinn and Hilmer (1994:46) argue that adopting a strategic approach to outsourcing, ensures that the organisation’s own resources remain focused on generating value for its customers, while those activities not considered critical to the achievement of its mission are best performed outside. Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development 75 Outsourcing of the range of deliverables traditionally provided by HRD is also on the increase and HRD practitioners are more frequently being called upon to compare, evaluate and justify their “value add” to the organisation. The development and leveraging of the intellectual capital of an organisation might require a slightly different approach to, for instance, outsourcing the office canteen and catering services, the argument being that in the knowledge economy it is often the intellectual capital contained within the organisation’s employees which determines its shareholder value. This is easily determined by assessing and comparing a company’s asset value with its market value. The greater the difference between these two figures the more susceptible the organisation is to the maintenance and development of its intellectual capital and, according to Sveiby (1997:47) and Edvinson (1997:184), the intellectual capital needs to be continuously measured, monitored and nurtured. It is therefore necessary to reflect not only on how to plan an outsourcing strategy but also how to manage an outsourcing initiative in such a manner as to ensure that greater efficiencies in both costs and execution result from an outsourcing strategy. 3.8.1 Planning outsourcing strategy and selecting an appropriate vendor or training partner The nature and extent of the need for outsourcing will determine whether the entire responsibility for HRD function is transferred to an outside supplier or merely a component of the HRD intervention, that is, facilitation. This is also known as “out-tasking”. Adopting a strategic in-sourcing approach through which HRD develops an alliance and partnership with external providers, could represent a viable option as opposed to totally outsourcing this vital competency and capability building function. This would entail HRD and line management to reflect on whether the competencies and capabilities which the business requires can be developed better, faster and cheaper by relying on the company’s in-house resources or whether an in-source partner should be used. In-sourcing could assist in complementing the actual implementation and delivery on a work-sharing basis. It is normally advisable to create a strategic outsourcing forum consisting of members of the line, HRD and possible vendors to jointly explore cost and other efficiencies, that is, cycle time, customisation and overall integration and alignment with the organisation’s strategic intent and culture. The criteria according to which external vendors’ proposals will be evaluated need to be jointly articulated and defined with high degrees of line management involvement. These specifications need to be clearly communicated to a wide range of suppliers when requesting them to submit proposals. This can be facilitated by means of designing a request for a proposal document (RFP) which could be circulated to all possible vendors. The objective is to formulate a procedure with this document which clearly stipulates the performance specifications and standards with which all proposals submitted by the supplier need to comply. Examples of standards and/or specifications could include that all interventions should be customised as well as competency and outcomes-based and further that they should comply with current labour legislation. The joint outsourcing forum could then select, analyse and evaluate vendors’ submissions according to the criteria which align with their expectations, that is reduced costs, improved quality, flexibility, expedient execution and improved competitiveness. 76 Managing Human Resource Development Other more general criteria which could be considered when selecting an outsourcing vendor or partner (long-term) could include the supplier’s reputation and reliability in the marketplace, that is, who currently uses their services and products and what tangible performance improvement has resulted from it? It is advisable to obtain concrete evidence from reputable references as to what period these performance improvements were sustained over and what the extent of their investment was. 3.8.2 Managing the risks and pitfalls of outsourcing Through outsourcing part or all of the HRD function, one can achieve cost savings, improve quality and gain access to scarce resources. It also implies, however, that one loses control over one or more of one’s processes. This could be considered good or bad depending on the actual process being outsourced. If it is a process intervention which is considered mission-critical to the organisation’s competitive edge, the risks could be enormous. Outsourcing can entail significant upheaval, transfer of important assets, sharing of intellectual capital, dislocation of people and long-term contractual obligations. It is important therefore that the objectives, benefits and risks associated with formulating and implementing an outsourcing strategy be clearly understood and managed. Many of these pitfalls can be avoided through careful vendor selection and adherence to the request for a proposal process and guidelines. Negotiating and agreeing on a detailed servicelevel agreement with the outsourcing organisation, which stipulates specific standards of performance inclusive of dates and deadlines, could also further eliminate potential risk. Developing competence in managing external consultants and vendors is also important for the effective implementation of an outsourcing strategy. It is therefore necessary for HRD practitioners to familiarise themselves with general consulting methodologies and strategies, as one never knows when one can be called on to outsource and in-source oneself. 3.9 Conclusion Effective implementation of an integrated HRD strategy is vitally important to enabling organisations to compete in a globally competitive marketplace. This implementation, however, needs to be well planned and differentiated to ensure that full cognisance is taken of both the organisation’s competitive landscape and the rationale for adopting its particular mission-critical strategy. The implementation of the various HRD interventions must be strategically integrated to provide for coherence, fit and alignment with the organisation’s specific mission, values and strategic objectives as well as relevant performance measures. In order to enhance the actual implementation of the HRD strategy, strategic insourcing can be considered as an option. 3.10 Case study: The Key Talent Programme of Syngenta Our purpose: Bringing plant potential to life Syngenta is a world-leading agribusiness committed to sustainable agriculture through innovative research and technology. The company is a leader in crop protection, and ranks third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Sales in 2006 were approximately $8.1 billion. Syngenta employs around 19 500 people in over 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on the Swiss stock exchange (SYNN) and in New York (SYT). Further information is available at www.syngenta.com. Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development 77 Syngenta South Africa (Pty) Ltd is recognised as an employer of choice, was voted as the Agricultural sector winner for the second successive year and achieved a top 20 overall position in the Deloitte “Best Company to Work For” 2006 Survey. What is the Syngenta Key Talent Programme? The Syngenta Key Talent Programme is a customised leadership development programme run at country level where Syngenta has operations (as opposed to other leadership development initiatives run by Syngenta Global Learning and Development on an international basis). The programme is registered with CHIETA as a Certificate in Management, and is partially funded by a Discretionary Grant from CHIETA. Its broad aims are to: • grow the internal talent pool • facilitate multi-disciplinary functioning across and within working teams • develop the skills and competencies of a key group of employees to act as Syngenta Ambassadors, both internally and externally • through generalisation of the skills and competencies learned in the work environment to their personal lives, facilitate a higher level of work-life integration • pilot the concept of an enhanced development programme and generate key learnings for future programmes. Stakeholders Stakeholders Their Interest In The Key Talent Programme Key Talents Through active participation in the programme, the Key Talents learn skills they can apply in the workplace and in their personal lives. While no expectation of advancement was given, Key Talents are better prepared to apply for more senior positions, as and when these arise (locally and internationally) South African Leadership Team (SALT) By facilitating the development of a diverse group (ranging from middle management to technical specialists) of employees, the SALT expects higher quality of behaviours and relationship skills that will impact positively on the organisation at all levels. The SALT can also expect to have a greater degree of honest feedback from the Key Talents, challenging SALT members to raise the level of their strategic focus and behaviour in terms of the Leadership Model and Values Colleagues in the programme Participants in the programme should acquire enhanced networking skills and learn behaviours that will support responsive, agile leadership behaviours and skills to facilitate multi-disciplinary functioning in the world of work. Peer-to-peer coaching should be enhanced continued 78 Managing Human Resource Development Stakeholders Their Interest In The Key Talent Programme Colleagues outside the programme Key Talents should demonstrate active mentorship and coaching skills, thus taking a leadership role (in the sense of the servant leader, not necessarily hierarchical) within their natural teams Syngenta Talent Pool All Key Talents are entered into the global succession management system and their profiles are visible to the wider organisation for potential deployment in other geographic areas Profile Ten employees were selected from both the Crop Protection and Seeds businesses. There was a representative mix of gender, ethnic group, role profile and functional position. Five employees are defined as First Level Leaders, in that they have direct reports and report themselves to a member of the SALT. Two employees report to First Level Leaders, while the balance report directly to a SALT member, but have no direct reports. All the members are graduates, of which one has a PhD, one an MBA and three have scientific Master’s degrees. Syngenta’s business is very technical, and most employees have moved through the organisation from a technical specialist background and role. All the Key Talents are typical of this pattern, demonstrating excellence in the fields of expertise, but with clear room for growth in leadership competencies and skills. Selection criteria The Key Talents were selected by members of the SALT, based on the following criteria: • Ambassador – Tells the story and lives the brand – Ready, willing and able to share knowledge vertically and horizontally. • Innovation – Creative mindset: develops own innovative thinking and fosters it in others. • Health – Strong focus on liberating potential: own and others. • Intensity – Builds strong relationships and partnerships – Is passionate about his/her role/task, but focused. • Performance – Functions naturally in a high performance culture and working in high performance teams – Quality and standards oriented: sets high standards and delivers on them. • Mobility – Starting point: at least Stage II in current role1 – Drives his/her own progress from one career stage to another ________________________ 1 Novations Four Stage Career Model. Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development 79 – Grandfather principle: must have the potential to enter Stage I2 in a position at least two sizes bigger3 than current. The Ambassador criterion is based on one of three growth challenges that Syngenta has defined at a global level. The criteria of Innovation, Health, Intensity and Performance are rooted in the Syngenta values of the same names. Mobility, whether it is geographically, or in terms of career development is a key criterion for any development programme, and is also related closely to the Ambassador role, as Key Talents are expected to be active in telling their own stories, as well as inspiring others to grow, develop and find their own voices. Mini Focus: The Three Challenges At a global level, Syngenta has defined three growth challenges, and three roles that will facilitate the meeting of these challenges. Each of these three roles is equally important, but the Kay Talent Programme focuses on the Ambassador role. Ambassadors live the purpose4 and values5 of the organisation in their daily working lives. In doing this, Ambassadors tell their personal stories as well as the Syngenta story, acting as role models for the brand. The Syngenta brand is more than the usual concept understood by corporate image. It speaks to the emotion and tone that Syngenta employees project to the world, as responsible, credible, confident and caring individuals. It also addresses the benefits inherent in Syngenta’s world-class technology, global reach and local focus. Finally, the Syngenta brand is rooted in the purpose and values, as these underlie everything we do. The Key Talent Programme After selection of the ten Key Talents, each Department Head (a member of the SALT) informed them of their selection, or briefed the relevant First Level Leader to do so. At this stage, (and at any stage of the Programme), employees were given the freedom to choose whether they wish to proceed. The learning experiences of the programme include: • classroom learning • assignments • networking opportunities • exposure to Leadership Team ways of working • increased interaction with Leadership Team members • engagement with strategy • engagement with culture and values at an in-depth level • the Ambassador role. The programme followed several clear stages, which will be discussed below. Stage I: Discovery The Discovery Stage was a critical element in the programme, as it generated the needs analysis that was used to inform the drawing up of the programme’s curriculum. ________________________ 2 Novations Four Stage Career Model. 3 As defined by the Hay Job Evaluation System. 4 Our purpose: Bringing plant potential to life. 5 Intensity, Health, Innovation, Performance. 80 Managing Human Resource Development Discovery itself incorporated several steps: Discovery Step Outcomes/Deliverables Profiling exercise • Personal profile • A “How to Manage” report – shared with relevant Line Manager after consent was granted by the employees to do so Debriefing on profiling 1:1 meeting (or series of meetings with HR Manager) • • • • • Career Development Plan: Using the Syngenta South Africa Career Development Toolkit and a series of meetings with the HR Manager • A clear career development plan, unique to each individual • Consolidated needs analysis for the group, that was used to develop the curriculum specifically to address the identified gaps and to ensure alignment between the group needs and organisational requirements Enhanced understanding of the personal profile Clarifying of areas of concern Noting areas of agreement Noting areas of difference Initiating discussion on individual development needs Stage II: Foundation Learning Once the key learning objectives have been defined and the appropriate curriculum has been developed to meet these objectives, a foundation learning phase was necessary, to give the Key Talents a platform from which to operate more effectively and efficiently. Foundation Learning Step Effective Reading Outcomes/Deliverables • A three-fold increase from each individual’s personal baseline as measured at commencement of this step in reading effectiveness index: speed and retention • The ability to use mind-mapping techniques to enhance reading and studying effectiveness Effective Business Writing • An enhanced ability to use mind-mapping techniques to enhance the organisation and preparation of business writing • Clear, concise business document writing skills, including business plans, proposals, letters, and reports Stage III: Classroom Learning Prior to the commencement of this stage, the HR Manager inducted the facilitator (who also represented the Lead Training Provider) into the Syngenta culture. She was given indepth exposure to the organisation’s purpose, values, brand, and the leadership model. The Lead Training Provider developed the learning modules in discussion with Syngenta’s HR Manager to address organisational, group and individual needs. Working with the tools and exposure provided at the induction session, all learning materials were then either structured around, or related to the Syngenta culture and ways of working. Classroom learning commenced in April 2006 and consisted of full-day monthly interventions with all ten Key Talents and the facilitator present on site at the Midrand Head Office. Each month a different learning topic was addressed, with a combination of ‘chalkand-talk’ and practical exercises. Plenty of time was given to discussions and to explore the topic in detail from the multiple perspectives in the room. The Lead Training Provider Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development 81 and Syngenta’s HR Manager provided pre and post-reading for each topic. The group was divided into smaller teams, who also worked on group projects between each monthly intervention. While we are not prepared to disclose the actual learning materials or modules, the topics covered a wide range including discussions around leadership versus management, performance management, responsibility and ownership, problem-solving and conflict resolution, and innovation, creativity and flexibly in business. Learning outcomes were defined for each module by the Lead Training Provider and communicated to the group at the beginning of each module. A combination of peer review, self-assessment and review by the facilitator was used to assess competence against these outcomes, although a score was not allocated. That is, the outcome was either achieved or not achieved. In all cases thus far all participants achieved the required level of competency in all modules. As part of one module, the HR Manager joined the group and presented a mini-topic entitled “Able Leadership”, which focused, through storytelling, on the ability of leaders to take responsibility and be accountable. This concluded with the group engaging in a storytelling exercise of their own, called the Storytelling Game. Mini Focus: The Storytelling Game Storytelling is part of human nature, and is a crucial element in Ubuntu style leadership. We celebrate our successes through stories, and find new, creative and innovative ways to solve problems and resolve conflict through the power of stories. The storytelling game is a simple, yet powerful way to quickly catalyse a group to tell a story, ensuring that each person has an opportunity to make his or her voice heard. The process is very simple: • The group should sit in a circle, preferably with no table in the centre. • The leader opens the story with a short paragraph that sets the context and engages the attention of those present. This will require preparation in advance. • The leader briefs the group that when she stops speaking, she will pass the story to the next individual in the circle, who should spontaneously add a sentence or paragraph to the story, stopping at an interesting point, and passing the story to the next person in the circle. • The process continues until each person has had an opportunity to add to the story. • Depending on the dynamics of the group, the leader can decide whether to bring the story to a conclusion, or whether to let the group do so. Classroom learning was suspended for the summer season (a critical business time in our sector) in October 2006, to resume in April 2007. Stage IV: The Breakthrough Question During September and early October, each Key Talent had a one-on-one meeting with the Managing Director. In this meeting Key Talents were asked for feedback on the programme thus far, reminded of the season break, and given encouragement to keep up the momentum during this time. Most importantly, each was given a Breakthrough Question to answer. Mini Focus: Breakthrough Questions Breakthrough questions are open questions that help create curiosity, energy and move people into the unknown. They can address large or small issues, and are used to trigger and sustain creative processes. Breakthrough questions should be phrased to trigger action and create excitement. In an organisational context they should remind people of the strategy and purpose of that organisation. 82 Managing Human Resource Development The Breakthrough Question asked by the Managing Director to each Key Talent was: What is the most important and positive thing you can do to realise a lasting and sustainable return on investment in your development and in the process become a true Ambassador for the Key Talent Group and Syngenta South Africa? The answers given to this question were initially presented to the Manager Director and the HR Manager, and then later shared with the group at an Appreciative Inquiry Workshop held in mid-October 2006 as the final intervention before the season break. Stage V: Learning to SOARR – An Appreciative Inquiry In mid-October all the Key Talents and all the training providers (Lead and Foundation Learning) participated in an Appreciative Inquiry6 facilitated by the HR Manager, who holds an international certification in this methodology. Mini Focus: SOARR Analysis SOARR analysis is a tool often used by Appreciative Inquiry facilitators, to highlight positive actions, forces and processes. It is useful in that most organisations are used to the conventional SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). People find the transition from SWOT to SOARR refreshing and powerful, yet the process is familiar enough to be reassuring. For this reason, it is useful as an introduction to Appreciative Inquiry Workshops. The design of a SOARR analysis can be modified to suit the circumstances or context of the Appreciative Inquiry, and in the Key Talent Programme, the HR Manager used the following format: • Stories of growth and development (Success Stories) – What have we experienced that is transformative? • Opportunities available to us – Examine them, find more of them. • Aspirations for the future – What do we want to be in order to move from Good2Gr8? • Results – What will success look like when we achieve it? – What are the desired results/targets/outcomes? • Resources – What do we need to turn our action plans into actions? Appreciative Inquiry Workshop Component SOARR Analysis Outputs/Outcomes/Deliverables • Positive learnings on the Key Talent Programme • Inputs for 2007 curriculum • Foundation for action plans for individual Key Talents continued ________________________ 6 See the Appreciative Inquiry Commons: http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu. Appreciative Inquiry is a methodology for organisational development and strategic inquiry that focuses on the positive and affirmative forces and energies within all people and organisations. It has proven effective across a wide range of applications and in many circumstances and has generated several doctoral theses. Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development 83 Appreciative Inquiry Workshop Component Outputs/Outcomes/Deliverables Feedback session • SALT heard and noted feedback on the programme • Key Talents given an opportunity to tell their stories Overall workshop • Foundation for networking and ways of working among the Key Talents during the season break • Co-creation of action plans for the group and individuals for 2007 • Decision to include one Key Talent per month on a rotational basis at the monthly SALT meeting Stage VI: Feedback and Review After the Appreciative Inquiry Workshop, the Lead Training Provider delivered a written report to the Managing Director and the HR Manager, followed up with discussion of the report. The Key Talents were also requested to participate in the review process, by submitting the specific actions plans initiated at the workshop. Unfortunately, this process was not very effective, as the participants had not taken the action planning to concrete levels. What was submitted was an analysis of the answers to the Breakthrough Questions, which while it did not meet the expectations of the SALT, did go some way towards indicating the learning needs for 2007. April and May 2007 featured a further round of Foundation Learning, as indicated by the outcomes of the workshop and earlier inputs and feedback, specifically Time Management and Assertiveness training. The training provider for these modules has been exposed to an induction to the Syngenta culture, and will ensure that these two additional Foundation Learning modules are consistent with this framework. Throughout, the Skills Development Facilitator (an external resource, not on Syngenta’s payroll) has been kept updated on progress against the facilitation plan and has been providing reports to CHIETA, in line with the Discretionary Grant contract. In addition to regular meetings with the HR Manager, the Skills Development Facilitator has the power of audit, and may interview any participant in the programme at any time. The Skills Development Facilitator will arrange a final review of the programme prior to the planned October graduation date. Impact The impact of the Key Talent Programme thus far has been quite wide-ranging, and we mention a few instances below. In terms of leadership development, all members of the programme have grown, some to a greater degree than others, as could be expected in any diverse group of people. Key Talents who previously refrained from taking the lead or giving critical feedback in their normal working team meetings now speak more freely, and demonstrate more advanced leadership capabilities. Others have internalised the learning, but are not yet taking a clear leading role in their normal working teams. Diversity and cross-functional working has been enhanced, between departments, across hierarchical structures and between ethnic and gender divisions. 84 Managing Human Resource Development An important positive impact has been greater consultation and interaction between Key Talents and members of the SALT. Key Talents have learned that asking for guidance, mentorship, coaching or generally sharing problems and challenges with a SALT member is desirable. Those who do make use of these opportunities on a regular basis have found that the working relationship is enriched through consultation. While all the Key Talents had a good understanding of their role in Syngenta’s business, the programme, through enhanced multi-disciplinary, cross-functional co-operation, has developed a deeper understanding of the business at a strategic level within the group. The enhanced personal growth has had a positive impact on the Key Talents, in a wider sphere than just their working lives. All the Key Talents have given feedback that they have applied the skills and used the behaviours they have learned in their personal lives, with positive effects. Learnings Several important learnings for Syngenta have arisen from the Key Talent Programme thus far and we anticipate that there will be more for the SALT to take away and apply to future initiatives. We have captured some key learnings in the table below using the following rubrics: • what was good about the Key Talent Programme? • what was difficult? • what would we do differently next time? Good Difficult Different Enhanced leadership skills and behaviours Time taken out of the normal working lives of the Key Talents every month The 2007/2008 programme will not be on a selection basis: a call for submission of applications has already been circulated to all employees. The same criteria still apply and applicants should motivate, in an interview with their Department Head and later by written application, why they should be considered for the programme. The SALT will make the final selections from applications submitted Enhanced personal growth and personal behaviours Travel to attend modules for those not based in Gauteng The 2007/2008 programme will be designed on the same basis as the Key Talent Programme, but has been renamed as the Enhanced Development Programme Increased consultation and interaction between the SALT and the Key Talents Perception among some employees that the Key Talents were the selected successors to the SALT The Discovery Stage will be shortened, with tighter deadlines for candidates to submit their Career Development Plans continued Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development 85 Good Difficult Different In some, internalising the learnings completely into the everyday role – taking ownership of the process Creation of a new silo – the Key Talents There is potential for the development of a ‘feeder’ or bridging programme, or enhancements to other development initiatives, to develop employees who strive to participate in the Enhanced Development Programme, but who do not yet meet the criteria Opportunities to learn from this pilot programme and add value to the next programme, including a name change and using the volunteer process Lack of interaction over the season break Customised programme to suit employee and employer needs generated specific and focused learning that can deliver value immediately In some cases, the SALT saw a lack of commitment to and/or personal ownership of the programme and its learning opportunities – the programme for a small percentage of participants was seen as not being part of the way we do business, but as something parallel to the regular role profile Customised programme allows for the second phase after the season break to meet needs that have arisen or become apparent during the first phase Enhanced awareness of the Ambassador Role within the Key Talent Group and through cascading, also within other employee groups Enhanced Ambassador behaviours within the Key Talent Group and through cascading, also within other employee groups Questions Having read this case study, you now need to relate the theory you have mastered thus far to practice. 1. Using the format applied by the author of the case study, (what was good, what was difficult, and what would you do differently) highlight your key learnings from the case study in an essay of not more than 1 000 words. Be sure to relate the theory to practice and not to repeat the author’s feedback. 86 Managing Human Resource Development 2. Draw up a table that captures the learning interventions used in the case study and the specific modules of the theoretical work that relate to these interventions (for example, Classroom Learning relates to Facilitation). In a third column in the table, comment on the degree of fit between theory and practice. You may also add free comments on the specific stages of the programme. 3. Indicate the extent to which the talent management programme contributed to strategic HRD at Syngenta. “A successful company can only perform consistently at a high level with great people powered by innovation” – Antonie Delport, MD, Syngenta South Africa 3.11 Self-assessment questions 1 Identify the new competitive realities of the knowledge economy and indicate their relevance for strategic HRD. 2 Evaluate the following statement: The role and responsibilities of HRD must be repositioned in the strategic context. 3 What is the difference between strategic human resource planning and strategic implementation? 4 Differentiate between varying organisational strategic contexts, their response strategies and their underlying rationale. 5 Suppose you are appointed as group HRD manager at a manufacturing plant with 1 500 employees. Develop a strategic HRD plan for the company. 6 Indicate how HRD practitioners can apply relevant HRD strategies, architecture, interventions and deliverables. 7 How can you apply the criteria of alignment, implementability and coherence in the design and development of an HRD implementation strategy? 8 How can HRD interventions contribute to the strategic objectives, mission and values of a company? 9 Your management team decides that all customer service training will be outsourced. Formulate a plan which you can implement to ensure that outsourcing is effectively managed. 10 Develop a plan to measure the effectiveness of strategic HRD implementation. 11 Indicate the extent to which talent management is linked to strategic HRD. 12 What do you think the impact of the NQF on strategic HRD will be? 3.12 References Anshoff HI, 1988, The New Corporate Strategy, New York: Wiley. Bassi LJ and Van Buren ME, 1997, “Sustaining high performance in bad times”, Training and Development 32–41. Birchall D and Lyons L, 1995, Creating Tomorrow’s Organisation: Unblocking the Benefits of Future Work, London: Pitman. Davis S and Meyer C, 1996, Future Perfect, New York: Addison-Wesley. Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development 87 Downes L and Mui C, 1998, Unleashing the Killer App: Digital Strategies for Market Dominance, Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Drucker P, 1993, Post-capitalist Society, London: Harper Business. Edvinson L, 1997, Intellectual Capital, London: Piatkus Publishers. Galagan PA, 1994, “Reinventing the profession”, Training and Development 20–27. Garavan TN, 1991, “Strategic human resource development”, Journal of European Industrial Training 1(15): 17–30. Gilley JW and Maycunich A, 1998, Strategically Integrated HRD, New York: AddisonWesley. Hamel G and Prahalad CK, 1994, Competing for the Future, Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Handy C, 1990, The Age of Unreason, London: Arrow Business Books. Human P, 1998, Yenza: A Blueprint for Transformation, London: University Press. IMD, 2015, IMD World Talent Report 2015, Lausanne: IMD. IMD, 2016, World Competitiveness Yearbook 2016, Lausanne: IMD. Kaplan RS and Norton DP, 1997, The Balanced Scorecard, Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Ludike, J, 2011, “A comprehensive talent management framework” in I Boninelli and T Meyer (eds) Human Capital Trends: Building a Sustainable Organisation, Randburg: Knowres, 112–132. McLagan P, 1996, “Great ideas revisited: Creating the future of HRD”, Training and Development 60–65. Meyer, M, 2012, “Building the national HR competency model”, HR Future, July. Moss Kanter R, 1997, Frontiers of Management, Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Nadler L and Wiggs GD, 1986, Managing Human Resource Development, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Nel C, 1997, “HR is dead: Long live HR competitiveness”, People Dynamics 15(9): 17–21. Pasternack BA and Viscio A, 1998, The Centerless Corporation: A New Model for Transforming your Organisation for Growth and Prosperity, New York: Simon and Schuster. Pedler M, Burgoyne J and Boydell T, 1991, The Learning Company, London: McGrawHill. Porter ME, 1996, What is Strategy?, Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Quinn JB and Hilmer FG, 1994, “Strategic outsourcing”, Sloan Management Review 43–55. Rothwell WJ and Kazanas HC, 1994, Human Resource Development: A Strategic Approach, Massachusetts: HRD Press. Senge P, 1990, The Fifth Discipline, New York: Doubleday. Smith, RM, 2011, Strategic Learning Alignment: Make Training a Powerful Business Partner, Alexandria: ASTD. Sveiby KE, 1997, The New Organisational Wealth: Managing and Measuring Knowledgebased Assets, San Francisco: Berret-Koehler. 88 Managing Human Resource Development Tapscott D, 1998, Blueprint to the Digital Economy: Creating Wealth in the Era of e-Business, New York: McGraw-Hill. Ulrich D, 1997, Human Resource Champions: The Next Agenda for Adding Value and Delivering Results, Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Veldsman T, 1996, “Making the future present tense: The changing people management context”, People Dynamics 14(1): 12–18. World Economic Forum, 2016, Global Competitiveness Report 2015–2016, Geneva: World Economic Forum 3.13 Suggested reading Boudreau, JW and Jesuthasan, R, 2011, Transformative HR: How Great Companies Use Evidence-Based Change for Sustainable Advantage, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Caplan J, 2011, The Value of Talent: Promoting Talent Management across the Organization, London: Kogan Page. Conaty B and Charan R, 2010, The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders put People Before Numbers, New York: Crown Business. Davenport TH and Prusak L, 1997, Working Knowledge, Boston: Harvard Business School Press. De la Torre J, Doz Y and Devinney T, 2001, Managing the Global Corporation: Case Studies in Strategy and Management, 2nd edn, New York: McGraw-Hill. Dlabay L and Scott JC, 2001, International Business, 2nd edn, Cincinnati: South-Western. Edvinson L, 1997, Intellectual Capital, London: Piatkus Publishers. Hill C, 2001, Global Business Today, 2nd edn, New York: McGraw-Hill. Hough J and Neuland EW, 2000, Global Business Environments and Strategies: Managing for Global Competitive Advantage, Cape Town: Oxford. Hussey DE, 1996, The Implementation Challenge, New York: Johan Wiley. Khoza, RJ, 2011, Attuned Leadership: African Humanism as Compass, Johannesburg: Penguin. Micklethwait J and Wooldridge A, 2000, A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Hidden Promise of Globalisation, London: Random House. Reicheld F, 1996, The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits and Lasting Value, Boston: Harvard Business Press. Sparrow P, Hird M, Hesketh A and Cooper C, 2010, Leading HR, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Swanepoel BJ, Schenk HW, Tshilongamulenzhe MC, 2014, South African Human Resource Management, 5th edn, Cape Town: Juta. Thompson AA and Strickland AJ, 2001, Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases, 12th edn, New York: McGraw-Hill. Ulrich D, Losey MR and Lake G, 1997, Tomorrow’s HR Management: 48 Thought Leaders Call for Change, Canada: John Wiley. Wheatly MJ, 1992, Leadership and the New Science, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. Chapter 3: Strategic Human Resource Development 89 3.14 Internet sites Association for Talent Development: http://www.atd.org Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development: http://www.cipd.co.uk Futureworld: http://www.futureworld.co.za Haines Center for Strategic Management: http://www.haines.com Society for Human Resource Management: http://www.shrm.org Strategy + Business: http://www.strategy-business.com Talent Talks: http://www.talenttalks.net 3.15 Acknowledgement A special word of thanks to Kate Tucker, HR Manager at Syngenta, for the case study provided for the chapter. CHAPTER 4 THE LEARNING ORGANISATION Marius Meyer The information age necessitates a learning organization. (Karen Watkins and Victoria Marsick) LEARNING OUTCOMES • Identify problems with training programmes • Indicate the differences between traditional training and the learning organisation • Describe the characteristics of learning organisations • Identify the barriers to organisational learning and provide solutions • Develop a plan to transform an organisation to a learning organisation • Compile a questionnaire to assess an organisation’s learning culture 4.1 Introduction The modern business environment is characterised by uncertainty, rapid change and the continuous pursuit of competitiveness and excellence. In this environment organisations that are at the forefront of institutionalising what they are learning from the environment are the ones that will survive and prosper in these turbulent times. These organisations can be described as learning organisations. Conversely, those organisations that are slow to scan the environment and adapt to changes in technology, systems, trends and techniques will not survive the disruptive nature of the information and knowledge era. 91 92 Managing Human Resource Development The learning organisation learns not only from the environment, but actively encourages learning within the work environment. In fact, the learning environment encompasses the culture of the organisation. Learning occurs in all activities of the members of the organisation. From this perspective it is evident that the learning organisation represents major challenges for HRD in organisations. It requires a major shift in the way training has been conducted in the past. Moreover, it challenges most of the principles, structures and methods involved in the training process. Traditional training is based on the notion that training occurs only in a classroom or instructor-controlled setting. A reactive model is followed, which is solely based on a training needs analysis prior to the design and presentation of training programmes. Whilst this approach has in the past reaped multiple benefits for organisations world-wide, the complexity, speed, disruption and reality of change and development in the modern business, social and digital environment necessitates a more proactive and dynamic approach to education, training and development in the workplace. The latter approach requires a fundamental shift from training to organisational learning. The concept of the learning organisation constitutes a new approach to learning and workplace performance that requires a more dynamic way of managing organisations. Not only does it necessitate changes to education, training and development interventions, but it also encompasses a totally new way of managing people, processes and systems in the modern organisation and broader society. A change in organisational culture is therefore needed in order to effect the change from a traditional organisation to a learning organisation. What exactly is this phenomenon called “the learning organisation”? Senge (1990) defines learning organisations as: organisations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together. From the definition it is evident that learning is no longer restricted to an individual experience. Learning becomes a team and organisational process which requires new and innovative ways of learning and managing performance improvement. Learning becomes part of a continuous process of sharing information with people and the environment. To be of value to organisations, organisational learning must be encouraged, nurtured and managed for the improvement of performance. It is also important to realise that although the notion of the learning organisation has its origins overseas it is very compatible with the principles and philosophy of the NQF. As is the case with the NQF, the learning organisation also embodies the principle of lifelong learning. Learning is indeed a continuous, never-ending process. Whilst the NQF and QCTO provide the structures and mechanisms for life-long learning, the learning organisation provides a culture in which learning can be optimised. 4.2 Workplace learning to support a learning culture standard (SABPP) With the aim of supporting the creation and growth of the learning organisation concept, in 2015 SABPP developed an HR professional practice standard dealing with workplace learning. The standard, titled “Workplace learning to support a learning culture”, was developed by a group of HRD practitioners under the leadership of Mike Stuart, Chapter 4: The learning organisation 93 Chairperson of the SABPP L&D Committee. The standard defines workplace learning as “learning which occurs while in the normal working situation, it is purposeful and enables a person to develop as an individual, as a team member and as a person outside work”. The workplace learning standard is illustrated in Figure 4.1: Figure 4.1 Workplace learning to support a learning culture standard (SABPP) LEARNING ECOSYSTEMS Emergent Evolving Structured on-boarding Clear development pathway to practitioner level Structured work experience Novices participate in improvement projects and interventions Integrate learning with business processes and events Participate in learning circles Actively participate in team-based work processes Develop team members Participation in targeted learning events Implement continuous improvement processes Gap between practitioners and experts small Build learning processes into personal and business activities Integrate and support novices in work processes Support learning of others Support the development of learning networks Share how they keep updated Participate in external bodies and associations Participate in learning networks inside and outside the organisation Source: SABPP (2015). Use alternative talent feeder systems Participation in organisational processes Signal issues to a performance help centre Track Transcendent Refine organisational practices Evaluate Improve Influence profession, industry and regulatory environment Keep up to date with profession or field of work interest Innovate 94 Managing Human Resource Development 4.3 Problems with training programmes If many large companies have well-staffed training departments, why do we need a learning organisation? Surely if the training department delivers training courses, is it not responsible for organisational learning? Perhaps we should look at the track record of the training function. Training programmes face many problems in the corporate environment which limit the impact of learning and performance. Wick and Leon (1993:30) identify the following six reasons why traditional company training does not produce the desired results. 4.3.1 Training does not meet business needs Training does not always tie in with the strategic business needs of a company. A multitude of training programmes are used on a continuous basis, but these programmes do not relate directly to strategic business needs. These programmes come and go, there is no continuity and there is a lack of follow-through which means that the application of knowledge gained is not taken seriously. The impact of the training is therefore very limited. 4.3.2 In training, one size does not fit all Many training programmes are not flexible enough to meet the unique needs of each individual and organisation. Vast amounts of money, time and effort are spent and wasted in teaching people what they do not really need to know. Too much generic training is given, whether everyone needs it or not. 4.3.3 Managers do not support training Employees are often “sent” on courses or “nominated” to attend courses because attendance is a job or promotion requirement. Their supervisors see training as an expensive waste of time which results in work backlogs. Not having management support, reinforcement and a skills transfer strategy can completely negate the potentially positive effects of learning. 4.3.4 Employee workload When employees have been on a training course, they return to mountains of e-mail, reports, meetings and the crisis of the moment. The implementation of knowledge and skills that were learnt gets put aside in order to deal with immediate priorities. Although the intentions may be good, follow-through does not always take place. 4.3.5 A lack of measurement The weakest link in the training process is the implementation phase of training. People go back to work, but they do not implement what they have learnt. The reason for this is twofold. First, there is no accountability for what was learnt. Secondly, there is no measurement system to measure the impact of the training. There is seldom a follow-up measurement (three, six, or even twelve months after training) to ascertain the impact it has on business (see chapter 18). 4.3.6 Incorrect time allocation According to Wick and Leon (1993:32) a lack of time often means training is done in a pressed fashion that precludes real learning. Owing to time constraints, a three-day Chapter 4: The learning organisation 95 training course will often be compressed into a day or two. Its content finally becomes a mini-lecture with handouts. The end-result is that very little learning takes place. On the other hand, it also happens that a course that could have been conducted in two days takes four days. A lot of unnecessary information is given to participants which frustrates them. This, in turn, decreases their commitment to future training efforts. 4.4 The shift to the learning organisation The problems with traditional training and the shortcomings of a low performance organisational culture has led to the realisation that a new approach to learning and training is needed. This new approach transcends the scope and impact of the traditional training department. It encompasses organisational learning at all levels, in all departments, and by all managers and employees. This realisation focuses on the need for improved business performance in the fast-changing business environment. The differences between traditional training and the learning organisation are depicted in Table 4.1. Table 4.1 Differences between traditional training and the learning organisation Focus area Traditional training Learning organisation Needs identification Reactive training needs identification, wait for problems to occur Reactive and proactive training needs identification Training design Design is done by instructional designers A project team is used consisting of various role-players Evaluation Trainers evaluate training The whole organisation evaluates training with a focus on impact Responsibility Training is the responsibility of the training manager and sometimes the line manager All employees and managers are responsible for learning and training Technology Very little technology is used, mostly classroom training E-learning, and social and blended learning are used to optimise technology and learning (see chapter 11) Performance focus Giving skills to employees so that they will achieve a specified level of competence Improve performance by empowering learners to learn continuously Location Separation between the learning environment (class) and the work environment Learning and work environments are fully integrated Duration Training is an event (course) with a clear beginning and end Learning is a continuous process Access Learning is restricted to individuals and managers who require skills in a particular area All employees and managers have equal access to a wide range of learning opportunities Learning culture Organisation teaches employees what they should know how to fit in the organisation Employees teach the organisation about efficiency, innovation and improvements continued 96 Managing Human Resource Development Focus area Traditional training Learning organisation People skills Interpersonal skills training is restricted to people in “soft” positions such as HR, IR and PR All employees get interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence training Mistakes When mistakes are made, they are kept hidden to protect people Mistakes are seen as learning opportunities and disseminated to the whole company Selection Managers select the courses they think employees need Employees are trusted to select the courses or learning they need Target populations Management and employees attend separate training courses Managers and employees often attend courses together Learning area Training focuses on job-specific aspects Cross-functional training is encouraged so that people learn about the whole business, the sector and the broader society and environment Relationships Self-interest is the foundation of relationships Collaboration is the foundation of relationships Training investment Difficult to acquire the necessary resources for training There is a high investment in training and resources for learning Information Information is the prerogative of management Employees have access to information Decision-making Management makes decisions Employees are empowered to make decisions Communication Communication is only used as an information tool, to acquire information and give feedback Communication is used as a learning tool Organisation structure The hierarchy emphasises position and functionalism Systems approach encourages interdepartmental co-operation Control Managerial control is used Self-control is seen as the best form of control Learning units Focus on individualism, especially for star performers Teamwork and individual learning are combined Assessment Assess employee performance Assess employees’ learning progress Approach Formal trainer-trainee approach Informal facilitator-learner relationship where both parties learn from each other Rewards No rewards for increased employee value Rewards for expanded knowledge and skills Learning plans No written learning and action plans Written learning and action plans for each employee continued Chapter 4: The learning organisation Focus area Traditional training 97 Learning organisation Partnerships Very few partnerships Active partnerships between customers, suppliers, learning providers, employees and management External focus Do not study other companies; more internally focused Use excellent companies and learning networks as benchmarks to improve performance; globalisation From this table it is clear that most of the elements of the learning organisation transcend the activities of a training function. Rather, the learning organisation embodies the culture of the whole organisation. In fact, it is possible to have an excellent training function in an organisation that is not a learning organisation. If this is the case, training will yield minimum impact despite the dedicated efforts of training staff. It is therefore imperative that fundamental transformation occurs when an organisation attempts to become a learning organisation. 4.5 Types of learning In all organisations, throughout the life cycles of individuals, people have different opportunities to learn. As individuals or groups seek to improve learning opportunities, they have to consider different types of learning which can occur, depending on the particular circumstances. Braham (1995:60) identifies four types of learning that can be indicated as follows in Figure 4.2. Figure 4.2 Types of learning New learning Transformational Unlearning Incremental learning 4.5.1 New learning New learning occurs when learners learn new skills they have not been exposed to before. The learner enters the learning experience with an open mind with very few specific expectations or preconceived ideas. For example, sales managers attend a workshop on the National Credit Act because they do not have the knowledge and skills to implement this new legislation. All board members and senior managers attend training on the King IV Report and Code on Corporate Governance to learn about new guidelines and requirements for sound corporate governance as outlined by the Institute of Directors (2016). 4.5.2 Incremental learning This type of learning occurs when people want to build on existing knowledge and skills, in other words, a particular skill is developed or refined. For example, a salesperson has 98 Managing Human Resource Development mastered selling skills, but is now required to develop more skills to integrate more customer service after each sale or to use social media as new form of content marketing. 4.5.3 Unlearning The rate of change in the business environment today necessitates that employees must sometimes unlearn what they know. In unlearning, what you have known before becomes obsolete and is discarded to make room for something new. For example, a new computer package will require that employees unlearn certain techniques they used in the old package. Despite good progress in transformation in certain sectors, the many examples of racism in business and society decades into post-apartheid South Africa demonstrates the need for the unlearning of prejudice, stereotyping, racism and sexism. 4.5.4 Transformational learning The last type of learning is the most powerful type of learning. The new paradigm transforms the learners’ worldview in a significant way. In practice it often means that the culture of the organisation will change. For example, following the adoption of a quality management system, employees need to learn to see the customer instead of their supervisor as the centre of the business. Transformational learning requires major shifts in thinking from traditional ways of doing things to total shifts in thinking and practice, very often from a traditional or local paradigm to doing business in a global market. 4.6 Types of learner In strategic learning, the learner is at the centre of the learning process. Before the broader structural aspects of organisational learning can be addressed, one should consider the types of learner in organisations. Braham (1995:67) identifies three types. 4.6.1 Reluctant learners These people show very little interest in learning. They resist anything new and feel that they have acquired enough knowledge and skills to be effective in the workplace. They will either be hesitant to utilise learning opportunities or they will be very passive during the learning process. Countries with poor primary and secondary education systems such as South Africa, have creating a breeding ground for reluctant learners. This typically results in a large pool of unskilled or semi-skilled population who remain unemployed or underemployed by organisations. Given their past negative experience with education and opportunities for employment, these learners are likely to remain reluctant learners even when they do get good learning opportunities. Van Rhyn (2016) refers to these learners as “unemployable”, given the fact that they lack the basic skills needed to be utilised in a productive knowledge economy. 4.6.2 Leisurely learners These learners aim to learn the minimum expected in order to satisfy their supervisors. They do not volunteer for new assignments or training opportunities, but over the long run they will keep up with the required training to meet current minimum expectations. Furthermore, they see teams as an opportunity to sit back and relax and distribute work to lessen their workload. Chapter 4: The learning organisation 99 4.6.3 Life-long learners These individuals are active learners. They continuously seek opportunities to learn more about new ideas, trends and developments in order to improve individual, group and organisational performance. Life-long learners often volunteer to attend learning events and they volunteer a lot with professionals inside and outside the organisation. They are futureorientated and spend a lot of time reading relevant books and professional journals, and attending seminars and other learning events. They also see networking and social learning as powerful mechanisms to continue learning on a daily basis. These learners are the people who should be cultivated and nurtured in the modern business environment. Reflecting on the different types of learner, what type of learner are you? 4.7 Characteristics of learning organisations A learning organisation is totally different from the traditional organisation. The organisational culture is dynamic and requires that certain elements be entrenched in the culture. These characteristics are as follows: 4.7.1 Flat organisational structure Traditional organisations consist of a strong hierarchical structure which reflects the power and positions of managers. Senge et al (1994:38) note that learning organisations are attempting to reorganise more around horizontal processes that cut across traditional functions. A greater level of interdependence is needed in which people are required to learn together irrespective of the hierarchy. In learning organisations, bureaucratic structures and systems are eroded to the benefit of customers and employees. 4.7.2 Open communication In traditional organisations, a top-down communication style is used most of the time. These organisations often pay lip service to their so-called “open door policies”, yet the real organisational culture discourages open communication. In a learning organisation there is open and honest communication. Individuals who speak out about things that are not going right are recognised for their contributions. 4.7.3 Teamwork In most organisations people work as individuals to fulfil specialised functions. Teams, and the individuals participating individually and collectively as members, are the most important units of the learning organisation. Real learning takes place in teams when team members learn from each other, learn from their achievements and mistakes, and continuously learn how they can optimise their contribution in achieving the goals of the business at large. Wiest and Drury-Bogle (1999) support this notion when they argue that teams need to work together to gain insights about complex issues, act in ways that complement each other’s actions, and foster team learning throughout the organisation. According to Senge et al (1994:18) there is a learning cycle involved in the process of team development. First, team members develop new skills and capabilities which alter what they can do and understand. Secondly, new awareness and sensibilities evolve. Thirdly, as people start to see and experience the world differently, new beliefs and assumptions begin to form, which enables further development of skills and capabilities. 100 Managing Human Resource Development 4.7.4 Empowerment For the greatest part of the development of management science it was believed that it was the role of management to make decisions and of employees to execute these decisions. The result is that a very small proportion of personnel would do the “thinking” while the majority of the workforce would only be “doers”. In such an environment very little learning takes place because there is no incentive for learning and performance. In the learning organisation, all employees are empowered to make decisions and to learn from the successes and failures of these decisions. 4.7.5 Inspired leadership In traditional organisations there is a lack of leadership. A learning organisation cannot exist without its senior managers’ commitment and leadership. Managers must set the example by becoming learners themselves and inspiring others to learn. This requires a major paradigm shift on the part of senior managers. Many of them think that they ceased to be learners when they completed their BCom and MBA degrees. They must realise that there is a strong relationship between their job’s strategic planning and the responsibility of promoting organisational learning. Learning organisations keep developing their leaders to become leaders who inspire employees, suppliers, customers and other key stakeholders. 4.7.6 Innovation and change Whilst many organisations find it difficult to change and improve, learning organisations thrive on change. Learning organisations create an environment for learning from innovation and change. They innovate because they learn, and they learn because they innovate. It is a continuous cycle of change, innovation, learning and improvement. Therefore, learning organisations are also more resilient and creative than traditional organisations. 4.7.7 Shared vision of quality In business today, it is often asserted that management has “a vision for the future”. This is indeed the case, management has a vision but this vision is often not shared by all the members of the organisation. The end-result is very predictable: their vision, how welldeveloped and defined it may be, never becomes a reality if it is not shared by all the employees of the company. The learning organisation, however, has a collective sense of identity, a fundamental purpose or vision which is shared by each and every employee of the company. If the CEO has a vision for quality services, each member internalises this vision, irrespective of his or her level or position. In this way, training becomes a powerful business partner if proper strategic learning alignment is created (Smith, 2011). In other words, learning organisations are purpose and quality driven in everything they do. 4.7.8 Systems approach The whole South African society is based on a functional approach of doing things. At school we are taught that we must take certain subjects in order to follow a particular career. Some people study further and become “specialists” in their respective fields. They subsequently join an organisation which consists of departments, functions and sections, each one with its own area of specialisation and self-interest. The end-result is a situation Chapter 4: The learning organisation 101 where a lot of people are performing excellent jobs in their own fields, very often at the expense of others, and not even knowing what others are doing. This system of fragmentation means that the collective intelligence that could have been used is largely eroded by the organisation. Companies are therefore not performing at their optimum level. In the learning organisation, articulating the total organisation from a systems approach represents an opportunity to break this vicious cycle. 4.7.9 Job satisfaction and commitment In most South African companies there is a lack of job satisfaction which in turn results in a low level of employee commitment to performance and the achievement of organisational goals. The symptoms of these problems are low productivity, high absenteeism, labour unrest, industrial action and high labour turnover. The learning organisation has an organisational culture where employee pride is nurtured by instituting formal and informal ways of improving employee engagement, job satisfaction and employee commitment. 4.7.10 People-orientated and talent focus Traditional organisations focus on achieving production targets, often at the expense of the employee’s well-being and needs. The learning organisation seeks to integrate task and people factors in order to optimise the talent of employees. These organisations are so people-orientated that the needs of people are continuously identified and strategies developed to integrate these needs with organisational goals and strategies. The managers of learning organisations realise that employees as internal customers must first be satisfied before the needs of external customers can be addressed. These managers are even assessed on their people management skills. A recent trend in the field of workplace training is the emphasis being placed on emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1999). Stock (1999) defines emotional intelligence as our ability to acquire and apply knowledge from our emotions and the emotions of others in order to solve problems and live a more successful and fulfilling life. People-orientated companies will develop action plans to ensure that all managers and employees develop their emotional intelligence in order to work together and serve the needs of their customers. Moreover, learning organisations have progressive talent management systems in place to optimise the talents of its employees (Maritz, 2004). 4.7.11 External focus Most South African companies are very internally focused. They only look at their own problems and situations without considering the realities of the wider business and global world. Learning organisations, however, are very externally focused. They continuously study their competitors and other organisations, both locally and abroad in order to learn from industry trends and developments. A more external focus is required, which in turn requires benchmarking exercises, networking, collaboration and large scale knowledgesharing. 4.7.12 Technology-driven Many companies find it difficult to adapt to technological innovations. In the learning organisation, a concerted effort is made to use the most advanced technology to improve business processes, products and services. Not only is investment in technology very 102 Managing Human Resource Development high, but employees are continuously trained to use the latest technology. Learning organisations all have a formal strategy for running a digital business. They also have an explicit social media strategy to engage with all stakeholders both inside and outside the organisation. 4.7.13 Learning opportunities In traditional organisations learning is restricted to training courses offered to some employees. The learning organisation encourages learning at all levels of the company. Appropriate learning opportunities are created to enhance corporate learning and employee development. Braham (1995:63) posits that in the learning organisation, the training department is not the primary source of learning opportunities. Instead, the whole system of work, every project or process, every person in the organisation, all become potential sources for learning. Even competitors, suppliers and customers can be resources for learning. The challenge is to identify, access and transfer these learning opportunities for optimum learning and improved practice. Learning and trying new things, even if it means making mistakes, becomes part of the culture of learning organisations (Haynes, 2016). 4.7.14 Action and results focus In some companies learning constitutes a particular event like a training course with a clear beginning and end. There is very little transfer of training and skills to the workplace. In fact, Senge et al (1994:223) estimate that only 10% to 15% of all participants who attend training programmes can consistently apply the insights and skills they have learnt in the workplace. Learning organisations provide opportunities to employees to apply skills immediately in order to achieve improvement in performance. 4.7.15 Customer-orientated Whilst traditional organisations lack a customer focus, the learning organisation is proactive in ensuring that all employees are extremely customer-orientated. In fact, most of the learning that takes place revolves around learning more about customer needs and implementing systems and methods to improve customer satisfaction. 4.8 Barriers to organisational learning Many companies have created barriers which block the ability to learn. The barriers to organisational learning make it very difficult for these organisations to transform their cultures into learning organisations. These barriers are: • bureaucracy and hierarchical management structures • rigid rules and procedures which govern who will “qualify” for training and who will not • limited resources due to ineffective prioritisation • an organisational culture that does not value creativity and innovation • managerial expectation that employees conform to the prevailing culture • lip service to employee empowerment and teamwork • limited inter-departmental co-operation • lack of an external focus on learning, networking and collaboration Chapter 4: The learning organisation 103 • management controls workers rather than supports them • managerial sanctions which instil fear in workers should mistakes be made • lack of support and encouragement for skills transfer and application. Which of these barriers to organisational learning or other barriers can you identify in your organisation? No matter how hard a training manager tries to create a learning organisation, if these barriers are not addressed the organisation will not be able to transform itself into a learning organisation. Furthermore, if governments and sector stakeholders create bureaucratic learning systems and onerous procedures that have to be satisfied before learning can take place, learning in sectors and workplaces may be detrimentally affected. 4.9 Learning organisation implementation plan The learning organisation is an ideal organisation which means that no pure learning organisation exists. However, if a company actively encourages the characteristics of the learning organisation, such a company may be termed a learning organisation. There is no universal blueprint in becoming a learning organisation. Companies must discover their own situations and decide which strategies and plans can be used in becoming a learning organisation. The generic model of the phases in creating a learning organisation depicted in Figure 4.3 can be adapted by organisations. 104 Managing Human Resource Development Figure 4.3 Generic model of learning organisation implementation Assess learning culture Analyse results Communicate and disseminate results Present results to top management Create a knowledge management system Develop learning strategies Market and communicate learning Implementation Evaluation 4.9.1 Assess learning culture First of all the current learning culture of the organisation needs to be assessed. This is done through a survey process, similar to needs assessments conducted by HRD practitioners when they identify training needs. The only difference is that the learning culture of the organisation will be assessed. This enables companies to assess themselves and to determine to what extent they have the characteristics of a learning organisation. Such assessments provide the basis for transforming the abstract notion of a learning organisation into specific initiatives and measuring the results of those initiatives over time. Chapter 4: The learning organisation 105 To assess the learning culture, certain items must be identified which relate to the characteristics of the learning organisation. A survey is then conducted to gather the necessary information. Irrespective of the types of assessment instrument used, it is important that the three levels of learning, namely the individual, team and organisation, are addressed. First National Bank (FNB), a large retail banking group in South Africa, promotes a learning culture through the use of a culture measurement survey. The survey provided by The Braxtongroup is conducted bi-annually in May and November. The findings from the survey allows for analyses regarding the extent to which a learning culture is prevalent within FNB. The survey is made available electronically to all employees working for FNB. The high response rate on the survey makes it representative of the opinions of the employees. The aim of the survey is to: • provide information regarding the thoughts, feelings and opinions of the people working for FNB in order to make improvements throughout the organisation and promote an environment for continuous improvement • compare the results of the survey with that of the previous survey to determine whether there was an improvement in the culture and climate within the organisation. The survey addresses the following values/practices: • accountability • optimal teamwork • a caring organisation • managing performance • learning and development • recruitment and selection • orientation and induction • remuneration and rewards • career and talent management • overall satisfaction • loyalty/commitment. Reporting depth Making use of an electronic platform, eSurvey allows for comprehensive reporting on various organisational levels: • detailed analysis of culture results achieved by the overall business, area, departments or teams • highlighting strengths and focus areas • indicating the overall score for business culture and climate. Results are presented from different perspectives, which involve analysing satisfaction levels in terms of race, gender, role profiles, job families and occupational bands. continued 106 Managing Human Resource Development Surveys within surveys Specialist surveys focus on specific themes and provide valuable information on themes such as the learning culture within the organisation, orientation and induction, recruitment and selection, etc. Specific indices make it possible to assess the extent to which FNB promotes a learning culture and an environment for learning. Examples of questions from the survey include: Our learning and development programmes lead to continuous learning and improvement I have access to the learning and development system The content of the learning and development programmes is relevant to my role The survey also includes questions that serve as representative measures of how employees perceive their leaders. The survey makes it possible to conduct impact assessments of culture on key business drivers such as customer loyalty, market share and customer satisfaction. An enabled environment is created for the improvement of culture in specified areas. Upon completion of the assessment of the readiness of leaders (LEI) for the management and improvement of the culture, key interventions are identified on individual, team, inter-group and organisational level. This allows for a focus on continuous improvement and learning. Learning and development is further supported by an e-learning platform from where individuals can access the learning interventions identified to address learning needs. The e-learning platform therefore further facilitates an environment for life-long learning within FNB. Overall benefits FNB has been able to influence its learning culture and establish an environment for life-long learning since the implementation of the culture survey. The culture survey has made it possible to assess the learning culture within the organisation and to propose and implement the required interventions to address development areas. Source: Compiled by Roy Braxton and Marica Richter. 4.9.2 Analyse results The next phase is to analyse the results obtained from the learning culture assessment. The results should indicate how prevalent the characteristics of the learning organisation are at these three levels and where the major problem areas lie. For example, the results may indicate that the area in which the organisation is most developed as a learning organisation is managerial vision and strategy. However, it may indicate that the vision and strategy are not shared by teams and individuals in their respective learning processes. The final results of the survey must be integrated into a comprehensive report indicating the major problem areas and recommendations for improvement. 4.9.3 Communicate and disseminate results After the report has been compiled, it must be disseminated to the whole organisation. It can be put on the intranet or sent to all employees. The HRD practitioner can also organise information-sharing sessions with employees in order to share the findings with them. Research by Van Buren (1998) indicates that less than 10% of American companies think that they have most of the characteristics of the learning organisation. If this is the case in one of the most productive countries in the world, South African companies should be very concerned! Chapter 4: The learning organisation 107 4.9.4 Present results to top management The HR director or HRD manager should then present the report to top management. A formal presentation is required in which the HRD manager can highlight and explain the elements of the report to senior management. It is essential to emphasise the consequences of the findings on the organisation, for example, that a lack of learning focus could result in the company losing its competitive edge. In order to get management commitment to change, it is imperative to highlight the strategic importance of the learning organisation and the change in corporate culture required in becoming a learning organisation. 4.9.5 Create a knowledge management system The next phase of learning organisation implementation is to create and implement a knowledge management system. Lippincott (1999) defines knowledge management as “methods or solutions that enable an organization to capture and distribute its knowledge assets in a way that is accessible and relevant to the individual performer”. According to Hyams (1999) knowledge management is the process of creating, capturing and using information to improve organisational performance. It is impossible to create a learning organisation if the knowledge inside and outside the organisation is not systematically managed. Knowledge is the key feature of organisational learning. Organisations have knowledge in the form of technology, databases, systems, processes, procedures, documents, reports and people expertise. The problem is that this knowledge is often difficult to be accessed by an individual who needs information at a particular moment. Moreover, most employees are experiencing information overload in the knowledge economy. They are drowning in information but starving for knowledge that can be used. The challenge of knowledge management is to develop a system in which people can make sense of information, sift out what is valuable knowledge and then share it with the right people at the right time and place. Most knowledge management systems are on the intranet so that information can be easily accessed by an individual. Information managers should ensure that knowledge is managed and disseminated in such a manner that all people can learn from this knowledge in order to improve their performance. In fact, knowledge management can create optimal knowledge usage and organisational learning opportunities in order to gain a competitive edge. Knowledge management consists of various processes that should be systematically managed in order to ensure the effective sharing and use of knowledge in organisations. Katz (1998:50) identifies the following knowledge management processes: • generating new knowledge • accessing knowledge from external sources • representing knowledge in documents, databases and software • embedding knowledge in processes, products and services • transferring existing knowledge around the organisation • using accessible knowledge in problem-solving and decision-making • facilitating knowledge growth through culture and incentives • measuring the value of knowledge assets and the impact of management. 108 Managing Human Resource Development The management of these processes is essential in ensuring that real organisational learning and performance improvement occurs at all levels of the organisation. Knowledge management facilitates continuous and ongoing processes of learning, unlearning and relearning. Only when a well-developed knowledge management system is institutionalised in an organisation can the process begin to develop an appropriate learning strategy. 4.9.6 Develop learning strategies Once top management commitment has been obtained, the next crucial step is to start developing a learning strategy towards becoming a learning organisation. This process will evolve over time because a very comprehensive strategy must be developed. This strategy should include mechanisms to ensure that the characteristics of the learning organisation are embedded in the organisational culture. The strategy should address the three levels of learning transformation as follows: Figure 4.4 Levels of learning transformation Individual learning Organisational learning Team learning • Individual learning plans are needed to ensure that each individual is skilled to contribute to developing the learning organisation. Individuals must be skilled, first, to contribute to team learning and, ultimately, add value to organisational learning. This can only be achieved if individuals develop the ability to learn effectively. • Team learning plans ensure that teams epitomise the characteristics of the learning organisation. Teams learn to optimise the contributions of individuals and by learning together as a team and implementing organisational improvements, they accelerate organisational learning. Marquardt (1999) proposes that small groups should work together on real problems, taking action and learning while doing. This approach to learning is called “action learning”. • Organisational learning plans are needed to ensure that the whole organisation learns to improve performance at all levels. This includes the establishment of benchmarking networks to promote external learning and all the other aspects of a learning culture. The formulation of skills development strategies in line with the Skills Development Act and SAQA requirements also form part of organisational learning plans. 4.9.7 Market and communicate learning According to Guns and Van der Linde (1999) far too many companies are neglecting to inform their employees what their knowledge and organisational learning initiatives are all about. A comprehensive marketing and communication campaign must be launched in order to ensure that all learning plans reach all employees of the organisation. All traditional Chapter 4: The learning organisation 109 communication mechanisms can be used as well as modern methods, such as the intranet and industrial theatre. The objective of this campaign is to disseminate the learning organisation strategy to all the members of the organisation in order to create excitement, buy-in and follow-through. The benefits of the learning organisation should be clearly communicated. It should be emphasised that the creation of a learning organisation is a journey and not a destination. 4.9.8 Implementation This phase involves putting the learning organisation strategy into action. To be successful, a learning organisation strategy has to be institutionalised in the organisational culture and made a way of life in the company. The responsibilities of all employees and managers should be specified. However, companies should realise that there is no quick-fix approach in becoming a learning organisation. As there is no recipe for creating a learning organisation, a company should discover its own path to transforming into a learning organisation. A trial and error approach is very appropriate in which failures and mistakes are seen as part and parcel of the learning process. Successes should be celebrated and disseminated throughout the company in order to maintain a high level of excitement about the learning organisation. Similarly, failures are seen as learning points which must be shared, analysed, corrected and improved. 4.9.9 Evaluation To ensure effective implementation and follow-up, ongoing evaluation must be built into the implementation, based on predetermined critical success criteria for each learning initiative. Frequent evaluations must be conducted in order to prevent stagnation and encourage ongoing organisational learning. The evaluation process should include opportunities for revisiting the learning organisation strategy in order to effect amendments and improvements. Ideally, a learning organisation evaluation should be linked to the measurement of overall business performance. According to Redding (1998) it is possible to establish baseline measurements on the results from the initial administration of the learning culture assessment. Using that baseline, specific goals can be set and progress can be measured in subsequent assessments. 4.10 Company examples A South African goldmine The management team of a South African goldmine realised the need to become a learning organisation in order to keep abreast of technological developments in the mining industry. Economic efficiency is extremely important, especially in view of the low gold price. The development of people and the application of modern management principles are critical in the technological age. Improvement in performance is essential if one considers that improvement targets are achieved by fewer employees than in the past. This fundamental reality requires a change in the approach to work. The 21st-century employee is in a completely new environment. The phasing out of different job levels necessitated a greater level of multi-skilling than was the case in the past (see chapter 15 for more information about multi-skilling). Even employees at the lower levels are expected to become multiskilled. For example, artisans without any engineering background can now become specialists, such continued 110 Managing Human Resource Development as compressor technicians. In addition, ABET forms part of this overall learning and skills development strategy at the mine. As far as the training function is concerned, change is also the order of the day. Trainers no longer simply train employees to do a particular job, they are now facilitators of learning which requires a change in the training approach. However, these changes affect the culture of the organisation. The strategy for becoming a learning organisation started when management contracted consultants from Corporate Intervention Services to enable them to become coaches and mentors of their team members. Managers have been trained in the principles of the learning organisation, such as mentorship and people management. In addition, changes in the broader environment, in particular legislation such as the Employment Equity Act, Skills Development Act and NQF Act, required that the mine revisit its approach to learning and development. The mine management realised that in the learning organisation it is important for employees to understand how the business operates and what the repercussions of their work are for the whole company. People are allowed to make mistakes, but these errors are seen as learning opportunities to improve performance in the future. The company’s leadership plays a very flexible and supportive role in this regard. Empowerment strategies ensure that employees have a greater say in decision-making in order to create ownership at all levels of the mine. Lower-level employees feel comfortable in communicating with management and a culture of trust and co-operation characterises this relationship. The mine measures the success of the learning organisation by focusing on both tangible and intangible ways. Positive relationships exist between management and employees and there are continuous ventures to increase the level of trust between management and employees. Training has equipped middle management to constructively deal with labour issues, so much so that a dramatic decrease in grievances has been recorded. Labour turnover is also very low. These improved measures have been obtained within the framework of the learning organisation. Learning opportunities are created in a more proactive manner, for example, by providing stress management training for employees at all levels, not only managers as was the case in the past. These learning opportunities are created and if the expertise does not exist internally, it is outsourced to external consultants. This gold mine has shown that it is indeed possible for a company to become a learning organisation if continuous learning is actively encouraged and nurtured in a high performance business environment. A Learning Journey through the Private Banking Value Chain When the training team at RMB Private Bank was assigned the task of rolling out a comprehensive training solution to the organisation – it was an exciting challenge that lay ahead. With a “clean canvas” to start with, one of the first tasks was to define the overall approach to delivering a solution that would promote competence on various levels of understanding within the organisation and the private banking industry as a whole. The Approach The Approach decided on was based on a pyramid with core layers of learning defined on various levels. The foundation layer of the pyramid focuses on the functional aspects of learning. These are the products, processes and systems in use in the organisation. In other words – ‘the way things are done around here’. A new employee coming from another organisation, with experience in the role, will still need a comprehensive understanding of the internal functional areas of the organisation. continued Chapter 4: The learning organisation 111 The second layer is the enabling layer. This focuses on the learning and development to ensure that the employee with all the functional knowledge can become more effective in their role. This includes courses such as communication skills, presentation skills and time management to name a few. Working in the financial services industry, the compliance layer is very important. This covers all required training around FICA (Financial Intelligence Centre Act), FAIS (Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services), OHS (Occupational Health and Safety), COB (Code of Banking), NCA (National Credit Act) and any other legislation that is introduced in the financial services arena. The industry specific layer of the pyramid focuses on courses or learning interventions available in the market and specific to the learner’s role. An example of this might be commercial property training. Employees putting together deals of this type will be required to train on the internal process and templates and deal requirements which form the functional layer. However, they might also attend a commercial property course offered externally by one of the property training providers to enhance their knowledge in this specific area. This course would then form part of the industry specific layer. The top layer of the pyramid focuses on the individual. It is important that each employee in the organisation has a defined learning and development path to support their career aspirations. Many employees are studying various degrees and certifications through universities and other professional bodies. With the approach defined and a clear vision ahead, the training team began work on establishing the functional layer (base of pyramid) within the organisation. The team started by considering the competencies required for each role in the organisation. Role-based Training A role-based methodology was used to ensure that the required knowledge, skills and attitudes/ behaviours relating to all tasks in a role are identified and form a curriculum of learning for that particular role. This process starts with interactive analysis sessions held with teams of employees in the various roles to understand and interrogate the tasks and related learning required of the individuals in each role. These sessions also establish the important business buy-in to the learning process and form a part of the change management function of rolling out a project of this nature. With all the tasks identified and the related knowledge, skills and attitudes defined for these tasks it is time to link the appropriate delivery method to these to ensure that the learning will be transferred in the most appropriate format for learning. The team applied a blended learning method to training delivery. Blended Learning In the early years of e-learning, perceptions were rife that e-learning would replace other forms of corporate training. The panic around this perception continued until the term “blended learning” became more widely used. Blended learning refers to learning programmes and/or curricula where a variety of learning delivery methods is used. The needs of the audience determine the way that content will be delivered for each component of the learning programme. In most instances the learning programme may include a technology-enabled component such as e-learning content or a simulation and a facilitator-led component, such as a workshop. All of these components are “blended” for the optimal learning experience. The training team identified various delivery methods that would be suitable for their learning environment. These include facilitated sessions, business practicals, process workshops, online simulations and various forms of support and reference material. Workshops with the analysis teams and the instructional design teams were then held to link the appropriate delivery methods to the knowledge, skills and attitudes identified to compile a list of all the learning objects to be developed. continued 112 Managing Human Resource Development Design and Development of course material Customised templates were designed for all learning documentation and online content to ensure instructional design principles were applied to all learning material to be developed. The team of developers worked closely with the business to ensure that all material developed was relevant and comprehensive in delivering the fundamental content required for each learning object identified. At the same time assessments, both practical and through online delivery, were designed and developed. By the conclusion of this process each individual role was assigned a curriculum that would ensure all functional areas of competence required were addressed. This also included any courses that formed the enabling layer of the pyramid, to ensure that competencies identified in the analysis phase, not necessarily related to the functional areas, were included as part of the development of individuals to ensure their effectiveness in each role. Additionally, any compliance requirements were linked and industry specific courses were sourced to ensure a comprehensive curriculum was in place. Any new employee joining the organisation in roles developed can review their curriculum and immediately understand all the areas of learning and development required to perform their specific role within the organisation and begin their learning journey. E-learning environment Additionally, to facilitate the hosting and delivery of all available material, curricula and online content the organisation introduced a learner management system (LMS). The LMS enables new employees to log on and see the curriculum assigned to their role in the organisation. They can immediately begin to self-study using the online simulations developed as well as accessing all product, process and systems support material provided. They can use the system to view what facilitated sessions are offered and book onto these sessions. Throughout their career with RMB Private Bank, the learner can assess their progress against the curriculum assigned and also take any additional courses made available as they are developed and rolled out to the organisation. One of the highlights of the new e-learning environment was an online module developed in partnership with a large software development company based in India. The key focus of the content is to enable new employees to take an interactive multi-media tour through the organisation and experience the values and culture as well as be exposed to a simulation of the live environment. Photographs and storyboards were developed in South Africa and e-mailed to India for graphical rendering and content design and development. The final result won the team a place in the finals of the FNB Innovators Awards – an annual competition to encourage innovation in the whole of FNB. It was great to have a training initiative presented at the finals and a cherry on top for the team’s hard work in implementing a training solution within the organisation. Coaching and Mentoring To round off the total solution the team will be focusing on the areas of coaching and mentoring. This will underpin the formal learning material now in place and ensure close interaction with employees on a more individual basis to ensure effective on-the-job implementation of the new knowledge and skills gained and enable consistent assessment of the learning process in place. 4.11 Conclusion HRD managers must realise that the role of the training function is moving from instructional technologist to facilitator of organisational learning and performance. The success of the training function will depend on the ability of HRD practitioners to change the culture of the organisation in becoming a learning organisation. In order to achieve this objective, they have to develop strategies to break down the barriers to organisational learning. During this process, the HRD practitioner must assess the learning culture of the organisation and analyse the root causes of performance problems, and subsequently design interventions that will create a learning organisation. Ultimately, HRD managers will have to make a conscious mind-set shift from being trainers to being agents and facilitators of Chapter 4: The learning organisation 113 organisational learning and performance. In chapter 5, we will further explore this paradigm shift when we address the role of the HRD practitioner as performance consultant. 4.12 Case study Martex is an oil refinery with several plants throughout South Africa. The East London plant had found a new way of processing waste material. This processing is more efficient than what other refineries are using. Furthermore, the process meets all environmental regulations. The parent company situated in Richard’s Bay saw the obvious benefits of getting the other refineries in Cape Town, Saldanha, Port Elizabeth, George and Durban to adopt this new process. If used in all its refineries, it could save approximately R65 million a year. The operations director, Zodwa Dlamini, gathered all the plant managers and chief engineers together to share information about how the new process works. All members agreed that it was a breakthrough, but only the Saldanha plant managed to follow the example set by the East London refinery. This was due to regular contact between these two refineries on the implementation of the new system. After a year Zodwa realised that only two plants were productive as a result of implementing the new system. After an investigation, she realised that most people had more disincentives than incentives for adopting the new process. Each refinery had plenty of other things on its plate. This new procedure required installing some new equipment, and it meant changing some things that had been in place for a long time. Most supervisors and employees resisted any change to new procedures and technology. Questions 1 Which characteristics of the learning organisation are evident at the East London plant? 2 Which characteristics of the learning organisation are absent at Martex? 3 How can resistance to the new procedures and technology be broken down? 4 Develop a management plan to move Martex from a traditional organisation to a learning organisation. 5 What role can knowledge management play in contributing to the establishment of a learning organisation at Martex? 4.13 Self-assessment questions 1 Explain the problems most organisations encounter with training programmes and indicate how the learning organisation can contribute to resolving these problems. 2 Describe the differences between traditional training and the learning organisation and decide at each difference where your organisation should be categorised. 3 Explain the characteristics of learning organisations. 4 Identify the barriers to organisational learning and indicate how these barriers can be eliminated. 5 Develop a comprehensive strategy in transforming an organisation to a learning organisation. 6 Compile a questionnaire that can be used to assess an organisation’s learning culture. 7 Critically evaluate the following statement: “Knowledge management can help an organisation to foster learning, innovation and improvement.” 114 Managing Human Resource Development 4.14 References Braham BJ, 1995, Creating a Learning Organisation: Promoting Excellence Through Education, California: Crisp. Goleman D, 1999, “Guidelines for best practices for emotional intelligence training”, ASTD International Conference: Atlanta. Guns B and Van der Linde K, 1999, “Current state and future directions of knowledge management”, ASTD International Conference: Atlanta. Haynes R, 2016, “The growth mind-set, Top Employers 2017 Advertising Supplement”, Mail & Guardian, October 14–20. Hyams R, 1999, “Eliminating information overload and improving employee performance in a knowledge managed organization”, ASTD International Conference: Atlanta. Institute of Directors, 2016, King IV Code and Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa, Johannesburg: Institute of Directors. Katz M, 1998, “Knowledge management”, People Dynamics 17(6): 50. Lippincott J, 1999, “Building a learning architecture: Combining training, performance support and knowledge management”, ASTD International Conference: Atlanta. Maritz D, 2004, “Talent management” in Meyer M and Botha E (eds) Organisation Development and Transformation in South Africa, 2nd edn, Durban: LexisNexis Butterworths. Marquardt MJ, 1999, “Action learning in action – The key to building learning organizations”, ASTD International Conference: Atlanta. Redding J, 1998, in Van Buren M (ed), ASTD’s Guide to Learning Organization Assessment Instruments, 2nd edn, Alexandra: ASTD. Senge PM, 1990, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, New York: Doubleday. Senge PM, Roberts C, Ross RB, Smith BJ and Kleiner A, 1994, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building the Learning Organization, London: Nicholas Brealey. Smith, RM, 2011, Strategic Learning Alignment: Make Training a Powerful Business Partner, Alexandria: ASTD. Stock B, 1999, “Emotional intelligence: Getting to the heart of performance”, ASTD International Conference: Atlanta. Van Buren M (ed), 1998, ASTD’s Guide to Learning Organization Assessment Instruments, 2nd edn, Alexandra: ASTD. Van Rhyn L, 2016, Business in Education: The Partners for Possibility Approach to Transforming Education. Paper presented at the Business in Education Networking Session: Sandton. Watkins KE and Marsick VJ, 1997, “Building the learning organization” in Russ-Eft D, Preskill H and Sleezer C (eds), Human Resource Development Review: Research and Implications, London: Sage. Wick CW and Leon LS, 1993, The Learning Edge: How Smart Managers and Smart Companies Stay Ahead, New York: McGraw-Hill. Chapter 4: The learning organisation 115 Wiest D and Drury-Bogle K, 1999, “Building a learning organisation”, ASTD International Conference: Atlanta. 4.15 Suggested reading Baumard P, 1999, Tacit Knowledge in Organizations, London: Sage. Botkin JW, 1999, Smart Business: How Knowledge Communities can Revolutionize Your Company, New York: Free Press. Cope M, 1998, Leading the Organisation to Learn: The 10 Levers for Putting Knowledge and Learning to Work, London: Pitman. DiBella AJ and Nevis EC, 1997, Making Organisations Learn: An Integrated Strategy for Building Learning Capability, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Dodd P, 1998, Pushing the Boundaries: Learning Organization Lessons from the Field, Michigan: Kennedy Press. Easterby-Smith M, Burgoyne J and Araujo L (eds), 1998, Organizational Learning and the Learning Organization: Developments in Theory and Practice, London: Sage. Fourie S, 2014, Learning Organisations in a South African Context. Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Gold J, Holden R, Iles P, Stewart J and Beardwell J, 2010, Human Resource Development: Theory & Practice, Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Harvard Business Review, 2011, Inspiring & Executing Innovation, Boston: Harvard Business Review. Heroldt, J. (ed), 2012, Managing Change in Organisations: Articles from Human Capital Review, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Huseman RC and Goodman JP, 1999, Leading with Knowledge: Winning in the Realm of the Red Queen, London: Sage. Khoza, RJ, 2011, Attuned Leadership: African Humanism as Compass, Johannesburg: Penguin. Kline P and Saunders B, 1993, Ten Steps to a Learning Organization, Virginia: Great Ocean. Meyer M, 1999, “The learning organisation: Multiplying the high flyers”, Management Today 18–19. Nel C and Beudeker N, 2009, Revolution: How to Create a High Performance Organisation, Cape Town: Village of Leaders. Pedler M, Burgoyne J and Boydell T, 1997, The Learning Company: A Strategy for Sustainable Development, 2nd edn, New York: McGraw-Hill. Pietersen, W. 2010, Strategic Learning: How to be Smarter than your Competition and Turn Key Insights into Competitive Advantage, New Jersey: John Wiley. Senge P, Kleiner A, Robers C, Ross R, Roth G and Smith B, 1999, The Dance of Change: The Challenges to Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations, New York: Doubleday. Smith PAC and Tosey P, 1999, “Assessing the learning organisation – Part 1: Theoretical foundations”, The Learning Organisation 6(2): 70–75. Sparrow J, 1998, Knowledge in Organizations: Access to Thinking at Work, London: Sage. 116 Managing Human Resource Development Swain P, 1999, “Organisational learning: Developing leaders to deal with continuous change – a strategic human resource perspective”, The Learning Organisation 6(1): 30–37. Tobin DR, 1998, The Knowledge-enabled Organisation: Moving from Training to Learning to Meet Business Goals, New York: Amacom. Viljoen R, 2015, Organisational Change and Development, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Vise DA and Malseed M, 2005, The Google Story, London: Pan Books. Watkins KE and Marsick KJ, 1996, Creating the Learning Organization, Alexandra: ASTD. Zairi M, 1999, “The Learning Organisation: Results of a Benchmarking Study”, The Learning Organisation 6(2): 76–81. 4.16 Internet sites A Business Researcher’s Interests: http://www.brint.com/OrgLrng.htm Center for Advanced Emotional Intelligence: http://www.advancedeq.com Center for Creative Leadership: http://www.ccl.org Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence: http://www.eiconsortium.org Corporate University Xchange: http://www.corpu.com De Paul University and Institute for Strategic Learning, Learning Organization Exchange: http://www.depaul.edu/~learning Emotional Intelligence Materials: http://www.6seconds.org Emotional Intelligence University: http://www.emotionalintelligenceu.com HR Future: http://www.hrfuture.net International Institute of Knowledge Management: http://www.iikm.com International Knowledge Management Network: http://kmn.cibit.nl/index.html Knowledge Inc (Newsletter): http://www.knowledgeinc.com Knowledge Management Server: http://www.bus.utexas.edu/kman Learning Organisation List: http:world.std.com/~lo MIT Organizational Learning Network: http:/learning.mit.edu Strategic Knowledge Management: www.knowledge-media.com Teleos Knowledge Management (Newsletter): http://www.knowledgebusiness.com The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: http://www.fieldbook.com The Learning Organisation Journal: http://www.mcb.co.uk/tlo.htm 4.17 Acknowledgements A special word of thanks to: • Angela Donnelly of RMB Private Bank for the case study she provided for this chapter • Chris Brits, a goldmine training manager, and Pieter van Oudtshoorn of Corporate Interventions Services for the mining case study they provided • Roy Braxton and Marica Richter of Braxton Consulting and Gert Kriel of First National Bank for the case study they provided. CHAPTER 5 PERFORMANCE CONSULTING Belia Nel Rather than defining performance consulting by the interventions they use, performance consultants take a comprehensive systems view of performance, examining the alignment of the total performance system in every venue where they work. (Roger Addison) LEARNING OUTCOMES • Identify performance gaps and requirements and introduce interventions to improve performance in the workplace • Contract with management to implement performance improvement interventions in the workplace • Move from training delivery to performance improvement activities with management and clients • Form consultative partnerships to action strategic business alliances in the organisation 5.1 Introduction The rationale behind this chapter is to make a transition from a focus on training to a focus on performance improvement. The training profession is undergoing major changes in several areas. One of these changes is the transition away from focusing on learning as the output to focusing on performance improvement, the goal being to enhance human performance in support of business goals. Performance consultants are the people who are responsible for partnering with clients in order to achieve performance-improvement business goals. 117 118 Managing Human Resource Development Performance consulting is a relatively new field within the human resources domain. People often ask what performance consulting is. A brief description of the expression follows. Definition According to Addison, Haig and Kearny (2009), technology is a set of empirical and scientific principles and their application. Human Performance Technology (HPT) is the technology that comprises all the variables that affect human performance. We use HPT in the workplace to identify factors that enable workers to perform their jobs and to produce the desired results. Performance technology provides tools and processes to identify opportunities for improved performance, valued solutions and return on investment (ROI) as well as the building blocks to construct new performance environments and systems. HPT methodology (also known as PI methodology) helps all HRD and training or learning and development practitioners to identify and solve performance problems in organisations. Sometimes we cannot answer questions that line managers ask about our work; HPT helps us to answer these questions. They may ask: • Do you know exactly where the performance gaps are? Are these gaps caused by the people and processes, or by organisational factors? (The HPT methodology is a systematic means of identifying performance problems at all levels.) • Do you know where to start fixing these performance problems? Can you accurately state where these gaps are? (The HPT methodology will help you identify systematically where the problems are.) • Can you measure the value of solutions you implemented to fix these performance problems? (If you have implemented solutions to these problems, the HPT methodology makes it easier to measure what the impact and outcome of the solution was.) • Are HRD practitioners or learning and development consultants skilled in providing a PI consulting service to the business to give correct advice on performance problems? (One of the ways of enhancing your credibility in identifying and solving performance problems is to be professionally accredited with the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI). Performance consultants who have this accreditation are known as certified performance technologists (CPTs).) Reset Performance Results Performance in any organisation is a complex issue that needs on-going attention if one is to improve the results that employees achieve in their jobs. In most cases typical performance challenges include the following: • a high percentage of poor performers within the organisation; • the poor alignment of business goals and objectives to individual goals translating to excellent performance; • line management’s lack of skill and objectivity to deal with poor performance and poor performers; • poor work and performance discipline; • the perceived lack of fairness of the performance system in meaningfully differentiating between top and poor performance as it relates to both monetary and non-monetary indicators; Chapter 5: Performance consulting 119 • out-dated performance management systems not catering for the post-technology generation; and • an inability or leniency of management to deal with poor performance, exacerbated by poor internal brand entrenchment. 5.2 The contextualisation of performance consulting The change to the training profession that is of greatest interest to us is the shift in focus to performance improvement. We may ask whether this is just another fad or whether it is a new direction. Van Tiem, Moseley and Dessinger (2000) have the following to say about HPT: Performance technology is the systematic process of linking business goals and strategies with the workforce responsible for achieving the goals. HPT practitioners use a common methodology to understand, inspire, and improve people; they study and redesign processes leading to increased performance in the workplace. The focus on performance is not new. What is new are the elements that are receiving enhanced emphasis because of current business requirements. Each of these elements is dealt with in turn. 5.2.1 The need to partner with management Training functions have traditionally operated parallel to management rather than in partnership with it. It is therefore important that the focus on performance improvement allocate significant resources to forming and sustaining partnerships with management. The individuals with whom these partnerships are formed are referred to as “clients”. Therefore, the term “performance improvement consultant” was developed to distinguish the role of the individual from the performance function. Tip for performance consultants: Ask questions about products, services, results and measures in the language that management will understand. 5.2.2 The link with business needs The identification of human performance requirements begins with the clarification of the current and future business goals of an organisation. Once the business goals are defined the performance improvement process can be kick-started. “What must people do more, better or differently if this business goal is to be achieved?” (Robinson and Robinson, 1998:5.) Business needs will reflect the macro environment. The micro environment will be reflected by the organisational change needs. The core of performance improvement should be that the learning and work environments have to be addressed. Tip for performance consultants: Consult the business strategy and associated business plans to enable you to strike a chord immediately with the client. The typical needs that this partnership may be useful for are depicted in Figure 5.1. 120 Managing Human Resource Development Figure 5.1 Needs development Organisational Culture Business and Strategic Needs Performance Needs Learning and Work Environment Needs Organisational Change Needs Organisational Politics Source: Adapted from Robinson D and Robinson C (2007). 5.2.3 The link with Human Resource Development (HRD) With increasing pressure to do more with less at a lower cost, the Human Resource Development (HRD) profession is reinventing itself, as business needs and the international marketplace dictate. Practitioners in the HRD business will need to assimilate some of the newly emerging roles for the HRD practitioner. These emerging roles are those of: • organisational performance analyst • internal and external consultant • organisational effectiveness evaluator • partnership builder • change agent. HRD practitioners also need to discard their preconceived solutions to organisational problems. With this in mind it is important to look at the new roles and competencies of the performance consultant within the HRD context. Tip for performance consultants: Performance consulting does not mean you stop doing your functional work; it merely suggests a mindset shift to doing things differently. 5.2.4 The link with Organisation Development (OD) The trend for HRD as well as OD practitioners is a movement toward performance consulting to identify organisational problems, manage change and to help the whole organisation become more effective in achieving its strategic goals. Performance consulting borrows from a variety of disciplines including performance technology and organisation development (OD). Performance consulting blends these approaches with interpersonal skills, systems thinking and diagnostic skills. Performance consulting focuses on the entire system, concerns itself with overall performance and involves the creation and reinforcement of change. Change management skills form a foundation for any performance strategy (Craig, 1999:3). Chapter 5: Performance consulting 121 Tip for performance consultants: You must work within organisational constraints. You can work with the client to change some of the constraints, but not all of them. 5.2.5 The link with the NQF critical outcomes While no unit standards have been developed for performance consulting, it is clear that performance consulting relates to a number of the management-related functions. If one considers the critical outcomes of the NQF, performance consulting corresponds very well with the critical outcomes as indicated in Table 5.1. Table 5.1 The link between NQF critical outcomes and performance consulting NQF critical outcomes Performance consulting Identify and solve problems in which responses display that responsible decisions using critical and creative thinking have been made The emphasis is on identifying the problems surrounding performance, change management, creative solutions and decision-making Work effectively with others as a member of a team, group, organisation or community Performance consulting focuses on a partnership between management, employees and the performance consultant. All relationships are based on teamwork and co-operation Organise and manage oneself and one’s activities responsibly and effectively The performance consultant has to practise self-management in their relationships with partners when planning particular performance improvement interventions Collect, analyse and critically evaluate information The performance consultant analyses performance gaps and identifies the root causes for underperformance by using performance analysis techniques Communicate effectively using visual, mathematical and/or language skills in the modes of oral and/or written persuasion Communication is one of the key skills of the performance consultant. They have to facilitate performance improvement sessions and write reports to management on performance problems and interventions Use science and technology effectively and critically, showing responsibility towards the environment and health of others The performance consultant approaches performance problems drawing on human performance technology. Scientific performance improvement techniques are used Demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of inter-related systems by recognising that problem-solving contexts do not exist in isolation The whole philosophy behind performance consulting is to view performance problems from a systems perspective and to break down the barriers between training departments and the rest of the organisation From Table 5.1 it is evident that the HRD practitioner will be challenged to develop a set of more advanced skills in order to bridge the gap between the trainer and the performance consultant. Many HRD practitioners will have to be re-trained and redeveloped in order to acquire competence in the field of performance consulting. Some consultants are helping to train professionals to achieve this goal by providing training sessions on the realignment of HRD to performance consulting. 122 Managing Human Resource Development Tip for performance consultants: As a performance consultant you are also required to build a portfolio of evidence to show competence in the area of performance consulting. This is a requirement if you want to be accredited as a Certified Performance Consultant with ISPI (International Society for Performance Improvement. Visit www.certified.org). According to Addison and Haig (2011): Performance Architects are in the business of investigating human performance issues in the workplace and determining how best to help their client organizations meet business goals. That said, it is our experience that consultants of any stripe can fruitfully employ a few basic architectural models and tools to provide significant added value to their clients. 5.3 Emerging roles and competencies within the HRD framework For too long the HRD or training profession has focused on the activity of training. People in the profession thought of themselves as specialists associated with some aspect of learning, such as designing the courses, delivering the programmes or identifying training needs. The shift from traditional training to performance-driven training for impact is vital in meeting today’s business needs. The training dilemma we are faced with is graphically portrayed in Figure 5.2. Figure 5.2 A training dilemma Training for impact is moving in the direction of performance consulting as it contains or suggests elements of change. To do training for impact suggests that a diagnosis and analysis of performance problems should be conducted. Training for activity on the other hand has to do with pushing through the required number of delegates on training programmes without having conducted the appropriate performance analysis. We must shift from focusing on what people need to learn (training) to what they must be able to do (performance). We will further explore the roles and functions associated Chapter 5: Performance consulting 123 with the performance improvement consultant. The new performance focus of HRD departments can be summarised as follows: Traditional Training From • training delivery • trainer • training objectives • training design • training for activity • training needs analysis Performance Consulting Impact To • performance improvement • performance improvement consultant • learner outcomes • learning intervention design • training for impact • performance gap analysis As a performance consultant what do you typically do? Are you a: • HRD consultant • trainer • training specialist • HRD specialist • performance improvement consultant? We should be seen as performance improvement consultants. We should have an in-depth knowledge of business, HRD contextualisation, HPT, partnering skills and consulting skills. The work of performance consulting is rooted in a systematic approach that begins at the end rather than the beginning by asking: What should the results be when the work is done? (Geary Rummler, 2004) Characteristics of a performance consultant If you are going to make the shift from a trainer or HR consultant to a performance consultant, you should possess these key characteristics: • You are committed to improving performance and results, and do not only implement single solution activities like training, team building and HR support. You are basically solution-neutral. You challenge all proposed solutions that are not in line with performance as a total system. • You apply a validated methodology for determining desired results and identifying the barriers to required performance and evaluating the impact of the specified changes on results. • You are knowledgeable about a large range of improvement strategies enabling you to make the necessary solutions which will address the performance gaps to bring about the required results. Performance improvement consultants are business people who should specialise in human performance rather than finance, marketing or operations. Performance improvement consultants should be doing the following regularly: • reading the annual report of their organisation and understanding it • discussing the ratios used to measure the operational health of the organisation in order with managers and others to establish the gaps (including the impact of a risk analysis report on the business and the role the performance improvement consultant can play) 124 Managing Human Resource Development • identifying the forces that will challenge the organisation’s ability to meet its business goals • discussing the strategies and actions of competitors and their implications for the organisation • using the business terminology of the organisation – the language should be no different from that of those who work throughout the organisation (Robinson and Robinson, 1995:12–13) • continuously scanning the business environment and conditions which will affect the focus and impact of our work. 5.4 Performance consultant framework In line with the new SABPP National HR Competency Model (Meyer, 2012), various competencies, attributes and standards are necessary for all the roles in the human performance improvement process. However, further definition of the roles, competencies and functions of the performance improvement consultant is necessary. In our opinion the performance improvement consultant should have four major roles within the context of IQ (intelligence quotient), PQ (professional quotient), EQ (emotional quotient) and AQ (adversity quotient). The IQ context is represented by the Researcher role, the PQ context is represented by the Professional role, the EQ context is represented by the Communicator role and the AQ context is represented by the Change Facilitator role. (See Figure 5.3.) A performance improvement consultant framework will be governed by the business and the HPT methodology context. Figure 5.3 Performance consultant framework Chapter 5: Performance consulting 125 As seen in Figure 5.3, there as four major roles, namely those of: • researcher • professional • change facilitator • communicator. These roles each have their own sets of competencies, attributes and standards that give them impetus and can be listed as follows: 5.4.1 The researcher role Cultural alignment competence The performance consultant should understand the importance of cultural alignment. This alignment is represented at the work, worker and workplace levels. HPT methodology competence The performance consultant must display the ability to gather, analyse and interpret data as well as design, implement and evaluate the appropriate intervention. Systems thinking To enable the performance consultant to introduce a performance improvement process it is important that they should understand how different systems interrelate in the bigger picture of the business and the organisation. Financial competence These skills are important in interpreting and analysing data, company results and measuring the implemented intervention. These competencies will fulfil the role of researcher within the context of IQ in that they will provide the performance consultant with the necessary tools and techniques in fact-finding, data gathering and all other activities needed in the HPT methodology application. 5.4.2 The professional role Business fundamentals and industry understanding The performance consultant must be competent in basic business principles as well as have a working understanding of the macro business environment. This will contribute to meaningful consultations with management. Technology awareness and application The performance consultant must have an understanding of the latest technology and use it as a vehicle to achieve the desired results. Specialist knowledge Specialist knowledge will include the entire spectrum of human resource strategies, knowledge of business and industry and a sound knowledge of human behaviour as it relates to adults in the workplace environment. 126 Managing Human Resource Development Benchmarking Keeping abreast of the industry and business environment is very important. Benchmarking as a process tool will assist the performance consultant in analysing the gap that exists during the research and cause analysis phase. Benchmarking can be applied throughout the process to provide best practice information. Ethics and networking In forming business relationships with management it is essential that the performance consultant follows a business code of ethics and professionalism which will lead to acceptance and credibility. The ability to network with a variety of internal and external industry leaders will strengthen professional and business relationships within the organisation. The most important of these competencies is the ability to network. Networking will provide continuity to the other competencies within this role. Networking will also provide the necessary dynamic movement within the professional role. 5.4.3 The change facilitator role Conflict handling and transformation As performance consulting necessitates change it is important that the performance consultant should be able to cope with conflict that may arise from these change strategies when implementing a change process. Any performance improvement process will bring about transformation and change. The performance consultant should be competent in managing the transformation and change process. Project facilitation The performance consulting process will result in change. To implement the change process the performance consultant should have the ability to apply project facilitation skills to monitor the process and progress of the change. The emphasis of facilitation is not getting involved with the content but with the actual process of the performance improvement intervention. Intervention design and development The performance consultant must be able to develop and design the appropriate intervention to meet the performance gaps in the workplace. The design of the intervention can be handled on a project basis if the performance consultant lacks the specific knowledge. The competency highlighted here is that of facilitation. Although facilitation can be seen as a function of project management it plays a major part in the competency framework because facilitation should also be actioned as a required competency for the entire change facilitator role. 5.4.4 The communicator role Evaluation and feedback During a performance improvement process it is important that the performance consultant provides ongoing feedback as well as a thorough evaluation at the end of project. Chapter 5: Performance consulting 127 Self-awareness and development The performance consultant should continuously engage in self-development interventions and knowledge acquisition. Self-awareness and insight will result in improved business relationships. Influencing and negotiating The competencies of influencing and negotiating are equally important in the make-up of the performance consultant. The ability to influence and negotiate the change process will result in achieving the outcomes for the performance improvement process. Interaction effectiveness and impact Communication is a key competency in the overall competency bouquet. The success of interaction effectiveness competence will be seen in the impact the performance consultant has in the implementation process. Marketing and promotion The performance consultant needs to acquire marketing and promoting competencies which will result in dynamic and ongoing workplace performance improvement. The most important competency within the communicator role is not whether performance consultants can communicate, but whether they understand the effectiveness and impact of their communication. As previously mentioned with the competency of facilitation, communication as an overall competency is important; but we need to emphasise that it is not communication per se but rather the awareness of whether the performance consultant can influence and negotiate effectively. Each role within its context has an important function in the overall effectiveness of the performance consultant. These roles and competencies will be used interchangeably and as required given the nature of the context of the environment. These competencies will allow the performance consultant to be effective within the entire performance improvement process, that is, from researching a potential problem thoroughly and finally presenting and promoting various performance improvement outcomes to the client. The performance consultant needs to acquire these competencies within these roles systematically, in other words, the acquisition should be via planned interventions that will enhance the development path of the performance consultant. 5.5 Additional competencies for performance consultants As early as 1989 Pat McLagan (in Rothwell, 1996:22–25) indicated her 15 competencies essential to all roles in the human performance improvement process. These are: 1 Industry awareness Understanding the vision, strategy, goals, and culture of an industry; linking human performance improvement interventions to organisational goals. 2 Leadership skills Knowing how to lead or influence others positively to achieve the desired work results. 3 Interpersonal relationship skills Working effectively with others to achieve common goals and exercising effective interpersonal influence. 128 Managing Human Resource Development 4 Technological awareness and understanding Using existing or new technology and different types of software and hardware; understanding performance support systems and applying them as appropriate. 5 Problem-solving skills Detecting performance gaps and helping other people discover ways to close the performance gaps in the present and future; closing performance gaps between actual and ideal performance. 6 Systems thinking and understanding Identifying the inputs, throughputs, and outputs of a sub-system or system and applying the information to improve human performance; realising the implication of interventions on many parts of an organisation, process, or individual; taking steps to address any side-effects of human performance improvement interventions. 7 Performance understanding Distinguishing between activities and results; recognising implications, outcomes, and consequences. 8 Knowledge of interventions Demonstrating and understanding the many ways that human performance can be improved in organisational settings; showing how to apply specific human performance improvement interventions to close existing or anticipated performance gaps. 9 Business understanding Demonstrating awareness of the inner workings of business functions and how business decisions affect financial or non-financial work results. 10 Organisational understanding Seeing organisations as dynamic, political, economic, and social systems that have multiple goals; using this larger perspective as a framework for understanding and influencing events and change. 11 Negotiating/contracting skills Organising, preparing, overseeing and evaluating work performed by vendors, contingent workers or outsourcing agents. 12 Buy-in/advocacy skills Building ownership or support for change among affected individuals, groups and other stakeholders. 13 Coping skills Knowing how to deal with ambiguity and how to handle the stress resulting from change and from multiple meanings or possibilities. 14 Ability to see the “big picture” Looking beyond details to see overarching goals and results. 15 Consulting skills Understanding the results that stakeholders desire from a process and providing insight into how those results can be achieved efficiently and effectively. 5.6 Performance consulting approach and process In order for a performance improvement process to be successful in an organisation the performance consultant must decide on the appropriate approach. Typically questions to ask should be: what are the business forces impacting on such a process and what are the desired business results to be achieved? Let us revisit the HPT model and review the major areas. As Figure 5.4 shows, the model has six major areas for the performance consultant to consider: • performance analysis • cause analysis • intervention selection and design Chapter 5: Performance consulting 129 • implementation • measurement and evaluation • feedback. Figure 5.4 The HPT model Performance Improvement HPT Process 130 Managing Human Resource Development 5.7 The performance consulting approach The performance consultant should develop a specific consulting approach to follow when addressing performance problems in the organisation. The following performance consulting approach will provide a map for the performance consultant. A useful performance consulting process approach has four stages: Stage 1: Identify business and performance needs • Identify internal clients or sponsors • Identify business requirements • Review business processes • Review environment needs • Specify current performance • Identify performance gaps Stage 2: Map out intervention strategies • Design multiple interventions • Establish priority of intervention strategies • Identify resources for implementation Stage 3: Implementation • Establish the implementation and monitoring plan • Implement interventions Stage 4: Continual improvement • System alignment • Continual improvement and feedback Before an appropriate process should be selected it is useful to pay attention to the knowledge of the underlying anatomy of performance. The Anatomy of Performance (Rummler, 2004) is based on the following fundamentals: • organisations are systems • organisations are processing systems • organisations are adaptive systems • jobs or roles and functions exists to support the processes of the organisation • all performers are part of a human performance system. This is critical for arriving at an accurate diagnosis and eventually recommending the appropriate solution that will address the performance gap. What does this mean? According to Rummler (2004), performance consulting is rooted in a systematic approach that focuses on the results when the work is done rather than focusing on the beginning of a client request. How will this practically work? The work of a performance consultant usually starts by identifying the value that will be added for the client by clarifying the performance problem or business opportunity. Once this has been done they focus on agreeing what the results should be and how the gaps will Chapter 5: Performance consulting 131 be closed between existing and desired results. This is known as the performance assessment or gap analysis. Once the consultant has enough information to build a compelling case for change, the interventions will be designed, developed and implemented to close the gap. The final stage is to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention as it was determined by the client when identifying the proposed value that the process would add. This process that the performance consultant can follow is illustrated in Figure 5.5. Figure 5.5 The Results Improvement Process model 1. Desired results determined Request for “help” What and where is the gap in results? 2. Barriers determined and changes specified 3. Changes designed, developed, and implemented 4. Results evaluated, and maintained or improved Why the gap in results and what is required to close it? How are we closing the gap? Did we close the gap in results? Source: Rummler (2004). The performance consulting process is useful in that it will keep the performance consultant focused on the outcomes to be achieved. In Figure 5.5 the entire process is shown to assist the performance consultant by keeping the following beliefs in mind. Belief 1: Performance consulting is about improving results Performance equals results. Performance consulting is about closing the gap between “is” results (current situation) and “should” results (what the client desires). Every request should be tied to a measurable gap in results. Belief 2: Performance consulting follows a systematic process In Figure 5.5 we have seen that a performance consultant should follow a systematic process to uncover and address performance needs. This will keep the performance consultant focused on the outcomes and results as specified by the client. Belief 3: Performance analysis is the heart of performance consulting Performance analysis involves determining the specific gaps that are to be closed in the results, the precise barriers to desired results, and the specification of the exact changes necessary to close the gap in results. Performance consulting involves much more than performance analysis. However, the results of a performance improvement project are only as good as the underlying performance analysis. Therefore, this process stage is key critical to the success of the work of the performance consultant. 10 Questions the Performance Consultant should ask to keep the process focussed: • Does my organisation truly live a courageous performance culture? • Do we encourage innovative leadership and intrapreneurship or is it something on the side, like an ideas or suggestion box? • Does my organisation support big data and do we have the capability to interpret and apply the data findings? 132 Managing Human Resource Development • Do we have leadership and management capability and competence to lead and manage in turbulent, volatile times? • Are we courageous enough to declare a “war on performance”? • How ready are we to change our performance meme? Can we convince employees we will create a new belief about performance? • Do we practice holistic performance? Do we look at all the systems that positively and negatively contribute to performance? Or are we stuck in a “one system” view, blaming staff when performance drops? • Does my organisation have a back-to-basics talent development programme? • Do we have a customer-focused sustainability strategy and plan that is performancebased? • Does my organisation measure the right things? The balance of this chapter will be devoted to highlighting the competencies of facilitation, communication and networking. 5.8 Facilitation and the performance improvement consultant Bentley (1994:27) says facilitation is a word which describes an activity. It is something that someone does. It is a process. Yet it also includes non-action, silence and even the facilitator’s absence. The right atmosphere has to be developed so that the facilitator can concentrate on providing the resources and opportunities for learning to take place, rather than “manage and control” learning. Facilitation is the most important competency to emerge in the modern workplace. The workplace is changing as never before, and mastering this competency will help managers and performance improvement consultants respond successfully to these changes. Effective facilitators are able to help individuals, groups and entire organisations get their work done in the face of such changes. Skilled facilitators help groups improve the quality and quantity of their work by getting members to work together more effectively. Today’s workplace is a place of change. Unprecedented global competition and the rapid deployment of new technology are forcing organisations to reconfigure themselves in order to remain vibrant and competitive. This places an important emphasis on the competent performance improvement consultant (Weaver and Farrell, 1979:1). Figure 5.6 illustrates the interaction between the various components of a facilitation model. Chapter 5: Performance consulting 133 Figure 5.6 Facilitation model Source: Weaver and Farrell (1979). Task is at the centre of the model because helping people to be clear about their task is the single most important thing a facilitator does. Therefore, when the performance improvement consultant plays the role of facilitator they should always help groups to be clear about their tasks. The most powerful and useful tool facilitators bring into a situation is themselves. For this reason, self is one of the elements in the model. Facilitators must know themselves and how they impact their groups. The self element is also important in understanding how people are alike and how they are different. When performance improvement consultants play the role of facilitator they will help group members consider their similarities and differences as assets they can use to get their work done. Group is another element of the facilitator model. Certain group dynamics are unique to the group in which they occur, but much of what happens in groups is predictable. Understanding these group dynamics is essential to performance improvement consultants when using the competency of facilitation. The fourth and final element of the facilitation model is process. Facilitators use their knowledge of task, self, and group to decide which facilitation process to use with a group. Process is a set of actions or tools, or an intervention that helps groups progress towards their goals (Weaver and Farrell, 1979:9–11). Weaver and Farrell (1979:77–79) state that one of the patterns a facilitator will observe is the common ways group members relate to each other. These relationship patterns may range from adversarial to partnering. It is important that the performance improvement 134 Managing Human Resource Development consultant categorises these patterns to help understand the group better and decide what action to take to help the group be more productive: 1 Coercion is all about the use of power to force a desired outcome. Coercion occurs when two group members have different levels of power. 2 Confrontation occurs between people who exercise more equal power. Groups in which confrontation is common tend to focus more on these interactions than on the work itself. 3 Coexistence may be equated to drawing a line in the sand, with parties agreeing not to cross into each other’s territory. It is a clear statement that members are not interested in working with each other. 4 Co-operation on this continuum continues to reflect a focus on individual tasks, but there are times when one person will help another complete their tasks. 5 Collaboration exists when group members identify with the group and seriously consider the group’s overall outcome. Members experience a proportion of the responsibility for the success of the group. 6 Co-ownership reflects a shift in group members’ sense of responsibility. They now all feel 100% responsible for the success of the group. 5.9 Networking and communication and the performance improvement consultant As discussed previously in the performance improvement consultant framework the competency of networking within the professional role is very important. Networking will provide a context for all the activities performed by the performance improvement consultant. Lambert (1993:64–67) states that there is probably no more irritating waste of time to the dedicated performance improvement consultant than traditional networking as it is practised today. This, according to Lambert, is highlighted through a number of problems: • professional greed • client ignorance of what could be achieved • mistrust • the degree of marketable professional development. The potential value of networking is immense. We need to look at equitable networking to further our cause. For this discussion we will be referring to the performance improvement consultant as an internal consultant within an organisation. Continuous networking with colleagues, management and all other stakeholders will provide not only a continuous source of information but also many opportunities for consulting within the organisation to further the performance improvement process. Networking external to the organisation will keep you up-to-date professionally as well as in your specialist field. By making continuous new contacts with a variety of people you will build future networks and prove to be very valuable in the future. Networking is a dynamic continuous process with no immediate dividends. However, it is not an activity that can be embarked on frivolously. Networking is also an ethical activity; build networks with people you trust, admire and believe in. As with networking the competency of communication is vitally important when possibly engaging a specific function or role within the performance improvement process. Chapter 5: Performance consulting 135 Pinder and McAdam (1994:46) state that communication is the “core” competency in the area of fact-finding and analysis. Within this competency the following skills are critical: • establishing clearly agreed terms of reference and setting up projects • defining the client and/or the sponsor • interview skills in the performance consulting context • developing and conducting effective surveys • checking and analysing information. The communicator role will also need influencing and negotiating competencies to fulfil the desired outcome. The most important areas of the communicator role are interaction, effectiveness and impact. The performance improvement consultant may possess all the competencies outlined in the performance improvement consultant framework but may not have impact with interpersonal communication. The competencies will be deemed to be meaningless unless they value the importance of developing such communication competence and effectiveness. 5.10 International standards for performance consultants Recently the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) introduced a process for the international certification of performance consultants as registered HPTs (i.e. human performance technologists). This process adds international credibility to the work of performance consultants. The Certified Performance Technologist (CPT) accreditation is offered by ISPI through a competency process of workplace projects against the following 10 international standards: 1 Focus on results or outcomes. 2 Take a systemic view. 3 Add value. 4 Work in partnership with clients and stakeholders. 5 Determine need or opportunity. 6 Determine cause. 7 Design solutions, including implementation and evaluation. 8 Ensure solutions’ conformity and feasibility. 9 Implement solutions. 10 Evaluate results and impact. 5.10.1 Focus on outcomes Focusing on outcomes – that is, results – puts you in a position to question, confirm and reconfirm that people share the same vision and goals, the job procedures support efficiency, and that people have the skills and knowledge they require. You determine what problem it is you are trying to solve. You measure the outcomes or results of an intervention and assess whether performance has improved as a result of it. Sometimes it is necessary to challenge the assumed answer to a problem or the expected event or activity of an intervention, and to focus instead on the accomplishment or business need that is the client’s true priority. 136 Managing Human Resource Development 5.10.2 Take a systemic view Competent practitioners take a systemic view of their work. This requires them to identify the subsystems that make up the total organisation. They look for and recognise that a change in one area will affect other areas. They consider how the dynamics affecting society, the marketplace, the workplace, work, and workers impact the desired outcomes. 5.10.3 Add value Did you add value in the way you worked with the client and in your suggested intervention? This is an assessment your client will be asked to make. You can set the stage for this by offering your clients a process that will help them fully understand the implications of their choices, set appropriate measures, identify barriers and trade-offs, and take control. 5.10.4 Work in partnership with clients and other specialists Work in partnership with clients and other specialists, that is, collaboratively. This means that you involve all stakeholders in the decision-making around every phase of the process and that you involve specialists in their areas of expertise. Working collaboratively means that decisions about goals, next steps to take in the process, and implementation are all shared responsibilities. Partnerships are created from listening closely to your client and trusting and respecting each other’s knowledge and expertise, so you both can make the best choices about accomplishments, priorities and solutions. 5.10.5 Determine need or opportunity Being systematic is extremely complex since it touches the remaining six standards that describe the human performance technology process. Each part relies on whether or not you have processes in place. All performances may or may not be performed, and all parts may or may not be completed in a specific order, based on the specific circumstances. 5.10.6 Determine cause Cause analysis is about determining why a gap in performance or expectations exists. Some causes are obvious, such as new employees lack the required skills to do the expected task and, therefore, the solution must eliminate that gap. The output is a statement of why performance is not happening or will not happen without some intervention. 5.10.7 Design solutions, including implementation and evaluation Design is about identifying the key attributes of a solution. The output is a communication that describes the features, attributes and elements of a solution and the resources required to actualise it. For the specialist, you identify and describe one or more solutions in detail, what will be required to develop and implement them, which is preferred, and why. 5.10.8 Ensure solutions’ conformity and feasibility Competent practitioners oversee the development of the solutions. They may develop some or all of the solutions or be a member of the development team. Development is about the creation of some or all of the elements of the solution. It can be done by an individual or a team. The output is a product, process, system or technology. Examples include training, performance support tools, a new or re-engineered process, the redesign of a workspace, or a change in compensation or benefits. Chapter 5: Performance consulting 137 5.10.9 Implement solutions Competent practitioners develop strategies that allow clients to sustain change. The outputs are changes in or adoption of the behaviours that are believed to produce the anticipated results or benefits. This standard is about helping clients adopt new behaviours or using new or different tools. You develop an implementation plan that includes how you or the client will track change, identify and respond to problems, and communicate the results. 5.10.10 Evaluate results and impact Competent practitioners help clients measure the impact of the solutions. Evaluation is about measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of what you did, how you did it, and the degree to which the solution produced the desired results so that you can compare the cost incurred to the benefits gained. This standard is about identifying and acting on opportunities throughout the systematic process to identify measures and capture data that will help identify needs, adoption and results. Source: ISPI (2002). 5.11 Introducing a performance improvement strategy Many organisations decide to change their HR or HRD departments to performance consulting units without taking a strategic viewpoint regarding the entire organisation. It is not advisable to call HR consultants performance consultants overnight and not expect resistance from the organisations. Management needs to be sensitised to the process and the roles, responsibilities and expectations should be clarified for all stakeholders in the process. The role of the training manager The training manager is a very important link and catalyst in the chain of performance improvement events. Trainers and HRD departments are transforming their roles and functions to that of performance consultants and performance improvement departments. Given this context the training manager must lead the performance improvement strategy initiatives for the organisation. The following guidelines will assist the training manager and the performance consultant in introducing a performance improvement strategy in organisations. These guidelines are: 1 Prepare the organisation for the performance improvement strategy: • Conduct a culture audit • Get buy-in and agreement from all role-players and stakeholders • Determine the organisational readiness. 138 Managing Human Resource Development ORGANISA- Organisational Readiness Performance Improvement Goals People Readiness CULTURE Performance improvement consulting is a process whereby implementers: • Consult with clients to ascertain and define needs or problem areas • Conduct an assessment to obtain information required to find a solution • Analyse the information to determine possible solutions • Advise clients on alternative methods of solving a problem or recommend a specific solution. 2 Develop a performance improvement strategy for the organisation: • It should fit the existing or desired culture • It should integrate with existing strategies, policies and systems. External Environment Culture Policies and Systems New Performance Improvement Strategy 3 Sensitise all role-players and stakeholders to the performance improvement strategy: • Clarify process • Clarify expected outputs • Clarify the expectation, roles and responsibilities of all role-players, stakeholders and implementers. Chapter 5: Performance consulting 139 Performance Consultants + Business = Performance Congruency + Performance Coaches 4 5 6 7 8 Develop a performance improvement process model for the organisation. Develop a performance improvement communication strategy. Develop a performance improvement implementation and management strategy. Launch and communicate both strategies to all employees in the organisation. Provide all performance improvement implementers with the necessary training and development as well a performance consultant toolkit: • Determine the performance consultants’ knowledge and skills gaps • Develop and implement a performance consultant development strategy • Design and develop a toolkit • Provide the appropriate resources • Negotiate and add new responsibilities to existing performance contracts. 9 Implement and communicate the performance improvement process model; line management and business unit managers need to be coached in the process steps. 10 Continuously evaluate the results and performance outcomes of the performance improvement strategy of the organisation: • Give feedback to all employees and management • Evaluate the impact of the strategy on the overall organisational effectiveness. 5.12 Assessment of performance consultant competencies Given the discussion of the performance consultant framework, you can assess your current and future status regarding these competencies. The following checklist will provide the necessary information to formulate your development plan. Instructions 1 Each role has a set of competencies. Simply tick each column under HIGH or LOW for either competent or not yet competent. 140 Managing Human Resource Development 2 Complete both the current status as well as the future status. 3 The current status will refer to your current level of competence and your future status will refer to a desired competency level. 4 The highest totals for the current status will determine what action you should take/or not take. For instance, the highest total for block number 3 will indicate an important area for your development. Interpretation of highest totals 1 = You are fully competent 2 = You are competent, but may need a new challenge or environment 3 = Acquire skills now and get ready for the future 4 = These competencies apparently do not reflect your current position 5 = You have already moved your competency levels into the future 6 = Don’t waste too much time on this 7 = Take action now 8 = Don’t spend too much energy worrying about this Chapter 5: Performance consulting 141 Performance consultant competency checklist Table A 142 Managing Human Resource Development Table B Chapter 5: Performance consulting 143 5.13 Conclusion The performance improvement process is dependent on the performance improvement consultant being competent as per the competencies discussed in this chapter. Figure 5.7 illustrates the interaction that exists within the performance improvement process. Figure 5.7 Performance improvement framework The performance improvement consultant needs to understand the interplay between the strategic imperative, the HRD contribution and the business goals. This interaction will effectively determine the success of the performance improvement outcome. The competent performance improvement consultant will understand the impact of their actions in the performance improvement process. HRD practitioners will create value for the organisation when they understand and deliver on holistic performance, help the organisation identify risks and plan to meet business-needs timeously. In this chapter we emphasised the importance of a shift from training to performance improvement. We are of the opinion that the training profession will undergo further major changes relating to these areas, one being the context of the performance improvement consultant as a function of the HRD arena. 5.14 Case study What does a CPT do? International capacity building: Improving sales skills in a for-profit business in South Africa How many times do clients ask: What is a CPT? What do CPTs do? Perhaps the best way to answer these questions is to look at some of the case studies submitted by Certified Performance Technologist [CPT] applicants as part of the CPT application process. The applicants are asked to identify three projects they have done in the past 10 years that demonstrate proficiency in ISPI Standards 1 to 4 and at least three other Standards. 144 Managing Human Resource Development In this case, a successful CPT applicant describes one of his projects and aligned his role as a performance improvement consultant with all 10 ISPI standards. Wessel van Reede van Oudtshoorn [the author] describes how he focused on results, took a systemic viewpoint, added value, used partnerships, and systematically assessed the need and opportunity. Background This project was conducted in a regional marketing office in the broker distribution division of an insurance company that operates in the life insurance sector within South Africa. The marketing of products in this sales channel is done through broker consultants and independent brokers (agents). This sales unit operates from a main office in Durban and four field offices in other towns in the Kwazulu-Natal province ranging from 90 to 350 kilometres away from the main office. This office is managed by a regional manager, who had 10 broker consultants and a regional administrator reporting to him at the time. Each broker consultant can service a broker panel of agents of up to 40 brokers in a specific geographic area. When we started the project, there were 177 brokers with contracts in the region (see Figure 5.8). Figure 5.8 Insurance company organization chart National Business Development Manager Regional Manager Regional Manager Regional Manager Broker Consultant Broker Consultant Regional Administrator Brokers The national business development manager (hereafter called the national manager) approached me to discuss performance problems in one of his regional offices (also referred to as the region here): • Overall performance in the region was not up to standard. It was 7% behind its recurring premium target (the monthly premium payable for a life insurance policy) for the year with only 3 months to go before the end of the year. • Motivation levels of the broker consultants were low. • The regional manager, fairly new in the position (less than 3 years), was struggling somewhat. After discussing our process and some options with him, the national business development manager and I agreed that we would do a full performance assessment on the regional office to establish the reasons for the disappointing performance. We would use this as a process with the aim of developing a blueprint for the division whereby the best practices and tools or process we developed could be implemented in the other regions in the division. Having such a broad objective meant that I had to look at performance at all levels, including the workplace factors such as office environment, tools, and communication. From a work perspective, I had to look into the company’s operational and performance management Chapter 5: Performance consulting 145 processes, along with issues related to the workers, such as their knowledge, skills and motives. This assessment would assist us in identifying barriers to excellent performance and put plans in place to address performance gaps and remove the inhibitors that were causing the deficit in reaching [sic] the sales productivity target. Standard 1: Focus on results and outcomes The project had the following desired outcomes: • Increase the recurring premium production to reduce the gap between the target and actual production to an acceptable level. • Increase the motivational levels of the broker consultants, which are important to their service levels to their brokers. • Use this opportunity as a pilot project to develop a blueprint for the division that could be used as best practices in other regions nationally. This would mean that we would have to do assessments at the other regions as well. The national manager and I agreed that we would manage that as separate projects subject to availability of resources. The effectiveness of the solution was based on the following: • The effectiveness of the solutions would be determined by the increase in productivity or activity levels of staff that would result in increased production figures, which in turn would contribute to reducing the deficit in recurring premium production. The same would apply if there was an increase in the percentage of productive staff members, an internal measure for consultants and brokers. • An increase in the productivity of commission earning staff would also lead to more commissions, which should have a positive impact on their motivation. Other factors as well might boost motivation, such as redesigning office space and supplying new tools. • The cost-effectiveness of the solutions The following measures would be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the solution: • Use reports generated by SharpShift, an internal management information system, to track data and provide reports as needed on a wide range of metrics defined by the business. These reports would track production and productivity levels of output against the targets set. • Use 360 degree evaluation to track the change in staff motivation, the effectiveness of the various process changes, and regular and purpose-driven communication in the region. • Implement any solutions within budget and use internal cost reports to track and manage expenses. Standard 2: Take a systemic view I had to consider a number of factors, which are listed below. Workplace factors • The office did not project a professional work environment and was not conducive to performance. The company had recently given away half of its office space and then crammed the staff into a poorly designed open-plan office space. • The lack of proper office equipment in good working order had a huge impact on productivity, morale, and the experience brokers had when they visited the offices. Even the company branding in field offices was out of date and the offices untidy. • A positive factor is the national manager’s strong and dynamic leadership, which we could leverage. • The organization lacked an effective communication plan and approach. 146 Managing Human Resource Development • There was no consequence management at all levels, a stumbling block in ensuring the existence of a strong performance culture in the organization and region. Work factors • Work processes and procedures were not documented. • Performance management processes were not applied or used effectively. Worker factors • Most of the broker consultants have had years of experience in the insurance industry and have been part of the region for many years. They had become content with their existing work environment, which made it difficult for the regional manager to motivate them and shift their paradigms. • There was a misalignment between how the broker consultants saw their role and how their role was defined according to the business model and the service expectations the brokers had of them. Additional factors • The regional office is 1,200 kilometres from my base, so careful planning was needed to optimize the time I spent in the region. • I had to be cost-effective, taking the current economic climate into consideration, along with the organization’s strong desire to hold costs down. • It was essential not to keep the consultants and brokers out of the field for extended periods of time because this would interfere with their productivity and their remuneration. Working with brokers as third parties required us to take their personal planning and schedules into consideration when planning interventions such as focus group interviews with them. • The morale and motivational levels of the organization’s team were low. They had been part of many projects of this nature in the past, and those experiences had not all been particularly positive. Therefore, they did not expect this one to be any different. • I had a good working relationship with the team and had worked with most of them in the past. This experience was useful and helped them to open up with me and share important information. • From a political perspective, the eyes of the organization were on the performance improvement team to prove our value. We had to make a visible impact and demonstrate that our methodology and process work. These factors contributed to our approach to the project: • The remote location and cost implications meant we had to be creative and rely heavily on the regional team; other partners such as the training consultants in the same area; and other means of contact such as email, telephone, and teleconferences where applicable. • We had to plan well and apply strict time management principles to maximize the time spent in the field or working on the project tasks in the teams selected. Access to brokers was through the broker consultants, which posed the potential problem that the broker consultants would filter the messages we needed the brokers to hear in such a way that the essence and value of the message got lost. We had to find a solution to prevent that from happening. • I had to make sure that we showed quick successes to win the confidence of the regional team in the process. • My relationship with the team could be leveraged to get to the real issues quicker. • The fact that the eyes were on the performance improvement team created a strong bond and team spirit among the team members, which made leading this project much easier. Chapter 5: Performance consulting 147 • The lack of consequence management could have an impact on the outcome of this project. We therefore had to establish the rules of engagement, roles and responsibilities, and consequences from the start. Standard 3: Add value The solutions were selected on the basis of time to implement and the associated costs and that they would deliver the results desired. Once the assessment was completed and we gathered all the data, we brainstormed and analysed the findings to identify causes and solutions. I summarized the findings and recommendations and presented them to the national and regional managers. At that time, we discussed and evaluated the solutions and various alternatives looking at what would give short-term wins (in 1 to 3 months) and those to implement over a medium to longer term (3 to 12 months). These were the solutions we identified to implement immediately: • Sorting out the office environment; • Ordering or replacing the tools and equipment needed to deliver the results; • Addressing the communication gaps by reviewing the structure and purpose of meetings; and • Drawing up a schedule for meetings with the brokers to share information and provide training, which would help them become more effective in their interactions and improve their morale and motivation. Production and productivity would increase by making sure that all parties in the region (including brokers) had a clear understanding of their performance expectations and knew which activities they needed to focus on to deliver on their production targets. We would achieve this by introducing the activity management system for planning and tracking their business and reviewing the performance management process. We would address shortcomings in communication behaviour by conducting a personnel relations and communications workshop using the Johari Window tool and developing a communication strategy for the region. It would also be useful for the pilot objective of the project and as a benchmark to roll out to other regions. Reviewing the business model and higher-level business planning process, along with the role of broker consultants, would take place over the medium to longer term because of the complexity of the issue and the involvement required from other areas (e.g., legal services, remuneration department) that would not be available for this work in the next few months. Criteria for judging worth or value The following criteria were used to judge the worth or value of the solutions: • The solutions must have a positive impact on staff morale and motivation. Both would be positively influenced by addressing the workplace factors such as reorganizing the office space, providing them with good tools and equipment, and building job enrichment activities into their development plans, such as rotating the chairperson role in meetings and giving a broker consultant the opportunity to serve as a regional manager for a week while being guided and coached by the regional manager. A new compensation package would be introduced. And the training plan for the region would also improve motivational levels. All of these changes should also improve service levels for brokers and clients. • The cost of developing and implementing solutions must be as low as possible taking the distances into consideration. • The solutions requiring face-to-face interaction (e.g., the Johari Window workshop, the activity management workshop, and other training interventions) must be carefully planned 148 Managing Human Resource Development and spread over time so that they would not keep consultants and brokers out of the field for lengthy periods. • The solutions should improve the operational efficiency of the staff and be sustainable. We therefore had to consider the extent of the human interaction and effort required to sustain the proposed solution over the medium to long term. Specific examples of value-added [sic] My work on this project added the following value to the organisation: • The project would serve as a pilot project within the broker division, and lessons learned and tools and best practices developed could be applied in other regions. • The report provided management with crucial information and insight into how to implement tighter controls and better practices and would form the basis for future performance management discussions. • Improvement in production and productivity levels would increase the region’s profitability and viability. • Demonstrating the value of the performance improvement team and processes built credibility within areas of the organization that were exposed to the process. • The division gained from this project through the performance gaps identified because they can be addressed in future training programs. • The project highlighted shortcomings in other divisions in the organization that would need to be addressed. This work has already begun. Standard 4: Work in partnership with clients and other stakeholders For the project to be effective, I had to involve a number of departments as partners (see Table 5.2) . . . It was important to ensure that the region saw this as its project and not my project that it was merely a part of. To achieve this I developed a presentation to position the project and shared it with all the parties as they became involved in the project. We interacted face-toface, by telephone, or by email depending on the situation. I used the four core principles or standards (focus on the results or outcomes, take a systems view, add value, and work in partnership) to link or position the partners’ involvement and expertise to the project. As a team, we had a number of brainstorming sessions where my performance improvement colleagues gave valuable insight into what had worked for them in similar projects in the past. Table 5.2 Partnerships and roles Partnerships Roles Performance improvement team members Our team consists of me and two other consultants, both CPTs. They assisted me with the interviews, designing the questionnaires, data extraction from the system, and logistical arrangements and coordination activities during this project. National business development manager The head of this division, who requested this project and was the main sponsor. He would make the final decisions and provide his support as needed. Regional manager Key contact for all arrangements and the secondary client; manages regional staff activities. Would have to drive implementation of recommendations in the region. continued Chapter 5: Performance consulting 149 Partnerships Roles Regional staff Provided the information regarding the work processes and their experiences. Also provided services to the brokers and would have to implement the solutions. Brokers Provided the information regarding the work processes and their experiences. They do the marketing to potential customers in the sales process and rely on the service they receive from the region. Retail finance and business intelligence Provide data from the management information system and other models used to track and measure production, profits, and profitability. Marketing department Looks after image and branding issues, as well as office design within the organization. Business communications manager Advisor and developer when it comes to the communications plan and strategy for the region. Learning consultants Provide training and support to the region. Customer services office Provides customer service to the region’s clients. Would provide information on the processes, practices, and problems experienced in the area. Group human resources Provide personnel and remuneration data. Organizational development department Develops the performance standards and measures and does the task and process analysis in the organization. Would provide the data for the roles and processes needed for the assessment. Traveling agency Makes travel and accommodation arrangements. Standard 5: Be systematic in assessing the need or opportunity As the lead consultant and manager on this project, my role during the needs assessment phase included the following: • Decided which data collection methods we would use, developed the project plan, and coordinated the assessment process. • Conceptualized and designed a draft question matrix to map the interview questions against the Gilbert model and the total performance system. This tool helped us to make sure we would cover all the areas of the model and understood the rationale for each question we asked during the interviews. I developed a color-coded rating system that gives a single-page summary view of the status of a component, such as tools and resources. I drew on the existing database of questions used during previous assessments and led discussions with the team to develop new questions where we had gaps in the matrix. My colleague then developed the matrix in Excel for us to use during the process. • Decided on the parameters for the interviews and briefed the consultant responsible for the arrangements and liaison with the region. • Facilitated a group session with the regional staff and presented the positioning of the project, the process, benefits, and performance improvement model and addressed questions. • Conducted my share of interviews and focus groups and visited the main office. The interviews, focus groups, and visits were divided among the three consultants. • Liaised with partners to derive relevant data needed for the assessment. 150 Managing Human Resource Development Needs assessment process After the initial briefing by the national manager, I summarized the discussion and next steps for his approval. It was important to gather as much information from as many sources as possible at the work, worker, and workplace levels during the performance assessment phase. In the planning stage, I decided on a number of ways and tools to use to collect data: • Individual interviews to get candid answers from the interviewees based on an interview questionnaire we would develop; • Questionnaires to gather certain quantitative data; • Focus groups with brokers because there were too many of them and also to get a collective view from them based on the general service they experienced from the regional staff; • Data from the management information system that measure a number of areas, such as production and productivity, that we would measure in this project; • Observations while at the region; • Photos of the work environment, branding, and office layout; and • Reviewing reports, the business plan, and other documentation available (e.g., operational process manuals). I also considered the sample size and decided to interview all of the regional staff and about 20% of the brokers. We would also visit all the field offices to get a complete picture of the issues in the region. That meant that all three consultants would spend three days in the region, which would save some time. I assigned tasks within the team, and we arranged meetings with the partners to start gathering the information needed. For example, the retail finance and business intelligence department provided performance data we needed from the management information systems used in the organization, and marketing gave me base plans we could use to design the layout of the offices. We looked at the metrics (e.g., actual production versus target) and developed a hypothesis for why the gaps exist. I had to make sure that we developed the right questions to test the hypothesis when we started the assessment interviews. I used the updated behavioural engineering model, based on the work of Roger Chevalier (2003), as the diagnostic tool for troubleshooting performance problems. We developed the questionnaires and questions for the interviews and focus groups using the matrix I developed and prepared for a three-day performance assessment I arranged at the region and field offices. At that session, I opened with a presentation to the regional team to position the purpose of the assessment and the processes we would follow and gave them some background on human performance technology (HPT) and how we look at performance. We then conducted the interviews with the staff and focus groups with the brokers. We interviewed the customer services manager and the forensics manager as well, and they gave us good information on trends and perceptions of how the region is perceived from a support group perspective. We used a questionnaire to collect quantitative data on other related aspects in addition to the interviews. We took photos, visited all the offices, and observed behaviour and communication styles in the process. Rationale behind the assessment plan I decided to use a blended approach to get as broad a perspective as possible on the functioning of the region. Doing quantitative (questionnaires, production data, and statistics) and qualitative (interviews) assessments ensured that a balanced mix of information was gathered that facilitated an effective analysis process. The regional team was small enough to allow us time for individual interviews with all the staff and some support services, and the focus groups enabled us to get good feedback from the receivers of service in this system. The brokers are Chapter 5: Performance consulting 151 also exposed to service from our competitors, and their perceptions and actual experiences proved invaluable in the process. Comparing the actual production data with the targets showed the performance gaps in the key business drivers we should focus on. The interview questionnaire matrix ensured consistency in the questions asked and areas covered, especially because three of us were doing the interviews. The photos we took of the offices and environment gave visual context to the written report where we referred to the office environment as not being conducive to productivity and professionalism. Very few staff and decision-makers, other than those working in the regional offices in rural areas, had ever visited the regions and seen the environment. Creating a visual experience was important, especially when money had to be obtained from project or operational budgets managed by head office executives. This approach had had a huge impact on previous projects we had done and worked well to get the message across as part of the feedback loop. Source: Van Reede van Oudtshoorn W, 2012, “What does a CPT do?: International capacity building: improving sales skills in a for-profit business in South Africa – Part 1”, Performance Improvement 51(1), reproduced with the kind permission of the International Society for Performance Improvement and Wiley. Questions 1 What were the compelling reasons for change, from a systems perspective? 2 What changes would you make to the performance analysis process? 3 What were the key drivers of success of this case study against your learning points from this chapter? 4 Which performance consultant competencies do you believe to be key critical to the successful process and outcome of this project? 5 What would you do differently in the performance consulting approach? 6 Design a performance consulting process checklist for this project. 7 Design a questionnaire to use at the first meeting with senior management to clarify the need and scope of the project. 8 What additional recommendations do you have for the management team? 5.15 Self-assessment questions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 What did this systematic need and opportunity assessment uncover? How did the CPT applicant systematically analyse the work, workers and workplace? How did the CPT applicant identify causes and design, develop, implement, and evaluate the solutions? Describe the competencies necessary to identify performance gaps within the performance improvement process. Illustrate your answer with practical workplace examples. Develop a performance improvement strategy to implement a performance improvement project in your organisation. How does a performance improvement consultant move from training delivery to performance improvement interventions in the workplace? What competencies are needed to form consultative partnerships to action strategic business alliances in the organisation? 152 Managing Human Resource Development 8 What interventions have been introduced at your organisation during the past 12 months? Were they successful? Was an analysis conducted before the interventions were selected? If your answer is no, why was an analysis not done? Design a checklist for a performance improvement project. What performance consulting competency gaps do you need to address? Discuss these with your manager. Design a development plan for yourself to address these gaps. 9 10 11 5.16 References Addison RM and Haig C, 2011, A Walk on the Performance Side – Part II: October BPTrends Column. Addison RM, Haig C and Kearny L, 2009, Performance Architecture: The Art and Science of Improving Organizations, San Francisco: Pfeiffer. Addison RM, 2005, Performance Improvement Practices, ISPI: USA. Bentley T, 1994, Facilitation: Providing Opportunities for Learning, UK: McGraw Hill International. Chevalier R, 2007, A Manager’s Guide to Improving Workplace Performance, US AMACON. Craig GW, 1999, Analyzing Performance Through Systemic Diagnosis: Practical Tools for The Job, ASTD Conference Presentation, Atlanta. Dent J, 1999, Selecting and Designing Performance Improvement Interventions, ASTD Conference Presentation, Atlanta. Fuller J and Farrington J, 1999, From Training to Performance Improvement: Navigating the Transition, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISPI: Performance Technology & Standards, 2002, available at www.ispi.org. Lambert T, 1993, High Income Consulting, London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing Limited. Meyer M, 2012, “HR gets its house in order”, HR Future, 6: 18–21. Nel B, April 2015, Is it Time to Reset your Performance Results?, www.improvidblog.com. Nel B, July 2016, Declare War on Performance, www.improvidblog.com. Nel B, May 2016, How HR Can WOW! the Business and Stay on the (B)risk Side of Management, www.improvidblog.com. Pinder M and McAdam S, 1994, Be Your Own Management Consultant: The Manager’s Guide to Internal Consulting, London: Pitman Publishing. Ramlall S, 2006, “HR competencies and their relationship to organisational practices”, Performance Improvement Journal 45(5). Robinson DG, 1999, Engaging Line Managers to Want Performance Consulting – Not Training, ASTD Conference Presentation, Atlanta. Robinson DG and Robinson JC, 1995, Performance Consulting: Moving Beyond Training, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publisher, Inc. Robinson DG and Robinson JC (eds), 1998, Moving from Training to Performance: A Practical Guidebook, USA: ASTD and Berrett-Koehler Publisher, Inc. Chapter 5: Performance consulting 153 Rothwell WJ, 1996, ASTD Models for Human Performance Improvement: Roles, Competencies and Outputs, USA: ASTD Publishers. Rummler GA, 2004, Serious Performance Consulting, US International Society for Performance Improvement. Van Reede van Oudtshoorn W, 2012, “What does a CPT do? International capacity building: Improving sales skills in a for-profit business in South Africa – Part 1”, Performance Improvement 51(1): 8–15. Van Tiem DM, Moseley JL and Dessinger JC, 2001, Fundamentals of Performance Improvement Technology, Silver Spring: ISPI. Van Tiem DM, Moseley JL and Dessinger JC, 2001, Performance Improvement Interventions, Silver Spring: ISPI. Weaver RG and Farrell JD, 1997, Managers as Facilitators: A Practical Guide to Getting Work Done in a Changing Workplace, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publisher, Inc. 5.17 Suggested reading Addison R and Haig C, 2016, “Processes That Can Kill You” March BPTrends Column. Addison R and Haig C, 2013, “Motivation for Change” December BPTrends Column. Boninelli I and Meyer NA, 2004, Building Human Capital: South African Perspectives, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Brethower D, 2007, Performance Analysis: Knowing What to Do and How, Amherst: HRD Press. Daoust MP and Eubank E, 2006, Jolt: Engaged and on Target, Topeka: MapleWheat Publishing. Deloitte, The New Organization: Different by Design: Deloitte Global Trends 2016, Deloitte University Press. Fleming JH and Asplund J, 2007, Human Sigma: Managing the Employee-Customer Encounter, New York: Gallup Press. Gerson RF, 2006, Achieving High Performance, Amherst, MA: HRD Press. Hodges T, 2002, Linking Training and Performance: A Practical Guide to Measuring Learning and On-the-job Application, Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann. Hogan C, 2002, Understanding Facilitation: Theory and Practice, London: Kogan Page. Hogan C, 2003, Practical Facilitation: A Toolkit of Techniques, London: Kogan Page. Kaplan RS and Norton DP, 1996, The Balanced Scorecard, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Kaufman R, 2015, “Individual training, performance improvement, and the future for organizations”, Educational Technology, November–December. Marker A and Villachica SW, 2014, “An Updated Framework for Human Performance Improvement in the Workplace: The Spiral HPI Framework”, Performance Improvement, 53 (1): 10–23. Meyer M, 2004, Effective Facilitation: Practical Guidelines for Managers, Trainers, Facilitators and Consultants, Cape Town: New Africa. Moseley JL and Dessinger JC (eds), 2010, Handbook of Improving Performance in the Workplace, Vol 3: Measurement and Evaluation, San Francisco: Pfeiffer. 154 Managing Human Resource Development Neely A, Adams C and Kennerley M, 2002, The Performance Prism: The Scorecard for Measuring and Managing Business Success, London: Financial Times/Prentice Hall. Performance Improvement: International Society for Performance Improvement Monthly Journal 49(3). Performance Improvement Quarterly, 2010, 23(1). Pershing J, 2014, “Introduction to ‘HPT Models: An Overview of the Major Models in the Field’”, Performance Improvement, 53 (9): 30–42. Rummler GA, 2004, Serious Performance Consulting: According to Rummler, Maryland: ISPI. Rummler GA, Ramias AJ and Rummler R, 2010, White Space Revisited, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Silber KH and Foshay WR (eds), 2010, Handbook of Improving Performance in the Workplace, Vol 1: Instructional Design and Training Delivery, San Francisco: Pfeiffer. Stolovich HD and Keeps EJ, 2006, Handbook of Human Performance Technology, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Ulrich D, 1997, Human Resource Champions: The Next Agenda for Adding Value and Delivering Results, Boston: Harvard Business School. Watkins R and Leigh D (eds), 2010, Handbook of Improving Performance in the Workplace, Vol 2: Selecting and Implementing Performance Interventions, San Francisco: Pfeiffer. Willmore J, 2004, Performance Basics, Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training and Development. 5.18 Internet sites Association for Talent Development: http://www.atd.org Business Process Trends: http://www.businessprocesstrends.com Carl Binder and Associates: http://www.binder-riha.com Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies: http://www.behavior.org Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development: http://www.cipd.co.uk Improvid Performance Consulting: http://www.improvid.co.za Improvidblog.com http://improvidblog.com Institute of Management Consultants of Southern Africa: http://www.imcsa.org.za International Society for Performance Improvement: http://www.ispi.org International Society for Performance Improvement SA Network: http://www.ispi-sa.co.za Organisational Performance Dimensions: http://www.opd.net Performance Design Lab: http://www.performancedesignlab.com SA Board for People Practices: http://www.sabpp.co.za 5.19 Acknowledgements A special word of acknowledgement and thanks to Wessel van Reede van Oudtshoorn, the International Society for Performance Improvement and Wiley for the case study provided for this chapter. CHAPTER 6 LEARNING NEEDS ANALYSIS Robyn Wolfson Needs assessment is a very important phase in the ETD process, since a proper needs assessment forms the basis of an effective ETD intervention. (Karen Jerling) LEARNING OUTCOMES • Explain the separate concepts of needs and analysis, integrate these concepts and propose a definition of needs analysis • Describe the national standard on learning needs analysis (SABPP) • Justify the purpose and importance of needs analysis in the development of workplace skills plans and in the design of training/learning programmes • Distinguish between three levels of learning needs • Indicate the key steps in a generic model of the needs analysis process • Identify various methods of gathering data for the purpose of conducting a needs analysis and compare the efficacy of both • Identify key stakeholders who should be involved in learning needs analysis • Critically evaluate which would be the most appropriate analysis technique in a variety of situations • Develop and conduct a needs analysis in the work situation using one or more techniques 6.1 Introduction The identification of learning needs in many organisations in South Africa has traditionally been the preserve of the HR or training department. The departmental staff usually went 155 156 Managing Human Resource Development through the motions of consulting the potential learners and their managers or supervisors, identifying learning needs and conducting training on a reactive basis to justify the existence of the training department. The implementation of the Skills Development Act of 1998 from 1 April 2000 requires organisations (with some exceptions, including small and micro enterprises) to submit a workplace skills plan to the relevant SETA for approval and for recovery of part of the levy. This workplace skills plan is a comprehensive document which requires the employer to give detailed information regarding: • the current skills profile by number of employees in population groups and educational levels • the skills priorities and the number of beneficiaries in population, gender and occupational groups • the process used to develop the workplace skills plan • the steps used to consult employees about the plan, for instance, whether a training committee has been established • the plan’s relationship to the organisation’s employment equity plan. A proper analysis of the organisation’s learning needs and skills requirements in the form of a skills audit is therefore a vital step in the process of developing a workplace skills plan. The objectives of this chapter are to provide you with a sound theoretical framework, to encourage you to contextualise the theory and practice in the reality of the present and future South Africa and to create an awareness that, in the current South African context, ETD practitioners are expected to contribute more to their function than simple technical skills. For example, ETD practitioners must be acutely aware that learners have different cultures, values and educational backgrounds, and not make general assumptions about the learners. The National Qualifications Framework Act (RSA, 2008) was promulgated to provide for the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). It also provides for the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and for the quality councils responsible for overseeing the new focus on occupational trades and councils managed by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO). Under this new system, more emphasis will be placed on a clear curriculum scope for development quality partners (DQPs) to develop qualifications. Thus, learning needs analysis will play a pivotal role in the new occupational training system. However, it will be essential to ensure that a proper needs analysis is done for an occupation to prevent the development of unnecessary or inappropriate qualifications. Be that as it may, employers can still create internal learning interventions according the needs of their organisations. In particular, this chapter is intended to reinforce the SAQA-critical outcome of collecting, analysing, organising and critically evaluating information. Learners should always be aware that the approaches, models and methods described in the literature are the opinions and practices of academics and practitioners. They should not always be accepted uncritically, but should be pondered over, tested and, if necessary, adapted to your own environment and context before application. This chapter is organised along the following lines: the concepts of “needs” and “analysis” are examined and integrated; the importance of needs analysis in the development of workplace skills plans and the design of training programmes and the various parties who Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 157 should be involved in the needs analysis process are discussed. Different types of analysis and methods of gathering data are described and a number of techniques are introduced, and examples of situations where the various techniques can be used are given. 6.2 Terminology definition The terms “analysis” and “assessment” are often used interchangeably in the context of determining learning needs. Other words used to describe the same concept are “diagnosis”, “identification”, “determination” or “front-end analysis”. This use of different terminology can be problematic, therefore, for the purpose of this chapter, the term “needs analysis” will be used. What is needs analysis? According to Mills, Pace and Peterson (1988:5) “analysis” is defined as the act and process of separating any material or abstract entity into its constituent elements, which involves determining its essential features and their relationship with one another. In the context of HRD, a need is a performance gap separating what people know, do or feel from what they should know, do or feel to perform competently (Rothwell and Kazanas, 1992:45). A distinction should be made between needs and wants. A want is something that is merely desirable rather than essential to competent performance. A need refers to essential knowledge, skills and attitudes an individual must possess to perform work competently and thereby accomplish the desired results. A need can be viewed negatively as a deficiency, or positively as an opportunity. To admit to a need, implies that the person concerned is not competent to perform a certain task. This could impact negatively on the particular person’s self-esteem, causing him or her to deny the need. An autocratic manager of the “old school”, for example, would see nothing wrong in his management style despite the fundamental changes that have occurred in South Africa. He would therefore deny that he needs re-training in modern, more participative management methods. For another person, a need could be viewed as an opportunity for selfimprovement and career development. In the current South African context, people who were denied career opportunities in business and government in the past are generally eager to admit to training and developmental needs. Learning needs analysis has been defined as follows in the National Learning Needs Analysis standard developed by SABPP: Learning needs analysis is the systematic process through which the strategic intent and plans of the organisation are translated into learning needs which describe the gap between present and desired future skills/competency/behaviour. The same process is also used to identify learning needs through the diagnosis of problems in the present functioning of the organisation. Learning and development plans are based on learning needs analyses and put together by selecting appropriate methods for achieving the required learning and development outcomes. Source: SABPP (2015) Learning needs analysis therefore deals with the systematic process of identifying an issue or problem, collecting, analysing and interpreting data, and using the information obtained to select or design an appropriate HRD intervention to address the issue or problem. 158 Managing Human Resource Development 6.3 Rationale for learning needs analysis ETD and HRD departments do not exist in isolation. Organisations today are expecting added value from staff functions. To fulfil a strategic role, HRD practitioners must be seen to be training for impact rather than for activity. They must develop a culture of ongoing analysis and learn to think and operate strategically and analytically in a rapidly changing environment. There are different levels of needs, issues and developments which must be taken into account in the design of training and development interventions. Erasmus et al (2006) and Van Dyk et al (1997:253) classify learning needs in three categories, namely macro level, meso level and micro level. Table 6.1 Different categories of learning needs Macro level needs Macro level needs are those found at national and international levels. For example, at international level the current trend towards globalisation and rapid technological development presents new training needs. At national level, the move towards an occupational training system, embodied in the NQF and QCTO structures, and the influence of the Skills Development Act and NQF Act require a paradigm shift among education and training practitioners and a vast amount of re-training of trainers. Meso level needs Meso level needs are needs at organisational level, arising out of changes in organisational structure, culture, objectives or access to resources. The restructuring of many South African organisations in the past five years, for example, Eskom and the SABC, has brought with it huge training needs. Micro level needs Micro level needs refer to needs at the level of the individual, which are determined by comparing the present performance of the individual job incumbent with the standard or optimal performance expected. On a proactive basis, the expected future performance should be determined and compared to the current capability. This establishes the gap which can be improved by training. These three levels are all covered in sector skills planning. Organisations are encouraged to complete needs analyses for workplace skills plans in accordance with current role/jobbased needs (micro level), future organisational or strategic needs (meso level needs) and identified sectoral and/or South African skills needs (macro level). It is important to note that needs analysis is conducted not only for the purposes of determining training needs. In any organisation one will find learning or training needs and non-learning needs and it is vital that the HRD practitioner be able to distinguish clearly between the two. The general purpose of analysis in the field of human resource education and training and organisational development is to identify and describe the “gap” between current and optimal individual or organisational performance. Mills et al (1988:9) identify three types of gaps: • performance gaps in the way individuals work • management gaps in the way people are managed • organisational gaps in the manner in which organisations are designed. There are different methods of analysing each of these types of gaps, and many analytical models are available to assist the trainer or consultant. Whilst the primary focus of this chapter is on training-needs analysis, it will also touch on other methods and purposes of Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 159 analysis to enable HRD practitioners to recognise when a performance problem should be addressed with a training solution and when not. For example, a manager may approach the training department with a request for time management training for his staff. Eager to respond and justify the existence of the department, the training manager will either design a time management training programme, or identify an “off the shelf” product offered by one of the many providers, such as a training consultant. Typically, after delivery of the programme, the manager will complain that the training was ineffective and a waste of time and money because staff members have shown no improvement. Had this training manager conducted a systematic and thorough analysis, rather than relying on the manager’s perception of the performance gap, he could possibly have identified causes other than a deficiency on the part of the employees. Reasons for this deficiency could include: • An employee may be reporting to more than one manager, with no clear agreement as to which manager’s instructions have preference. • The fault may lie with the manager’s own poor delegation skills. • A lack of the correct tools to do the job may be the root cause. • Poorly designed work-distribution or workflow, which could result in some employees being overworked, while others wait for work to be allocated to them. If present, these factors hardly justify a request for time management training. In a similar vein to the types of gaps discussed above, there are three major causes of performance deficiencies (Robinson and Robinson, 1989:110) namely, causes due to the learner, causes due to the learner’s manager and causes due to the organisation. These causes are explained in Table 6.2. Table 6.2 Causes of performance deficiencies The learner In the first category the sources of barriers to effective performance could include: the learner’s lack of knowledge, skills or confidence; the learner’s motivation or attitude; or the learner’s disagreement with the values or concepts underpinning the training programme. The manager The second category includes causes such as the need for the manager to be a positive role model, demonstrating the same skills as those that are supposed to be learnt in the training programme; the need for the manager to coach the learner in transferring the newly learned skills to the job and supporting the learners when they do so. Research quoted by Robinson and Robinson (1989:111) indicates that up to 87% of newly learned skills can be lost if the manager does not provide any coaching and support after the training. The role of the manager is therefore crucial for the success of any training programme and transfer of training to the workplace. The organisation Examples are causes, such as organisational structure, systems, values and norms, which make up organisational culture. Traditionally, it has been accepted that individual performance gaps and gaps in the way people are managed (if this is due to a lack of management knowledge or skill on the part of the manager or supervisor) should be addressed by training; whereas organisational problems or deficiencies which inhibit optimal performance by both the organisation and its individual members must be addressed using organisational development methods, strategies and techniques. Progressive South continued 160 Managing Human Resource Development African organisations are now realising that training and organisational development should be integrated. Effective workplace training and development cannot be conducted in a vacuum or a hostile or non-supportive organisational environment, and there will be a future demand for suitably qualified and experienced HR practitioners to manage both training and organisational development interventions. The above table illustrates why it is vital that the HRD practitioner is equipped to conduct a broad spectrum of analyses, to ensure that the intervention is appropriate to the cause of the problem. Specific reasons for conducting a training-needs analysis in an organisation, according to Rothwell and Sredl (1992b:90), are that it: • helps HRD professionals design effective learning experiences; • prepares plans to guide learning; • promotes the usefulness of learning initiatives to others; • helps HRD professionals keep their activities in step with current developments; • collects information bearing on important issues facing the organisation; • increases organisational effectiveness through planned learning; • helps individuals realise their career aspirations and organisations realise their strategic human resource plans; • helps the HRD department accomplish its strategic purpose of improving individual, group and organisational performance. In the current South African context there are other important reasons, inter alia: • supporting the RDP and broad transformation agenda; • identifying and developing people’s potential and providing career opportunities to all; • complying with legislative requirements such as employment equity and skills development; • opening up opportunities for the attainment of qualifications in terms of the NQF, focusing particularly on occupational qualifications in accordance with the requirements of the QCTO. An important advantage, usually overlooked and unintended, of a properly conducted learning needs analysis is that it provides an opportunity to start facilitating the transfer of learning. By involving the prospective learners, their managers and other key stakeholders in the analysis, as well as the design and evaluation, enthusiasm and commitment to the outcome of training to meet identified needs can be built up prior to the start of the training. In order to identify needs at all levels on an ongoing, proactive basis, the HRD practitioner must develop skills and strategies to interface with management. Activities to this end could include: • reading publications and Internet sources to keep up to date with international and national developments in training; • getting involved in developments in your organisation’s industry regarding issues related to the NQF and other legislation to be able to interpret the implications to management; Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 161 • registering with a professional body such as the SA Board for People Practices (SABPP) to connect with other practitioners and service providers and to ensure the recording of professional designations on the National Learners’ Records Database maintained by SAQA in accordance with the NQF Act. It is evident that ongoing needs analysis is the most important pre-requisite in the design of any training programme and is crucial to its success. If needs are incorrectly identified, time and money will be wasted in designing and presenting inappropriate training programmes. This is particularly important in the South African context where resources are limited. 6.4 National standard on learning needs analysis (SABPP) In 2014, SABPP developed a national HR professional practice standard on learning needs analysis. The purpose of the standard was to create clear and consistent guidelines for learning needs analysis relevant to the South African workplace. The learning needs analysis standard outlines the following fundamental requirements for good learning needs analysis practices, as well as the process in Figure 6.1 below (SABPP, 2015): • A partnership between the L&D specialist or HR practitioner, line management and employees is essential to collect the right information on which to base the learning needs analysis. • Accurate and complete job profiling, competency modelling and skills matrices support efficient and effective learning needs analysis. • Not all organisational lack of performance issues are due to learning deficiencies or can be remedied by training and development, so the process must incorporate a diagnostic which eliminates non-training causes of the issues at hand. • Learning needs can change as the organisation activities change, so the analysis should be reviewed and updated regularly and the process of compiling an analysis should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate unexpected changes. • The analysis is conducted both upwards and downwards. The first starts with individual employees and is consolidated upwards so that common needs can be grouped together; and the second starts with macro changes in the organisation and is translated downwards into individual learning needs. L&D plans at the micro, medium and macro levels are then prepared. • Information systems should be built to store and analyse data collected in the learning needs analysis process as this is a data intensive exercise. 162 Managing Human Resource Development Figure 6.1 Learning needs analysis process according to the SABPP standard INPUTS PROCESS Organisation intent and business plans Determine best method(s) to measure employees skills, behaviours, attitudes against future requirements (skills audit) Conduct audits Job profiles Competency models Performance standards (as should be) OUTPUTS Individual learning and development plans Establish gaps and eliminate non-training causes Translate gaps into learning needs Determine best methods for meeting learning needs Consolidated learning and development plans Performance Productivity measures (as is) Consult governance structures including employee committees (WSP, EE) Prioritise learning needs vs available resources Source: SABPP (2015) 6.5 The stakeholders in learning needs analysis Traditionally, the identification of learning needs in organisations was the prerogative of the human resource or training department, sometimes in consultation with the managers. The new dispensation in South Africa has redefined the role-players in a more participatory society and organisations. This philosophy is fundamental to the new national education and training strategy as embodied in the formation and structures of the skills development system. SAQA is an independent statutory body consisting of representatives from six roleplayers: the government, business, trade unions, education and training providers, critical Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 163 interest groups and community groups. It makes sense that the same philosophy should prevail in the identification of training needs in organisations. Likewise, the QCTO will involve different stakeholders during the process of developing qualifications and assessing individuals before they attain their qualifications. To base the design and development of a training intervention on one source of information could be highly problematical. The needs analyst, who is investigating the causes of performance problems to separate learning from non-learning needs, must determine how many points of view will provide the most accurate assessment of the situation. Ideally, sources of information should come from different levels in (and from outside) the organisation. The following table identifies various stakeholders who, in various combinations, could provide input into training-needs analysis. Table 6.3 Stakeholder involvement in the learning needs analysis process Stakeholders Reasons for inclusion in needs analysis Learners or employees As learners are the centre of the skills development system, it is essential that they participate in the needs analysis. They will be more committed to the learning if they are consulted at this stage. Supervisors and managers They have a major responsibility for educating, training and developing their staff and improving the performance of their departments. They are in an ideal position to identify performance gaps which could be addressed by training. They should be involved in contributing to the analysis process so that they share ownership in it and are committed to the planned learning that follows. In addition, they are responsible for providing opportunities for transfer of training back to the workplace. Top management Top management has the final say in HRD policy development and implementation (subject to compliance with legislation regarding skills development and employment equity) and in providing the resources to ensure effective ETD. Without the support and commitment of top management, the HRD department could be eliminated or sidelined. HRD staff members including the Skills Development Facilitator They have the qualifications and experience to drive and conduct training interventions. They have knowledge of learners’ needs gained from their position in the organisation. Customers and clients Customers can give feedback on the service received and identify performance deficiencies which can be addressed by training. Past participants Whether successful or unsuccessful performers after previous training programmes, they can be a valuable source of information on specific needs. They can evaluate previous training and confirm whether they are able to apply the knowledge and skills acquired on the training sessions. Representatives of trade unions Trade union representatives are particularly important in South Africa in that without their support any training initiative, however well intentioned, will be a failure. Technological development leads to jobobsolescence which makes re-training necessary. It can also cause job losses as machines and computers replace people. Trade unions could view training with suspicion because they may believe that the aim of training is to increase productivity without pay increases and to retrench low-skilled workers. Trade unions played a significant role in the continued 164 Managing Human Resource Development Stakeholders Reasons for inclusion in needs analysis development of the skills development system in South Africa and are represented at SAQA and other skills development structures. They are also represented in organisations’ training committees which are required to sign off on workplace skills plans before they are submitted to the relevant SETA (see below). The training committee Some or all of the stakeholders mentioned above may be represented on the organisation’s training committee which could typically include the Skills Development Facilitator, the Training Manager, the Employment Equity Manager, an employee representative from each occupational field in the organisation and a representative of employees with special needs (the disabled). Government departments and statutory authorities In some industries, government regulations or requirements may provide guidelines or a framework for needs analysis. For example, an airline pilot must possess certain personal attributes and competencies to qualify for a licence. These non-negotiable requirements virtually prescribe the training needs and the objectives of a training programme. Of particular importance in South Africa is the impact of SAQA, the NQF and quality councils. Qualifications and standards registered by SAQA and the QCTO can be used as points of reference for curriculum development and for identifying educational and training needs in various occupational and professional settings. Various government departments such as the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have a direct interest and role to play in the skills development system. The sector education and training authorities (SETAs) and quality councils (QCs) The SETA is a representative body set up in terms of the Skills Development Act and reports to the DHET. Its role is to create a sector skills plan for the particular industry sector it serves. It is responsible for implementing the sector skills plan by establishing learnerships, approving individual organisations’ workplace skills plans and allocating skills grants to organisations that qualify. The quality councils (QCs), as their name implies, are the mechanism that will monitor quality assurance as regards providers, assessment and moderation. The three QCs are the QCTO (for trades and occupations), Umalusi (for general and further education and training) and the Centre for Higher Education (CHE). Regarding the QCTO, development quality partners (DQPs) play a key role in the development of qualifications. Other ETD professionals They may have conducted similar needs analyses that can be “borrowed” for ideas on implementation, thus saving time and money, and building up a body of knowledge. Academic experts and consultants They can be consulted before or during the needs analysis for advice on research, data collection and analysis methods. They may be aware of new, “cutting edge” methodology, and can help to save time and money on “reinventing the wheel”. Professional bodies Professional bodies such as the SA Board for People Practices (SABPP) which award professional qualifications and professional designations. continued Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 165 Stakeholders Community or society Reasons for inclusion in needs analysis It is a SAQA requirement that all learning programmes address the needs of the community. This is of particular importance in regard to ABET and the development of rural communities. Obviously, not all the above parties have to be consulted in all cases and there may be other role-players in specific industries not included in Table 6.3 who could play a part in the planning process. 6.6 The learning needs analysis phases Van der Schyff (2001:77) points out that, for the purpose of compiling a workplace skills plan, the training or skills needs of an enterprise may be analysed by obtaining data from two sources. First, the business plan of the company, and the key strategies to achieve the plan, will indicate broad competencies required. An analysis of the skills that an individual employee has and assessing this against the skills needed to attain the required level of competence, indicates the “gap”. By aggregating the “gaps”, that is the skills needs of all employees, one can obtain a good picture of the organisation’s training needs. A generic process approach to needs analysis can be used to ensure that needs are identified and correctly analysed. It consists of a series of key steps, as depicted in Figure 6.2, each of which is discussed below. 6.6.1 Collect information on an ongoing basis to identify potential issues or problems The proactive HRD practitioner will always try to identify potential problems before they occur. This can be done in various ways, for example: • by adopting an ongoing analytical approach; • by being aware of developments at the macro, meso and micro levels; • by developing relationships with line managers and taking part in strategic planning sessions to identify present and future needs. In practice, however, most needs analyses are performed after the problem has become apparent and the manager has brought it under the attention of the HR department with a request for a solution. Whilst there is some place for the traditional, reactive approach, the emphasis should be on a more futuristic, proactive approach which is seen to add value. This could be vital for the survival of the HR department as many organisations are outsourcing this function. 166 Managing Human Resource Development Figure 6.2 Key steps in conducting learning needs analysis Collect information on an ongoing basis to identify potential issues or problems If an issue or performance problem is identified, consult with management to agree whether it is related to training If it is training-related, identify relevant criteria (norms, benchmarks, work standards and desired current or future performance levels) Select a data collection method and procedures appropriate to the issue or problem being analysed Collect data and analyse results; compare information with relevant criteria to determine the gap; draw conclusions Report results and recommendations to the client for inclusion in the workplace skills plan if it is considered a strategic priority If the recommendations are accepted, use identified needs for selecting or designing the intervention 6.6.2 If an issue or performance problem is identified, consult with management This step will help to analyse the perceived problem in more depth and to decide whether the reported problem is perhaps a symptom of a deeper underlying problem. The time management example quoted earlier illustrates this. If, as in this case, the real problem is the lack of tools to do the job (for example a computer), the necessity of a training-needs analysis could either fall away or point to another new need, for example, to train the employee in computer skills when the employee is given the tools. This step will also help in deciding on the data collection method. If it is agreed that the problem is not directly training-related, decide who will be responsible for dealing with the problem. 6.6.3 If training-related, identify relevant criteria In order to identify a need, it is first necessary to determine what the ideal current or future conditions should be for comparison against existing conditions. This information can be obtained from job descriptions, company procedure manuals, agreed work standards, production quotas or from the informal opinions of managers, supervisors or colleagues. Again, this step should consider the possibility of changes being planned by management. For example, a need for training in telephone answering skills may be identified amongst Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 167 telesales staff, but management may have made a strategic decision to outsource this function in the near future. This would obviously negate the need for training. 6.6.4 Select a data-collection method and procedures appropriate to the problem being analysed The HRD practitioner must decide the methods and procedures. Criteria determining the choice of method include time, cost and the perceived severity or importance of the problem. If the problem is localised, affecting only a small number of employees, personal interviews may be the most effective method. If the problem is organisation-wide, affecting many employees, another method or combination of methods may be more effective. There are many methods of gathering data, some simple and quick, others complex and time-consuming. In reality, the simplest and most cost-effective method usually yields the best results. This section briefly describes the most popular and effective methods. Bear in mind that the gathering of data does not in itself constitute the needs analysis process – the data still has to be analysed to produce information, which must be interpreted so that conclusions can be drawn, on the strength of which, recommendations can be made. 6.6.4.1 Written surveys or questionnaires Questionnaires can be developed using one or a combination of different types of questions: Open-ended What do you think of . . . ? Closed Does your manager . . . ? Yes or No Scaled format A statement which the respondent must rate on a scale, for example strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree Depending on circumstances, the response to the questionnaire may be anonymous, or may require biographical details to form part of the data for analysis. The wording must be clear and unambiguous, free of cultural bias and as short as possible. It should be accompanied by a courteous letter, or include a short introductory paragraph, explaining the reasons for the survey, giving instructions on how to respond and clarifying what will happen with the results. It should be tested with a pilot on a random sample of the target population to identify and eliminate any deficiencies. Advantages of surveys are that many people can be reached, they ensure confidentiality and they are relatively inexpensive. Given that needs analyses may have large numbers of stakeholders, not all of whom are readily accessible when using more direct analysis methods such as interviews or focus groups, questionnaires have the benefit of being a flexible and multi-purpose tool. However, disadvantages are that the response rate could be low if employees or other stakeholders see no benefit for themselves, and poorly worded questions could provide false information, especially if aimed at second or third language respondents. A sample questionnaire is provided as appendix 6.1. In the context of a training-needs analysis, questionnaires could, for example, be developed with a view to obtaining input from large numbers of stakeholders in order to identify broad areas of concern regarding poor performance and areas of potential organisational/divisional or team improvement. In such cases, questionnaires would in all likelihood be designed to contain larger numbers of open-ended questions. Responses to such questionnaires are however traditionally lower than the other formats since they are more 168 Managing Human Resource Development time consuming to complete than closed or scaled questionnaires and require a high level of participant interest. Alternatively, questionnaires could be used to refine existing information regarding an area of poor performance, to both determine whether or not the need can be rectified through training and if so, what type of training is required. For example, in the time management problem identified earlier in this chapter, the training department could distribute questionnaires to the staff and management and use closed questions or a scaled format to determine why the time management problem exists and whether it can be solved by training or whether it is an organisational or managerial problem instead. 6.6.4.2 Diagnostic instruments A variation of the questionnaire is a diagnostic instrument, a paper and pencil test usually used in management development needs analysis. This technique measures management knowledge as well as values, attitudes and beliefs, from which the analyst can draw conclusions about the respondent’s management beliefs and style. Values inconsistent with the organisational culture can be identified for addressing by training, or the technique can be used to sensitise managers for the introduction of a planned change management programme. The potential disadvantage in this approach is that the wording of the instrument may imply that there is only one best way to manage in all circumstances, which, of course, is not true. This is outweighed by the advantage that thoughtful completion of the instrument and feedback by a skilled facilitator can provide respondents with personal insights about their values and behaviours and motivate them to change. Another advantage is that the instrument can be used as a pre- and post-test to evaluate whether the training has been effective in changing attitudes. A sample of such an instrument, used by a training manager when conducting training programmes for the Glenrand MIB Group, one of the largest insurance broking companies in South Africa, is included as appendix 6.2. 6.6.4.3 Interviews Interviews can be conducted with a structured or semi-structured interview guide to keep the discussion focused. They are similar to surveys, except that the information is gathered verbally, face to face or on the telephone. Advantages of an interview are that the interviewer can probe and rephrase questions to clarify the meaning, which is especially important in South Africa because of our diverse population. A skilled interviewer can elicit richer data by creating rapport and reading body language. Disadvantages are that the process can be time-consuming, data could be affected by interviewer bias, and this method is not practical if many people have to be interviewed in a limited period of time. 6.6.4.4 Focus groups These are meetings called for a specific purpose, consisting of stakeholders who have an interest in the topic under discussion. The process is facilitated by the researcher, who is able to probe deeply and obtain information from different perspectives. The advantages of this method include low cost and the creation of an open forum for discussing and brainstorming problems. In addition, focus groups can be used to obtain input from stakeholders who are not usually consulted in the more reactive methods of determining training needs. A disadvantage could be that it does not always work as it should if personalities and organisation politics interfere with the process. A key information group is a focus group of knowledgeable people, which can be used to identify work standards. Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 169 For example, internal and external customers can be included in a needs analysis process focused on determining the effectiveness of the service provided by a customer relations team in an organisation and what, if any, training interventions are required to make the service more effective. The results of the focus group can then be compared with input provided by management (and if required the customer relations team themselves) and then used to design a tailor-made instructional design process. 6.6.4.5 Training committees To comply with the requirements of the Skills Development Act, a representative training committee should be established in all organisations with more than 50 workers. The committee should consist of members from all occupational groups and should meet regularly to discuss issues relating to training needs and other relevant matters. 6.6.4.6 Observation The needs analyst literally observes the employee performing the task and is able to ask questions and to record information about the employee’s current skills and knowledge in the work environment. This enables the analyst to make inferences about the person’s competencies and needs. Advantages include that the method provides real life, objective evaluation of job performance, and the employee is not removed from the job. A disadvantage is that the worker, knowing that he or she is being watched, may modify his or her behaviour. This method should be used in conjunction with other methods. It would be suitable for certain jobs, for example, in determining the training needs of jobs such as bank tellers. 6.6.4.7 Examining work samples Similar to observation, this looks at the results achieved by the employee and evaluates them against criteria. The advantage of this method is that it can make an objective evaluation of tasks (whether it is completed or still in progress) and inferences can be drawn about the person’s knowledge, skill and attitude. A disadvantage is that poor quality work samples, on their own, do not necessarily identify training needs, as other factors may influence the quality. Situations where this method could be used could include clerical jobs, where employees work on files that should periodically be examined by supervisors. 6.6.4.8 Critical incident analysis This method, probably not used enough in practice, can be a powerful way of identifying both performance strengths and deficiencies. Similar to a case study, the researcher or panel examines a real life situation or complete incident that occurred to a person or group. The incident is critical because it meant the difference between success and failure. They analyse the incident, asking questions such as: • What did the person or group do that led to effective job performance? • What did the person or group do that resulted in ineffective performance? • What could have been done differently to improve performance? • What knowledge, skills or attitudes, or lack thereof, led to success or failure? The incident is then written up and used in future training. Reports of grievance or disciplinary hearings are a rich source of critical incidents, which could be used in industrial relations training. 170 Managing Human Resource Development A South African company in the highly competitive financial services industry uses this method when they have either gained or lost an important client. The advantage of this method is that it is relatively simple and based on actual job-related incidents in which lessons were learnt the hard way. In in-house training, this contextualises the case study technique in the organisation and makes it more powerful. A disadvantage could be that the process is past-orientated, based on conditions which existed at the time of the incident, but this can be overcome by predicting future conditions and adapting the information of the incident. 6.6.4.9 Assessment centres This sophisticated and expensive method is usually used to identify managerial potential and for selecting supervisors and managers. It involves the assessment of candidates in various areas of knowledge, skill and attitude by a small group of highly trained observers. The candidates are given simulated tasks to perform, such as in-basket exercises and business games. The observers rate the performance of the person, which can reveal areas of strengths and developmental needs. The advantage of this method is that it simulates real job conditions, although in an artificial situation, and the process is validated by the built-in multi-rater system which is fairer than individual assessment. The disadvantage is the high cost. 6.6.4.10 Performance appraisals A practical method of analysing needs is the use of the performance appraisal system. A properly designed and administered performance appraisal system can be a valuable tool for identifying the training and developmental needs of employees in an organisation. It should make provision for current performance deficiencies to be identified and agreed jointly by the employee and the manager or supervisor in a non-threatening manner. A written agreement can be recorded, similar to a learning contract, summarising the developmental needs agreed upon, the preferred method of training or learning, the target date for achievement and the follow-up review date. Spangenberg (1994:8–13) identifies the following problems associated with the traditional performance appraisal system, from a total quality approach: • It confuses people with the system, assuming that the person being evaluated is responsible for results, whereas in reality, the functioning of the system is beyond the control of the individual. • It destroys teamwork, especially when performance appraisal is tied to individual rewards and increases. • It could foster mediocrity, encouraging individuals to set easy objectives in order to meet standards. • It focuses on short-term gains rather than long-term planning and improvement. • Ratings given by managers and supervisors are notoriously biased and unreliable. Edwards and Ewen (1996:6–7) add that politics, favouritism and friendship may affect the assessment, the supervisor may be unwilling to confront poor performance, and different supervisors have different degrees of rigour in making decisions regarding performance. They advocate the use of a formal multi-rater or 360-degree appraisal and feedback system, which is used by most organisations in the USA, primarily for employee development rather than for pay decisions. This consists of a combination of self-assessment and Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 171 anonymous feedback from at least four others, drawn from peers, colleagues, supervisors, managers, and internal and external customers. A 360-degree system can help employees and managers learn about their behaviour and performance from the input and feedback provided by a number of organisational stakeholders. Weaknesses and developmental areas are identified and can be used as a basis for analysing training and developmental needs and for developing training interventions. Managers and others whose performance is evaluated by this method should select three of the identified problem areas and complete an individual developmental plan with action steps and time frames for attainment. This can then be incorporated into the organisation’s performance management system. Vital prerequisites for the success of this rather complex system are an open and supportive organisational culture and the involvement of all stakeholders, managers, employees and unions in the design, implementation and application of the process at all levels not only the lower levels. 6.6.4.11 Exit interviews An easy and inexpensive source of information regarding training needs, or lack of training in any department, is to interview departing employees. This may yield biased information if the employee has resigned because of differences with management or colleagues, but if the HR department carries it out sensitively, it can be useful. If the interview identifies needs, or a lack of required training, feedback should be given to the manager concerned. This may cause problems if the feedback is personally critical towards the manager. This sub-section has dealt in some depth with data collection methods. There are many others and the practitioner must be guided by available resources and the unique situation in a particular company when choosing one or more method. 6.6.4.12 Comparing the needs analysis methods Over the past 10 years, the ASTD State of the South African Training Study has been collecting information on training-needs analysis methods (see Figure 6.3). Training managers were required to select the different training-needs analysis methods that they use in their organisations. The popularity of questionnaires as a method of analysing learning needs increased in 2010, but performance management has overtaken questionnaires as the most popular method. However, as regards traditional needs analysis methods, questionnaires are still more popular than most other methods and are used by 78% of organisations, with performance management at 83%. Overall, the use of focus groups and interviewing has declined while the use of customer complaints has increased. The increased preference for performance management as a method of training-needs analysis can be ascribed to the importance of managing performance in an environment characterised by a shortage of skills and talent. Questionnaires are still used as a tool for conducting skills audits for the purpose of compiling workplace skills plans. 6.6.5 Collect data and analyse results; compare information with relevant criteria to determine gaps; draw conclusions This step depends on the method and procedures used for collecting the data and the intended method of reporting the results. If the intention is to provide a qualitative report on 172 Managing Human Resource Development the findings, the analysis will be different to a quantitative report, for which the data may have to be analysed statistically. For example, if the data is collected by means of structured interviews, the answers to the interview questions can be compared to the identified criteria, comparisons made and conclusions drawn on a qualitative basis. Figure 6.3 Training-needs analysis methods Source: ASTD/SABPP (2010). 6.6.6 Report results and recommendations to client The nature of the report will depend on the scale of the problem and the client to whom the report is to be presented. It could consist of a ten minute feedback session with a manager, or it could be a comprehensive document, incorporating charts and graphs, presented to top management. The recommendations must be realistic and must take factors such as training strategy, methods (on or off the job) and costs into account. The analyst must also be keenly aware of factors which may influence decisions, such as the organisational culture and management buy-in to training. These factors would have been identified from an organisation/situation analysis. (See section 6.7.1) It is an important step because it forms the basis of decisions regarding training. 6.7 Other types of analyses In section 6.6 we discussed the key steps in the learning needs process and the sources of data for use in the analysis. This section describes certain other types of analyses, their purpose, methodologies and appropriate uses. They are related to and complement trainingneeds analysis. The next section will present an example of an analysis conducted by a South African company in the insurance sector, using a technique synthesised from two of Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 173 the analyses described, to demonstrate the flexibility that can be achieved by an imaginative approach, and one which is compatible with NQF requirements. 6.7.1 Organisation or situation analysis Organisational systems analysis is described by Mills et al (1988:22) as an analysis procedure focusing on systems-wide variables such as climate, leadership, co-operation, group decision-making, role relationships and productivity. For the purpose of this section, the work of Rothwell and Kazanas (1992:83), who refer to the subject as “work setting analysis”, will be used. According to them, the purpose of organisation/situation analysis is to gather information about the organisation’s resources, constraints and culture so that training will be designed in a way that is appropriate to the work environment. These authors propose that a systematic examination of three environments or settings be carried out at the beginning of the instructional design process, namely, the development environment, the delivery environment and the application environment. • The development environment: As a starting point, an analysis is conducted on the setting in which the intervention will be developed as it may affect the design of the intervention. The characteristics that should be examined could include the apparent nature of the required change, the organisation’s mission, philosophy, values, structure, goals, plans and the results of a needs assessment. The next step is to consider how many of these characteristics will affect the design of the intervention and how, thirdly, a “reality check” should be conducted by means of discussions with key members of the organisation, and any relevant modifications that should be made. • The delivery environment: The characteristics of the delivery setting are then assessed to determine how they might influence the delivery of the intervention. Delivery of instruction may take many forms, for example on-the-job, computer-based, self-study or group lectures in a classroom setting. The characteristics to be considered could include learner motivation, instructor expertise, physical comfort and facilities. Again, a reality check should be done using key members of the organisation. • The application environment: The application environment characteristics could have a greater effect on the success or failure of the intervention than the development or delivery environments, in that excellent design and delivery could be totally nullified if the instruction is not transferred to the workplace. Some of the characteristics to be examined are employee involvement and autonomy, supervisor or manager support, work problems and job stress. An assessment is made of which of these characteristics are relevant to the design of the intervention, and to what extent. Again, a reality check should be conducted. Broad and Newstrom (1992:21) report on their research which identifies the following factors as major barriers to the transfer of training to the workplace: • The most significant barrier is the lack of reinforcement on the job to support trainees in applying knowledge and skills learned in training to their jobs. • The second most powerful barrier is interference from the immediate environment, for example work and time pressures, insufficient authority, ineffective work processes and inadequate equipment or facilities. This means that even if learners are willing to change, they are prevented from using their new skills by real or imagined obstacles. 174 Managing Human Resource Development • The third most important barrier is lack of support by the organisational culture, which may manifest itself by management paying lip service to the concept and value of training, but in reality only going through the motions to satisfy outside pressures. Historically, trainers have concerned themselves more with delivery environmental factors and evaluations have measured effectiveness at this stage. An appropriate situation where this technique would be vital could be where an intervention is being designed by an outside consultant or trainer who is not familiar with the organisation. Usually an internal trainer or change agent should have a good feeling for the culture and politics of the organisation. If not, he would be well advised to conduct a detailed work-setting analysis to ensure the success of the programme. An example of an organisational characteristic which could affect the design, delivery and transfer of instruction would be the managers’ attitude to the use of company time versus employees’ private time for education and training, especially if the subject matter of the intervention is not directly job-related. This causes problems when the managers perceive that their staff are spending “too much” time away from their desks on training courses, such as language and numeracy skills. 6.7.2 Target population analysis This is an analysis technique by which a learner profile is created which describes the characteristics of the target population of learners for whom the training is designed, and the assumptions made about them in the design process. The purpose is to determine the starting point of the training and to design the programme to fit the predominant needs and characteristics of the group of learners. The designer is able to incorporate the most appropriate examples and vocabulary and to select the most effective media and method of instruction. This is particularly important in South Africa, and we make assumptions about our learners at our peril. The major components of this technique, according to Mager (1988:51–60), are as follows: • First, one should aim at producing a working document that is not complicated or timeconsuming. In many cases a broad knowledge of the target group will already exist. • Secondly, one should write down everything one knows about the group. • The third step is to identify a range of the expected characteristics of the group, such as prior education and experience. The key characteristics identified by the analyst should be checked out with others such as line managers and the prospective learners themselves. In an organisational setting, expensive and time-consuming methods are usually unnecessary, as in most cases, the analyst and the manager know the employees for whom the training is being designed. Appropriate use of this analysis in a corporate training environment in South Africa today, given our increasingly heterogeneous work population, is a vital prerequisite for the design and delivery of any HRD intervention. Failure to take the different levels of language skills in a learner group into account, for example, would prevent the success of the intervention. As an example, a financial life skills programme, offered by a South African organisation as part of an ABET programme, targets carefully selected groups, based, inter alia, on their language ability and their perceived level of financial sophistication. This course is Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 175 delivered at two levels: a basic level for ABET candidates and a more advanced level for more literate and educated persons. Given our multilingual country, this type of course could also be translated into the major languages where feasible. 6.7.3 Task analysis A task is a series of sub-tasks, steps, actions or behaviours that result in a meaningful outcome. Although there are many methods of task analysis, varying in complexity, the simplest method is observing a competent performer, who, according to Mager (1988:31), may be you. He describes the procedure as simply drafting a task list and describing the steps in each of the tasks identified, either narratively or by means of a flowchart. Mills et al (1988:55) describe five methods of conducting a task analysis. Perhaps the most appropriate is the “job-duty-task” method, which incorporates an identification of the knowledge and skills required to perform the function being analysed. These authors suggest the use of a task analysis form, which calls for five levels of function to be listed: job title, a specific duty, respective tasks under each duty, sub-tasks, and knowledge that must be evidenced to produce the result or outcome of the job. This method can be employed whether the analysis is being conducted by observation by the analyst or with the assistance of an observer. An appropriate situation for this type of analysis is where a job is transformed from a specialised to a multi-functional nature and an employee or group of employees is required to upgrade their knowledge and skills to cope with the new demands of the job. Task, skills and competency analyses would be a prerequisite of any form of re-training programme. 6.7.4 Skills and competency analysis According to Mager (1988:41), the completion of the task analysis allows one to derive a list of the skills required of anyone to be able to perform each step of those tasks. The major purpose of this analysis is to draft training or learning objectives in the design of training interventions. The method advocated by Mager is, briefly, to consider each step of the task analysis; write the skills (and knowledge) that the trainee would need to be able to perform that step; ignore trivial or simple steps that do not really require identifiable knowledge or skill; and delete duplications from the list. The remaining list of skills and knowledge will be the ones for which to consider learning objectives. Once the objectives have been set, the next important step in the design process is to determine which skills should be mastered before others can be attempted, in other words, to determine the sequence of learning modules. This is done by constructing a skills hierarchy which identifies prerequisite knowledge. Prerequisite knowledge is what learners should know before participating in ETD, or a skill that someone must have in order to benefit from the training. According to Rothwell and Kazanas (1992:129–130), there are three methods of identify prerequisites: learning hierarchies, cluster analysis and procedural analysis. The first method seems to be the simplest, and is carried out by repeatedly asking the question of each task and sub-task: “What does a learner need to know to do that?” The results can then be flowcharted or represented in boxes arranged in a hierarchical fashion (Mager, 1988:73). This is probably one of the most underutilised of all the analysis techniques in the South African corporate training environment, resulting in an enormous waste of time, money 176 Managing Human Resource Development and effort. Even highly skilled course designers make false assumptions about the prerequisite knowledge of learners. As an example, a recent study of a self-directed learning course, designed by a university professor and written in English for artisans in the building industry, found that the language level was way beyond the capability of the majority of the learners, most of whom were functionally illiterate in English! The continuing development of the NQF, the requirements for registration of qualifications with SAQA and the concept of “learning assumed to be in place”, will eventually go a long way toward preventing situations such as described above. A recent trend has been to use competency models as the foundation for a more proactive way of analysing training needs. Once competencies are set for different occupations, employees can be trained according to the set of competencies needed to execute the job. The recently developed HR Competency Model developed by SABPP is a good example of a proactive approach to competency development (Meyer, 2012). Other occupations and professions have similar competency models, while some companies have developed their own competency models according to their specific needs. An example of the practical application of this form of analysis would be the assessment of the language capability of the proposed learners in a technical training course and, where necessary, screening out the under-qualified learners, presenting the course at a language level that the learners can cope with, or arranging remedial bridging education. 6.7.5 Attitude analysis Attitude analysis is a method of obtaining and analysing data in order to gain information about how employees in an organisation feel about their jobs, work groups, managers or any other aspect of organisational life. While perhaps not directly related to training, it can be used to conduct the organisation or situation analysis referred to in section 6.7.1. The purpose of this technique is usually to obtain information to guide management in making decisions about company policy or organisational development interventions. The method usually takes the form of an anonymous questionnaire containing a set of questions or statements which the respondents are asked to rate on a five point scale, from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”. The scores are analysed, sometimes separately, in racial groups, work groups, divisions or departments, and a quantitative report is compiled summing up and interpreting the scores. A qualitative dimension could be added by including a number of open-ended questions, which can produce a lot of rich material in the form of opinions and suggestions. Examples of such surveys and analyses in a South African organisation are in connection with the introduction of a policy dealing with smoking in the workplace or the introduction of an employment equity policy. Good use of the technique ensures that all staff feel that they have been consulted prior to the introduction of workplace change, and management are aware of the attitudes of all or most of the staff towards such change. Good suggestions from the survey, that management may not have thought of, could be implemented. A well-conducted survey, good analysis of the data, transparent feedback to all participants and management commitment to action, could be seen as the beginning of the intervention itself, and could sensitise the staff to the desired changes, and lay the foundation for further steps in the change process. A poorly conducted survey and analysis, with no feedback, follow-up or action on identified problems, will result in cynicism and resentment towards management. Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 177 6.8 Skills audits 6.8.1 What is a skills audit? The Central Queensland TAFE states that “a skills audit is a process where skills held by employees are identified and compared with skills required now and in the future so that the skill shortfall or surplus can be determined. This skill shortfall forms the basis of a Learning Needs Analysis (LNA), so that the company can reach the desired skill base amongst its employees” (www.cqtafe.com). With the advent of skills development legislation and the requirement for organisations to develop an annual workplace skills plan, many organisations have responded by performing regular skills audits. The BANKSETA positions skills audits in the skills development process as follows: Figure 6.4 Positioning skills audits in the skills development process BANKSETA Workplace Skills Plan Guidelines 050725 The goal of the skills audit as shown in this figure is to determine the current skills that are available in an organisation and to compare said skills to the required skills. These required skills may be either those already required of individuals to fulfil their roles and complete current tasks and processes or alternatively, those required of employees to meet future business objectives in accordance with the organisation’s business strategies. 6.8.2 The skills audit process The key to completing this type of needs analysis is therefore to firstly ascertain what skill sets the organisation will require in order for business strategies to be realised. Secondly, the organisation needs to establish what skills are required per role, per job, per task or per 178 Managing Human Resource Development organisational process. When combined into a matrix, these two sets of skills form the “desired skills” set for the organisation. Note that organisations may also include skills required by the sector in their “desired skills” matrix – such skills are identified in each SETA’s sector skills plan. The desired skills can then be compared to the “current skills” which are ascertained through the assessment of employee skills, the third stage of the skills audit process. The method used to assess skill sets varies distinctly from one organisation to another. An organisation may choose which method to use by evaluating some or all of the following factors (note that these evaluation criteria combine SAQA’s principles of assessment, such as validity and reliability, with key business factors, such as robustness, logistics, cost and time): • How robust is the method? In other words, is it able to resist scrutiny and does it result in large numbers of grievances/appeals? Equally, will the method produce results that are acceptable to key stakeholders in the organisation – this could include management, employees and the unions. • How valid is it? Does it measure what it purports to measure? • How reliable is it? In other words, will the same results be obtained in other environments and by other assessors? • How reproducible is the method? Can the approach be applied in a number of different environments across an organisation? For example, a computer-based assessment may be applicable in centralised urban environments but not in more remote branches. • Is it cost-effective? • How much time will the assessment process require? High Figure 6.5 Selecting a method of assessment for your skills audit Low Validity, reliability, robustness NQF assessment Panel assessment 360 degrees Employee self-assessment/Management assessment of employee Low Complexity, cost and time High Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 179 The assessment methods chosen through this evaluation process vary across a time, cost complexity, validity and reliability continuum. At one end of the continuum are simple assessment methods such as employee self-assessment. Slightly more complex, costly and time-consuming is a 360-degree assessment method involving assessment input from key stakeholders such as the employee, the manager, other team members and even customers. Further along the continuum are methods such as panel assessments where evidence is presented by the employee and/or the manager to support skills development. Finally, at the other end of the continuum is an NQF assessment process by which each employee is assessed against unit standards matched to each identified skill. This method involves a form of recognition of prior learning where assessment precedes learning and is used for the purpose of diagnosis or formative assessment rather than summative assessment. Once the organisation has a skills matrix of required skills and a profile of the skills of each individual, the fourth stage of the process is to compare the two results to identify where the skills deficits exist. Finally, in the fifth stage, the organisation prioritises skills deficits and develops a training plan to ensure that the gap between skills required and actual skills is closed over time. Note that in order to ensure that skills audit information is usable for translation into workplace skills plans, skills audits usually report on skills requirements per role, per position of role in an organisational structure and per employee profile (this includes race, gender and disability status). 6.8.3 Skills audit application For example, a company in the banking sector has a business strategy to implement workflow in its customer service department. The skills associated with workflow include technical IT skills (the ability to use the software) and process management skills (the ability to understand and apply the processes governing workflow) as well as organisational skills, problem-solving, scheduling, use of other hardware such as imaging equipment, and data maintenance. In addition, management and the HR department analyse the customer service role and the analysts determine that among others, the role requires communication skills (verbal and written), listening skills, processing skills (the ability to understand and apply all the technical and paper-based processes required in the department), teamwork, computer skills, problem-solving, decision-making and organisational skills. Further, before proceeding, management consults the BANKSETA’s sector skills plan (2005–2010) and identifies that customer-interface-related skills (including communication skills) and IT skills are high priorities in the sector. This is of particular importance for two reasons. One, it gives the organisation the ability to partner with other organisations in the sector to build required skills and secondly, because the SETA’s policy is to allocate resources (including discretionary grants) to organisations that help them achieve their sector skills goals. The above skills requirements are then combined into a skills matrix against which the team’s current skill sets are compared. When choosing an assessment method, management determines that there has already been a huge amount of buy-in from staff and unions for the skills audit process and they therefore decide that the key factors governing their choice of an assessment method are cost-effectiveness and time. As a result, they select a self-assessment method, supplemented by a management assessment, to assess the skills gap. Finally, once the gap is ascertained, management analyse the results and deduce that the IT and processing skills associated with workflow and communication skills are the greatest development priorities 180 Managing Human Resource Development for the customer relations team. Initial training interventions therefore focus on these skills deficits and these skills priorities and training interventions are reported in the organisation’s workplace skills plan where it is also noted that they are aligned with the sector skills plan, thus potentially making the organisation eligible for the BANKSETA’s discretionary grants. 6.9 Company example The following section describes an analysis performed in an insurance broking organisation in South Africa, called the Glenrand MIB Group. Their strategy encompasses a combined “job-duty-task” analysis incorporating competency or knowledge or skill identification. The method employed in the analysis consisted of the identification of the tasks and sub-tasks performed by, and the requisite knowledge skills and competencies possessed by an ideal performer in the job of “domestic insurance claims handler”. These factors were identified by the analyst and checked out with supervisors and a number of job incumbents. The result of the analysis is depicted in Table 6.4. Table 6.4 Job-duty-task analysis The job title: Domestic insurance claims handler Task (1): Accepting notification of a potential claim and advising the client on requirements for settlement by the insurance company The duty: Settling client’s claims Sub-tasks: 1 Obtain relevant verbal information from the client, either in a face-to-face situation or telephonically, in order to record the claim. (Examples: date, time and circumstances of loss.) 2 Inform the client of the procedure and requirements for processing the claim. (Examples: completion of required claim form, report to police, obtaining quotes for repair or replacement.) 3 Check for the existence of a valid policy covering the loss from the preliminary verbal information provided by the client. 4 Advise the client of the status of cover: acknowledge the claim report courteously and sympathetically, and assure the client of prompt attention. Task (2): Process the claim to finality Sub-tasks: 1 Record the details of the initial verbal claim report in accordance with company quality standards, and initiate the procedure to obtain the written details of the claim. (Examples: mail or deliver claim form, arrange for client to visit office, or for representative to call on client.) 2 Report the loss/claim to the insurance company, and if authorised, appoint a loss adjuster; alternatively, request the insurance company to attend. continued Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 181 The job title: Domestic insurance claims handler The duty: Settling client’s claims 3 Record the claim on the company computerised record system; open a file; mail the written confirmation of the report and the action initiated to both the client and the insurance company. 4 Activate follow-up procedure, such as computer and manual diary system. 5 Monitor the progress of the claim and the actions required of the client and the insurance company. (Examples: return of completed claim form by client; authorisation of repair or replacement by insurance company and, where necessary, facilitate action by both parties.) 6 Obtain the insurance company’s settlement cheque; alternatively, their confirmation of direct settlement with the client, repairer or replacement contractor. 7 Record the settlement details on the computer system in accordance with company procedure. The range/context Claims reported under domestic policies, namely, motor own damage, household contents, all risks, where according to initial information there is no dispute as to the validity of the claim. (NB Legal liability and bodily injury claims are to be handled by the insurance company.) Criteria According to the claims procedure and quality standards manuals: The diary period is limited to a maximum of 14 days: Claims are to be settled within 14 days of receipt of required documentation. Competency, knowledge or skill identification The following is a list of the competencies, knowledge and skills for an insurance claims handler. The major items are reflected in Table 6.5. Table 6.5 Competency, knowledge or skill Core competencies English language competency Knowledge and skills Reading skills: For example being able to read and understand pieces of writing relative to the job, technical writing such as policy wordings; able to grasp the general meaning as well as details; can use spelling, punctuation and grammar rules to aid the understanding of the written word. Writing skills: For example being able to write for a variety of job-related reasons, such as business letters and reports; can use a range of vocabulary in writing; can describe events in the past, present and future. Speaking skills: For example being able to say the same thing in different ways; able to give all the facts; able to correct own mistakes. continued 182 Managing Human Resource Development Numeracy competency Personal/interpersonal competency Job specific competencies Technical competence Listening skills: For example being able to get the general meaning from listening situations; able to recognise the difference between fact and opinion; able to cope with and understand different accents. Can perform basic numerical operations, can work in percentages, decimals, fractions, ratios, proportions, averages and volumes. Able to manage time effectively, establish a routine, identify priorities and meet deadlines; able to assess situations, predict outcomes, have an objective approach to problem-solving and decision-making; able to relate to a client’s problems and deal with difficult people; able to work in a group or team; able to cope with stress. Knowledge of the general principles of insurance; able to interpret policy details for the types of claims handled; able to evaluate information provided by the client, compare with policy cover and assess merits of the claim; knowledge of the company computer systems, for example policy and claims management systems; knowledge of the limits of the claims settling mandate granted by the insurance company. 6.10 Key learning points Key learning points from this chapter are the following: • Prove an understanding of the role and purpose of learning needs analysis in the HRD process. • Position needs analysis within national, sectoral and organisational strategies and training processes. • Outline the methods of needs analysis. • Follow the different steps in the learning needs analysis process as outlined in the national learning needs analysis standard of SABPP. • Provide the learner with guidelines regarding which method to choose and why/when. • Identify the stakeholders in needs analysis processes and outline how various methods are designed to include various stakeholders. • Provide practical guidelines and applications to assist the learner in developing and conducting a needs analysis in the workplace. • Demonstrate how learners may apply skills audit methodology to comply with national and SETA requirements and plan strategic skills development interventions. 6.11 Conclusion This chapter has examined some of the current methods of needs analysis in organisations. QCs established in terms of the NQF Act supervise the writing and registration of standards relating to qualifications in all sectors and fields in South Africa. These standards define specific outcomes, with learning assumed to be in place before a learning programme is commenced with its associated assessment criteria. They are useful in the setting Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 183 of minimum performance levels and in the identification of learning needs for most jobs in organisations. However, even with this useful tool, HRD practitioners must still possess analytical skills in order to conduct different types of needs analysis successfully and thereby add value to employee performance. A problem cannot be addressed and solutions cannot be proposed and implemented unless the problem is clearly defined, and the problem cannot be identified and defined unless the practitioner has tools and methods to help identify training and other needs. Analysis is the tool that identifies whether the problem is one of performance, management or organisation. The correct definition of the type of problem usually implies the methods by which the problem can be solved. The new national learning needs analysis standard developed by SABPP provides a useful guideline to ensure a professional approach to learning needs analysis. Proper learning needs analysis provides the basis for the development and implementation of workplace skills plans (chapter 2), the design of HRD interventions (chapter 7) and the planning and organising of training programmes (chapter 8). The importance of needs analysis in this value chain cannot be overemphasised. 6.12 Case studies Case study 1: Insurance company After the promulgation of the Skills Development Act, the top management of a large South African insurance company employed a skills development facilitator to compile a workplace skills plan to submit to the Insurance SETA (INSETA). Like many other companies, it is a product of its past. About 20 years ago it employed many people with a low educational level to perform low-level jobs such as filing clerks, messengers, drivers and catering staff. With the advance in technology and the pressure to become more competitive, these types of jobs are disappearing quickly. In the current milieu it would be politically and socially unacceptable to retrench such employees, most of whom are in their 40s or early 50s, especially as this company has many lucrative business dealings with government departments and trade unions. One of the education and training priorities identified by management and included in the workplace skills plan was offering learnerships and educating and training the employees described above in basic business and insurance practice. At this stage, unit standards and qualifications for business and insurance had not yet been developed and registered on the NQF. The company discussed their concerns with a private educational institution which offered to design, deliver and certify an NQF-compliant five subject qualification at matric level especially designed for the employees described above. The aim of the course was to give successful candidates access to further higher education and training to improve the skills level and to enable them to obtain a registered qualification in due course. The programme comprised four basic business subjects plus a module on insurance. The insurance module is offered and certified by the insurance industry educational institute and is intended for study by matriculants as part of a qualification at matric plus one level. The rationale for including this subject was to open up job opportunities for the successful candidates in the mainstream business of the company. The delivery mode was by distance education, supplemented with minimal contact sessions for the three business subjects. It was assumed that the company would provide coaching in the insurance subject. The company called for nominations from their branch offices and management enrolled a total of 195 candidates for the programme. After two years, over half of the original nominees have dropped out of the programme, a fair number have passed the examinations for the business subjects, but only six have been successful in the examinations for the insurance subject. The company, in the light of the disappointing results, is now reassessing its strategy and education and training priorities. continued 184 Managing Human Resource Development Questions 1 Identify possible reasons for the high drop-out rate. 2 If a “fair number” were able to pass the examinations for the business subjects, what could be the reason for the poor performance in the insurance examinations, compared with the other subjects? 3 If you were employed by this company as a consultant, what advice would you give their management regarding the present and future programmes to align them with the requirements of the NQF? 4 Which analysis technique(s) would you use before starting future programmes of this nature, either in the company described in the case study or in your own organisation? Motivate your answer. 5 Design a questionnaire and a structured interview guide to identify the future educational and training needs of the candidates who dropped out of the programme. Case study 2: Airline Carrier An international airline carrier (ASA) calls you in to assist them with the development of their workplace skills plan. The company has approximately 10 000 employees and does not want to lose out on the opportunity to claim back their skills levy. The company is in a state of transition. New management has taken over the organisation and is now focusing on the achievement of a number of core business strategies. The three chief strategies are cost cutting (management), customer service and productivity. These three strategies represent a new focus on optimal staff performance in a cost management environment and therefore a change in culture and operating strategy across the organisation. The transport sector in which the airline is found has the following key focus areas: • Quality management • Management skills • ABET • Business processes • Entrepreneurship • End-user computing • Safety • Customer satisfaction. On your arrival at the company, you discover that training is considered by many as a waste of time and a cost centre in the company. It is certainly not viewed by many as a means of achieving the company’s business objectives. At present, training budgets are allocated in a haphazard fashion, in many instances without regard for the needs of the company. Training also tends to focus on the development of so-called “soft skills” rather than technical skills. The HRD department would therefore like to use the workplace skills plan development exercise to help legitimise training within the organisation and make it more meaningful. This means ensuring that a thorough needs analysis exercise is carried out to determine the organisation’s business-related training needs. You are required to take the sector and organisational objectives and develop a needs analysis strategy to ensure that the training plan meets the global needs of the organisation and the specific business targets of each business unit. This will then form the basis for the company’s workplace skills plan. Questions 1 Obtain the unit standard, “Develop a workplace skills plan”. Discuss how you would meet each of the specific outcomes for the above case study. continued Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 185 2 Plan a needs analysis process to determine the training needs of the resources in the organisation per role and then per employee. Hint: A skills/competency analysis or task analysis approach would be useful for this exercise. 3 Develop a plan to link the needs identified to the three business strategies of the organisation and the goals identified by the sector. Case study 3: First National Bank First National Bank conducts skills assessments by making use of a 360-degree approach, which forms the assessment module of PerforMAX. A skills matrix is used to analyse skills in relation to results. Skills matrices are analysed for roles as well as per individual. When using the skills matrix to analyse roles, different roles within the organisation are compared with each other based on the respective results scores and competency scores. They are normally grouped into the Top 10 performing roles and the Bottom 10 performing roles. This report is very useful in indicating how the different roles compared with each other. Based on the results from the skills matrix, action plans are developed to address development areas per role. continued 186 Managing Human Resource Development From the skills matrix comparing roles, managers can determine the following: • The progress made in the improvement of the competency (skills) levels per role to determine which competencies improved and which competencies decreased in score. • The competencies (skills), which identify the required development per role to determine the specific strengths and development needs for the roles with lower scores. • The strengths and development needs for each individual within those roles with lower scores. • The results achieved per individual (Key Result Areas) within the roles with lower or higher scores. continued Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 187 From the skills matrix comparing individuals, managers can determine the following: • The development areas per individual. • The comparison of overall skill levels of other individuals within the specific role to determine how these individuals compare with other individuals within the same role. • Overview of the skills levels of individuals per assessor type (for example peers, superiors, direct reports, etc). • The strengths and development areas of individuals per competency area (for example leadership, managerial, technical, etc) compared to that of the peer group. • The impact of key assessment statements for individuals to determine strengths and development areas on specific key assessment statements. Based on the analysis of the skills matrix, learning and development initiatives/interventions are discussed with the individual and applied in order to improve those competencies indicating a development need. Making use of the PerforMAX skills matrix indicating the relationship between results and competencies, makes it possible for First National Bank to determine their development needs in terms of roles and specific individuals and to analyse how a shortage in competencies influences performance results. Questions 1. Explain the approach used by FNB to conduct a skills audit. 2. Describe the purpose of a skills matrix. 3. Indicate the extent to which the skills development intervention is linked to performance management at the bank. Source: Contributed by Roy Braxton and Marica Richter. 6.13 Self-assessment questions 1 Distinguish between a need and a want from a training management perspective. Illustrate your answer with practical examples from your own experience. 2 Propose your own definition for the concept of needs analysis. 3 Identify the three different types or levels of performance gaps and correlate them with the three major causes of performance deficiencies. 4 Which of the performance gaps or deficiencies can most easily be addressed by training? Explain your answer. 5 Give at least five reasons for conducting training-needs analyses in your organisation or any other South African organisation with which you are familiar. Rank them in order of your perception of importance and justify your ranking. 6 Distinguish between the three levels of training needs according to Erasmus et al (2006) and give an example, from your own experience, of each. 7 Critically evaluate the following statement by Erasmus and Van Dyk (1999:129): “It is clear that the organisational development approach is the correct one with which to address macro- and mesolevel needs, while the systematic training approach can effectively accommodate the microlevel needs.” 8 Indicate the key steps in conducting a learning needs analysis and describe how you can apply these steps in the identification of education and training priorities. 9 Describe at least five commonly used methods of data collection in the needs analysis process and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each. 188 Managing Human Resource Development 10 Identify at least six stakeholders who should be involved in the training-needs analysis process and give reasons as to why they should be consulted. 11 Explain why it is important to conduct an organisation or situation analysis before starting the training design process. 12 Explain the use of a target population analysis and identify the problems that could arise if this is not taken into account in the design and delivery of a training intervention. 13 Describe three organisational contexts in which an attitude analysis would be appropriate. 14 Develop a framework you can use to conduct a skills audit at an organisation. 15 Motivate how the new national learning needs analysis standard will contribute to professionalise approaches to learning needs analysis. Appendix 6.1 Training-needs analysis questionnaire for first line supervisors Instructions: Column 1 states the main supervisory functions you perform. In column 2, circle the number to show how important each function is in your job. 0 means not at all important 1 means a little important 2 means very important In column 3 circle the number you feel shows how well you perform the function. 0 means not at all well 1 means quite well 2 means very well Column 1: Main supervisory functions I perform in my job 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Planning my team’s work for the day Giving the team instructions Delegating work to team members Checking the work done by the team Giving feedback to the team Leading and motivating the team Conducting team meetings Helping team when needed Managing my own time Keeping the boss informed Column 2: How important is my job 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 Column 3: How well do I perform 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 If you have circled the numbers 0 and 1 in column 3 for a function that is important in your job, write down the reasons you feel are preventing you from performing very well. Name: Signed: Department: Date: Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 189 Notes to readers 1 A similar questionnaire, worded slightly differently, should be sent to the supervisors’ managers to establish the relevant criteria, that is, the managers’ expectations and opinions of how their individual supervisors perform. The two forms can then be compared and the responses to the open-ended question analysed to identify training needs and barriers to performance. The analyst should bear in mind that while this type of questionnaire can reveal how supervisors perceive their roles and competencies, the responses can be very subjective. 2 Depending on the language level of the respondents, the questionnaire may have to be used as an interview guide where the interviewer can probe into the answers to the open-ended question. 3 A similar exercise in a South African company revealed significant differences in the responses from the managers and the supervisors, yielding valuable information for the implementation of both training and non-training interventions. 4 This questionnaire can be customised for use in higher level management needs analysis. Source: Moira Katz, Kavan Consultants. Appendix 6.2 Management style diagnostic instrument This exercise is designed to test your ideas and opinions on management and see how they compare with those of other managers. It is only a small sample of your ideas and opinions and is NOT a formal test of your ability to manage in all situations. Read the following 30 statements and indicate whether you agree or disagree with each by placing a tick in the appropriate column, in column A if you agree, in column D if you disagree. Please be honest and answer what you really think. A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 D Completing jobs far in advance of deadlines is a sign of good planning. There is a direct relationship between pay increases and productivity. The main reason workers often resist change is simply because they have become comfortable with the current situation. Close supervision promotes high morale. Company policy need not be communicated below supervisory level. Evidence of good planning in a department is to have 100% of everyone’s time scheduled for a week in advance. Workers will do less work if they are continually watched and supervised closely. Important changes are always best introduced by written memos placed on notice boards. Bosses should know all the answers to keep the respect of their subordinates. All important communication is either spoken or written. continued 190 Managing Human Resource Development A 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 D Since conditions change and problems arise in many cases it is better not to set definite objectives to be achieved. If management does not lay out goals and strict guidelines, employees will generally be passive and nothing will be achieved. Workers should usually influence the rate at which changes are implemented. Management talent develops faster under tight supervisory control. The best supervisors usually listen more than they talk. It is best to formulate only very general plans and take care of the operational problems as they arise. Motivating people is largely a job of selling your ideas and what the company demands of them. Group discussion, especially where hostility to management exists, is seldom a good way to introduce change. Leadership is fundamentally establishing high standards and then controlling through performance measurements to ensure they are met. When communicating, the supervisor’s sole concern should be with the facts. Planning is almost impossible since it is unrealistic that future problems can be forecast. In general, employees should be allowed to set their own level of work output. Supervisors who introduce change should give their primary attention to the technical and mechanical aspects so as not to slow down production. There are a few people who have the ability and will rise to the top, but many do not and their advancement possibilities are limited. Workers should accept some of the responsibility for understanding their supervisors’ communications. If workers are taught to plan, then supervisors have their planning jobs done for them. The average person tends to work as little as possible. Changes in company policy which are likely to be controversial and disagreed with should simply be announced from the highest level without discussion. Generally, bosses should make decisions for those below them. Stating a point clearly and frequently is usually the best way to get it across. The objective of this instrument is to measure knowledge and attitudes in the following five management areas: 1 Goals and planning – Items 1, 6, 11, 16, 21 and 26 2 Motivation – Items 2, 7, 12, 17, 22 and 27 Chapter 6: Learning needs analysis 191 3 Making changes – Items 3, 8, 13, 18, 23 and 28 4 Leadership and developing subordinates – Items 4, 9, 14, 19, 24 and 29 5 Communication – Items 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 The “correct” answers are A for items 7, 13, 15, 22 and 25, and D for all the other items. (Adapted from Watson, 1979.) 6.14 References ASTD/SABPP, 2010. The 8th Annual ASTD State of the South African Learning Industry Report 2010, Johannesburg: ASTD Global Network SA/SABPP. Broad ML and Newstrom JW, 1992, Transfer of Training, Reading: Addison-Wesley. Cascio WF, 1998, Managing Human Resources, 5th edn, New York: McGraw-Hill. Edwards MR and Ewen AJ, 1996, 360º Feedback, New York: Amacom. Erasmus BJ, Loedolff P van Z, Mda T and Nel PS, 2006, Managing Training and Development in South Africa, 3th edn, Cape Town: Oxford. Knowles MS, 1988, The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species, Houston: Gulf. Mager RF, 1988, Making Instruction Work, Belmont: David Lake. Meyer M, 2012, “HR gets its house in order”, HR Future, 6, 18–21. Mills GE, Pace RW and Peterson BD, 1988, Analysis in Human Resources Training and Organization Development, Reading: Addison-Wesley. National Training Board, 1998, Education Training and Development Practices Project – Final Report, Pretoria: NTB. Robinson DG and Robinson JC, 1989, Training for Impact, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Rothwell WJ and Kazanas HC, 1992, Mastering the Instructional Design Process, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Rothwell WJ and Sredl HJ, 1992, The ASTD Guide to Professional Human Resource Development Roles and Competencies Vol II, Amherst: ASTD. RSA, 2008, The National Qualifications Framework Act, Act 67 of 2008, Pretoria: Government Printer. Rummler GA, 1987, “Determining needs”, in RL Craig (ed), Training and Development Handbook, New York: McGraw-Hill. Spangenberg H, 1994, Understanding and Implementing Performance Management, Kenwyn: Juta. Van der Schyff R, 2001, “Developing workplace skills plans”, in Meyer M, Mabaso J and Lancaster K (eds), 2001, ETD Practices in South Africa, Durban: Butterworths. Van Dyk PS, Nel PS, Loedolff P van Z and Haasbroek GD, 1997, Training Management: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Human Resources Development in Southern Africa, 2nd edn, Halfway House: International Thomson. Watson CW, 1979, Management Development Through Training, Reading: AddisonWesley. 192 Managing Human Resource Development 6.15 Suggested reading Barbazette J, 2006, Training Needs Assessment: Methods, Techniques and Tools, San Francisco: Pheiffer. Barksdale S and Land T, 2001, Rapid Needs Analysis, Alexandria: ASTD. Bellis I, 2000, Skills Development, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Jerling K, 1997, The Education Training and Development Process, Pretoria: Kagiso. Mankin, D, 2009, Human Resource Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Meyer M and Orpen M, 2007, Occupationally-directed Education Training and Development Practices, Durban: LexisNexis Butterworths. Mitchell GM, 1993, The Trainer’s Handbook: The AMA Guide to Effective Training, New York: Amacom. Nadler L, 1988, Designing Training Programmes: The Critical Events Model, Reading: Addison-Wesley. Opperman C and Meyer M, 2008, Integrating Training Needs Analysis, Assessment and Evaluation, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Rossett A, 1992, “Analysis of human performance problems”, in Stolovitch HD and Keeps EJ (eds), Handbook of Human Performance Technology, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. SAQA, 2012, NQF Level Descriptors Booklet, Pretoria: SAQA. SAQA, 2012, The System of Collaboration, Pretoria: SAQA. 6.16 Internet sites Adult Learning, Productivity and Creativity: http://www.learnativity.com American Management Association: http://www.amanet.org Association for Talent Development: http://www.atd.org Australian Society for Educational Technology: http://www.ascilite.org.au British Association for Open Learning: http://www.baol.co.uk Central Queensland TAFE: www.cqtage.com Department of Higher Education and Training: http://www.dhet.gov.za National Research Foundation: http://www.nrf.ac.za Quality Council for Trades and Occupations: http://www.qcto.org.za SA Board for People Practices: http://www.sabpp.co.za Skills Portal: http://www.skillsportal.co.za South African Qualifications Authority: http://www.saqa.org.za The HRD Group: http://www.trainingneedsanalysis.co.uk Training Magazine: http://www.trainingmag.com 6.17 Acknowledgements • A special word of thanks to Ken Lancaster, previous training and development manager at Glenrand MIB and lecturer at UNISA, for his input into this chapter. • The authors are grateful to Roy Braxton and Marica Richter of Braxton Consulting for providing a case study for this chapter. CHAPTER 7 DESIGNING HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS Melanie Bushney The design component, of course, is the development of learning events that will enable participants to perform the desired behaviours. (Michael Milano and Diane Ullius) LEARNING OUTCOMES • Apply the phases and steps in the National Learning Design Standard (SABPP) • Describe the various HRD interventions • Provide practical guidelines when designing and implementing various human resource interventions • Provide recommendations for successful on-the-job training to ensure life-long learning • Develop a curriculum, programme strategy and workplace-based material for any learning programme of your choice in accordance with the relevant unit standards • Discuss the factors in choosing and implementing a suitable intervention to ensure that value is added to an organisation • Explain the conditions that are necessary for adventure learning to be successful in ensuring that effective learning takes place • Design an intervention which would address an effectiveness or efficiency problem in an organisation • Distinguish between an “evolved” simulation and a “custom” simulation 193 194 Managing Human Resource Development 7.1 Introduction The design phase of human resource development (HRD) is of critical importance to the success of any HRD intervention. During the process of design, the outcomes of an HRD intervention are determined. This is followed by the design of appropriate learning materials and the selection of appropriate learning strategies and techniques to facilitate the learning process. The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) has had a major impact on the design of HRD interventions. Not only does it require that an integrated approach to design be implemented, it also ensures that relevant interventions are selected to contribute to effective learning and the development of human resources in South Africa. HRD practitioners no longer develop training programmes for the sake of training; rather, appropriate, relevant and credible learning programmes are designed to meet the needs of the South African economy. In fact, the generation of occupational curricula overseen by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) will ensure that learning-programme design will look completely different in the future. Learning programmes should comply with the requirements of an occupational curriculum, from planning the curriculum, to preparing learning aids, to developing training materials, to practical application and workplace experience. This chapter is a direct follow-up to the previous chapter. Once training needs have been analysed, HRD practitioners can design the necessary HRD interventions. This chapter provides guidelines for the design, management and application of HRD interventions and deals with selected types of HRD interventions, including conferences, on-the-job training, industrial theatre sessions, action learning, adventure learning, team-building, learning programmes and games and simulations. 7.2 National Learning Design Standard (SABPP) In 2014, the SA Board for People Practices (SABPP) developed and published a National Standard on Learning Design. The standard was developed by several HR and HRD professionals as part of the National HR Professional Practice Standards – i.e. phase two of the National HR Standards project. The purpose of the HR standards initiative is to standardise HR practices by reducing inconsistency and providing clear guidelines for application. The Learning Design standard is part of the Learning and Development element of the HR Management National System standard. Learning design has been defined as follows in the National Learning Design standard: Learning design is the practice guiding the design and development of learning solutions that lead to improved workplace performance. Source: SABPP (2015) The definition of learning design provides an innovative approach to focusing on learning design in a professional and business-friendly manner. Building on the performance consulting approach to HRD discussed in chapter 5, the emphasis in the standard is to direct learning design to learning solutions that lead to improved workplace performance. The learning design standard goes on to stipulate the fundamental requirements for good learning design practices (SABPP, 2015): • Learning design should be based on an acceptable instructional design model, which encompasses adult-based learning theory and is therefore a practice for a trained professional. Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions 195 • Advances in technology are contributing to major advances in the effectiveness of delivery of learning and learning design, and therefore design of any learning intervention should consider how technology can best support the desired learning outcome. • Learning design should always be outcomes based and the outcomes, with the outcomes being defined through the learning needs analysis process. Thus, various stakeholders are involved. • Learning solutions go beyond formal training, and proposals on learning solutions should consider other alternatives, including practical and experiential learning, distance learning, and technology-based learning. • Learning design should specify how achievement of competency should be assessed. Figure 7.1 sets out the learning design process as outlined in the national learning design standard (SABPP, 2015): Figure 7.1 Learning design process according to learning design standard INPUTS Learning needs analysis Job profiles Competency models Performance standards Operating procedures Existing learning solutions (Internal or external) PROCESS Identify existence of learning path/ curriculum into which learning solutions must fit in. If none, construct learning path/ curriculum Identify if suitable solution exists or can be adapted Signed-off learning solution Draft design proposal and obtain sign-off Determine modules needed, formulate learning outcomes, sequence modules, formulate assessment criteria, identify learning activities, obtain sign-off Conduct pilot Incorporate feedback Handover and maintain Source: SABPP (2015) OUTPUTS Assessment methods and follow-up 196 Managing Human Resource Development Building on the above overall process of the learning design standard, the following detailed steps support the learning design process (SABPP, 2015): 1. Receive learning solution request: • Confirm if there is an existing job-based learning path or curriculum that the solution could be incorporated into (national qualifications or a company-based curriculum). • Confirm if there are existing solutions by doing a gap analysis of learning solutions. • Inform the client of the learning solutions available. 2. Formulate the learning proposal: • Formulate the draft proposal and design the brief (including learning solution options and costing) for partially fulfilled and non-existing solutions. • Obtain sign-off by internal or external client. 3. Design the solution: • Obtain input from subject-matter experts in terms of job requirement, with specific reference to knowledge, practical skills and work exposure, in order to fulfil the identified need. • List the modules. • Formulate the learning outcomes of each module. • Sequence the modules. • Align South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) unit standards and outcomes-based qualifications to the identified module outcomes, where applicable. • Formulate assessment criteria and align them with the learning outcomes, categorised into activities aimed at sourcing and gaining information, and internalise the information, demonstrating mastery of information and learning. • Obtain sign-off. 4. Development of learning solution: • Developer engages with subject matter expert in order to obtain current content. • Source additional content. • Develop the learning solution based on the signed-off methodology. • Incorporate comments obtained during regular feedback sessions with client regarding learning solutions. • Pilot the solution. • Obtain sign-off. 5. Hand-over and implement the solution: • Depending on the organisational structure, either hand over the learning solution to the client for implementation, including train the trainer (where applicable), or • Inform the client that the solution is ready for implementation. 6. Maintain the learning solution: • Client informs developer of changes to be made to the solution, e.g. process changes, and then continuously improves the solution. Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions 197 7.3 Selection of HRD interventions In support of the National Learning Design Standard, we will now cover some HRD interventions and solutions. Kenney and Reid (1988:184) include under the term “intervention”, “any event which is deliberately planned by those responsible for training to assist learning to take place. It includes a wide range of activities, from formal courses to structured work experiences”. Any intervention means change. Training efforts targeted at enhancing organisational development are OD interventions – for example, teambuilding. Given the numerous HRD interventions, HRD managers will have to choose among them. This may seem a difficult task. HRD practitioners as performance technologists or interventionists may select and use only those interventions which are known to them, thus an improvement project may not achieve the improvement it was intended to achieve. Another selection factor is intervention interference. HRD practitioners should be aware that one selected intervention might have an adverse effect on other interventions that are to be implemented. Intervention selection involves an accurate and complete performance analysis (gap between existing and desired performance), identification of what change is needed and at what level, knowledge about the best available interventions and implementing the change by collaborating with others who also conduct interventions (Langdon, Whiteside and McKenna, 1999:23). When others who may be part of the solution are also involved in the analysis and development of the performance solution, the result is ownership of the solution and its maintenance. For instance, a marketing manager who has resources at his disposal, may know how to obtain certain information about clients that nobody else knew existed. Interventions should fit the organisation’s culture. For example, in third-party interventions during interpersonal conflict in the workplace, the focus will fall on content and/or relationship issues. Interventions that focus on content are concerned with what happened and who was at fault. In organisations which emphasise compliance with procedures, finding the facts and placing blame would be suitable for that culture (Kruse, 1995:3). On the other hand, organisations that place value on flexibility and diversity, will view conflict as a learning experience. Noe (1999:183–184) discusses other factors which play a role in choosing a suitable intervention. These factors refer to the extent to which the intervention facilitates learning and contributes to the transfer of learning, the costs related to the development and the use of the intervention as well as its effectiveness as applied against the specific training needs. When learners apply what they have learnt back on the job, transfer of learning has occurred. When the training content and environment prepare trainees to use the learning outcomes on the job, it is more probable that transfer will take place. For example, transfer of training is high in on-the-job training, medium in role-playing, but low in adventure learning (Noe, 1999:184). Two types of costs should also be considered: development costs and administrative costs. The design of the intervention is related to development costs. Administrative costs (consultants, facilitators, materials and trainers) are costs which are incurred every time the intervention is used. The training budget to develop training interventions influences the choice of intervention made by the trainer. For example, trainers who are limited by their budgets in developing new interventions can apply structured on-the-job training, which 198 Managing Human Resource Development is relatively inexpensive but effective. Other factors to consider include the number of people affected and the amount of time available to implement the intervention. Finally it seems an intervention design is determined by what competence must be acquired. Therefore, the focus of an intervention will inform the design and delivery of the required intervention. 7.4 Implementation of interventions The implementation of interventions requires careful thought, since the intervention is nearly always a source of change in a complex setting and it involves performance and behaviour and other sensitive issues. Langdon, Whiteside and McKenna (1999:27) recommend a master project plan which consists of six elements: • A plan to develop the intervention itself: This plan includes the identification of the internal and external resources required to complete the development – timelines, budgets, experts, rollout dates and milestones. • A strategy to ensure communication throughout the intervention: An analysis of who must do what and the media to be used. This element includes the planning and scheduling of presentations. Celebrations may also be an important vehicle of communication. • An analysis of the target population: This analysis does not have to be long but it should indicate an understanding of the implications of the target population’s age, learning styles, language, typical reactions to and acceptance of change and other relevant attributes which may affect success. • A plan to assess political bases: An assessment of the political bases is critical to ensure success. For instance, when launching an intervention on leveraging diversity, the political impact must be weighted. The identification of key sponsors and inclusion of informal leaders are required in order for a successful implementation to occur. • An analysis of intervention sequencing and review for intervention interference: It is possible that a single intervention – team-building, for example – is all that is needed to solve a problem. At other times many interventions are implemented one at a time or simultaneously in a large organisation. Multiple interventions include conflict resolution, relationship-building, career development and a decision-making process. HRD practitioners should ensure that all parties communicate with each other, that all interventions are sequenced correctly, that interventions do not contradict each other and that they will not confuse the target populations. Since the implementation does not occur in a vacuum, the collaboration of internal and external consultants, line managers and informal leaders is critical for success. • A project plan for rollout: The larger the group at whom the intervention is targeted, the more planning is required. Decisions need to be made as to who will be where and when and who will receive what. 7.5 HRD interventions Various HRD interventions will now be discussed, with specific reference to their application. Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions 199 7.5.1 Conferences Professional conferences provide a valuable source of learning. In a conference a group of people from various organisations, departments or viewpoints get together. However, they share some common interest or background and their objective is to identify a problem and reach a solution. In the process they also exchange information and increase cooperation. Conferences are usually designed around a theme. Attending conferences may be incorporated into employees’ workplace skills plans and skills profiles to enhance their learning processes. Planning and conducting a corporate conference are big tasks. Kaufman (2002:1–4) provides several tips to make corporate conferences more successful: • Begin with a bang: Start the conference with an impressive video clip, attention grabbing slides, a stirring song, powerful first speech, dramatic performance or multi-media presentation. • Use big names on conference tags: A bold, clear typeface with the largest possible letter size will be suitable. Nametags should be readable from a distance of three meters. It should make it easy for delegates to meet and mingle. • Distribute a delegates’ networking sheet: A user-friendly networking sheet containing the contact information of all the delegates may be used during and after the conference. A digital or smart phone camera enables the organisers to include portraits of delegates which makes it easier to find each other during the conference or to remember faces afterwards. • Promote a theme: The conference should have a distinctive theme and title like Reaching for the Top, Thriving in the Future or The Winning Team. Link the theme with an appropriate logo to illustrate the key idea. Repeat the theme by requesting presenters to link their content to the selected theme. This leads to continuity and reinforcement. The theme should be visible on the conference decorations and materials like folders, banners and nametags. Presenters and exhibitors should receive “camera-ready” images in hard copy and on diskette in order to customise their materials. • Involve the audience before the conference: They should receive advance mailings with a selection of materials, “think about” assignments, information gathering responsibilities and a detailed programme agenda. • Continue the conference after it is over: Sending out a follow-up article, newsletter, results of a conference survey, printed version of action plans or decisions taken during the conference and an invitation to the next event will extend the value of the conference. Place a page on your website with photographs from the conference, key ideas and articles presented and conference survey results. Announce the post-conference webpage during the conference as well. • Always triple check all microphones audio-visual needs: The first thing your audience should hear is not “Can you hear me at the back?” Have back-up technology ready if needed. • End with a memorable finale: The last impression should be a lasting one. Close the conference with a powerful speaker, stirring song, major award presentation or multimedia event to motivate the audience. 200 Managing Human Resource Development 7.5.2 On-the-job training A common method of training is on-the-job (OJT) training. No matter how effective employees are, there are times when they will be confronted by some aspect of the job that they have not experienced before. When a manager, supervisor or co-worker gives training at the workplace, it is called OJT training. OJT training enables the individual to acquire new skills and behaviour via observation and guided practice while he or she is working “on-the-job” (Craig, 1987:371). OJT training is thus when the organisation trains newly hired employees, upgrades the skills of experienced employees when new technology is applied, cross-trains employees within a department or work unit and orientates transferred or promoted employees to their new jobs (Noe, 1999:166). The procedure in OJT training is informal. A co-worker tells the worker what he or she is expected to do or the worker observes an experienced worker for some indefinite period of time and tries to imitate that person’s behaviour. Rarely does the trainer receive guidelines to follow during the instructional period (Gordon, 1994:205). For example, when training as a waiter, the learner follows the experienced waiter for one or two days. Often the worker or trainer is busy and the learner observes while the job is being performed. The learner may also be expected to perform the job for a period of time while the trainer observes. Gordon (1994:205–206) compares the strengths and weaknesses of OJT training. From his analysis it would appear that OJT training is a poor intervention. However, most weaknesses stem from a training programme that is usually not well designed to serve as the basis for OJT training. The whole instructional programme may be the responsibility of someone who may not know how to perform the job well or who lacks expertise in instructional design and coaching (Noe, 1999:1661). In such circumstances, OJT training will not be effective and the learner will acquire undesirable or incorrect behaviour or skills. The weaknesses described by Gordon are based upon the assumption that the OJT training programme occurs in an unstructured manner. The weaknesses may be mitigated when proper instructional design is applied. According to Gordon (1994:206) OJT training reveals the following strengths: • OJT training has low cost, since people do what they would normally do. • It is easy to implement because it requires little advance efforts. • There is usually an employee or supervisor available to do the training. • The content is flexible and changes as the job changes. • OJT training provides a good transfer of training for skill acquisition, since it is the same as the ultimate job environment. • OJT training offers the opportunity to test declarative knowledge access and use under realistic circumstances. • OJT training affords more potential for active learning and skill practice than most other HRD interventions such as classroom training. OJT training is often ineffective especially when it is not well planned. Gordon (1994:206–207) mentions the following weaknesses: • The trainer usually lacks instructional design skills. • The trainer usually does not take any extra time to design a programme or think about what to train or how to train it. Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions 201 • The trainer must still continue to perform his or her regular job at the same pace. Consequently, the trainer does not have enough time to train the learner properly. • The trainer will usually not cover declarative knowledge in adequate detail. He or she will only verbalise those things of which he or she is spontaneously reminded. • The trainer will usually not cover sufficient detail of skills and task performance. He or she only covers what comes up or what he or she can access from memory. • The worker may resent his or her role as a trainer and show a lack of commitment. • The learner usually has a passive role. He or she may not actually perform the job to a great degree. • The learner may receive too little feedback from the trainer. There is also usually too little practice of the various sub-tasks. For OJT training to be successful, careful selection of a trainer who can establish a warm, friendly and trusting relationship with new employees is necessary. OJT training can also be successful if it is structured, implemented properly and good principles of instructional design are considered. Therefore, Gordon (1994:252) recommends that OJT programmes should be carefully designed and developed, since the employee who carries out the instruction lacks the expertise to train. It should be specified who, where, when and what knowledge and tasks should be taught. The training methods, the type of practice and feedback mechanisms should also be specified. The programme for OJT training will be more effective if the trainer receives material, even if it is only a task list of items to include in the programme. A task list can be developed in conjunction with trainers and management. It should be tied to the learning material in the task analysis. If subject matter experts develop the learning programme, they should examine the task list and examples of materials or exit tests. They should also be asked for other types of relevant information, if such information was not gathered during the task analysis. This includes: • The length of time required to give task and sub-task training; • Possible hazards in teaching each task; • Whether the task should be automated; • How often the learner will have to perform the task during the job; • Difficulties learners may experience in learning the task. In OJT training checklists should be used as well as exit tests, depending on the specific situation. A brief introduction to the checklist is also necessary for the person who will conduct the training. The purpose of this introduction is to indicate the importance of the checklist and how to use it in an effective way. The trainer can mark items on the checklist if they have been covered during instruction or when the learner demonstrates that he or she can successfully perform the task. OJT training involves several principles with regard to the preparation for training and the actual intervention. According to Noe (1999:167) the trainer can prepare for the intervention by doing the following: • Break down the job into important steps. • Prepare the relevant equipment, materials and supplies. • Calculate the time which you will devote to OJT training and the time by which the employee should be competent in skill areas. 202 Managing Human Resource Development The actual training during the process of OJT training involves the following: • Inform the learner about the objective of the task. He or she has to observe as the trainer demonstrates the task. • Show the learner how to perform the task. • Explain the key points or behaviours. • Demonstrate to the learner how to do it again. • The learner should perform one or more single parts of the task and be praised for doing them correctly. • The learner then performs the whole task. It seems that criteria should be built into the task to ensure learning quality and the trainer should praise the trainee for doing it correctly or suggest corrective action. • When errors occur, the trainee will practise until he or she can perform the task accurately. • The trainer should praise the learners for their success in the learning process. According to Langdon et al (1999:245) two developments have affected OJT practice. First, experienced employees instead of supervisors now do most of the OJT, since many organisations vest decision-making in empowered worker teams. Experienced employees may then need to be trained on effective approaches to structured OJT in order to become effective on-the-job trainers. Knowing how to train others does not always come naturally. Secondly, many organisations place more emphasis on the learner’s role in OJT. In some organisations, one-on-one training is not always possible. That problem is addressed by training newcomers in how to pull the information they need to do their job out of experienced and knowledgeable co-employees, in contrast to expecting trainers to push that information. This has led to the recognition of planned and unplanned on-the-job learning (Langdon et al, 1999:245). Planned OJT, a variation of structured OJT, places responsibility on the learner rather than the trainer. Classic Planned OJT involves the learner in activities like watching, asking, doing and inviting feedback in contrast to the classic approach of showing, telling, doing and checking. OJT is in line with efforts to create learning organisations, as discussed in chapter 4. 7.5.3 Industrial theatre sessions Although this type of intervention is relatively new, it is becoming more popular. Industrial theatre seems to focus on themes where large groups of people can be included. It adds a fun element and humour to learning while still getting the basic message across. Industrial theatre makes use of drama and actors within a commercial setting. Its aim is to sell a product or service, to convey a concept, raise the awareness of people and to enhance training. This type of intervention can be very informative, exciting, engaging and entertaining. Industrial theatre addresses argumentative issues in a non-threatening way through the mediums of storytelling and humour. According to Isaacson (1995:33) the use of satire enables people to laugh at the portrayal of certain behaviours and prejudices by fictitious characters, which may be offensive in another context. Audiences are thus required to make a mental shift and see themselves from another person’s point of view. The proximity and impact of live theatre attracts people and makes it preferable to watching a Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions 203 video. Nedbank, for instance, has made extensive use of live theatre and video programmes. Industrial theatre can address topics like affirmative action, diversity issues, gender problems, customer service, human resources (recruitment and selection), safety procedures, industrial action and poor communication on the shop floor (Isaacson, 1995:34). Plays can be adjusted to address specific organisational issues. For example, Western Deep Levels asked the management consultancy, Labour Link, to script a play which would communicate diversity in the vernacular of illiterate underground workers (Isaacson, 1995:34). In this sense, industrial theatre is seen as a sensitisation instrument to create awareness among cross-sections of staff. It is suggested that the message be compatible with the issue being addressed to ensure that positive associations are made with the experience. Some people may be wary of industrial theatre as a training and mobilisation methodology. They believe that industrial theatre should be as glamorous as big hit-shows. Big launches of new products using the full array of theatrical resources can be expensive, but those events form a small part of the whole industrial theatre world which aims at facilitating learning (Learning Theatre News Letter, 2000:2). The majority of industrial theatre productions use only two or three actors. They produce shows in factories, canteens and offices or from the back of trucks. Industrial theatre has an effect on the work lives and personal attitudes of the people. When followed by facilitation, it will lead to learning, mobilisation and change in the people and the organisation. Industrial theatre seems an expensive intervention, but it may be intended to address a very specific audience, for example, people who require programmes which fall under ABET. 7.5.3.1 Applications and usage of industrial theatre sessions Theatre in the business environment can be more than just a communication tool. The Learning Theatre Organization News Letter of December (2000:2–3) points out several areas for industrial theatre applications: • Internal communication: In an effort to create awareness and understanding, industrial theatre may be used to communicate a new policy, procedure, process, direction or organisational change to employees. • External communication: By employing various theatre principles, all sorts of information can be shared with communities in public places. • Behavioural interventions: Drama has an influence on emotion, assumptions, attitudes, culture, beliefs and reference frameworks. Dramatic solutions can be applied to assist resistant employees and mobilise them in the direction of changes. • Promotion: Dramatic solutions can assist the consumer in the decision to purchase, thereby enabling the organisation to achieve its goals. Individuals and their behaviour during the purchase decision are mirrored. The mirroring cuts the decision-making process and simplifies a complex process. • Competency-based development/skills development: Competencies consist of a combination of knowledge, skill, experience and behaviour. The latter enables dramatic solutions to play a part in competency development. Drama demonstrates correct and incorrect behaviour to learners. In the development of soft skills like teamwork, leadership, customer service and diversity management, drama can be applied effectively. 204 Managing Human Resource Development • Conference and exhibition support: A piece of drama can be scripted to reveal particular action, relevant to the topic of the conference. Role-play with conference delegates will afford them the opportunity to experience some of the areas under discussion. Improvisation may be used to explore subject areas. Facilitation of the discussion of large and smaller groups may be required. Actors can add a creative and original touch to exhibitions to present a product or service by making use of role-plays, scripted theatre or improvisation. • Presentation and training: Industrial theatre can lend more impact and effectiveness to a presentation when a scripted or improvised theatre is used). However, interactive theatre alone is not enough. Isaacson (1995:34) recommends that follow-up workshops are necessary to retain the impact of a play. Industrial theatre can be very effective in the form of role-play, when it is used in conjunction with interview situations and similar situations. This has the benefit that people can try out various ways of approaching a problem area. • Scriptwriting: In a consultative relationship scripts, character outlines, scenarios and all the information necessary for both actors and delegates to conduct role-plays, can be generated Furthermore, actors can lend a helping hand in writing or preparing scripts for presentations and speeches. The Learning Theatre Organization makes use of the following types of theatre: • Industrial or Corporate Theatre: Although this type provides little or no feedback from the audience, it can be used effectively during launches and for the dissemination of information concerning, for example, new policies, employment equity, safety and customer service. • Interactive Theatre: This type of theatre leads to more involvement and debate from the audience in order to indicate a right and wrong way. It can be used for many applications such as soft-skills training. • Facilitated Theatre: This type of theatre makes use of facilitators to draw out the learning from the theatre at group and individual levels. It is used in times of major organisational or cultural changes when, for example, a comprehensive leadership development programme is embarked upon when a company makes the transition from a local to an international company. • Participative Experiential Theatre: This type is a uniquely South African product. Participants receive information by various means. With the assistance of facilitators and actors, they learn new skills and behaviours on a deep level, by doing it themselves. Participants are able to understand organisational change, expected culture and expected new skills or leadership style (http://learningtheatre.co.za/types.htm). 7.5.3.2 Company examples The Blue Moon Company works in the mediums of industrial theatre, video and interactive websites and CD-ROMs. They are pioneers in the use of theatre in the area of internal communication and are leaders in this field. The focus of the company falls on large organisations with the typical cross-section of diversity in South Africa, which are engaged in a transformation process; senior executive teams who have to convey contentious or complex messages; and organisations characterised by sophisticated internal audiences who have faced an overexposure to conventional mediums, such as classroom training. Harmony Goldmines, the sixth largest gold producer in the world, has handed the greater part of their internal communication process to theatrical types (Trevor, 2002:2). Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions 205 Transnet has used industrial theatre sessions to create awareness about safety in the workplace. The organisation required a script beforehand, written by scriptwriters from outside the organisation. The script was dramatised in front of management for final approval before road shows were arranged. The themes addressed in industrial theatre sessions were sexual harassment and AIDS awareness. Old Mutual has used two plays of the management consultancy, Labour Link, as an integral part of their affirmative action approach with positive results (Isaacson, 1995:33). The viewing promoted open, honest and direct discussion and the majority of the audience indicated that the play had given them a clearer understanding of what affirmative action is all about. The Learning Theatre Organization establishes theatre workshops that cover topics like organisational changes and the communication thereof, leadership development, marketing and promotion of products and services, communicating vision and business processes, the implementation of new information management technology, customer service, e-business, e-commerce and health, safety and environment. The following are detailed examples of industrial theatre which have been applied by the Learning Theatre Organization: The Learning Theatre Organization has established an industrial theatre production to address HIV/ AIDS prevention and after care. Five small plays (seven minutes each) address these issues in a dramatic and emotional way without focusing on the normal array of scientific facts or the scare tactics used by many. Each play closes by highlighting the key learning points. Large audiences of 700 people have attended the performances. Although AIDS is a reality with devastating effects on individuals and their social circle, there are ways of making it bearable and fruitful. The organisation believes that the production, with its exciting music, will be effective and educational, and supported with a medical backup from company clinics, community health workers and centres, will warn of the dangers of infection and give hope to those who are already infected. Scene one: A bar/shebeen at night. Venus approaches Franklin. They dance and Franklin buys Venus a drink. She flirts with him and his initial shyness disappears. Ultimately she is ready to leave with him but he mentions that his wife is waiting. Venus says she really likes him and besides, what his wife doesn’t know won’t hurt her. She gives him a whole lot of misinformation about AIDS. They leave together. The mood is light and full of fun, with the focus placed on the comedy of the situation. Music link: The song is about having a good life and how dangerous it can be, but how Franklin and Venus do not care. Scene Two: Franklin comes home. His wife, Lucy, is in tears. She tells him that upon going to the doctor for a check-up, she has tested positive for HIV. He accuses her of promiscuity. She says to him that she knows she didn’t sleep around, and that she got it from him. He informs her that one can contract AIDS from various sources like drinking from someone else’s cup or from a mosquito. She tells him that he is wrong and he finally leaves in a bad mood. She collapses. The serious mood emphasises the terrible consequences of Franklin’s actions. Music link: The song is a duel between them in which there are accusations flung at each other, until they collapse in each other’s arms and have to face the reality that they may die. Scene three: Franklin is at the canteen at work. Everyone knows that he has AIDS. The waitress puts the tray down at the far end of the table and pushes it towards him with a broom. Franklin discusses with her the realities of living with AIDS and how it is not the AIDS that kills you but AIDS-related diseases like TB. The extent of the epidemic and the fact that most people have daily contact with AIDS sufferers without even knowing about it are conveyed. Although it starts out as a funny scene, it becomes serious quickly. continued 206 Managing Human Resource Development Music link: Franklin’s song is about how his life has changed. He has lost all his friends, and he is concerned about his family’s welfare. Scene four: Franklin and his young daughter, also called Lucy, mourn his wife’s death. They grieve the fact that she died as an innocent. The daughter wonders if she is also going to die. He explains that she will not contract it from him and if he manages his diet and exercise programme correctly, he may still live a full and healthy life for many years. He is assisting with a volunteer programme to help others cope with AIDS and HIV infection. He has done some financial planning so that she will be looked after in the event of his death. The audience gets a peek at old playful Franklin. The mood is light, and there will be a few smiles and even laughs behind the tears. Music link: Lucy sings a sad song about losing her parents, stating that irresponsible behaviour has broken their family apart. Scene five: Little Lucy meets a young man. They are attracted to each other but behave responsibly. She tells him that her parents have both died of AIDS. He believes the younger generation has to fight the disease and eliminate it. The mood is optimistic, stressing the energy required to combat this frightening disease. Music finale: The song is a battle cry against AIDS and risky behaviour. It challenges the audience to join in the fight against this disease. Participants have described the performances as an emotional experience. It compelled them to rethink their current behaviour patterns and attitudes towards the sufferers of this disease. They committed themselves to fighting this disease. In another example a hi-tech chemical company experienced major structural changes due to a merger with a similar company. The merger brought along new business processes, teamwork, retrenchments, momentous cuts in the budget and a new leadership style. Employees became demoralised, distrustful and demotivated. The company wanted to change the leadership style from a control-based management style to a participative leadership style. The company required a training intervention for every leadership competency needed in the new culture. They wanted 1 000 leaders to attend each competency intervention they believed they needed. The problem was to get 1 000 leaders sufficiently motivated during the transformation period where the emotional energy to attend the interventions was low. The company used a Facilitated Theatre workshop. They wanted to create understanding about the need for the leadership initiative, and to ensure common comprehension of the competencies. Leaders had to develop an awareness of how their own leadership behaviour needed to be modified. The Facilitated Theatre workshop consisted of four plays and three facilitation sessions. The first play covered the history of the company and the challenges that the company faced in the past and the need to change once more in order to successfully address the future. The second play highlighted the newly expected leadership competencies. The third play demonstrated the application of the new competencies and the resistance to change. The fourth play gave a view of the future. The facilitation sessions assisted the participants in comparing their own emotions, assumptions, beliefs and leadership behaviour with those of the characters in the plays. Furthermore, the discussions enabled the participants to release some of their own emotions about the changes. The intervention created a common picture in the minds of the participants. The theatre mirrored leadership behaviour which educated, confronted, empathised and joked with the audience who often had a good laugh at themselves during the performances. The leaders developed a sense of pride in their company. With regard to the objective to activate the leaders to acquire the new leadership skills by attending the voluntary follow-up training interventions, an attendance rate of 85% was achieved. Moreover, the attendance rate had been maintained over a two-year period (http://learningtheatre.co.za.htm). Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions 207 7.5.3.3 Ambush training Ambush training is a variation or special type of industrial theatre. Eskom launched an intensive national road show campaign to support and maintain visible public safety in the country. Critical factors influencing the shift in the public safety risk profile from a relatively safe environment to an unsafe one include the rise in crime like theft of electricity and cables. Eskom representatives visited communities and schools around the country to stress the dangers of tampering with electricity. They used industrial theatre, an effective multi-cultural communication tool, to convey the safety message. In an effort to explore new and innovative ways of informing and educating the public, they have introduced an exciting new campaign – “ambush” or street theatre performances. Ambush training is described as a technique in which undercover actors create a scenario which the public believes to be real (Eskom News, 2002:13). The actors blend in with the crowd at a taxi rank, train station or food market, for example. Then they begin to act out the so-called drama. This technique is very effective, since it grabs the attention of the people. The “act” unfolds and the actors will emerge from among the crowd and give an explanation of what had happened. The crowd begins to realise that tampering with electricity is not to be taken lightly and could harm you. 7.5.4 Action learning Learning which involves participants more fully is expected to result in learning taking root in employees. Research has demonstrated that retention levels have improved by as much as 90% once learners shift from a classroom setting in which they passively receive information to a situation in which they try out what they are learning as they are learning it – a process called action learning (Blaine, 2007:40). Action learning is a “group problem-solving process built on diversity, reflective questioning and commitment to individual, group and organisational learning” (Langdon et al, 1999:52). As such it serves as an individual, team and organisational development intervention. Action learning presents an opportunity for continuous self-development, growth and learning. This is vital for learners who can apply their learning in a significant manner to function effectively in the complex world of business today. Action learning programmes consists of six key elements: • Form action learning groups: These groups are composed of four to eight members from different functions or departments. • Undertake projects, problems or task: The problem must be current and feasible. • Question and reflect: Action learning concentrates on the right questions rather than the right answers. • Make a commitment to action: Learning does not occur unless the group acts on the problem they are addressing. • Discuss what has been learned as individuals and as a group: They should also discuss how that learning should be applied in other areas of the organisation. • Analyse the learning experience: A facilitator will assist the members in reflecting on what they are learning and how they are solving problems. Action learning as a powerful problem-solving tool consists of the following phases: • Introductory phase: Group members identify what they are trying to achieve, obstacles which prevent them from achieving it and ways to overcome these obstacles. 208 Managing Human Resource Development • Diagnostic phase: Group members explore the issues of who knows and who cares about the problem and who can implement solutions. • Consultation phase: Group members interview or observe external resources. • Implementation phase: Group members compile action plans, recommend a solution to senior management and implement or monitor the implementation of the solution. • Review phase: Group members share what they have learnt and decide on how to apply it in other parts of the organisation. Action learning groups do not have to be implemented throughout an organisation. They can be implemented in any area in which problems occur and meaningful learning is possible and needed. Langdon et al (1999:52) describe the following steps in the process of implementing action learning in an organisation: • Step 1: Conduct an informational workshop: An organisation-wide workshop serves to inform both managers and non-managerial employees how action learning works. External consultants and employees with the relevant expertise explain and demonstrate the basic principles and dynamics of action learning. • Step 2: Establish projects: Projects concerning organisational problems are identified to be addressed by action learning groups. • Step 3: Form action learning groups: Action learning groups contain four to eight members from diverse backgrounds who possess different kinds of functional expertise. A facilitator may be assigned to each group, although this is not essential. The facilitator should not already be known to the members in order to act in a manner that is independent of the group’s culture. • Step 4: Work on problems: Each group meets periodically (daily, weekly or every two weeks) over a period of several weeks to several months. Meetings may last a full day or a few hours, considering the nature of the problem which is being addressed and the schedules and responsibilities of the members. • Step 5: Record findings: The learning of the group develops as a result of discussing and resolving its problem. The action learning groups make use of techniques like feedback, brainstorming, reflection, discussion and analysis to arrive at solutions. Whatever they detect and experience during the process is recorded. • Step 6: Reflect on the work: After a group has completed its project, the members reflect on their work. A facilitator may or may not assist them in their reflection. The aim is to learn as much as possible about their identification, assessment and resolution of the problem. They also focus on what enhanced their learning, their communication and assumptions that influenced their actions. It is appropriate to apply action learning as an intervention when the organisation wants to solve complex problems with a comprehensive systems approach which concentrates on causes and organisational assumptions (Langdon et al, 1999:52). The organisation may also desire to accelerate individual, group and organisational learning. The leadership of the organisation should, however, be willing to commit the time, people and resources to solve crucial problems. Although the expense of implementing action learning may be a bit higher than the traditional lecture style learning, Blaine (2007) concludes that the fun, retention and application of action learning in the workplace prevail over those costs. Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions 209 7.5.5 Adventure learning In adventure learning (also called “wilderness training” or “outdoor training”) people learn how to work together as a team and display leadership skills by participating in structured outdoor activities. The latter may be individual-based as well as group-based. This type of intervention is appropriate to develop skills like self-awareness, problem-solving, teambuilding, conflict management and risk-taking. Some of the activities involved in adventure learning may be physically demanding and include wall climbing, rope courses, trust falls, climbing ladders and travelling from one point to another by using a device attached to a wire which connects the two points (Noe, 1999:179). Rope courses involve ropes that may be held three to four feet (about one meter) or 25 to 30 feet (seven to nine meters) above the group. The purpose of the high-ropes course is to help the learners to overcome their fear. For the low-ropes course, the whole team has to complete the course successfully. In these exercises, the members develop team identity, cohesiveness, motivation and communication skills (Noe, 1999:179). In trust fall exercises, each trainee stands on a narrow platform two metres above the ground and falls backward into the arms of the other group members on the ground. If the learner is unwilling to participate, this suggests that his team members have not gained his trust. After the exercise, the facilitator may ask the trainee to identify sources of anxiety and to relate them to specific workplace incidents. A task that was delegated to a colleague and not completed on time and that led to distrust of that colleague is an example of such a source (Noe, 1999:179). This exercise clearly indicates the level of trust between participants. Effective adventure learning exercises should be relevant for the types of skills trainees are required to develop. Noe (1999:179) recommends that a skilled facilitator should conduct a feedback session afterwards so that participants can share what happened in the exercise, what they learned from it, how events in the exercise relate to the work situation, how to establish goals and apply what they have learnt back on the job. The facilitator has to be clear about when to use adventure learning instead of another training intervention. This type of learning gives trainees the opportunity to interact on an interpersonal level in a situation which is not characterised by formal business rules and the constraints of the normal workplace. The participants also share a strong emotional experience. According to Noe (1999:180) the latter can be useful in helping trainees change their behaviour. Behaviour patterns that are revealed in the adventure learning exercise may be similar to the behaviour patterns seen at work. The analysis of behaviours displayed during the exercise, may lead to insight on the part of the trainees into unsuccessful behaviours. This form of self-awareness offers opportunities for improvement in a more productive working environment. Noe (1999:180) raises the question whether adventure learning works. Its impact on productivity or performance has not been established. However, trainees gain more insight into themselves and their interaction with co-workers. One success factor is the requirement that the whole group should work together so that group problems in individual and group behaviour, which are detrimental to effectiveness, can be discussed. 7.5.6 Team-building A team consists of a “small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable” (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993:45). Teams serve largely as learning 210 Managing Human Resource Development and sharing systems for organisations. Since they obtain satisfaction from trading expertise and sharing teamwork, they are very good learners (McDonald and Keys, 1996:5). Many team-building efforts have failed because teams were used for the wrong purposes or established in an authoritarian way. McDonald and Keys (1996:5) identify seven major errors in team-building programmes and offer guidelines to overcome each of these errors: • Malselection or selection of team members based on personalities rather than needed skill: Members must be chosen by taking the requisite skills for the team into consideration. The outcome should be an integration of diverse skills, knowledge and ideas and allowing interaction between members in close proximity. A manager may build a team on the basis of personal acquaintances, but team membership may then depend on being in absolute agreement with that manager, even in issues that have nothing to do with organisational goals. It is not expected that everyone know how to do all of the jobs of the team, including the team leader. Teams need diverse skills, clear roles, interdependent activities and responsibilities and mutual respect for each other. • Impatience or failure to allow time for team development: To advance from a workgroup to real teamwork at a high performance level requires time. In the stages of team development, a working group may mistakenly be classified as a team. This depends on the sum of individual bests for performance, but a synergy is lacking. A pseudo-team may even reflect poorer performance. Joint work and collaboration should be encouraged. By overcoming certain obstacles, a potential team emerges. By building on initial successes they become a real team and finally a high performance team. Explicit threats to motivate others to do better jobs of team-building lead to fear and demoralisation and will destroy team development. • Deception or using teams for pseudo-teamwork purposes: Managers may desire teambuilding for purposes which are inappropriate for team-building, for instance, using a team-building programme to camouflage difficulty or conflict between individuals or among several teams constitutes an inappropriate use of the process. The assistance of a mediator is required for conflict issues, not a team-builder. The pressure from group exposure may also create too much tension to allow them to be resolved. • Aimlessness or failure to set performance goals for the team: Great expectations about teamwork without a focused performance orientation or follow-up, indicates failure for team-building. This problem is precipitated by a lack of senior management commitment at the start up. This commitment should have been evident throughout the programme. Team-building initiatives should include all levels and must be maintained for high performance. A demanding performance challenge is the most important component of team-building. • Inhibited communication system or failure to establish open communications: Teamwork is not simply encouraging a workgroup to work in a harmonious manner, smother complaints and avoid conflict. Effective team-building needs a conducive environment which values different opinions and an open or transparent solution of conflict. Teambuilding sessions should begin with questions like “What do we do well?”, “What needs improvement?” and “What are the barriers to improvement?” Members should apply active listening skills and share their knowledge and skills. Characteristics of an effective communication system for teams include the following: accessible information, the information must originate from credible sources, a documentation system for matters that were discussed and decisions that were made, a climate of trust to raise matters of Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions 211 concern and in meetings members should be allowed to raise issues that are not on the agenda. • Powerlessness or a failure to empower employees, build confidence and ensure mutual accountability: Managers hope to create and build teams with a pep talk, but do not formulate a purpose for them. Team members feel powerless to complete the task and doubt that managers would recognise their achievement if they are successful. Team members should be encouraged and mutual accountability should be established. • Competitive mania or creating an overemphasis on competitiveness that destroys teamwork: Top management may precipitate a focus on competition and a lack of trust. Teamwork should include shared team rewards. Competition within a team has a negative influence. Organisations may be more successful when building relationships across teams. Upstream employees may then view themselves as serving internal clients. Downstream employees may view themselves as key role-players in order to ensure that quality products and services are being sent out. 7.5.7 Learning programmes Learners should have access to learning programmes which are relevant to their job requirements. An overview of learning-programme design and development is provided in this section. 7.5.7.1 Introduction A learning programme is regarded as “the process through which the learner achieves the standard or qualification” (WRSETA, 2002:10). The SAQA understanding of the criteria for programme design and development is that: programmes are flexible and designed with national needs as well as the needs of prospective employers and learners in mind. Their form and structure encourage access and are responsive to changing environments, while the learning and assessment methods are appropriate to the aims and purposes of the programme. (WRSETA, 2002:11.) Critical components of the learning programme entail its relationship to registered standards and/or qualifications in view of learning outcomes, purposes and assessment and accreditation requirements. Whereas these components were often treated separately in the past, there is now a clear focus in ensuring that learning programmes directly conform to the unit standard or qualification curriculum and that all components are aligned and integrated. These components will ensure the relevance of the programme. Finally, quality requirements should be met in the design and development of programmes. The Public Sector Education and Training Authority, for instance, has developed a guide for learning providers on learning-programme design and development (PSETA, 2009). In support of the integration principle of the NQF, the design of learning programmes should include theoretical and practical learning components. It should reflect the integration of the relevant critical cross-field outcomes, specifically those contained in the standard or qualification. Workplace experience should be accommodated in the learning design. To support the access principle of the NQF, programme entry requirements should be as open as possible and provide for the recognition of prior learning and exemptions. Research for learning-programme content should be translated into organisational strategies and workplace skills plans aspects in order to determine competences and competencies which the organisation will require based on the research (WRSETA, 2002:5–6). This is followed by an identification of the unit standards and qualifications to meet the 212 Managing Human Resource Development identified competencies and competences. A link between content and registered unit standards is crucial. The HRD department should indicate responsibility for sourcing unit standards for learning programmes to meet training needs. Those involved will decide what will be included or excluded in the learning programme. In the case of non-unitstandard training needs, the training policy should indicate how these needs would be satisfied (WRSETA, 2002:6–7). To prevent the development of learning programmes in isolation, the articulation thereof with other programmes should be clear. Thus, where necessary, alignment with SETA and QCTO requirements is recommended. 7.5.7.2 Planning of learning programmes ETD practitioners who plan and evaluate their education and training practices to ensure they meet the needs of the learner, society and the economy should comply with the unit standard “Plan a learning programme”. The unit standard “Plan a learning programme” for occupationally directed adult learning states that practitioners should identify the labour market needs by analysing the sector, enterprise or workplace skills plans to determine the need. Partnerships to design and deliver the programme are established by identifying the role-players and involving them in a forum. The employment context within which learners will apply their competence can be analysed by reviewing the nature of work and the NQF qualification, which describes the outcomes which will satisfy the labour market needs. ETD practitioners will then need to analyse how learners will be able to progress to a further qualification. Detailed course outlines like the purpose, outcomes, materials, assessment strategy and delivery mode will assist learners in achieving the outcomes. This forms part of the programme strategy as discussed in the next section. Storage of documentation should be in accordance with organisational and quality assurance. 7.5.7.3 Programme strategy Part of the process of designing learning programmes is the development of a learningprogramme strategy document. It serves as a departure point to align current courses and ensure that all unit standards are included. It also offers an overview of the learning programme, its components and the context within which the programme is presented (WRSETA, 2001:54–57). This document is partial evidence of learning-programme alignment with an outcomes-based format. Table 7.1 provides an overview of the learning-programme strategy. Table 7.1 Learning-programme strategy Title Content 1 Programme overview Programme name, description, purpose and entry-level requirements of the programme 2 Unit-standard alignment Registered NQF unit standards, all learning outcomes, programme articulation and learning pathways (for example, does the programme improve current job skills?) 3 Programme design and delivery Learning strategy (for example, self-study), workplace experience, time allocation per module, prescribed content, delivery methods (for example, facilitation), media, aids and equipment continued Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions Title 213 Content 4 Assessment strategy Patterns of assessment (for example, frequency of assessment), assessment strategy (for example, formative assessment), assessment methods and RPL opportunities 5 Learner support information Learner support (for example, access to electronic media), learner role and responsibilities (for example, preparation of projects) 6 Programme evaluation Programme, facilitator and logistics evaluation 7.5.7.4 Curriculum development in terms of the QCTO ETD practitioners will need to plan an occupational curriculum that delivers a related learning programme within the structured workplace or any other learning context. Occupational curricula are designed by development quality partners (DQPs) and approved by the QCTO. Different role-players need to be consulted during the process of curriculum development. Aspects to address in the curriculum include the learner needs identified, the available resources and an analysis of the sector, enterprise or workplace. The education and training philosophy or approach on which the curriculum is based should be stipulated in the curriculum framework together with the purpose, outcomes and mode of delivery of and materials for each programme in the curriculum. An assessment framework for the curriculum indicates the purpose of assessment, the roles of relevant parties, the assessment principles, where assessments should take place and what will be assessed. Records of the curriculum should be accessible to other practitioners and comply with national and organisational quality-assurance purposes. The curriculum of the learning programme serves as a guide to the facilitators as to how learning should be facilitated. It demands regular review and update to satisfy organisational needs and management approval to ensure quality and commitment (WRSETA, 2002:17). It should make provision for the interface between the theory and skills components. In terms of the new occupational framework for qualifications development, it is important to understand the roles and functions of the DQPs. The QCTO will appoint and delegate key functions to a DQP which will be governed by a service-level agreement. According to the QCTO (2011), the DQP will fulfil the following functions during the process of qualification development: • appoint a qualifications development facilitator (QDF) to facilitate the development of occupational qualifications • co-ordinate the design, development and/or revision of specified occupational standards and qualifications and/or part-qualifications according to QCTO procedure • deliver key documents to the QCTO (i.e. the occupational qualification document, curriculum document including accreditation criteria, external assessment specifications document and qualifications development process report) • report to the QCTO on the performance of the functions in the service-level agreement • collaborate with QCTO in the evaluation of this process. In addition to the above functions the DQP will also recognise qualifications or partqualifications registered on the NQF which carry credit towards the achievement of one or more of the curriculum components and provide a mechanism for RPL. Furthermore, the 214 Managing Human Resource Development DQP will appoint a learner qualification development facilitator to enhance equity and to be trained in the facilitation of occupational qualification development (QCTO, 2011). Only approved bodies will be allowed to function as DQPs. A party interested in performing the functions of a DQP (QCTO, 2011): • must be recommended by stakeholders in a QCTO-facilitated scoping meeting • must have the human resources necessary to perform the DQP functions as specified in the QCTO policy • must have access to communities of expert practitioners in the occupation(s) concerned • must have the financial resources necessary to perform its functions and confirm that effective, efficient and transparent financial management and internal control systems are in place • must be willing to sign the QCTO Code of Conduct, a code of ethics and professional conduct • must submit a valid tax-clearance certificate where appropriate. Once the QCTO has evaluated and approved an application from a DQP, it will provide the DQP with access to the NOPF system. The QCTO will then monitor and evaluate the execution of the DQP functions. In addition, the QCTO will evaluate and recommend occupational qualifications and/or part-qualifications received from the DQP to SAQA for registration. Thus, the QCTO will maintain a register of approved curriculum documents and assessment specifications. Furthermore, it will play an advocacy role and promote occupational qualifications and/or part-qualifications registered on the sub-framework for trades and occupations and make available curricula to QCTO-accredited skills development providers (QCTO, 2011). 7.5.7.5 Checklist Apart from these aspects pertaining to learning-programme design, HRD managers should provide leadership in helping other staff members of the HRD function to design and develop learning materials that meet the requirements of the NQF and QCTO. Outcomesbased training materials which are relevant to the South African context will contribute to the goals of education and training within the NQF. Table 7.2 presents a checklist that can be used to make the paradigm shift from traditional to workplace-based training when developing NQF-aligned learning material. Table 7.2 Self-assessment checklist for designing workplace-based learning material Outcomes-based dimension Yes Partly No • Do learning outcomes or objectives directly correspond to the overall outcomes of the programme? • Do the learning outcomes or objectives reflect what the learner must be able to do in the work situation? • Does the learning guide focus more on applied competence than on content or theory? • Is enough information provided to the learner to achieve the desired outcomes? continued Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions Outcomes-based dimension Yes Partly 215 No • Has the approach to workplace-based learning in this particular programme been explained to the learner? • Does the learning guide use the word ‘learner’ rather than ‘student’? • Is there evidence that you have considered learner needs when compiling the learner guide? • Are the seven NQF critical outcomes covered within the framework of the learning programme? • Does the learning guide use the term ‘assessment’ rather than ‘evaluation’? • Have appropriate forms of assessment been identified, explained and integrated? (for example, self-assessment, portfolios, etc) • Have learners been encouraged to integrate knowledge from different sections of the learning guide and other sources? • Have learners been encouraged to integrate knowledge from different fields to achieve an outcome? • Are the criteria for assessment of competence clearly indicated? • Do the criteria for assessment of learner competence correlate with the overall assessment criteria of the module? • Are learners encouraged to apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills when studying the content and attempting the learning assignments? • Are learners encouraged to reflect on their learning? • Is a conversational rather than lecturing style used by the compilers of the learning guide? • Has the learning content been organised in logical units or sections according to the outcomes? • Do learning assignments reflect the achievement of outcomes? • Have learning assessment forms been developed in accordance with the learning outcomes? • Are methods and sources of learner support built into the learning guide? • Are the benefits of the learning programme indicated for the learners? • Have learners been requested to provide feedback on the quality of the learning guide? • Have different types of learning activities been incorporated to accommodate different learning styles? • Is information provided on progression and articulation possibilities into other related learning areas? Significant progress can be made in applying the principles of workplace-based learning in the curriculum development process if ETD practitioners use the above checklist. The 216 Managing Human Resource Development workplace-based learning approach starts with the outcomes of the learning programme. The appropriate knowledge, skills and processes are derived as enabling objectives to achieve the outcomes. The next step is to plan for the appropriate learning experiences to achieve the outcomes. In order to keep abreast of NQF and QCTO developments, it is essential that HRD practitioners be involved in standard-generating activities and other curriculum development sessions. 7.5.7.6 Learning aids Human resource practitioners will need to develop workplace-based learning aids which are relevant to the South African context and learners’ needs and adapt existing training materials to suit the target population group. Training materials can be modified by changing the sequence of activities, editing and adding or removing materials and by changing the language and content to accommodate learners. Learning aids should invite learner involvement. 7.5.8 Games and simulations Business requires employees who have the basic skills and who can cope with uncertainty and instability in a growing global economy. Therefore, an organisation needs to weigh the kind of training intervention they select carefully. For example, banks may seek interactive scenario-based simulations. Instead of only looking at life-like instructional events playing out before them, users can practice and assess themselves within the simulation. Simulation-based assessments need to be adaptable, practical and be able to instruct and assess users at various skills proficiencies. A scenario may be based on a financial challenge faced by a fictional family. The user of the simulation assessment needs to advise them. Games, exercises and ideas can be used to develop sales, customer service and other staff. The games vary from easy ‘skill boosters’ for coaching sessions or team meetings, icebreaker, energisers and selling quizzes to advanced role-playing and case studies. The games and exercises enable sales managers and trainers to: • develop their staff with confidence. • guarantee a flexible approach by varying their pace or style in reaction to the subject matter and their audience. • strengthening their learning by applying different formats of exercise to cover the same learning points. • train by employing the material to encourage learners to use what they already know. HRD practitioners use business simulations because they are more instructive, memorable and enjoyable than the typical lecture, text or slide-show approach. HRD practitioners usually have to decide whether to use an “evolved” or a “custom” simulation. The former is a standardised programme which a variety of organisations have used for a number of years. A “custom” simulation is a programme which has been created ad hoc for a specific organisation or industry. Watters (2006:15) offers ten reasons why an evolved simulation is better quality than a custom, client-specific simulation for training people in business concepts and insights: • Purpose: Custom simulations mirror a particular organisation’s beliefs, thereby closing the mind of participants. On the other hand, an evolved simulation takes participants outside their familiar area in order to open their minds and assist them in thinking “outside the box” which leads to more creative business thinking. Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions 217 • Time: HRD practitioners gain better practice with evolved simulations because of the many repetitions involved in such simulations. In other words, evolved simulations offer longer periods of practice than client-specific simulations. • Reach: Client-specific simulations develop fewer leaders than evolved simulations which typically have more users. • Research: The materials which come with evolved simulations go through a developmental process which can cover decades. In contrast, the materials of client-specific simulations go through a months-long developmental process and involve linking components from other programmes which may be unsuitable. • Input: Evolved simulations are examined and influenced by ideas from numerous business school academics, executives and many participants. The ideas which form clientspecific simulations originate from a small community, often less than 20 people. • Support: Evolved simulations train a skilful support staff which can assist learners and faculty members. On the other hand, custom simulations provide no support depth, since it lacks the user volume to substantiate a comparable dedicated support group. • Cost efficiency: Custom simulations take months to develop. It is more expensive and as a new programme may be full of mistakes. Alternatively, evolved simulations have been proven to work, are bug-free and ready for use that afternoon without additional investment of time or money. • Space: While evolved simulations are available online and need no space, large and robust custom simulations can necessitate noteworthy server space. • You can try before you buy: Interested buyers can test evolved simulations beforehand. In contrast, buyers pay for custom simulations first and on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. Another crucial element in the training process is fun. Using games and simulations to enliven training interventions has been popular in the USA (an estimated 60% of businesses in the USA have applied simulations in their training processes) but has been neglected in South Africa. Although traditional lectures and training sessions assist in setting the bases for individual development, they do not automatically contribute to long-lasting personal change essential to organisational change. Then again the fun element has induced some critics to revert to more conventional training programmes that are more serious in nature. Blaine (2007:41) thinks that the most effective training interventions ought to include a mixture of games and theory to support and help contextualise what participants learn so that learners have the best of both worlds. Organisations are also more likely to capitalise on their return on investment in training when they employ a simulation or action learning approach (Blaine, 2007:41). Implementing simulations and action learning will ensure that organisations spend money wisely and help them achieve Minister Nzimande’s vision for skills development in this country. Simulations have the further advantage of being entertaining. When HRD practitioners focus on the playful energies of the participants, the latter exhibits less resistance to training (Blaine, 2007:41). Even the cynics in the organisation may find it difficult to withstand the appeal of becoming involved in the game and having fun. Whether simulations vary from the complex and expensive computer-produced games to the humble board game, these interventions are able to facilitate from the functional management skills to the “softer” skills like leadership and teamwork. Dup du Plessis and Ansi Verster of Pep Stores who went this route with their HR team, believe that simulations and games bring theory to life, since employees are able to notice the effect of their actions and decisions 218 Managing Human Resource Development on co-team members. The energy created by the simulation led to a brainstorming session by them around an action plan which dealt with some of the team challenges. The simulation challenged all participants to reach a level of honesty and openness that otherwise would have taken hours to determine. 7.5.9 Design thinking In addition to the eight types of HRD interventions discussed above, a new more radical type of business innovation intervention has emerged in recent years. It is called design thinking. Naiman (2016) defines design thinking as “a methodology used by designers to solve complex problems, and find desirable solutions for clients”. Design thinking differs from traditional HRD design in that it is not problem-focused like most HRD work, but solution focused and action oriented towards creating a preferred future. In essence, design thinking draws upon logic, imagination, intuition and systematic reasoning to explore possible actions that could create outcomes to the benefit of the end user. Hence, the focus is very similar to production or service design in developing a solutions-based end-state. But the difference is that the people using design thinking think like artists or designers to generate a solution that is almost guaranteed to meet the needs of the client. Design thinking goes through five steps: 1. Show empathy with the end-user by putting yourself in their shoes when thinking about what they really need. 2. Define the issue or possible solution. 3. Ideate by generating ideas in a creative manner. 4. Develop a prototype of the solution. 5. Test the prototype with the user. 7.6 Conclusion This chapter dealt with the design of HRD interventions. Practical guidelines were provided to indicate how interventions like conferences, on-the-job training, industrial theatre sessions, action learning, adventure learning, team-building and training programmes should be developed and managed. Several factors such as learning outcomes, the extent to which the intervention facilitates learning and transfer, and cost, which influence facilitators’ choice of appropriate intervention, were discussed. Learning-programme design refers to the development of a programme strategy and alignment with the new workplace-based learning approach of the QCTO. Effective learning-programme design forms an important part of the ETD process. It establishes an important link between the training-needs analysis (chapter 6) and the planning and organising of HRD interventions (chapter 8). It is, furthermore, essential that learning programmes be designed to meet the requirements of the NQF. The chapter concluded with a discussion of games and simulations. Games and simulations operate on the same principles as action learning by involving employees in what they learn and applying what they learn as they learn it. Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions 219 7.7 Case study People Forward, based in Gauteng, is a leading global manufacturer of products which link people to electronics and electronic networks. Their products consist of personal computers, cordless phones, computer security systems, automobile instrumentation, multi-media centres and microwave ovens. When poor delivery performance from one of the plants led to an inability to provide quality service to one of their customers, the plant’s senior managers decided to do something about this situation. They chose eight people from different areas throughout the company to become members of a Customer-Request Improvement Team, with the mission to resolve the service problem. The members were from sales, marketing, engineering, manufacturing and planning. Top management requested that the first session be videotaped so as not to miss anything. The team had no objections. During the second session the participants were noticeably quiet. Apparently two senior managers had criticised some of the comments observed on the tape. Adapted from Langdon, Whiteside and McKenna (1999:56–57) and McDonald and Keys (1996:4). Questions 1 2 3 4 5 6 Which intervention(s) would you apply in this situation? Why would you choose this intervention? How would you implement this intervention? Which kind of questions should the members ask to clarify the problem? What do you think of the decision to videotape the session? How would you deal with the problems which occurred after the senior managers’ criticism was revealed? 7.8 Self-assessment questions 1 Indicate the reasons why OJT training can be unsuccessful. What do you recommend to ensure its effectiveness? 2 Explain the conditions which are necessary for adventure learning to be successful. 3 Develop an action plan to ensure that the industrial theatre session you want to conduct on “the impact of AIDS in the workplace” will be a success. 4 Develop a programme strategy for a learning programme on safety procedures in the factory. 5 Reflect on the success or failure of team-building efforts in your organisation. 6 Provide an implementation plan to ensure that the HRD design conforms to the principles of outcomes-based education. 7 Reflect on a personal experience where you have been a participant in an intervention and reflect on the learning as it applied to you. 8 How would you or your company conduct industrial theatre sessions? Which topics would you use? 9 How would you form and apply an action learning group in your organisation? 10 You as an HRD practitioner have to choose between an evolved simulation and a custom simulation for a training session. Which one would you choose? Provide reasons for your choice. 11 Explain how you can apply the National Learning Design Standard when designing a learning solution for an organisation. 220 Managing Human Resource Development 12 Critically discuss the following statement: “In the modern workplace, design thinking is more useful than traditional learning design”. 7.9 References Blaine K, 2007, “Use smarter training interventions”, HR Future, Johannesburg: Blue Moon. Craig RL (ed), 1987, Training and Development Handbook: A Guide to Human Resource Development, 3rd edn, New York: McGraw-Hill. Eskom News, 2002, “Electricity thieves ambushed through theatre”, Eskom Johannesburg: Corporate Communications. Gordon SE, 1994, Systematic Training Program Design: Maximising Effectiveness and Minimising Liability, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Isaacson N, 1995, “Industrial theatre: One day marvel or here to stay?”, Human Resource Management 11(5): 33–34. Katzenbach JR and Smith DK, 1993, The Wisdom of Teams, New York: Harper Collins. Kauffman R, 2002, “10 Tips to make your corporate conference more successful”, Active Learning 1–4. Kenney J and Reid M, 1988, Training Interventions, 2nd edn, Bradford-on-Avon: Dotesios. Kruse A, 1995, “Third party roles in conflict management”, Training and Development, 49(5): 1–5. Langdon DG, Whiteside KS and McKenna MM, 1999, Intervention Resource Guide: 50 Performance Tools, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. Learning Theatre Organization, 2000, “Big five: The Lion”, Learning Theatre Organization News Letter 1(4): 1–2. Learning Theatre Organization, 2000, “Big five: The Rhino”, Learning Theatre Organization News Letter 2 (2): 1–3. McDonald JM and Keys JB, 1996, “The seven deadly sins of teambuilding”, Team Performance Management 2(2): 1–6. Naiman L, 2016, “Design thinking as a strategy for innovation”, Creativity at Work, October 2016. Noe R, 1999, Employee Training and Development, Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. PSETA, 2009, Learning Programme Design Development and Evaluation Guide, Pretoria: PSETA. QCTO, 2011, QCTO Policy on Delegation to DQPs and AQPs, Pretoria: QCTO. SABPP, 2015, National HR Professional Practice Standards, Johannesburg: SABPP. WRSETA, 2001, “Developing learning programme strategies and curricula”. Watters C, 2006, “10 Reasons why an ‘evolved’ simulation beats a ‘custom’ one”, Training 43(8): 15. WRSETA, 2002, “Policy 2: Management of design, development and delivery of education and training” http://learningtheatre.co.za.htm. Chapter 7: Designing Human Resource Development interventions 221 7.10 Suggested reading Blanchard PN and Thacker JW, 1999, Effective Training: Systems, Strategies and Practices, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Coghlan D, 1994, “Managing organizational change through teams and groups”, Leadership and Organizational Development Journal 15(2): 18–23. Engel HM, 1994, Handbook of Creative Learning Exercises, 2nd edn, Amherst, Massachusetts: HRD Press. Erasmus BJ and Van Dyk PS, 1999, Training Management in South Africa, 2nd edn, Johannesburg: International Thomson. Gold J, Holden R, Iles P, Stewart J and Beardwell J, 2010, Human Resource Development: Theory and Practice, Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Jacobs RL, 1995, Structured On-The-Job Training: Unleashing Employee Expertise in the Workplace, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. Kipp MF, 2000, “Of teams and teambuilding”, Team Performance Management 7(8): 138–140. McEvoy GM, 1997, “Organizational change and outdoor management education”, Human Resource Management 36: 235–250. Mankin D, 2009, Human Resource Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Meyer M and Orpen M, 2007, Occupationally-directed Education Training and Development Practices, Durban: LexisNexis Butterworths. Milano M and Ullius D, 1998, Designing Powerful Training: The Sequential-Iterative Model, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. Olivier C, 1998, How to Educate and Train Outcomes-based, Pretoria: JL van Schaik. Owen H, 1997, Open Space Technology: A User’s Guide, 2nd edn, San Francisco: Berrett Koehler. Rothwell WJ and Kazanas HC, 1994, Improving On-The-Job Training: How to Establish and Operate a Comprehensive OJT Program, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Rothwell WJ and Kazanas HC, 1996, “Planned OJT is productive OJT”, Training and Development Journal, 53–56. Smalley LR, 1994, On-The-Job Orientation and Training: A Practical Guide to Enhanced Performance, Irvine, California: Richard Chang Associates. Tarullo GM, 1992, “Making outdoor experiential training work”, Training, 47–52. 7.11 Internet sites Action learning: http://www.actionlearning.ca/what.htm Adventure learning: http://www.adventurelearning.co.uk Blue Moon Company: http://www.bluemoon.co.za Business Presentation Products: http://www.bpp.co.za Industrial theatre: http://www.learningtheatre.co.za/theatre.htm Instructional Design Group: http://www.idg-online.com International Foundation for Action Learning: http://www.mentat.co.uk/park/ifal International Foundation for Action Learning (US): http://www.metalearning.com/ifal-usa 222 Managing Human Resource Development Open Space Technology: http://www.openspacetechnology.com Open Space Technology Institute: http://www.tmn.com/openspace Quality Council for Trades and Occupations: http://www.qcto.org.za Ron Kauffman – Active Learning: http://www.RonKauffman.com SA Board for People Practices: http://www.sabpp.co.za South African Qualifications Authority: http://www.saqa.org.za Team building: http://www.teambuilding.co.uk and www.buildingteams.com The Dancing Satellite Company (industrial theatre): http://www.tdsc.co.za The Learning Theatre Organization: http://www.learningtheatre.co.za Tool Thyme for Trainers: http://www.tool-trainers.com Trainer’s Warehouse: http://www.trainerswarehouse.com Training Buz: http://www.trainingbuz.com CHAPTER 8 PLANNING AND ORGANISING TRAINING Marjon Meyer Plans are nothing, planning is everything. (Dwight D Eisenhower) LEARNING OUTCOMES • Formulate a training strategy and plan for any learning event • Identify relevant stakeholders in the training process and describe why they should be consulted in planning for training • Compile a training budget based on sound budgetary principles • Develop a marketing strategy for training • Select various training aids by comparing their advantages and disadvantages • • • • Indicate all considerations when choosing a suitable venue for a learning programme Design a planning checklist for venues and other training-related uses Use a project management approach in planning training interventions Develop action plans for the activities involved in pre- and post-course training administration 8.1 Introduction This chapter focuses on the management of the human resource development (HRD) function from a planning and organisation perspective. These two factors are believed to be integral to the success of training interventions. In fact, the planning and organising of training interventions constitute two of the most important managerial tasks of the HRD 223 224 Managing Human Resource Development manager. The aspects that should be considered when planning training are explored, such as budgeting, marketing of programmes and maintaining good administration. A stakeholder approach is strongly recommended, meaning continuous liaison and consultation with management, trade unions, learners, training authorities and other relevant roleplayers. Building on the development of National HR and L&D Standards published by the SA Board for People Practices (SABPP) since 2014, the MICE Academy started developing planner standards in 2016. These planner standards are not only useful for event and conference companies, but also for training co-ordinators responsible for planning and organising training as described in this chapter. In essence, these planner standards promote a high level of professionalism in the planning and organising of all events, including training sessions. The information contained in this chapter represents a logical follow-up on the previous two chapters. The training process starts with a learning needs analysis (chapter 6), which is followed by designing appropriate training interventions to address the particular learning needs (chapter 7). Training programmes are subsequently planned and developed based on the decisions that have been taken during the process of learning design and development. It is harder to unlearn than learn. 8.2 Compiling a training plan For years training has been closely linked with HRD. Some people have even considered the two terms to be synonymous. Many HRD professionals regard themselves as trainers because they have devoted their careers to employee training, especially the planning and execution thereof. It is important when considering the planning and administration of training, that HRD practitioners realise that it is only one of the many responsibilities of the HRD function. It cannot be stressed enough that the success of any training intervention is hugely determined by the planning and administration functions. Many well-intended training programmes fail because of a lack of planning and improper organisation. Reflect on any training programme, seminar, workshop or conference you have attended. How well was it planned and organised? What went wrong? What would you have done differently? In the light of the above, it is clear that the preparation for a training programme requires the application of sound management principles. The training strategy should be based on the overall strategy of the business. To move from a business strategy to a training strategy one must (BPP, 2000:197): • identify the skills and competencies needed by the business plan • draw up the development strategy to show how training and development activities will assist in meeting the targets of the corporate plan • implement the training and development strategy. The following need to be planned for and organised: Chapter 8: Planning and organising training 225 • alignment of the learning programme with NQF, skills development and SAQA requirements • consultation with stakeholders • preparation of ETD staff • budget • marketing and selling of training • administration • facilities • records • instruction • learning material • evaluation. A project management approach should be followed where a project leader is appointed to oversee the planning and execution of each step. A haphazard approach to the planning of such interventions is guaranteed to cause disaster. The project leader should also be responsible for the design and maintenance of a budget for each individual intervention. An important consideration in the planning phase is to decide which approach should be followed. The approach obviously depends on the objective of the learning intervention. The approach will also be determined by the size of the group to be trained. Training is more cost-effective when done for a group of people with similar needs, but from time to time individual training is required. Examples of using a particular learning method based on the learning need have been identified by Moss (1993:34): • To transfer knowledge, use – group discussions (questions and answers) – group or individual exercises – lectures (with handouts) – forums – panel discussions – films, videos, etc – excursions • To practise problem-solving, use – case studies – brainstorming – discussion groups – exercises • To develop skills, use – demonstrations of manual skills – role-playing for interpersonal skills – peer teaching – coaching – programmed instructions 226 Managing Human Resource Development – computer-based training – assignments and projects • To change attitudes, use – debates – displays – role-playing (to clarify how others feel) – group discussions (for group attitudes) – industrial theatre (see chapter 7) – individual exercises – demonstrations – campaigns Approaches can also be used in different combinations to achieve maximum results. A secretarial development programme recently run at BMW combined class and group discussions with project work, excursions and demonstration of skills. Delegates who completed the programme not only gained more knowledge about their field, but also about the organisation they worked for. Furthermore, they had to implement new skills almost immediately as part of their project work, minimising the risk of “forgetting what they have learnt”. At the Gauteng Department of Housing a similar programme was run where delegates had to reflect on new skills learnt every week. Although delegates aren’t always excited about assignments, once they start to work on these the training process gains momentum and learners buy into the process because they are actively involved. 8.2.1 Alignment with NQF and QC requirements For training to be relevant in the new learning dispensation, it is essential to ensure that all learning programmes meet the requirements of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and specifically those of the quality councils (QCs). This means that HRD practitioners and other employees involved in the training function should continuously study the NQF requirements with regard to the planning of learning programmes. In particular, the new Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) system provides a range of issues that should be considered by education, training and development (ETD) practitioners in rolling out occupational training. These standards should form the basis for all training and development strategies that are embarked upon. 8.2.2 Consultation with stakeholders The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) regulations make it very clear that stakeholders must be consulted before learning programmes are implemented. This will ensure that the NQF requirements of credibility, relevance of learning and legitimacy are adhered to. The first question that must be answered is: who are our stakeholders? The aim of learning is to bring about change, whether it is a change in perception or a change in behaviour to improve performance. It is important to get the organisation’s stakeholders’ agreement of the process or learning programme that you are about to embark on. The term “stakeholder” includes various role-players, namely: • a manager or supervisor who needs to be convinced to implement a new learning programme or to accept the training budget Chapter 8: Planning and organising training 227 • learners – they are at the centre of skills development and it is therefore imperative to get their buy-in into the training to ensure skills transfer and performance improvement • senior management who should support the training process and allocate enough resources to the training to make it a success • unions – in South Africa unions have played an important role in the development of their members for a long time and it is important to get them on board when designing training interventions (Black et al, 2003:148) • the service provider – although training is increasingly being outsourced the provider should be involved in the process regardless of whether it is an internal or external provider • training boards, standards bodies and other accreditation bodies (QCTO, CHE, Umalusi, SETAs) – with the new look at learning and recognition of prior learning in South Africa, considering regulatory bodies will become increasingly important during the planning stage of training. To get all stakeholders around the same table at the same time is not an easy task. It is therefore important to realise that it is more important to consult all relevant stakeholders, even separately, than have as many stakeholders as possible available at the same time. There are various success stories about stakeholder consultation. Rand Water has various forums where unions and management sit around the table to discuss issues that are relevant to staff well-being, staff development, labour relations, etc. A consultative process was followed when introducing adult basic education programmes resulting in the programmes being successful at most sites. PricewaterhouseCoopers recently designed training for administrative staff where managers, learners, HR and the service provider were consulted. The result was a highly successful programme. At CMS the middle management team attend the same training as the supervisors to ensure that the whole organisation buys into the training process. It has been mentioned that service providers should also be involved. It is wise that training providers insist on stakeholder consultation before training programmes are developed or customised. They often follow the “focus group” route where both a representative group of delegates and a group from management attend pre-training sessions to highlight their needs, ideas and expectations. The fact that this consultation is done by external training consultants gives this process credibility. Consultation with all groups prevents the training from covering only management needs and interests. This ensures organisationwide buy-in and commitment. Yet, there must be no illusion about the time and effort that such consultative processes take. Mitchell (2005:372) says consultation (and negotiation) is a process, not an event. Agreement about all aspects of training is often not reached completely, forcing the roleplayers to come to an agreement which is in the interest of all parties involved. A way to get around this, according to Mitchell (2005:372), is to be informed. The more you know about your stakeholders, as well as what their objectives are, the greater the leverage will be in making progress towards effective learning programmes. Furthermore, Moss (1993:11) states it is important to involve supervisors in the planning process. They should be involved in both the planning and execution of training. Without their commitment, support and encouragement, training can be wasted. Newby 228 Managing Human Resource Development (1992:57) postulates a partnership between managers and trainers at all stages of the training process. He says managers can play the following roles: • Help trainers to diagnose learning needs • Ensure that the right people are matched to the right training • Brief subordinates before training so that they know what is expected of them after the training • Debrief returning trainees to check what they have learnt and agree on an action plan to put things into practice • Allow subordinates to do some things differently and to take some risks • Provide constructive feedback on their performance when they try out new skills • Act as a model for effective behaviour and as a guiding mentor and coach • Evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the investment that the manager has made in the training of staff. 8.2.3 Planning the method of training and development Different training and development needs require different methods and approaches. A training session is not always the answer to developmental problems. A key decision needs to be made as to what the developmental vehicle will be. The list of developmental opportunities is endless, but includes the following: • Formal training – training courses – seminars, lectures and symposiums – computer-based training or programmed learning • On-the-job training – demonstration/instruction – coaching – job rotation – delegation – “assistant to” positions – membership of committees – attend informative meetings – project work Although organisations are becoming increasingly active in arranging training interventions, there is also the reality of releasing employees to attend training courses. This is just one of the considerations of planning your training intervention. Avroy Shlain ran a customer service programme with Marjon Meyer and Associates where a four module programme was presented during one morning per week for four weeks. This prevented delegates from being away from the office for too long and thus disrupting normal operations. A similar strategy was followed with BESTmed where Chapter 8: Planning and organising training 229 learners improved their English business writing skills over six weeks. The advantages of this modular programme included: • Focused training for a short period • Adequate time for implementation of new skills • Avoiding an overload of training • Minimal disruption of operations • Staff who otherwise could not be released for a long period also benefiting from training. This certainly does not mean to say that longer programmes are outdated. An intensive programme is often needed to introduce a paradigm shift or to teach a new skill. In order to decide what format the training should be, consider the following factors: • Objective of the development intervention • Nature of the learner’s job • Time available for training • Distance learners have to travel to attend the training session • Budgetary constraints. Another consideration is whether to use an internal facilitator or to outsource training. Many companies outsource their training because they prefer to focus on core business. An ASTD report (ASTD/SABPP, 2010) stated that there was a global decline in outsourcing but an increase in expenditure on training. White (2002:33) is of the opinion that outsourcing is the most cost-effective approach, allowing the organisation to concentrate on its core business. It is therefore clear that each organisation has to formulate its own plan that will be in line with its strategic objectives, training needs and financial resources. Internal facilitators know their own organisations inside and out and are therefore often the best choice. However, it is said that learners are more prepared to hear about change from an outsider because this person is usually seen as neutral with regard to changes in the organisation concerned. Table 8.1 Internal versus external facilitator Criteria Internal facilitator External facilitator Budget For a single session it is less expensive, but if remuneration package is considered, it could be more expensive As an immediate expense it is more expensive Knowledge of the organisation Usually have in-depth knowledge of the organisation Have knowledge based on own research and/or assessments Variety of training interventions Variety is limited to the knowledge and expertise of internal facilitators Unlimited as experts in each field can be sourced Effectiveness of training Can be effective if training is approached and presented effectively and in line with learners’ needs Can be effective if training is approached and presented effectively and in line with learners’ needs continued 230 Managing Human Resource Development Criteria Internal facilitator External facilitator Relationship with learners Often have intimate knowledge of learners and have good relationships with staff. Company politics can have a negative impact If rapport is established and aftertraining support is provided, it can be a positive long-term relationship. Where financial gain is more important than relationship building it can have a negative impact 8.2.4 Managing ETD staff The planning of many learning programmes revolves around ensuring that all the right equipment is in place before the programme commences. While these aspects are indeed essential, HRD managers should put particular emphasis on the development of their ETD staff. Unfortunately many HRD managers are so preoccupied with the development of the company’s human resources, that they often neglect their own staff members. When managing ETD staff it is essential to recognise the unique needs, concerns, problems and expectations of ETD practitioners. The workload of ETD practitioners is of such a nature that they are often required to work after hours when preparing for a training course. The HRD manager should therefore ensure that these staff members receive the necessary support and that action plans are developed to maintain a high level of morale and job satisfaction. The following guidelines can assist in this process: • Keep ETD practitioners informed of all developments at national, industry and company level. • Provide learning opportunities to ETD practitioners so that they will be up to date with the requirements of the NQF and Skills Development Act. • Develop career paths for ETD practitioners. • Expose them directly to line managers and employees in other departments. • Recognise their achievements and contributions. • Obtain their input and participation in the management of the training function. 8.2.5 Budgets One of the questions that has to be answered during the planning phase of training is how much will the training cost? It is interesting to note that training professionals are nearly always asked how much training will cost, rather than what the size of the training investment will be. A better question would be how much will it cost us if we don’t train? Walsh (2002:12) reminds us that although management understand that training is intangible, they need to see a return on their investment. Organisations who do not keep a finger on the pulse of their training budgets often find that they spend too much on one particular programme and that funds are thereafter limited for the rest of the financial year. Training funds are spent irresponsibly (or sometimes not at all) when commitment to training is lacking. Training used to be a centralised function and the responsibility of the training or human resource department. It is often argued that better control can be applied in the case of centralised budgets. This may be true, but commitment is better when training becomes a shared responsibility. Many progressive companies are now realising that training is the responsibility of line management rather than that the training function is there to support Chapter 8: Planning and organising training 231 and facilitate learning interventions. It is therefore important that the training function is involved in the strategic planning of the organisation to ensure that training objectives underline the strategic direction of the organisation. This philosophy is reflected in the way training budgets are administrated. Rand Water, BMW and some government departments, to name but a few, share the budgetary responsibility of training. Line management has to foot the bill when an individual wants to attend a course. Training therefore has to meet the needs of line managers! On the other hand, training departments often run corporate development programmes with an allocated budget. It also happens that line management and the training function will share some costs. There are numerous possibilities. A healthy relationship between line and staff management is necessary to make this dual responsibility work. Working out a training budget is not always as easy as it may appear at first. This is because of the difficulty of deciding what should be included in the costs. Should one include the salaries of trainers if internal trainers are used? Should one include loss of production during training? What is the cost of in-service training? Many organisations work on a cost-recovery principle, whereby the training department runs training as a business unit and training is “sold” to other departments. Eskom and Transnet, among others, have training centres where this principle is applied. The decision to form a training business unit is a brave one, but certainly has its advantages and disadvantages. The biggest challenge to business units is undoubtedly marketing themselves, thus being able to run profitably. The size of the budget determines how much of the organisation’s training needs will be addressed, according to Wills (1993:128). Appleby (1999:62) says before even starting to think about venues, location, trainers and so on the budget must be established. He defines the budget as a quantitative goal which states the financial confines in which you are working. Although a budget should be set at the start of the project, it can be altered and monitored as you proceed. When compiling a training budget it is important to realise that costs can be divided into fixed and variable costs. Fixed costs are those costs that will be encountered irrespective of the number of delegates who may attend. They may include: • Course development • Trainer’s fees • Travel • Accommodation • Venue hire • Equipment hire. Variable costs are those which vary according to the number of delegates who attend, for example: • Printing of training manuals • Catering • Stationery. Depending on a decision made during the planning phase, you may decide to make use of professional trainers or consultants. It is important that rates are discussed beforehand and agreed to in writing. Professionals usually charge extra for travel, so keep it in mind and 232 Managing Human Resource Development negotiate all fixed and variables with the service provider. It is vital that the agreed costs and conditions are set out in a written agreement with the external providers. Remember to play it safe and to build a contingency fund into the budget. This will cover unforeseen expenses and will help to ensure that your budget does not get out of control. A rule of thumb is that 10% of the budget is a comfortable contingency amount. Table 8.2 represents an example of a training budget for a three-day senior management training course for 15 delegates held at an external venue by a training consultant. No accommodation is required for this particular course. The fees mentioned are purely imaginary. Should an internal trainer be used for training, the cost of train-the-trainer as well as his or her “cost to company” should be calculated. Be careful of those hidden costs, such as stationery and transport. If an internal venue is used, there will most probably be some cost involved such as the costs of equipment hire or catering. For a complete picture of the actual cost of training, loss of production time should also be included. It is easier to sell training by indicating the cost per person versus the cost of the group of delegates. Table 8.2 Example of a budget for a training course Item Conference package (inclusive of venue hire, equipment, stationery, tea and refreshments at 10:00 and 15:00, lunch) @ R350 per person per day × 3 days Cost per person Total R1 050,00 R15 750,00 Hire of data projector @ R600 per day 120,00 1 800,00 Course development 667,00 10 000,00 Workbooks in files 90,00 1 350,00 2 400,00 36 000,00 R4 327,00 R64 905,00 Training consultant for three days @ R12 000 per day TOTAL A more complex type of budget is the annual training budget. When calculating the annual training budget, it is important to have done your organisation’s needs assessment (discussed in chapter 6) and planned training interventions accordingly. However, in today’s fast-changing business environment it is not advisable to have a rigid training calendar worked out for an entire year. Training needs will still crop up from time to time and the budget should therefore be flexible enough to accommodate those needs. The HRD manager is also responsible for controlling the training budget. The amount you have spent needs to be checked at regular intervals, so that deviations can be detected early. Controlling the budget can be done monthly or on a project-for-project basis. It is important to remain within the set budget, especially in the interest of future budgets for training and related projects. 8.2.6 Marketing and selling training Training professionals should always keep in mind who their real customers are. Trainers ultimately work for management, not only for the learners. Managers are the decisionmakers; therefore training professionals should convince management that they are getting good value for the money that they are willing to spend on training. Chapter 8: Planning and organising training 233 Mitchell (2005:349) says training professionals cannot wait for people to come to them; they must go to their customers and ask to solve their problems. Trainers are sellers too. 8.2.6.1 Selling to management To convince management that they are getting a good investment on their training, you need to keep the following guidelines in mind: • Training objectives should match organisational objectives and should support efforts to achieve them. • Learning programmes should meet the needs of management. • Training should address the most important needs of the organisation. • Keep record of changes in skills, knowledge and attitudes after training. • Calculate the return on investment of training. • Keep within the training budget. • Involve all stakeholders in the organisation. • The training investment and approach should meet national imperatives such as the NQF and Skills Development Act. When promoting training to management, find an organisational objective that training can be linked to. The training professional has to prove to management that the training budget is being spent in support of management goals and objectives. Decide whether the training budget is used to help increase production or profits, reduce staff turnover, improve morale, improve client satisfaction or customer service or even improve the public image of the organisation. Organisations and training providers who are registered with the relevant SETAs can also claim their training levies back should they invest in credible training interventions. This is an excellent selling tool as HRD practitioners can help an organisation to have “real value for money”. 8.2.6.2 Motivating learners Another important customer is the learner. Learners should be excited about training and not be forced to attend training interventions against their will. So often in the past, training programmes have been imposed on delegates without getting their approval of or buyin in the process. An organisation that employs almost 5 000 employees decided to embark on a training drive to enhance communication and trust between staff and management. Is it not ironic that management decided on everything regarding the programme, including what, where, when and who? After the first month of this intensive “attitude change training”, the company had a major strike that lasted several days. Workers accused management of poor communication and nepotism. When management and worker representatives eventually sat around the same table, a shop steward mentioned that if it had not been for the training programme, workers would never have come to the conclusion that communication was the source of their problems with management. Be careful not to shoot yourself in the foot! Needless to say, the training programme was put on hold, while “negotiations” on what the programme should consist of and who should attend took place. 234 Managing Human Resource Development 8.2.6.3 Steps in marketing A comprehensive training marketing strategy is needed to ensure that all staff members are aware of the benefits of training. There are six steps involved in a training marketing effort, as indicated by Mitchell (2005:333) and Stolz, Majors and Soares (1994:231): • Defining the target market and stakeholders: Identify exactly who needs training or who you will be targeting to promote your department or project or training programme. It is also important to determine who in the organisation will benefit from the training. • Defining the product or service: The training department usually has various “products” that can be sold to target markets. Products may include customised training programmes, seminars, workshops, computer-based training, needs analyses, performance consulting, expertise in bringing in external consultants, etc. • Researching the target market: Find out about your target market to determine what their attitude towards training is, how their profile looks, what previous training they have attended, what they expect of the training department, etc. • Choosing the best channel: There are many ways of approaching people. Be creative in finding ways to get the message across to the target group. Ask for a few minutes at important meetings to present a talk on what the training department can offer and what they have been doing in the past. Invite line management to presentations by external providers and listen to their feedback. • Selling the product or service: Choose a few effective channels such as newsletters and electronic mail. Do not oversell, as people may become irritated. • Follow-up: Remember to get people’s feedback about training, seminars and other interventions. A training professional who is seen as someone who is not only interested in getting enough people on a course, but interested in the difference training makes to people’s careers and the performance of the company, has far more credibility in the organisation. Often people need your gentle persuasion before they see the need for training. Mitchell (2005:342) emphasises the three elements of persuasion: • Logical appeal: Whatever you are selling must make sense, especially from the other person’s point of view. • Emotional appeal: Do not rant and rave or become hysterical, but do show some excitement in what you have to say. As a training professional you must show that you care and that you are working in the client’s best interests. • Ethical or authoritative appeal: To be persuaded, people must feel that what you are asking them to do is the right thing. They need to believe they are making a good decision to use the products and services of the training function. 8.2.7 Training aids When planning training it is important to consider what training aids will enhance training. Different interventions and trainers have specific training aid requirements. It is important to establish early on in the planning process what their needs are and what is available at the venue. Advantages and disadvantages are outlined in Table 8.3. Chapter 8: Planning and organising training 235 Table 8.3 The application of different training aids Training aid Advantages Disadvantages Primary purpose Slides on data projector Colourful, varied, easily transportable, give uniform presentation Require darkened room, no personal contact, possible mechanical problems, overused, passive Take them where they cannot otherwise go (close-ups, enlargements, other locations) Charts and posters Flexible, simple, readily available, colourful, show organisation of material, enhance interaction in the group, can be referred to several times Limited sightlines, limited viewing distance, replacement costs, markers dry out, awkward to transport Can develop material interactively with the group, can refer back to earlier material Boards Can be colourful, flexible, familiar, universally available Limited sightlines, messy, must be erased, associated with school Best when you need to add or remove things from a diagram, excellent for chart development, good brainstorming aid Films Colourful, show action, readily available, give uniform presentation, lend credibility and professionalism Require darkened room, cover generic principles only, easily dated, not always focused on training Take them where they cannot otherwise go with action (or other real life locations) Audio tapes Effective for sound-orientated training, voice training, portable, create a mood Limited aural attention span, talk at trainees, not with them, no interaction, limited sensory input Let you hear yourself as others hear you, let you listen and learn while travelling Models, actual items Real thing, larger than life, help visualisation of the abstract, some easily made Limited sightlines, initial cost, unavailability, storage and breakage problems, maintenance, distracting if used sloppily, tendency for information overload Demonstrate how things work, look or will look, show complex relationship of parts in context, show internal movements, allow close inspection and hands-on practice Video/DVD Dynamic, take group where they cannot go otherwise, easily updated, easily transported Fairly high initial cost Let people see and evaluate own and others performances, action-orientated continued 236 Managing Human Resource Development Training aid Advantages Disadvantages Primary purpose Computers Self-paced instruction, interactive, exciting future Mechanical process with no human contact, high initial expense, time-consuming to programme, tied to commercial software, monotonous to use, tendency for information overload Hands-on practice, can be used to give trainees practice on equipment they will actually use, excellent for simulations Social media Instant and quick communication, very good tool for learner motivation. Not all learners are connected and you can’t provide much detail on certain platforms such as Twitter. To stay connected with learners by providing them with instant information and feedback. Handouts Can be referred to after the course, no sightline problems Distracting if distributed while you are talking Useful for hands-on practice and for giving assignments Pointers Can be used to enhance several other aids (boards, slides, posters etc) Distracting if played with, can be seen as “telling” style Excellent for focusing trainees’ attention on one specific detail at a time You You can adapt any training method to suit the exact needs of the learners Can focus on self-interest, biases, may not be able to satisfy learner needs To train: for everyone you are the main message, you can motivate learners as nothing else can Source: Adapted from Mitchell (2005). Part of ensuring the success of a training intervention would be to test all equipment before use. It cannot be assumed that venue owners test equipment (although theoretically it should be). Many trainers can probably think of situations where they were embarrassed by dysfunctional equipment in front of a group of delegates. Recently a South African hotel group was chosen as the venue for an important training programme. The organisers submitted their requirements, specifying their exact needs, to the hotel. What an embarrassment to the organiser when an invited guest speaker could not get the video machine to operate! Electronic technology has added new dimensions to training. The increased use of e-learning, teleconferences and video conferences make training more enjoyable and valuable. You can now bring world authorities into training rooms with a minimum of effort. But do not get carried away by the tools of training – the basic objectives, skills and motivation are more important. Chapter 10 provides more detail on e-learning. 8.2.8 Planning the venue One of the keys to effective training is a positive learning environment. Although the physical environment does not teach individuals, it makes it easier or harder to learn. If learners are comfortable, they will be able to concentrate on what is being learned. Choosing the right venue for the learning event is important. Only a few organisations have training Chapter 8: Planning and organising training 237 facilities that are adequate for learning. It is often reasoned that enough money is spent on development and facilitation and that using a conference room on the premises can save some costs. Should the conference room be adequate in terms of the facilitator and learner needs, it can certainly be used. The room should also be disturbance free to ensure maximum concentration. The writer of this chapter has facilitated in some very interesting places, including a bar, a stable, a huge hall, and worst of all in a little room hardly big enough to accommodate the delegates. Appleby (1999:19) identifies the following considerations: • Modern, purpose-built conference centres have the latest in audio-visual equipment. • Training centres belonging to large organisations (for example, Eskom Training Centre, Transnet’s Esselen Park) are rented out when not in use. • Out-of-town venues offer numerous outdoor activities within their grounds. • Hotels have the benefit of overnight accommodation and leisure facilities for delegates. 8.2.8.1 Selecting the right venue It is important to select the most appropriate venue for a learning event. Several factors need to be considered when selecting a venue: • Course specifications: Specifications about the facilities, materials and equipment that are needed to run the programme. • Target group: Your delegates could co-determine the choice of a venue. When organising a workshop for executives you will have different requirements than when you are organising training for low-level factory workers. • Budget: Naturally your budget will greatly determine the choice of a venue. • Location: When your delegates have their own transport you have a bigger choice of venues than when delegates make use of public transport. • Equipment: Should the training require specialised equipment, your venue should accommodate it. • Catering: When delegates are expected to be present for more than a few hours, it is expected to provide a meal. Remember to keep learners’ dietary requirements in mind! It is furthermore important that your delegates are comfortable. If learners are comfortable, they will concentrate on the learning process. Mitchell (2005:287) and Wills (1993:121) consider the following comfort factors as important: • Temperature: Few things kill a seminar faster than a room that is too hot or too cold. If it is too hot, delegates struggle to stay awake. When the room is too cold, people are too uncomfortable to learn. For optimum learning, it is probably better to have a slightly cool than a slightly warm temperature. Vermeulen (1999) recommends a room temperature of between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius. • Lighting: Many training rooms have too little light. It is also possible to have too much light, making it difficult to view transparencies or videos. • Chairs: If you have ever attended training or a conference where you had to sit on hard or uncomfortable chairs, you will know how distracting it can be. 238 Managing Human Resource Development • Writing and workspace: A steady, spacious surface is a must for every delegate. You want delegates to take in as much as possible, therefore, make it easy for them to take notes. It is also uncomfortable to sit too close to the next delegate. • Sightlines: When delegates cannot see the trainer or the visual aids they will eventually lose interest in the training. Also ensure that nobody has a blocked view due to seating arrangements or equipment. The more the organisers can do to create an ideal learning environment the better. 8.2.8.2 Venue checklist The use of checklists is extremely helpful when selecting a venue and when doing a lastminute check-up. An example of a venue checklist is depicted in Table 8.4. This checklist is compiled based on the perspectives of Appleby (1999:24) and Wills (1993:119). Table 8.4 An example of a venue checklist Important points Location of venue – easily accessible Enough parking Organised reception area Helpful staff members at venue Size of training room Capacity of training room Equipment Room temperature Lighting Comfortable chairs Enough workspace for delegates Power sockets Acoustics Wall space for posters or flipcharts Breakaway rooms Toilets Catering Security Wifi Administration back-up (making of copies, fax, typing, etc) Value for money Other (specify) Specific requirements Due date Done Chapter 8: Planning and organising training 239 8.2.8.3 Doing homework about the chosen venue It is vital that the course organiser visit the chosen venue. Although modern technology makes it very easy to make bookings from an office, it is no guarantee that everything will be to the liking of the facilitator or the delegates. It is also important to confirm all the arrangements in writing. A facilitator recently ran an in-house management course for high-level managers. Arrangements to run the course at an outside venue were made by the trainer’s assistant, but never followed up by the facilitator. Imagine the disappointment and embarrassment when the facilitator and delegates arrived at the venue only to discover that they were in the process of closing down and not in a position to accommodate a training course. What a rocky start to the training course! This same course eventually had to be run in one of the company’s inadequate conference rooms. Ensure that delegates know exactly where the venue is. Starting late because delegates become lost is a waste of valuable time and money. Ensure that maps are attached to the confirmation letters. It is also useful to provide the telephone number of the venue in case a map is not enough to enable a delegate to find the venue. The arrangement of chairs and table is another aspect of venue planning. Seating arrangements can vary according to the structure of the training session. The following illustrations are only some examples of seating arrangements. Figure 8.1 Examples of seating arrangements 240 Managing Human Resource Development 8.2.9 Administration Wills (1993:147) says that administration is the “glue” of the training process. Training and development needs are becoming more complex, but the training professional still has to get the right people to the right courses at the right time. This, as anyone involved in training administration will know, is easier said than done. The following aspects are important when considering training administration: • Scheduling trainers • Booking rooms or venues • Scheduling and maintaining a training calendar • Booking accommodation • Printing manuals or learning materials • Arranging catering or refreshments • Facilitating nomination of delegates • Confirmation to delegates • Handling cancellations or substitutes • Facilitating handing in of assignments or projects • Ensuring that reports are written • Ensuring that delegates arrive at the right course at the right place at the right time • Keeping training records up to date • Ensuring that accounts are paid. 8.2.9.1 Pre-course administration Booking venues and trainers Once the training plan is finalised, venues and facilitators need to be booked first. Internal venues need to be booked and preferably be confirmed in writing. If using an external venue, booking several months ahead is often necessary. All requirements should be made clear in writing to avoid any disappointment or embarrassment on the day of the training. Should a consultant be used to do the training, it is important to finalise a written agreement. Course nominations A process of consultation with stakeholders should be followed even when canvassing for nominations for the course. Various methods can be used to promote the course as discussed earlier. A nomination form should be completed by the delegate or the manager, and should contain the following information: • Course name • Selected course date • Course fee • Name – as learners would like to be called on the course • Name – as learners would like to have printed on their certificates • Employee number • Department Chapter 8: Planning and organising training 241 • Designation • Contact number for delegate • Immediate manager or supervisor • Manager’s signature. Organisations often do course scheduling well in advance to avoid double bookings. It is advisable that schedules be kept on computer as manual systems do not have “alarms” that can go off when there be a double booking. A schedule will also give any person an opportunity to see whether there are bottlenecks or whether one department will be seriously short-staffed by the scheduled training. Avoid booking too many courses around school and public holidays as many people take leave during those periods. On receipt of nominations or bookings for delegates, a course list should be completed. A course list can look as follows: Course list Course name .......................................................................................................................... Course date/s ......................................................................................................................... Venue ..................................................................................................................................... Delegate name Department Designation Contact number and e-mail Facilitator ............................................................................................................................... If a course is overbooked, keep a waiting list as people often have to cancel or postpone because of work pressure or for personal reasons and so on. A way to get around the cancellation problem is to keep delegates or their departments responsible for the training cost (or even a cancellation fee). It has been my experience that delegates will think twice about cancelling if they are held responsible for the costs. In order to do this, a written commitment should be included in the booking form. Alternatively, delegates can be encouraged to nominate substitutes. Course confirmation Sending confirmation of training to delegates is one of the most important aspects of pretraining administration. The following information should appear on a confirmation letter: • Name of course • Date of course, for example, Wednesday 24 November and Thursday 25 November • Starting times and estimated closure time • Venue • Pre-reading or work required before start of training 242 Managing Human Resource Development • Name(s) of facilitator(s) • Contact person for queries and telephone number (preferably a cell number) • Map or directions to external training venue • A summary of the benefits of the course to the learner and the organisation. Facilitators are seldom responsible for pre-course administration. It is therefore important that administrators communicate with facilitators to ensure that the latter have all the necessary information about the venue, delegates and other relevant issues. CBM Training administrators prepare “training kits” for trainers containing training manuals, directions, details about delegates, stationery, and equipment. This means that one person is in charge of arranging logistics. This avoids “gaps” and duplications in arrangements. 8.2.9.2 Post-course administration The course is not finalised when the last word is spoken on the course. Apart from evaluation, it is important that reports are written on delegates to give feedback to line managers. Reports can be on individual delegates’ progress and behaviour during the course or it can be a group report. A group report is recommended when a larger group (15 or more delegates) is trained or where the purpose of the training is to change group attitudes. As the facilitator sees the delegates under different circumstances, the information conveyed to management is very important. The following can be addressed in the report: • Delegate’s level of participation • Delegate’s level of understanding (especially of more complex principles) • Parts of the training the delegate took special interest in • Development areas of delegates (often these are recommendations for further training) • General behaviour in class and in small groups • The support needed from the manager to ensure application and skills transfer. Training records Records of completed training are an important source of information for training professionals. It is critical to decide how training records can serve a purpose. Record systems should therefore be designed to be useful sources of information to the organisation. With the implementation of the NQF and SAQA, organisations are required to keep records especially for the purpose of recognising prior learning. The objective of keeping records will differ from organisation to organisation. Training records may be kept to: • Keep track of training and skill development in the organisation for historical purposes • Comply with NQF and SAQA regulations as well as the Skills Development Act • Build accurate records of staff members’ development • Guide training and development initiatives as part of the HRD strategy • Record performance of HRD activities. Many computer-based human resource information systems have a facility to accommodate comprehensive training records. It is important that the nature of the information is in line with the needs of the organisation. Examples of records are: • Human resources planning data • Records of courses attended while in the company’s service Chapter 8: Planning and organising training 243 • Individual training records (including training undergone while in another company’s service) • In-service training records • Performance management (including appraisal records) • Records of study loans and bursaries • Employment equity records • Course reports • Skills development records • Training-needs analysis data. 8.2.10 Planning for training evaluation Trainers, learners and managers should evaluate training. The objective of evaluation is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the training activity. Feedback and suggestions are needed for improvements. Evaluation may be ongoing, carried out at the end of the training or some time thereafter. Assessments are imperative for organisations to measure the value of training interventions. Ways of evaluating and validating an intervention are: • Trainees’ reaction to the experience – evaluation forms are generally a good tool. • Trainee learning – measure learning through post-course assessments. • Changes in job behaviour following training – this is relevant where the aim of the course was to learn a skill. • Organisational change as a result of training. • Impact of training on organisational goals. We rarely learn from our successes but we learn from our mistakes. It is important to plan evaluation to ensure that the objective of the intervention is achieved and that evaluation is not merely a haphazard exercise. It is necessary to decide what method of evaluation you will implement before the start of the training intervention. For example, if evaluation forms are used at the end of a learning programme, these forms must be developed well in advance so that they will be ready when they are needed. The same principle applies to workplace assessment after a course has been completed. Feedback is the key to improvement. If evaluation is carried out effectively it will indicate whether or not the learning programme is effective or if the money has been well spent. It will also provide information regarding which areas of the learning programme should be improved. The planning of the evaluation strategy should be based on the information provided in chapter 17. 8.3 A project management approach Want to complete training projects successfully? On-time, within budget, and involving the appropriate people to ensure integration? These project management steps will ensure that you practice effective project management. 244 Managing Human Resource Development 8.3.1 Handling a successful project The table below is based on Michael Greer’s (2007:2) steps of handling a successful project. These actions are organised according to the five crucial steps of project management: 1. Initiating 2. Planning 3. Implementing 4. Controlling 5. Closing. Action Results of Successful Performance Initiating 1. Demonstrate training needs and feasibility 2. Obtain training authorisation A confirmation that there is a need for the training and describing the training deliverables, means of creating the training, costs of creating and implementing the training A “go/no go” decision is made by the relevant manager A project manager is assigned A “project charter” is created which: • Formally recognises the project • Is issued by a manager external to the project and at a high enough organisational level • Authorises the project manager to apply resources to training A “go/no go” decision is made by the relevant manager who authorises the project manager to apply organisational resources to the activities of a particular phase Written approval of the phase is created Approval is granted by a manager external to the project and at a high enough organisational level so that he or she can meet project needs 3. Obtain authorisation for the phase Action 4. Describe training project scope 5. Define and sequence project activities 6. Estimate durations for activities and resources required 7. Develop a training schedule Planning Statement of training project scope Scope training plan Work breakdown structure An activity list (list of all activities that will be performed on the training project) Updates to the work breakdown structure (WBS) A project network diagram Estimate of durations (time required) for each activity and assumptions related to each estimate Statement of resource requirements Updates to activity list Project schedule in the form of Gantt charts, network diagrams, milestone charts, or text tables Supporting details, such as resource usage over time, cash flow projections, order/delivery schedules, etc continued Chapter 8: Planning and organising training Action Planning 8. Estimate costs Cost estimates for completing the training project Supporting detail, including assumptions and constraints Cost management plan describing how cost variances will be handled A cost baseline or time-phased budget for measuring/monitoring costs A spending plan, telling how much will be spent on what resources at what time Quality management plan, including operational definitions Quality verification checklists Compliance with NQF regulations A communication management plan, including: 9. Build a budget and spending plan 10. Create a formal quality plan 11. Create a formal project communications plan 12. Organise and acquire staff 13. Identify risks and plan to respond (optional) 14. Plan for and acquire outside resources (optional) 15. Organise the project plan 16. Close out the project planning phase 17. Revisit the project plan and replan if needed Action 18. Execute project activities 245 Collection structure Distribution structure Description of information to be disseminated Schedules listing when training will take place A method for updating the communications plan Role and responsibility assignments Training providers/internal trainers Organisational chart with detail as appropriate Project staff Project team directory A document describing potential risks, including their sources, symptoms, and ways to address them Procurement management plan describing how external providers will be obtained Statement of work (SOW) or statement of requirements (SOR) describing the item (product or service) to be procured Bid documents, such as RFP (request for proposal), IFB (invitation for bid), etc Evaluation criteria – means of scoring provider’s proposals Contract with one or more service provider A comprehensive project plan that pulls together all the outputs of the preceding project planning activities A project plan that has been approved, in writing, by the senior manager. A “green light” or okay to begin work on the training project Confidence that the detailed plans to execute a particular phase are still accurate and will effectively achieve results as planned Implementing Work results (deliverables) are created Change requests (that is, based on expanded or contracted project) are identified continued 246 Managing Human Resource Development Action Implementing Periodic progress reports are created Team performance is assessed, guided, and improved if needed Bids/proposals for training are solicited, providers (suppliers) are chosen, and contracts are established Contracts are administered to achieve desired work results Action Controlling 19. Control project activities Decision to accept inspected training Corrective actions such as rework of training, adjustments to work process, etc Updates to project plan and scope List of lessons learned Improved quality Completed evaluation checklists (if applicable) Action 20. Close out project activities Closing Formal acceptance, documented in writing, that the senior manager has accepted the product of this phase or activity 8.3.2 Key principles for training project management success 1. Project managers must focus on three dimensions of project success. Simply put, project success means completing all project training on time, within budget, and to a level of quality that is acceptable to managers and stakeholders. The project manager must keep the team’s attention focused on achieving these broad goals. 2. Planning is everything – and ongoing. On one thing all Project Management Authorities agree: The single most important activity that project managers engage in is planning – detailed, systematic, team-involved plans are the only foundation for project success. And when real-world events conspire to change the plan, project managers must make a new one to reflect the changes. So planning and re-planning must be a way of life for project managers. 3. Project managers must feel, and transmit to their team members, a sense of urgency. Because projects are finite endeavours with limited time, money, and other resources available, they must be kept moving toward completion. Since most team members have lots of other priorities, it’s up to the project manager to keep their attention on training and deadlines. Regular updates, meetings, and reminders are essential. 4. Successful projects use a time-tested, proven project life cycle. We know what works. So when time or budget pressures seem to encourage taking short cuts, it’s up to the project manager to identify and defend the best project life cycle for the job. 5. All training and all project activities must be visualised and communicated in vivid detail. In short, the project manager and project team must early on create a tangible picture of the finished training in the minds of everyone involved so that all efforts are focused in the same direction. Avoid vague descriptions at all costs; spell it out, picture it, prototype it, and make sure everyone agrees to it. 6. Training must evolve gradually, in successive approximations. It simply costs too much and risks too much time spent in rework to jump in with both feet and begin Chapter 8: Planning and organising training 247 building all training. Build a little at a time, obtain incremental reviews and approvals, and maintain a controlled evolution. 7. Projects require clear approvals and sign-off by senior managers. Clear approval points, accompanied by a formal sign-off by senior managers, SMEs, and other key stakeholders, should be demarcation points in the evolution of training. It’s this simple: anyone who has the power to reject or to demand revision of training interventions after they are complete must be required to examine and approve them as they are being built. 8. Project success is correlated with thorough analyses of the need for training. Our research has shown that when a project results in training that is designed to meet a thoroughly documented need, there is a greater likelihood of project success. So managers should insist that there should be a documented business need for the project before they agree to consume organisational resources in completing it. 9. Project managers must fight for time to do things right. In our work with project managers we often hear this complaint: “We always seem to have time to do the project over; I just wish we had taken the time to do it right in the first place!” Projects must have available enough time to “do it right the first time.” And project managers must fight for this time by demonstrating to senior managers and top managers why it’s necessary and how time spent will result in quality training. 10. Project manager responsibility must be matched by equivalent authority. It’s not enough to be held responsible for project outcomes; project managers must ask for and obtain enough authority to execute their responsibilities. Specifically, managers must have the authority to acquire and coordinate resources, request and receive SME co-operation, and make appropriate, binding decisions which have an impact on the success of the project. 11. Project managers and stakeholders must be active participants, not passive customers. Most senior project managers and stakeholders rightfully demand the authority to approve project training, either wholly or partially. Along with this authority comes the responsibility to be an active participant in the early stages of the project (helping to define training), to complete reviews of interim training in a timely fashion (keeping the project moving), and to help expedite the project manager’s access to SMEs, members of the target audience, and essential documentation. 12. Projects typically must be sold, and resold. There are times when the project manager must function as salesperson to maintain the commitment of stakeholders and senior managers. With project plans in hand, project managers may need to periodically remind people about the business need that is being met and that their contributions are essential to help meet this need. 13. Project managers should acquire the best people they can and then do whatever it takes to keep the garbage out of their way. By acquiring the best people – the most skilled, the most experienced, the best qualified – the project manager can often compensate for too little time or money or other project constraints. Project managers should serve as advocates for these valuable team members, helping to protect them from outside interruptions and helping them acquire the tools and working conditions necessary to apply their talents. 14. Top management must actively set priorities. In today’s leaner, self-managing organisations, it is not uncommon for project team members to be expected to play active roles on many project teams at the same time. Ultimately, there comes a time when 248 Managing Human Resource Development resources are stretched to their limits and there are simply too many projects to be completed successfully. In response, some organisations have established a Project Office comprised of top managers from all departments to act as a clearinghouse for projects and project requests. The Project Office reviews the organisation’s overall mission and strategies, establishes criteria for project selection and funding, monitors resource workloads, and determines which projects are of high enough priority to be approved. In this way top management provides the leadership necessary to prevent multi-project log jams. 8.4 Conclusion Effective training requires comprehensive planning and organising. For a training programme to be successful, a whole host of factors need to be considered. No planning is complete without a budget, and no programme can be successful if the venue does not suit the training. As discussed, involving all stakeholders from the beginning is challenging, but a critical success factor. Sound administration systems are vital to the survival of the training function, as are innovative methods to market the training department or programme. The success of any training programme depends significantly on the way it is managed. Well-planned training programmes contribute to effective learning and the accomplishment of the goals and principles of the NQF. 8.5 Case study Info-tech enterprise is a medium-sized company which employs 90 people. They provide software solutions to mainly the financial market. A large number of the employees are programmers who consult with clients on a daily basis. The sales staff members are responsible for getting new clients, but seldom have time to follow up after a programmer has been allocated to a client to design a customised programme. Info-tech’s staff members are mainly young, enthusiastic and competent computer programmers. Clients have lately been complaining about the service they get from Info-tech. After an investigation into the problem it seemed that clients were satisfied with their software, but not with the treatment they received from staff. Management has employed you as the external training consultant and asked you to help solve their problem. The staff members have not been involved in the problem-solving process and are unaware of the so-called “service” problem. Questions 1 How will you as the training consultant go about establishing the real problem? 2 Do you think this is a training problem? 3 Who should be involved in trying to find a solution? 4 How are you going to convince management to involve staff in trying to find a training solution? 5 What is the solution to the problem? 6 Management is prepared to pay R52 000 to solve this problem. How will you use this amount? Prepare a budget. 7 Describe how you are going to convince your target group to attend your particular intervention. 8 Draw up a checklist for planning the intervention. Chapter 8: Planning and organising training 249 8.6 Learning points The key learning points from this chapter are as follows: • It is critical to plan and organise training to ensure the effective execution of a training intervention. • A training plan should be compiled to use as a basis for planning. • A project management approach will assist in ensuring that training is managed effectively. 8.7 Self-assessment questions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Why does any training department need a training plan? Who should be involved when the training plan is determined? When should formal training be considered over on-the-job training? Prepare the following budget: 12 delegates need to attend a four-day training programme at a venue 225 km from the office. An internal facilitator will present the course, but an external training consultant will develop it and train the facilitator. (Remember to budget for accommodation and train-the-trainer.) Develop a plan to sell a training course aimed at supervisors on “world-class manufacturing” to your organisation. Describe the marketing steps and strategy. If you are going to present a course to frontline staff (including receptionists, security staff and customer service staff), which training aids will you use and why? Indicate all important factors to consider when selecting a venue for a learning programme. Imagine you are a course administrator. Describe what you will do to ensure that the sales training which one of the internal trainers is going to present, runs smoothly. Critically evaluate the following statement: “Good facilitation and training in a classroom is more important than training administration.” Explain how you can ensure the effective planning and organisation of training using a project management approach to training. 8.8 References Anon, 2000, Organisational Management – CIMA Study Text, London: BPP Publishing Limited. ASTD/SABPP, 2012, Eight Annual ASTD State of the South African Learning and Development Industry Report, Johannesburg: SABPP/ASTD Global Network SA. Appleby P, 1999, Organizing a Conference: How to Plan and Run an Outstanding and Effective Event, Plymouth: How to Books. Black P, Hartzenberg T and Standish B, 2003, Economics Principles and Practice, Cape Town: Maskew Miller Longman. Erasmus BJ and Van Dyk PS, 1999, Training Management in South Africa, 2nd edn, Halfway House: International Thomson. 250 Managing Human Resource Development Green M, 1999, “Chapter 6: Planning and managing human performance technology projects”, Handbook of Human Performance Technology, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. Greer M, 2007, Making Project Management Work for You, About.com. Mitchell G, 2005, The Trainer’s Handbook, New York: AMACOM. Moss G, 1993, The Trainer’s Desk Reference, 2nd edn, London: Kogan Page. Newby T, 1992, Cost-Effective Training, London: Kogan Page. Stoltz PG, Majors RE and Soares EJ, 1994, Sales Training, New York: AMACOM. Vermeulen A, 1999, “Mind Brain Trends”, ASTD Conference: Johannesburg. Walsh C, 2002, Key management ratios, London: Prentice Hall. White D, 2002, “Outsourcing – take your business activities to the next level”, HR Future 1(4): 32–33. Wills M, 1993, Managing the Training Process, London: McGraw-Hill. 8.9 Suggested reading Financial Mail Essentials, 2014, Exhibitions & Events, Cape Town: Cold Press Media. Kruger D, 2015, How to make your point without Powerpoint, Cape Town: Penguin. Mankin, 2009, Human Resource Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Meyer M, 2004, Effective Facilitation: Practical Guidelines for Managers, Facilitators, Consultants and Trainers, Cape Town: New Africa. Meyer M and Orpen M, 2017, Occupationally-Directed Education Training and Development Practices, 3rd edn, Durban: LexisNexis. Noe RA, 1999, Employee Training and Development, Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Reay DG, 1994, Planning a Training Strategy, London: Kogan Page. SA Conference Directory, 2014, 3SMedia: Rivonia. SABPP, 2014, National HR Standards, Johannesburg: SABPP. SABPP, 2015, National HR Professional Practice Standards, Johannesburg: SABPP. 8.10 Internet sites AIC Worldwide Africa (event and conference organisers): http://www.aic-africa.com American Society for Training and Development: http://www.astd.org Business Presentation Products: http://www.bpp.co.za Exhibition & Events Association of Southern Africa: http://www.exsa.co.za Institute for International Research: http://www.iir.co.za MICE Academy: http://www.miceacademy.co.za Project Management Forum: http://www.pmforum.org Project Management Institute: http://www.pmi.org Project Management Resources: http://www.allpm.com Skills Portal: http://www.skillsportal.co.za Southern African Professional Trainers Association: http://www.saptaonline.org South African Conferences Database: http://www.saconference.co.za Chapter 8: Planning and organising training 251 South African Training and Capacity Building Providers: http://www.web.co.za/prodder Trainers Warehouse: http://www.trainerswarehouse.com Training and Seminar Locators: http://www.tasl.com Venuesearch (database of conference venues): http://www.venuesearch.co.za CHAPTER 9 MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Moira Katz The training and development of managers is of the utmost importance to any enterprise because managers are responsible for providing direction. (Barney Erasmus and Piet van Dyk) LEARNING OUTCOMES • Outline the changing roles of managers at all levels to add value to the bottom line • Analyse and benchmark international best management practices • Structure a variety of different approaches to learning to fill management skills gaps • Identify the problems facing ETD providers when concerned with the training of management at the various levels and recommend solutions • Integrate other learning that impacts on the performance of supervisors and managers • Align leadership development programmes to the national standard on leadership development (SABPP) • • • • Identify resources to assist with management development Set up transfer partnerships and manage transfer of training Integrate SAQA requirements and the latest legislation which affects supervisors and managers Develop a strategy for management and leadership development 253 254 Managing Human Resource Development 9.1 Introduction Most employees are promoted into management as a reward for excelling in the technical skills of a particular job, such as in mining, manufacturing, accounting, computer programming, plumbing, law, or any of the hundreds of modern-day technologies. The newly appointed manager is therefore armed with superior technical knowledge and skills, but is often lacking and even unaware of the complex knowledge and skills of managing work and employees. To the recently promoted, this is a new world with utterly different functions, skills, demands and criteria for success. Traditionally in South Africa there are three distinct management levels: Supervisors or first line managers Generally, supervisors or first line managers contribute to the management process, rather than take total responsibility for activities. Traditionally they are charged with the direction and control of the activities of other people, the achievement of results, and the efficient and effective use of resources. They divide up the work, manage the work flow, set performance targets, develop teams, provide instructions, delegate, monitor and check progress measured against set objectives through controls, solve problems and make decisions, and give feedback on performance. Middle managers Middle managers receive strategic guidance from senior management, take responsibility for interpreting and implementing policy, and hand down this information to employees. They take charge of initiating change and development in systems, practices and procedures. They control the resources necessary for meeting their objectives, participate in key customer relations and account decisions, develop key management and professional talent. Senior managers The role of senior managers is critical to the success of the organisation as they are responsible for developing strategies and providing leadership. In order to be effective they need a wide range of skills, behaviours and knowledge. Their major tasks are to set strategic objectives and initiate significant shifts in the direction of the organisation, monitor results, obtain and control capital resources, maintain relations with key external parties, including shareholders, major customers, the general public, as well as provide the philosophy and example of “how we manage”. With the launch of the King IV™ Report and Code on Corporate Governance for South Africa on 1 November 2016, the role of senior managers as prescribed officers in implementing board decisions in strengthening corporate governance cannot be over-emphasised. In practice, however, the levels are not always so clear cut. For example, there may be two or more grades at each management level. The current approach to cut as many layers as possible and flatten the organisation through re-engineering or downsizing or rightsizing, has often led to a variety of skills at each level and, in some instances, a blurring of the clear-cut demarcations. It is widely recognised that there is a close relationship between good management and successful business performance. This has led to a renewed focus on establishing routes to better business performance through improving the skills and practices of supervisors and managers. Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 255 In recent years the problem of workplace literacy and supervisory development has at last come to the forefront. The words “workplace illiterate” are not always used to mean someone who cannot read. They may refer to those who are less literate than it is thought they should be and do not have the basic communication and computation skills required to successfully perform the day-to-day operations of a job. This is the form of literacy that employers are most concerned with, because of its direct connection to work, to quality and to job performance. Workplace literacy is therefore specific to the work setting and each workplace determines its own definition. For example, in a work setting “literacy” may mean the ability to read blueprints, to figure percentages, or be able to read and follow instructions contained in a manufacturing process sheet in order to assemble a product. The difficulty is the number of South African supervisors who may be or are workplace illiterate. Karen Berney, writing in Nation’s Business, stated that in the United States one in three potential American employees cannot read, write or reason well enough to compete in today’s economy. They lack the skills that new and evolving jobs require, such as the ability to communicate clearly, to analyse and solve problems and to work cooperatively with others. As a result, businesses lose billions through low productivity, poor product quality, workplace accidents, absenteeism and lost managerial and supervisory time. There is no reason to believe that conditions in South Africa are any different, except to add that the local situation has been exacerbated by the politics of the past 50 years, coupled with an iniquitous education system, resulting in an even more inadequate standard of basic education in the lower echelons of management. • Many large organisations are not yet convinced of the importance of training at lower levels and limit the numbers of supervisors being trained to one or two token groups a year. To a lesser extent the same can be said of middle management training. Neither the organisations nor the country can afford this. It is the contention of the author that it is unnecessary to wait for literacy courses to be completed before training in supervisory skills can begin. It has been proved that the best solution is not to wait until learners have at last laboured through ABET levels, but to run the two programmes concurrently (train supervisors in literacy skills and train them in supervisory skills in parallel programmes). • Many organisations in South Africa are still not training their illiterate or semi-literate supervisors in supervisory skills. • Supervisors still need training in workplace literacy skills and basic life skills. There is a problem with underpinning knowledge in the area. A theoretical accounting for the empirical findings in research literature has yet to be explored. • There is, however, hope for improved literacy levels as well as better supervisory management skills. After completing a training programme, supervisors feel and believe they are more a part of the management team because: • they are now speaking the same “language” about work as other supervisors • they understand each other’s roles • they have improved their understanding of the why and how of communications from top management • they have common objectives • they no longer feel isolated • they no longer feel singled out because they are workplace illiterate 256 Managing Human Resource Development • they now see a reason for continuing with personal development because they have learnt something about themselves which is that they are trainable. Often supervisors and team leaders who have been through a specially designed programme for semi-literate or home language literate employees, start thinking, “My company sent me on supervisor training. They have faith in me. I can become promotable. I think I’ll go back and finish my ABET training.” South Africa used to see the western world as the pacesetter for business and training and had to adjust culturally and continuously to this “westernised” climate. The new thinking, however, is that as a country of 54 million people we need to take the best and adapt it to suit our local and very specific circumstances, and not merely imitate the West. • However, it must be accepted that managers, no matter where in the world they operate, will always need the same basic skills to manage their jobs. • With the rapidly changing political and educational scene it remains to be discovered how much will impact on managers and affect the direction of training. • Top management needs to change its thinking. The senior team is not yet convinced that the bottom line can be positively influenced by serious training at first line level. Unless reform is undertaken, the outcome is obvious. Faced with hiring or promoting from an inadequately educated pool, South Africa, already underperforming dismally in World Competitiveness Reports, will continue to struggle to climb the ladder. 9.2 Changing role of management The long-standing South African approach has been to train senior and then middle management and ignore first line management (usually supervisors). The rationale is not difficult to understand. In a traditional authoritarian organisational society, management routinely sent down instructions and supervisors routinely implemented these instructions. Frequently compounding the problem, middle and upper management were white and the lower levels were black. The winds of change, however, having swept strongly and swiftly through South Africa, delivered a new awareness that supervisors are a vital component of the organisation, a key link to productivity, and require upgraded skills. Several problems immediately surfaced. The major one was strikingly evident: this was not an area where management willingly spent – or indeed spends – money. A vast shift in thinking was mandatory and is still ongoing. From the time of the 1994 elections, training in South Africa has been in the process of undergoing a long awaited and necessary remodelling, in order to adjust to the transformed political climate. Organisations large and small have started to realise the importance of training their lower management echelons, especially illiterate and semi-literate supervisors. This is a sector of the management team that has been generally disregarded, neglected and overlooked. It consists mostly of employees who have gained technical expertise, but have come out of an inferior education system with sometimes only six or seven years of inadequate schooling. In order to mainstream this section of the community, organisations need to spend a lot of time, effort and budget. In addition, supervisors do not know what it is to be an integral part of the management team. Although they are considered the first line of management and much is made of their position in books and manuals (and often in lip service), in reality management considers them to be a separate entity and treats them as such. They are charged with seeing that the Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 257 workers get on with the work, but in fact have little other power. Many barriers, therefore, have to be broken down. The first step takes place when management acknowledges that supervisors should not only be trained in the basics of managing their team members, but should also attain the skills to become accepted and competent members of the management team. The important question is: what should supervisors and managers be able to do? The answer is obvious. Supervisors and managers must be able to supervise and manage. This is the cornerstone of their jobs. At entry level and without training, few can do so competently as the demands and pressures are tremendous. It must be stated categorically that traditional management, in one variation or another, but always containing problem-solving and decision-making, planning, organising, controlling, implementing and leading, is still the backbone of management learning and practice. So, to add to their technical skills, supervisors must have sound planning, organising, leading and controlling capabilities, while at the same time remembering that they interact daily with their teams and with management and therefore require, for example, leadership skills, communication skills and people skills. At the same time other “soft” skills, such as conflict management and assertiveness need to be acquired, as well as taking note of the vital role played by attitude, passion and emotional intelligence. Today, when we look at outcomes-based training, we are faced with a dilemma: what are the most important outcomes an organisation expects from a supervisor or manager? It is no longer sufficient to say, for example, managers must be able to plan, organise and control. The new approach says the theory is necessary as a basic ingredient, but the implementation to reach set standards is paramount. Pat McLagan (1991): “The demands on managers are changing. They must provide more leadership and less constraint, more anticipation and less reaction, more developed people and less developed activity, more cross-functional linkage and less functional individualism, more total enterprise decision-making and less budget gamesmanship, more focus on outputs and less on activities.” Sound management development is a deliberate process. It flourishes in an organisation where top management believes in it, supports it visibly and rewards it. It flourishes under the guidance of able and skilful leaders who are regarded with respect and who are able to mentor, coach, guide and assist other managers in becoming competent and dedicated in developing their people. Management development dies when managers, no matter what their level, are not trained and developed and, worse still, are stifled in their efforts to improve the way they do things. The textbook definition of a manager can be explained in a few simple words: a manager gets work done through others but, in practice, this implies a huge number and variety of skills. The traditional way to reaching an understanding of the job of a manager was through breaking it down into three distinct although overlapping categories of functions (Katz and Kahn): Conceptual functions (based on intellect and logical thinking) Examples are planning, organising, scheduling, delegating, developing systems, analysing problems, making decisions, co-ordinating, setting and monitoring control systems. 258 Managing Human Resource Development Human relations functions (based on personal qualities, character and personality) Examples are leading, motivating, morale building, communicating, listening, teaching, helping, training, developing, coaching, giving feedback, working with others and being emotionally intelligent. Technical skills (work-related) Technical or specialist skills are concerned with knowledge of and proficiency in activities involving methods, processes and procedures. They deal with such things as tools, machines, processes, specific techniques and methods of production. Table 9.1 presents another way of looking at the basic competencies managers need. In this instance there are four clusters with a number of specific competencies in each cluster. Table 9.1 Clusters of managerial competencies The administrative cluster: managing your job • Time management and prioritising • Setting goals and standards • Planning, scheduling work and setting controls The communication cluster: relating to others • Listening and organising • Giving clear information • Getting unbiased information The supervisory cluster: building the team • Training, coaching, instructing and delegating • Working together • Performance appraisal The cognitive cluster: thinking clearly • Identifying and solving problems • Making decisions and weighing risks • Making good judgement calls • Thinking clearly and analytically Any gaps in these competencies (benchmarked against the best) will cause problems in the functioning of the team, the success of the department and the organisation. It is therefore essential that all managers possess all these competencies in order to function effectively as managers or supervisors of their teams. Building on management development programmes, in recent years, there has been a strong shift towards leadership development. While management development programmes focus directly on formal management job titles and the requisite competencies, the shift towards leadership development highlights the importance of vision, influence, inspiration and building organisational capabilities and culture from a leadership paradigm. While we use the terms management and leadership interchangeably in this chapter, we recognise the need for both paradigms. 9.3 International best practices What do the world’s best managers do that sets them apart? Competent managers not only have a good knowledge of problem-solving and decision-making, planning, organising and setting and monitoring controls, they also: • have an absence of turnover problems • are concerned with good morale of their team Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 259 • carry out setting objectives and measuring achievements on a weekly and monthly basis • distribute fairly the budget for training and development • work together as a team, managing projects and managing diversity • participate in assessment and selection • are actively involved in satisfaction along the customer chain, both internal and external • delegate responsibility and empower others • implement personal improvement and development plans • keep up with information technology and co-operate across the organisation • conduct interviews and meetings effectively, with confidence and fairness • train for self and team members to use systematic approaches to problem-solving and decision-making • evaluate return on investment in training and development • keep up-to-date with all the new legislation affecting the workplace and their jobs, for example employment, health and safety law • improve communication between managers and teams, managers and their managers, managers and both internal and external customers. In high performance systems, the managers are charged with being part of the systems operation and are concerned with aligning the following: • strategy, vision, mission and goals • beliefs and values • management practices (leadership, style, decision-making and communication) • organisational structure • work practices and processes (jobs, tasks, skills, knowledge and abilities) • human resource systems (selection, training and development and compensation) • other systems (technology, communication and measurement). Before selecting management training and development opportunities, it is imperative to state clearly what managers in the organisation should be able to do, what competencies they have, what competencies they need to do their jobs better, and where the gaps are between “what is” and “what is needed” (gap analysis). A starting point is to gather data to analyse the present state of the organisation. Data gathering methods set a baseline against which to measure the results of the benchmarking, carried out at a later stage, and gathered from: • company archives • job descriptions • group interviews with managers and supervisors • individual interviews with managers and supervisors • performance appraisals • observations • questionnaires • measuring outputs. 260 Managing Human Resource Development More information can be gathered by asking employees the 12 questions indicated in Table 9.2. These questions do not provide all the answers to management development needs, but they do capture the most important information. They measure the core elements needed to attract, focus and keep the most talented employees. They are the simplest and most accurate way to measure the strength of a workplace. Moreover, they indicate the competence levels of managers. If the questions are answered in the affirmative, they will discriminate between the most productive departments and the rest. Table 9.2 Questions to ask employees to determine their management development needs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Do you know what is expected of you at work? And to what standard? Do you have the materials, knowledge and equipment you need to do your work properly? At work do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day? In the last seven days have you received recognition or praise for good work? Does your manager, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person? Is there someone at work who encourages your development? At work do your opinions seem to count? Does the mission of your company make you feel that your work is important? 9 10 11 12 Are your co-workers committed to doing quality work? Do you have a good friend at work? In the last six months have you talked with someone about your progress? At work are you finding or being given the opportunity to learn and grow? Apart from international benchmarking data, it is also important to consider the relationship of these trends with the NQF requirement for international comparability. Also, this integration is essential, not only for management development, but also for HRD in general. The NQF has identified seven critical outcomes which experts believe are essential to any person leaving school and which serve as foundational stones to those who want to progress and learn more. An interesting point is that these critical outcomes correspond with major international trends in the field of training and development (Schenk and Meyer, 1999). They can thus be aligned with international best practices in the field of training and development. When these critical outcomes are applied to a specific job, it is easy to see how important they are to being able to do the job competently. The problem is that many supervisors, having come out of an inferior schooling system, do not possess these basic skills. For example, critical thinking skills are lacking throughout the organisation, but even more so at the lower levels. Table 9.3 The relationship between the NQF critical outcomes and world themes NQF Critical Outcomes • Identify and solve problems in which responses display that responsible decisions using critical and creative thinking have been made World Themes Performance consulting, training-needs analysis, training design, quality training, change management continued Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 261 NQF Critical Outcomes World Themes • Work effectively with others as a member of a team, group, organisation or community Teamwork, 360-degree performance feedback, emotional intelligence, diversity training • Organise and manage oneself and one’s activities responsibly and effectively Emotional intelligence, self-management, self-directed learning • Collect, analyse and critically evaluate information Creativity, knowledge management, training-needs analysis, measurement and evaluation of training, organisational development • Communicate effectively using visual, mathematical and/or language skills in the modes of oral and/or written persuasion Communication, instructional design, language training, training presentations • Use science and technology effectively and critically, showing responsibility towards the environment and health of others Scientific approach to all the phases of the training process, multimedia and technology-based training • Demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of inter-related systems by recognising that problem-solving contexts do not exist in isolation Globalisation, learning organisation, knowledge management, change management, performance consulting, supplier management These seven critical outcomes can form the basis for management development programmes. Not only do they correspond with international trends in HRD, they can easily be applied in all management development programmes. The fact that the seven critical outcomes have been developed from a cross-field approach further enhances their value from a management development perspective. All managers need to apply the critical outcomes, whether they are strategic planners, production directors, financial managers or workshop supervisors. The challenge is to ensure that all learning materials and assessment methods in the field of management development correspond with these critical outcomes. 9.4 Learning opportunities for management development Once gaps have been identified and international benchmarking conducted, learning opportunities can be created to embark on a systematic process of management development. The following guidelines can be used when organising training, whether you do it yourself or employ an outside consultant. • Assess training needs, not in a vacuum, but in relation to the business plan and requirements identified in the appraisal process, and with the co-operation of every employee’s manager, taking cognisance of future needs. • Prepare an individual training schedule annually in conjunction with each employee’s manager, cost it and secure budget funds. Be prepared to motivate or argue for what you require, once again linked to the business plan and the skills development plan and to achieving results. • Look for opportunities to group employees together for training. If sufficient numbers require the same course, it may justify a customised programme, designed specifically for the department or organisation. 262 Managing Human Resource Development • Select the appropriate type of intervention and the person or organisation to carry it out. For example, if one-on-one coaching is required, select the person with the skills, interest and patience to be a committed coach. • Only select interventions that are linked to performance outcomes and set standards so that individuals can learn, grow and do their jobs better. • Select interventions that are suitable for managers at their specific level. Do not group all employees requiring planning skills, for example, into one class, because their needs are very different at the various levels. Also, the lower the level, the more simple the exercises must be in order to achieve greater learning and the ability to transfer skills immediately to the workplace. • At all levels training must be learner-orientated and outcomes and standards-based in line with the NQF. • The training providers selected to carry out the training must be prepared to stand by their word that the implementation of their training programme will make a difference. If the programme fails, they should be held liable or should commit to re-training. This step must be negotiated up front before training begins. • An important consideration is how many hours an organisation should spend on training managers. No figures are available to indicate current practices in South Africa, but here are some figures from the United States, from an industry study reported in Training Magazine in October 1998 (56). The companies surveyed spent the following: First line managers: 64 hours per year Middle managers: 72 hours per year Senior managers: 64 hours per year Executives: 70 hours per year At Tektronix headquarters (USA) on a new management programme, managers attend eight five-day modules over two years, which evens out to 20 days of training per year! How much time do South African organisations spend on training? How many days of training are necessary per year? There has been a feeling for a long time that senior managers and executives are awarded far more training time than managers at lower levels who have as urgent a need for better and more training. The current legislation (the Skills Development Act) helps somewhat to even out the process. In large organisations in South Africa there is a visible effort to keep up with the rest of the world which has incorporated electronic forms of training media: CD-ROM, the Internet and internal intranets (see chapter 11). Note that e-learning is not “instead of” classroom training: it is rather looked on as one more training tool. The latest thinking is that blended training is the ideal answer to meeting diverse learning needs. In most organisations, however, the classroom remains the workhouse of organisational education and training, with live instructors delivering training. HRD managers need to make employees aware of the many and varied development programmes which, if pursued, will help them advance their careers. Some of these development programmes are: • self-development opportunities (seminars, conferences and workshops) • college diplomas and certificate programmes • professional association membership • committee and taskforce membership Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 263 • further academic qualifications at universities and universities of technology • reading management books, journals and magazines • OJT coaching • mentoring and coaching programmes (see chapter 10) • succession planning (see chapter 16) • OJT training (see chapter 7) • cross-functional job rotations • cross-country job rotations • Internet learning • sabbaticals • performance appraisals and 360-degree feedback (as part of the performance management system) • short, specialised management training courses • adventure learning (see chapter 7) • retreats (the old bosberaad, or lekgotla) • assessment centres • self-motivated study groups. Managers have to be reminded constantly that they are in charge of their own growth and progress, and need to learn to make the most of what they are offered, as well as seek selfgrowth opportunities. This is crucial in the fast-changing business environment. 9.5 Management concerns It is not only the question of how to improve training that concerns managers. The contemporary organisation is changing rapidly and other problems abound which impinge on how well managers do their jobs. The variety of concerns and challenges facing managers today are as follows: • unions • automation • administrative office systems • employment relations • legislation changes, regulations and control • physical and plant security, data and information security • support services • market competition • necessity to develop staff • corporate downsizing or re-engineering or restructuring or reshaping the business “landscape”, leading to reduction of employees, both in management and nonmanagement positions • mergers and acquisitions • the new focus on performance, outcomes, standards and measurement 264 Managing Human Resource Development • the need for change, linked to the business strategy • keeping up with new technology • globalisation • discipline • corporate governance and ethics • compliance and risk management • disruptive business models of competitors • sustainability. Let us take just one concern, for example developing staff, and look at the associated areas where managers need to be proficient: • counselling and appraising as required • developing new employees or new promotions as well as incumbents • OTJ training • helping teams to become motivated • understanding team and personal styles • facilitating team interactions • promoting diversity of workplace and successful interactions • giving feedback • coaching when required. Despite being harried by these concerns and their growing workload, managers can maximise their chances for work achievement and personal satisfaction by: • positioning themselves for success: managing the issues that will result in winning situations • growing in their work: learning new skills to improve current practices which will lead to future successes • coping with common challenges: dealing with common difficulties so that they continue to succeed • deciding what comes next: looking ahead to the next stage in their work life • being clear about performance expectations and standards • taking personal responsibility for their own growth and success. 9.6 Managerial learning The changing roles of managers have led to new and different kinds of training needed to help them develop new skills, such as training in: • new roles and responsibilities for high performance • coaching and counselling skills • team development • interpersonal skills • facilitation skills • change management Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 265 • continuous improvement and quality management • finance for non-financial managers • mentoring skills • the language of business and how businesses operate • advanced technology and globalisation. In order to get full co-operation from aspirant managers, it is essential to involve them in redesigning their current roles. If they understand the need for continuous managerial learning, they will be able to contribute significantly towards their own development and growth. 9.7 Leadership development standard for South Africa (SABPP) In 2014 the SA Board for People Practices (SABPP) developed a leadership development standard for South Africa as part of the HR professional practice standards, i.e. phase two of the national HR standards initiative. Leadership development processes are informed by the talent management strategy of an organisation and therefore form an important talent management intervention. Leadership development is a special form of HRD and is a critical success factor to effective processes along the HR value chain, including performance management, reward and recognition management, employment relations management and wellness management (SABPP, 2015). Leadership development has been defined as follows in the national leadership development standard as part of the HR professional practice standards: Leadership development is a structured and facilitated process to grow leaders and those identified as potential leaders in their ability to unlock potential in themselves, in others and through others. Source: SABPP (2015) According to the leadership development standard, the following fundamental requirements for good leadership development practice should be in place (SABPP, 2015): • The organisation should have a clear idea of what constitutes good leadership in that particular organisation and should develop a leadership competency model comprising several relevant dimensions to express that idea. • Development of an individual’s leadership development potential is specific to that individual, so leadership development practices should take into account personal preferences, styles, needs and circumstances. A range of development opportunities should therefore be provided. • Leadership development should be role-modelled and led by top and senior managers, who should take on mentoring and other development roles. The HR professional practice standard on leadership development is illustrated in Figure 9.1 below. 266 Managing Human Resource Development Figure 9.1 Leadership development standard for South Africa (SABPP) Leadership development strategy document IDENTIFICATION (ANALYSIS) Who are current and potential leaders Assessment and gap analysis according to competency framework Career paths, career and succession planning Assessment and/or profiling including team/individual/ division effectiveness Implementation process (document and flow) INTERVENTION DESIGN AND SELECTION Formal academic programmes Leadership competency framework document Communicate within organisation and to individuals what is planned Personal leadership effectiveness development Implement Coaching/mentoring (internal/external) interventions Speakers Feedback and Review Source: SABPP (2015) 9.8 Managing resources In a digital business environment, it is no longer necessary to be able to memorise everything. In fact, the world is far too complex to do so. It is more important to be able to find knowledge managers and other resources to tap into in times of need. Managers should be supported by the organisation’s knowledge management system to find the resources necessary to be effective in their day-to-day activities. The speed and complexity of change and development makes it essential that managers should be able to identify the resources they need to do their own work, and also have the necessary infrastructure and systems to provide resources to team members when they need it. The management of resources, information, knowledge and technology is therefore of paramount importance. 9.9 Transfer partnerships Good training is vital. However, the most important part of training is not what happens in the classroom, but what happens after the training event. HRD departments can do much Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 267 to create an empowered environment where managers grow and flourish. This requires a fundamental culture change in the way the organisation functions. The following are some characteristics of an empowered environment in which the transfer of learning is encouraged: • Self-directed teams are able to get on with the job. • Senior managers and managers share information with their team members regarding the organisation’s strategic plans and goals. • Employees receive the training they need to achieve their outputs, whether these are specific work skills, or education on “bigger picture” issues, such as time management or aspects of leadership. • Employees are continually involved in developing new work skills. • Managers understand and respect the challenges of an empowered workforce. • Managers are seen more as coaches than as bosses. They empower gradually and systematically as team members become ready. They do not expect or push for immediate results. • Employees are in control of the resources they need to meet their outputs. • The organisation provides measurement tools so that teams can check whether their plans and the implementation thereof have been effective. • Team members receive continuous feedback (such as 360 degree) and positive reinforcement. However, the internalisation of these characteristics does not occur automatically. A management strategy must be designed to ensure transfer of training. HRD practitioners can do much to encourage this process. By far the most important aspect is getting initial “buy-in” from the learners’ managers, that they will support the training and coach the learners where and when necessary. The following guidelines can be used: • align HRD thinking with the organisation’s strategic plan • establish managerial performance standards • involve managers and employees in needs analysis and gap analysis procedures • agree with managers on the selection process • collect baseline performance data • review instructional content and learning materials (must be outcomes-based and aligned with national standards) • involve managers in content planning • provide managers with coaching skills • brief learners on course outcomes, processes and applications to their jobs • provide time to complete pre-course and post-course assignments • provide a positive learning environment • build transfer of training into daily training routine • plan with learners the assessment of transfer of new skills to the job. 268 Managing Human Resource Development Here are some other points to take into consideration: • Management is an artificial role. Unlike a family or a friendship, the management role is not natural. Managers are not always liked or popular, and frequently their jobs are not fun. • Expect people to honour their agreements, both formal and informal. Not only is this good management, it also calls people’s integrity into account. • Provide feedback, both formally and informally. People need to know what is expected of them and how they will be assessed. Feedback should be timely, regular, constructive and honest. • Reward good people. Keep a solid perspective and spend time, money (budget) and attention on good people. Do not inadvertently reward poor performance. • Set up systems. Lay down procedures to manage daily operations. • Know the real organisational chart. There is a difference between real power and organisational chart power. Discover who really makes the decisions in the organisation. To achieve all the above, HRD practitioners need to establish sound partnerships with line managers and supervisors at all levels of the organisation. However, when managing the transfer of training it is indeed essential that companies realise that they need to confront and dispel the myths surrounding managing managers. Failure to do so, often results in unnecessary resources being squandered on management development, while inadequate transfer and supporting structures are in place. These myths have been identified by Longenecker and Gioia (1991:88): • Myth 1 Managers are self-starting, self-directing and autonomous, or they would not be managers The myth revisited: Good managers are self-managing, often to an extraordinary degree. They want, appreciate and accept autonomy, but they also want input, attention and guidance that only their superiors can provide. • Myth 2 Managers worth their salt know what their jobs really entail The myth recast: Even smart managers need an unambiguous picture of what they are responsible for in their jobs and, just as important, what they are not responsible for. Without leadership from senior management, subordinate managers have less clarity of purpose and are less effective. • Myth 3 Good managers can judge how well they are performing The myth reconsidered: Managers want and need regular feedback on their performance. Managers performing ambiguous work want unambiguous feedback, and they want it on a regular basis. • Myth 4 Good managers seek out the information they need The myth refurbished: Good managers are proactive information seekers. Yet they often do not have access to the information that their managers have. Their proactiveness is thus wasted on unnecessary work that their superiors could eliminate through an improved information flow. • Myth 5 Goals are adequate guides for effective managerial action The myth reframed: Goals must be carefully established, must provide for mutual input and must include some discussion on means and processes. To implement goal-setting Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 269 in an authoritarian manner generates poor communication, changing of positions (often to negativity) and ultimately obstructs success. The need to consider and dismantle these myths is therefore crucial to the development of managers. The next important issue is to question whether the training will change managerial behaviour. Today human resource development (HRD) practitioners are asking vendors whom they are considering for outsourced training, “Are you able to guarantee that your training course will actually change the participants’ behaviour?” This is an excellent question and goes back to gap analysis and standards. Briefly, according to the McClelland’s (1973) theory of competency training, the trainer must start the process to put certain steps in place: • recognition by participants of the need to change behaviour • understanding by participants of what exactly the required new behaviour is • self-assessment by the participants of their current skill level – compared with the benchmark or that of a high achiever • learn the skill, practice the skill and gain feedback • transfer the skill back to the workplace • follow-up and support from trainer to monitor and reinforce the learning • and a seventh which I would add: support from the participants’ managers. The evaluation/assessment processes do not begin after training has taken place. They must be designed at the same time that training is being planned. The Kirkpatrick system is still the most widely used, except that a pre-step and a post-step (often called Step 5) have been added. The pre-step is checking the level at which participants are entering training and the post-step is the ROI (return on investment). The problem here is that many organisations get involved as far as behaviour evaluation, but step four and the post-step are baulked at because of the difficulty involved in actually getting down to serious research and the costs involved in doing so. However, organisations that have completed ROI have been rewarded by being able to establish the value of training and the difference that good and widespread training makes to the bottom line. 9.10 South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) requirements HRD managers and indeed the whole of every HRD department must have up-to-date knowledge of the NQF and the latest legislation affecting the training of supervisors and managers. This means that HRD managers and departments should be directly involved in or very well-informed about the work of the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO), Council for Higher Education and the Umalusi Council for Quality Assurance in the area of management development. It is hoped that management standards, together with the new legislative requirements, will fundamentally influence the content and approach to management training and development. With the backing of the SETAs many organisations are slowly moving to occupational training for managers at all levels in organisations. 9.11 Performance management In the well-run organisation the performance management system holds managers accountable for applying the principles of the organisation. But it is the duty of the HR 270 Managing Human Resource Development department to ensure that the system is implemented and that it works smoothly for the benefit of both the organisation and the employees. HR and HRD staff can play the following roles in contributing to effective performance management: • HR managers share organisational objectives and strategies. Learners should immediately see the connection between their new skills and where the organisation is going. This makes training more relevant and gets everyone focused on applying their new skills to the organisation’s key priorities and goals. • HR managers encourage senior management to be seen as part of the performance improvement system and not only as the people who administer performance appraisals. • HR managers encourage OTJ learning because managers achieve a deeper level of skill development when they teach others and are encouraged to practise what they preach. 9.12 A process approach to management development What is a “good” management development programme? It is one in which the knowledge gained in training or education can be brought back to the workplace and implemented immediately. It is one which increases the knowledge and productivity of managers and the teams they manage. It is one which, ultimately, shows up in organisational profitability. It is one which creates a state of mind and understanding in which it is possible for the individual learner to continue learning through trial and experience and to do this independently of the trainer or facilitator as far as possible. It is not a programme which teaches the latest “fad” and which creates immediate interest but disappears in a year or so. Although many management concepts and best practices can be effective across industries and organisations, the context in which management occurs has implications for what constitutes effectiveness. 9.12.1 Why some management development programmes fail • The programme is designed purely from the organisation’s viewpoint, with little or no thought for the individuals involved. • The programme is totally prescriptive and makes no allowances for flexibility in either content or delivery. • The programme makes unrealistic time demands and participants are expected to meet a schedule for personal learning which does not take into account other work pressures and commitments. • The programme offers a range of “set” topics and development opportunities, but is unable to cope with individual development needs which fall outside this core. • The programme has a highly developed theoretical base, but provides little in the way of guidance or support to help learners practise using these theories or their application in the workplace. • The programme content is derived from what facilitators want to teach, rather than from any real understanding of what managers within the organisation need to know and do. • The organisation always uses the same provider who does not have expertise in all fields. • The programme is based on a new management “fad” accompanied by the latest buzz words. A fad is a fashion that is taken up with great enthusiasm for a brief period of Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 271 time. The key words are enthusiasm and brief. Think of recent fads. ‘Re-engineering’, ‘TQM’, ‘virtual teams’, ‘emotional intelligence’ and ‘balanced scorecard’ have all been designated fads in the initial stages of their development, before their real potential has been seen to be applicable in specific areas. The best management development programmes are flexible with regard to learning topics while having a “core” structure in order to remain focused. They are outcomes-based and practical in the application of knowledge rather than teaching theory and concepts, they are integrated in combining learning activities with actual workplace experiences, and they make ongoing support available on a day-to-day basis, as required. The better ones also create a “sense of community” within the group, commitment to the programme, a focused sense of direction and purpose, and enable participants to start thinking about and planning their personal development needs. A new development is the creation of talent management programmes where promising employees are singled out for further training and development. 9.12.2 A process for individual management development Individual development is being taken seriously these days, especially with regard to those who need further tools to improve their interpersonal and communication skills and effect behaviour change for optimum performance. Here are some basic steps in the process: • The consultant has separate discussions with the participant, the participant’s manager and the HR professional regarding areas of development. • The participant, the participant’s manager and the HR professional meet with the consultant to agree on areas where change is indicated in order to leverage performance. Agreement is reached by all on development areas to be pursued. • Participant and consultant work together on a regular (weekly) basis, using assessments and 360-degree feedback. • At midpoint of the programme the participant, the participant’s manager and the HR professional meet to evaluate progress and, if necessary, agree on modifications. • The participant and the consultant continue to work together, using behaviour logs, debriefing situations, simulation training and video feedback for behaviour change enhancement. • At the conclusion of the programme the participant, the participant’s manager, the HR professional and the consultant meet to assess success and a continuing way forward. 9.12.3 When does the need for individual development arise? The need for individual development develops when managers need to extend competence from technical fields to the people arena in such areas as: communicating in non-technical terms, developing feedback skills in both giving and receiving feedback effectively, and coaching. Other training needs are to develop the ability to confront without causing damage to teams or individuals, and also to balance the need to control with the ability to empower. More specific needs are to improve assertiveness and balance it with co-operation; develop communications skills such as the ability to say “no” without being perceived as a non-team player; and learn to probe for information without being perceived as an inquisitor. In addition, they need to improve delegation skills, be able to identify and deal with resistance, and balance team needs and corporate goals. 272 Managing Human Resource Development 9.13 Conclusion Management development, in the final analysis, is self-development. Employees may receive appropriate guidance and the necessary developmental opportunities, but if change is to occur, the onus is on them to choose to improve. Through learning, employees become aware of their individual strengths and their developmental needs. But the most important ingredient is individual desire and commitment. Most training efforts never get off the ground because the methods currently employed do not change behaviour or the training is poorly delivered and inadequately integrated into the organisation. The waste of money is depressing and regrettable for such a vital investment in the economy of the country. This chapter postulated a process approach to management development. Without competent managers, organisations will not be able to deliver the performance required of a global player in an increasingly competitive business world. In addition, it is essential that management development programmes conform to the standards, principles and requirements of the NQF. 9.14 Company example: Telkom Telkom designed and implemented a unique internal leadership and management development programme targeting the company’s middle managers. This intervention, termed the Implementing Strategy and Managing Corporate Performance (ISMP) programme, was designed to identify business solutions that can be implemented to support the Company’s Business Plan and Strategy. The ISMP is an Action Learning intervention designed specifically to deal with External and Internal Company challenges as learning content, with a Business Impact Project (BIP) assigned to syndicated cross-functional learning teams. These teams design solutions for problems and/or challenges identified by the business leaders, with knowledge gained through classroom session, selfdirected learning and action field research conducted locally and internationally. The BIP evaluation is done by business leaders and implementable solutions are identified for the next steps in the company. BIPs are presented to business leaders as business cases. 1. Context The challenges and opportunities that businesses are faced with today require a comprehensive and cohesive response for corporations and organisations to stay successful and competitive. This means that every capability in the organisation should be geared to respond proactively to the challenges and maximise the opportunities, to ensure that the organisation meets the expectations of its customers, investors and other stakeholders. An organisation’s human resources, or the organisation’s people, remain central in building competitive advantage capabilities to ensure organisational success. Studies across the world have identified the relationship between organisational competitiveness and human capital value. Given the globalisation of markets and the increasing demands of customers, corporations are faced with changing and equally demanding labour dynamics both locally and globally. The need for certain specialised skills within a fast-paced changing business landscape often leads to scarcity of certain specific skills required by organisations to respond with speed to market and customer pressures. The cost of human resources/labour is often the single biggest cost line in most businesses and organisations. To turn these often costly resources into human capital from which maximum value should be extracted, is probably the most challenging of all human resources practitioners’ deliverables to businesses. continued Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 273 With all these issues relating to people or human capital, there is a need to focus business leaders to take accountability for managing this resource closely, and expect returns for the costs put into it. Human resources, human capital, labour or people, must therefore be top priority and the top agenda point of every business meeting. The activities relating to human capital must all be geared to ensuring maximum returns for all the investment put into it. The issue for the business leaders and human resources (HR) practitioners is HOW? How do business leaders hold HR accountable for business impacting on HR practices? How do business leaders take responsibility for ensuring maximum returns for investments made in employees? Business leaders and HR practitioners can maximise the return on employee costs by co-creating solutions that are aligned with Company challenges and company strategic direction. This can be achieved by several decisions that a Company should make: 1. Is the HR function involved in crafting the key strategies that deliver value to the Company? Or is the HR function brought in as an after-thought when all the business plans are completed? 2. Does the HR function know the critical business challenges facing the Company, and aligning all the HR activities with Company strategy? 3. Does the HR function, with Line Managers, co-operate to co-create people solutions for the Company? Or is HR working in its own silo, while Line Managers view it (HR) as just an administrative function to help with forums and disciplinary processes? 4. Does the Company expect HR to be aligned with Company strategy? Do business leaders know what to expect from HR? Based on the Company Strategy and Business Plan, the HR function creates an aligned HR Strategy. The output or deliverable of the HR strategy must be directly related to the Company strategic priorities and long-term strategic intent. If the Company has customers as a priority stakeholder, this should be reflected in the HR strategy. If the Company is faced with technological evolution or expansion/changes in its markets, these should also be reflected in its HR strategy. To deliver the HR strategic outputs, there are various activities of the HR function which form the day-to-day functioning of the HR unit. These activities, for ease of delivery and focus, form a comprehensive Employee Life Cycle or the Employee Management Cycle. This cycle provides focus for the HR function to identify employee activities that impact both the employer and the employees, and provide value to both. The elements of the Employee Management Cycle are illustrated below: continued 274 Managing Human Resource Development Given the Company challenges, various elements of the Employee Management Cycle can be maximised, prioritised and utilised to generate value for the Company and for employees. Here are two examples: Example 1 To drive Customer Service Excellence and build a Customer-Centric Corporate Culture, the Organisational Effectiveness interventions will ensure that the organisation is structured around the customer and not in silos around the “bosses”. Through staffing, the right people are put into the right roles, and their performance is closely managed to ensure productivity. The company’s recognition programmes (awards) will be focused on rewarding the right behaviour towards the customer. Training on Customer Service will involve the customer inputs and customer feedback. Appropriate measures will be used to manage performance. Example 2 The Company strategic intent is to expand beyond its immediate markets. This may be moving offshore for the first time, or even entering new markets outside its immediate geographic markets. The compensation and benefit schemes will be reviewed, and the training and development function will create new interventions aligned with globalisation and business development. The Company’s talent management programme will expand the talent pools, adding a new talent pool and expanding the succession programme and the skills pipeline’s interventions. Through all the elements of the Employee Management Cycle, the intended output is to ensure that the company is able to identify and attract the right employees to suit its business human capital needs, have appropriate financial and non-financial reward/recognition tools to keep employees motivated, then reward the right people with the right value-adding behaviours, and retain the key talent that adds the competitive advantage capabilities required. The notion that human capital is an asset to an organisation is not a passing cliché, but a business requirement for winning in a market where there are fewer and fewer differentiating elements in business, other than its people. This is the one asset that cannot be replicated! Even when moved from one employer to another, there may be variables that create the employee success that cannot be moved with the employees, such as enabling business processes and organisational culture. The combination of the right people, the right leadership, the right organisational culture and the right HR processes build sustaining organisational capabilities that make other companies win, while others do not. According to work done by thought leaders such as Dave Ulrich and Gary Hamel, organisational capabilities are unique clusters of competencies that distinguish one corporation from another, and are often a combination of people, processes, culture, organisational structure, values and leadership style, among other organisational factors. The interplay of these unique characteristics makes them very difficult to copy or to “import” with the poaching of staff. They make up the “DNA” of a corporation. There are various ways that an organisation can build capabilities required for organisational success. According to the work done by Dave Ulrich, a well-known business and human resources thought leader, these can be through: • buying (recruitment, poaching, head-hunting) • building (training and development) • binding (reward and retention) • bouncing (outplacement, separations and planned staff movements). As indicated, these are elements of the Employee Management Cycle, classified differently for the impactful delivery of HR value. To illustrate how the Telkom HR function has aligned with the company’s strategic intent, a case study of the company’s unique training and development intervention is explained in this work. continued Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 275 2. The Telkom Strategic Intent informing HR practices Telkom’s fixed-line local, long distance and international outgoing revenue is declining, as are most if not all fixed-line telephony businesses world-wide. In response to this, Telkom has identified the need to strategically expand its foot-print beyond the South African markets, and also beyond the fixed-line business. The HR function then put into place, among other interventions, a programme for identified candidates to build knowledge and exposure to the possible new markets that Telkom will be entering. 3. The Telkom Training and Development Investment Telkom invest over 6% of its total labour costs to training and development, which is 1.3% of its total revenue. Benchmarked in South Africa and also globally, this investment places Telkom within the top Companies who invest in training and development (ASTD Benchmark Study 2006). The Build Strategy of Human Capital Plan at Telkom is aligned with the Company strategy to ensure that the company gets the maximum benefit out of this investment. The role of training and development at Telkom is to build competencies and enhance leadership capabilities required to achieve business results and ensure corporate success, while building skills pipelines for future company skills needs. Needless to say, Telkom is an industry leader in training and development in the ICT sector locally, and its training arm, the Centre for Learning, has been recognised globally for best-practice in training and development. The ATD, a leading global association of training practitioners, has awarded Telkom Centre for Learning with a “BEST” award for the past two years (2006 and 2007), placing Telkom among the top 40 companies world-wide. 4. Telkom Training and Development aligned with Company Strategy Given the investment the Company makes in training and development, it only makes sense that Top Management at Telkom expects immediate and direct returns of this investment. The training programmes were then designed in support of Telkom business needs and challenges. There are various interventions for technical training, management training and leadership development, customer service competency training as well as employee professional and career development opportunities. This investment benefits the company, teams and their managers as well as Telkom employees as individuals. The overview of the process for identifying critical business challenges and needs is as follows: • The HR function is part of the business deliberations about the strategic direction of Telkom • The HRD team, through the HR Leadership, obtains the strategic direction from Top Management. This is as a result of directly involving HR in strategy formulation and inputs into business planning • The HR Leadership identifies the capabilities and competencies required to achieve Company Strategy and the Company Business Plan • The Competency gaps are identified through interaction with business leaders and specific line managers, against which human capital strategies are determined, including training • Training is co-created with line managers and designed against required competencies • Delivery of training through various mechanisms • Evaluation of whether training met individual, company, business leaders’ and line managers’ expectations. The evaluation of training and development is done at four levels, being Reaction, Learning, Performance, and Business Impact. All programmes are evaluated at Reaction level, with up to 80% at Learning level, and at least 60% at Performance, and 100% of management training at Business Impact level. The focus is on management because they create the culture required for company performance and employee engagement. The programme presented here, a case study to illustrate this process; is a leadership and management development programme for middle to senior line managers across the company. All leadership and management development interventions at Telkom contain a business impact project (BIP); an output of learning; presented to Business leaders as business cases. continued 276 Managing Human Resource Development 5. Leadership and Management Development: How the Company Business Plan became the core of a Training Programme The ISMP Design Process and Target Group The case study programme, Implementing Strategy and Managing Corporate Performance (ISMP), was fully developed by Telkom Centre for Learning and verified as academically sound by the University of North-West. It is now in its third year of implementation, and formed part of the awardwinning case study for an ATD best-practice award among top global businesses. The ISMP, as the title of the intervention states, was designed to get middle to senior managers to identify and implement interventions that will ensure that the current year’s strategy and business plan are achieved by making use of impactful, innovative and cost effective processes, tools, products, or any other continuous improvement input that will lead to enhanced corporate performance. The innovative processes/interventions, the business impact projects, are identified and created during the learning process. The ISMP Learning Structure and Modules The ISMP intervention is designed around the business challenges, and not around the functional and typical business school modules. For all participants of this programme, the generic management competencies are assumed to be in place, making it typical that the participants are largely graduates of other Telkom interventions run by the company’s learning partners, such as EDP, MDP and MBAs. The ISMP Modules are structured around the key challenges facing the company as they evolve over time. There are two types of modules; categorised as Context and Content Modules. • Context Modules. These modules are of information that is constantly changing, and is not within Company control. Typically, these will be around: – Legislation and Regulation – Disruptive Technology and Technological Changes – Markets and Customer Dynamics – Competitor Analysis – Globalisation – Specific Telkom Critical Challenges. ISMP Modules. Context Modules Disruptive Technology & Evolution Regulation & Legislation Telkom Challenges Globalisation and Market Dynamics Competitor Activity & Customer Dynamics …Drivers of ICT Market and Business Changes Slide 14 continued Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 277 • Content modules. These modules are of best-in-class and right-practices of the various approaches in managing the various business challenges facing the company. The information for this module is extracted from across various fields, and presented within the context of ICT. One example is “Strategy Formulation and Business Planning” as a learning approach, taken from various sources by faculty. The four Content Modules are focused on: – Customers and Markets – Technology, Innovation and Infrastructure – Leadership, People and Culture – Products and Services ISMP Modules. Content Modules Customer surveys Technology strategies Heartbeat surveys Marketing surveys …Internal Challenges facing TELKOM Slide 13 The Content modules may often be the same for more than one course, whereas the Context modules may change year on year, based on the dynamics of the external factors. The critical aspect of the focus of the ISMP is that the content alignment is based on actual data from the previous business year, as baseline input, since this is often part of the business planning process, and a benchmark for higher corporate performance. For instance, the Customers and Markets data will be based on the company’s actual CSM scores, Technology and Infrastructure will be based on the company Technology structure and roll-out plans and Products and Services will be based on actual market surveys, and the Leadership, People and Culture area will be based on the annual company climate survey. This is about using actual past corporate performance data, as well as the current/future business plan, to ensure that participants know the baseline for their business impact projects, and that the right outputs are crafted during learning. The Learning Process There is a deliberate use of the concept “learning” instead of “training”. This is because the programme is learner-focused versus facilitator-intensive training. The learning process is short and intensive. The critical aspect is to ensure that any innovative solution/intervention is crafted and implemented during the running financial year, as the learning is based on the current/running business plan. continued 278 Managing Human Resource Development There are four components to the learning methodology: • Orientation, syndicated teaming and Business Impact Project allocation • Classroom Learning: – Context Modules: Drivers of ICT Change – Content Modules • Best Practice Research – Desk Research – Study Tour Field Research, local and international • Business Impact Project (BIP) Implementation – The Business Case Implementation Planning – Evaluation Presentations to Top Management for possible next steps/implementation. The learning process may be illustrate as follows: ISMP Learning Methodology A Total of 70 contact hours over 6 months Orientation, Teaming & BIP assigned The Business Challenge Content Modules: Context Internal Company Challenges Modules: External Drivers Best Practice Field Research BIP Presentation & Evaluation of Change Classroom Learning Sessions BIP Action Research & Implementation BIP: Business Impact Project Slide 18 There is minimal time-out from work, as the total programme is delivered within 70 learning hours over six months. Each area of learning is delivered in one month, for example, all context modules are done in one month, with a maximum of ten contact hours. In short, there are ten hours of contact learning per month, covering all the work that needs to be done. There is a vast amount of individual and off-work syndicate team interaction, which is estimated at more than 100 extra hours. The teaming process is crucial, as the BIP is allocated by Top management right at the start of the programme, and through-out the context and content modules; teams are looking for the relevant information and tools to craft their BIP solution. This maximises learning, as the focus on the classroom and other learning opportunities is high. The BIPs are crafted by Top Management whose areas are critical in the business plan based on Company strategy for a particular year. For instance, in the year that customer centricity was the critical issue (every year actually!) based on CSM scores, the programme BIPs were all on Customer Service. The one other focus was the company’s globalisation and pan-African expansion programme, then the ISMP BIPs were all focused on the African expansion strategy. continued Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 279 Here are two of the typical examples of BIP topics that were actually used in the ISMP: Example 1 “Create a marketing, Service Activation Quality process for “Customer Self Install” (equipment and technology) with specific reference to broadband and the top 1 000 Retail/SOHO customers to increase revenue by ……% over 6 months and decrease customer dissatisfaction by ……% in the same period” Example 2 “Develop a Business Case to ensure growth of ISP Retail services into rest of Africa and emerging markets. The development should follow the normal Telkom market development process, from concept to business case” Note: Both these BIPs were appropriately incorporated into Telkom business processes by the respective Business leaders. These BIP topics (business challenges) were for two different ISMP programmes, and had crossfunctional team members that were not from the related service organisations. Given these challenges, the specific Business Leader within the Top 25 leadership of the company becomes the sponsor of the programme, and assigned Executives as ‘course validators’ of content, mentors and faculty. They also teach, coach, guide and accompany the syndicate teams on study tours. This maximises the quality and relevance of the learning output, as it will be closer to the required business input identified. Participants conduct research, collect material during contact time and out-of-class availability of faculty, as well as go on local and international study tours with Business leaders to specific identified areas. Study tours are conducted in South Africa, and as far afield as China, Australia, Nigeria, Angola, Egypt, the UK, Europe and the USA. Classroom learning is typical teaching by both local and international Faculty, as well as Telkom leadership/Top Management as internal faculty. The BIPs are then presented, and the Business Leader and executives decide on the use of the material as inputs to actual business process and decisions. Learning Outcomes The ISMP has multiple benefits: • The Company and Top Management – Telkom generates intelligence using a learning programme – The containment of possible risks, if any, since the generation of possible solutions is done in a learning environment, and often thoroughly investigated before implementation, even within the short timing given by the programme – Innovation! – The visibility of otherwise middle management talent to the Top Management can never be underestimated – Planned and structured visibility of Top Management to employees that do not report to them directly, and not even within their work functions – Critical business issues receive attention by and input from a set of “outsider consultants”, who provide a “fresh perspective” to a process in their functions – Top management learn about employees and culture as they teach. • The BIP receiving teams and their managers – All teams welcome any innovative process that enhances their work! • Learning Participants – Access to Top management – Cross-functional teaming that breaks silos continued 280 Managing Human Resource Development – Time management skills – Broadened Business exposure and learning of Telkom as a business beyond one’s functional area – Leadership and Management Skills – Local and International exposure to ICT and other business areas. BIP research is not confined to ICT businesses, although prioritised. • The Training and Development Department – Business Leaders own the Learning programme, and will not challenge the investment – Faculty is never in short supply, as the learning output is important to the teachers – Relevance of training and development to Company business. 6. Critical Success Factors and Lessons Learnt! For any HRD intervention to succeed, such as this training and development programme case study, there are critical imperatives that must be in place: • Top Management Ownership • Company Leadership’s direct involvement in teaching and evaluating the intervention, participants and the outputs of training programmes • Direct alignment with real and current Company challenges • Use of real Company material for input into training • Careful selection of participants • Accelerated and compressed learning period • Academically sound intervention and quality tested by independent experts • Learner-directed and learner focused intervention with minimal facilitator-led interaction • Start with the intended end-goal in mind! • Deliver within the relevant business time-frame while the outputs can still be utilised • Cross-functional teaming of participants • Innovate, stay current, and change what does not work. The HRD team must ensure that the logistics of this project/programme are well planned and that all resources are available. Access to on-line learning material by all participants, internal and external faculty, as well as Executive coaches, is critical for information sharing and cohesion within the programme. 7. Tips for Getting Started: What should the HR and HRD Practitioner do? Different companies have different challenges at any given time. • Identify the burning issues in your company, and identify the right business leaders. Ensure that the business leaders who own the business challenges own the programme (this may change annually with the changing, pressing issues in the company). • Identify the right target group through which specific identified solutions are implemented in the company. • Get early buy-in from business leaders and line managers through dialogue and influencing. Understand the issues that impact on the Company challenges as well as the target group who implement the solutions (or simply implement a specific part of the business plan). • Review the training and development interventions and keep only those with the most impact. Be decisive on what needs to be stopped, and/or replaced by this programme. • Move key resources to this project, financial, office and learning space, e-HR tools and team members. Add and rotate some members of this team to spread the learnings beyond the core team, and lessen the “elite club” within the delivery team and broader HRD function. continued Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 281 • Ensure tight project management, and keep the project team close to leadership. Break the usual reporting structures and ensure direct access of this team to all key stakeholders with minimal bureaucratic red-tape. • Create comprehensive documentation, but make only the outline of the programme available and visible to Top Management and the rest of the Company. Impactful communication and not information overload! • Communicate, communicate and communicate to all involved. • Use business owners as Programme Sponsors, and use them to communicate the intervention. Spend time with them discussing all aspects of the intervention. A cross-learning opportunity for business leaders and HR. • Implement within the given timeframe to keep the solutions relevant. • Keep the programme within timeframes that can be tolerated by the business, and minimise time away from work. • Deliver a programme that is specific to your company, and be innovative. • Learn as you go, fail fast, fail forward! • Share learnings within and beyond the company and gather feedback for improvement and best practices. • Document from start to finish, and review each intervention before starting the next. The HR function should adopt the business essentials to implement any HR interventions and deliver value to the company. The HR actions and deliverables should not be about HR, but about the business. The value of HRD deliverables will always be measured by the business leaders and employees, whether or not this is planned by HR. Therefore, as HRD practitioners, our work should be structured for evaluation of value against business needs. To succeed, business needs must be HR inputs, and HRD outputs must be business solutions. 9.15 Case studies Case study 1 Lerato was looking forward to her new job as a first line supervisor. On her first day she asked for a job description and found that what existed was quite out of date. No one seemed concerned though. Lerato wondered if she should push for clarification and run the risk of seeming unwilling to “go with the flow”. She decided that it would be a good thing to keep quiet for the moment and see how things panned out. But she thought that for her own good it would be important for her to know if she was performing well, so she put together her own job description that specified performance levels for herself and her team, as well as control measures such as response times. Then, for the next few weeks, she set about observing and noting carefully what was happening in the department before she initiated any drastic moves. She discovered that the staff resources assigned to her were inadequate and did not cover the requirements she had set out in order for her team to carry out their work in a competent manner. For example, she discovered that most of the customer volume was early in the morning or over the lunch hour. By tradition, staff did not arrive at work until the office opened for business, meaning that they were not well-organised when the doors opened to customers. Also, while staff took alternate lunch break times (11:30–12:30 and 12:30–13:30), this meant that staff levels were at 50% during the busiest time of day. continued 282 Managing Human Resource Development Armed with this knowledge she approached her manager and together they sat down to discuss the problems she had uncovered. They then met with the team and discussed matters in detail. The team came up with the following ideas which they agreed to try out for the next two weeks and then meet to discuss results: • part of the staff started coming in half an hour early to set up the office so that they were ready for early morning customers • lunch times would be from 11:00–12:00 and 14:00–15:00. The results were very positive. Once the staff saw customer queues were shorter and the number of complaints and bad tempers dropped, they were pleased with the solution. Questions 1 2 3 Comment on the good things that Lerato did in her new job. What should her next steps be? Indicate the implications of the case study for management development programmes. Which of the seven NQF critical outcomes did Lerato apply in her job? Motivate your answer. Case study 2 Paulus Mtimkulu had been in his job for about six months when he was told that it was time for his performance review, which would be handled by the HR department as his manager, Cynthia, was much too busy to spend time meeting with him. At the review session, Tom Nyati, the HR manager, read out to him what his manager, Cynthia, had written. None of it was very complimentary. Paulus was shocked and embarrassed. He could not believe that his manager had expected such things of him, especially seeing that she had not sat down with him and talked things over with him when he had been promoted. Neither for that matter, had Tom. Paulus told Tom that he had not known that he was supposed to perform certain functions, nor that some of his team members had complained about him. Questions 1 2 What should Paulus and Tom, the HR manager, do now and for the future? Draw up a management development programme for Cynthia. 9.16 Self-assessment questions 1 As a manager, discuss the following training problems and offer solutions: • relying on unstructured OTJ training • assuming that employees must be sent for training because you have been told to improve performance. 2 “We need flexible, resourceful, resilient people who can tolerate a lot of surprise and ambiguity” (Eric Trust). Comment on your interpretation of this quotation regarding supervisors, managers and the training they need if they are to become flexible and resourceful. What part can you play in this process? 3 Sales and marketing has again promoted three outstanding sales people into management. Not surprisingly, their managerial skills are weak. The sales and marketing director has asked you for three two-hour long training sessions to enhance their skills, since they will be developing the new sales people who have been recruited to Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 283 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 fill their old positions. You recognise the need for coaching, but also know that other skills are necessary. What should you do? Outline your plan of action. A few managers have complained to you that their supervisors cannot solve problems. You have conducted a needs assessment and there is definitely a need for a creative problem-solving programme. You approach your director of HR, but she rejects your idea saying that creativity or “out of the box” thinking is just introducing exceptions to the system. In her opinion, HR should be concentrating on creating standards rather than promoting free-wheeling spontaneity. What are your alternatives? The new world of work requires managers and supervisors to have new thinking patterns, skills and abilities. What new thinking patterns, skills and abilities does your organisation require of its supervisors and managers, in order to compete successfully in the new millennium? A good supervisor in a manufacturing plant could be a good supervisor in an insurance company. Critically evaluate this statement. Do the best workers make the best supervisors? Why or why not? Compile a management development programme for an engineer who has recently been promoted to the position of operations manager. Formulate a strategy to ensure that management development programmes meet the requirements of the NQF. Explain how an organisation can apply the national standard on leadership development. 9.17 References Erasmus BJ and Van Dyk PS, 2004, Training Management in South Africa, 2nd edn, Halfway House: International Thomson. Griffin RE (ed), 1997, VisionQuest: Journeys towards Visual Literacy. Hughes RL, Ginnett RC and Curphy GJ, 2006, Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience, Boston, MA: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. IMD, 2012, World Competitive Report 2012, Lausanne: IMD. Jacobs RL and Jones ML, 2003, Structured on-the-job Training: Unleashing Employee Expertise in the Workplace, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. Longenecker CO and Gioia DA, 1991, “Ten myths of managing managers”, Sloan Management Review. McClelland DC, 1973, “Testing for competence rather than for intelligence”, American Psychologist 28: 1–14. McLagan PA, 1991, Models for HRD Practice: A Manager’s Guide, Alexandria, Virginia: ASTD. Mintzberg H, 1990, The Manager’s Job: Folklore and Fact, Boston, Mass: Harvard Business Review. SABPP, 2015, National HR Professional Practice Standards, Parktown: SABPP. 284 Managing Human Resource Development Schenk H and Meyer M, 1999, Report on the 1999 ASTD Conference, Florida: Technikon SA. Stewart DM, 2005, Handbook of Management Skills. 9.18 Suggested reading Abib-Pech M, 2013, Leadership: How to lead Effectively and Get Results, London: Financial Times/Pearson. Bower JL and Gilbert CG, 2007, “How managers’ everyday decision create – or destroy – your company’s strategy”, Harvard Business Review. Bester C, 2012, Live & Lead: Discover Your Personal & Organisational Guidance System, Johannesburg: Porcupine Press. Bratton W and Tumin Z, 2012, Collaborate or Perish: Reaching Across Boundaries in a Networked World, New York: Crown Business. Brent M and Dent FE, 2014, The Leader’s Guide to Managing People: How to Use Soft Skills to Get Hard Results, London: FT/Pearson. Crainer S (ed), 2000, The Financial Times Handbook of Management, London: Pitman. Drucker P, 2003 Management Challenges for the 21st Century, Harper Collins. Erickson TJ and Gratton L, 2007, What it Means to Work Here, Harvard Business Review. Goodwin CR and Chapman EN, 2005, Supervisor’s Survival Kit, 10th edn, Neteffect series. Groenewald A, 2015, Seamless Leadership: Universal Lessons from South Africa, Johannesburg, Jonathan Ball. Hill LA, 2003, Becoming a Manager: Mastery of a New Identity, 2nd edn, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Harvard Business Review, 2006, Managing with People in Mind, Boston, MA: A Harvard Business Review Paperback No. 90085. Jones J and Chen CW, 2005, New Supervisor Training, ASTD Trainer’s workshop series. Krige K and Silber G, 2016, The Disrupters: Social Entrepreneurs Reinventing Business and Society, Johannesburg: Bookstorm. McLagan PA, 2014, The Shadow Side of Power: Lessons for Leaders, Randburg: Knowres. McKnight W and Chapman E, 2001, The New Supervisor: Stepping up with Confidence, Crisp paperback. Mosala T and Bowen A (eds), 2013, Business Cases for Managers, Randburg: Knowres. Patridge D, 2015, People Over Profit: Break the System, Live with Purpose. Be More Successful, Nashville: Nelson Books. Rue LW and Byars LL, 2005, Management: Skills and Applications, 11th edn, New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin. Schultz C and Van der Walt H, 2015, Reinventing HR: Strategic and Organisational Relevance of the Human Resources Function, Randburg: Knowres. Smit PJ, Cronje GJ de J, Brevis T and Vrba MJ, 2007, Management Principles: A Contemporary Edition for Africa, Kenwyn: Juta. Chapter 9: Management and leadership development 285 Sull DM and Spinosa C, 2007, “Promise-based management: the essence of execution”, Harvard Business Review. Ungerer M, Ungerer G and Herholdt J, 2016, Crystallising the Strategic Business Landscape: Strategy Analysis Practices and Tools for Business Leaders and Strategy Practitioners, Randburg: KR. Van Eeden D, 2014, The Role of the Chief Human Resource Officer: Perspectives, Challenges, Realities and Experiences, Randburg: Knowres. Veldsman TH and Johnson A (eds), 2016, Leadership: Lessons from the Front Line. Randburg: KR. Watkins M, 2003, The First 90 Days, Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing. 9.19 Internet sites Association for Talent Development: http://www.atd.org Institute for Management Development: http://www.imd.ch Journal of Management Development: http://www.mcb.co.uk/jmd.htm Leadership and Organizational Development Journal: http://www.mcb.co.uk/lodj.htm Leadership Magazine: http://www.leadershiponline.co.za Leadership Platform: http://www.leadershipplatform.com Management and leadership articles: http://www.mcb.co.uk/services/articles/liblink/lodj/ komaki.htm Management Concepts: http://www.managementconcepts.com Management Development Review: http://www.mcb.co.uk/mdr.htm South African Qualifications Authority: http://www.saqa.org.za Targeted Communication Management Training and Development Resources: http://www.tcm.com/trdev Training Magazine: http://www.trainingnet.com Training Success: http://www.tsuccess.dircon.co.uk/newsletter 9.20 Acknowledgement Thank you to Charlotte Mokoena, previously from Telkom, for the ATD award-winning company example provided for this chapter. CHAPTER 10 MENTORING AND COACHING Marius Meyer Good coaches keep creating situations where they’re no longer needed. (Marshall Cook) LEARNING OUTCOMES • • • • Motivate the benefits of mentoring and coaching for organisations Identify the pitfalls of mentoring and coaching Differentiate between the types of mentoring and coaching interventions Indicate the role of HRD in mentoring and coaching • Provide guidelines for effective mentoring and coaching • Apply the HR professional practice standard by SABPP on coaching and mentoring developed • Formulate an implementation plan for mentoring and coaching 10.1 Introduction The past ten years have seen a huge interest in the notion of mentoring and coaching in both the business world and the public service. In fact, organisations worldwide have recognised that mentoring and coaching can be one of the most powerful techniques in accelerating workplace learning and growth. The different definitions or approaches to mentoring and coaching are debatable. Be that as it may, the huge interest in the concept both locally and internationally, clearly shows the current emphasis on mentoring and coaching. Unlike other fads that have quickly appeared and disappeared, there appears to be a more apparent sustainability of this trend, both locally and abroad (Koeppel, 2007). On the one hand, there is great enthusiasm on the part 287 288 Managing Human Resource Development of coaches and coachees alike, and on the other hand, there is the realisation that mentoring and coaching, if properly implemented, can yield significant benefits for South African organisations. In fact, I am convinced that more than 80% of our nation’s current problems can be resolved through mentoring and coaching. Look at the skills shortages in different areas such as agriculture when it comes to land reform, public-sector inefficiency in many departments, and underperforming companies in the private sector. Imagine what we can achieve as a nation, if every good mentor or coach would be willing to invest one hour a week to transfer knowledge and skills to a more junior employee or an employee with potential that has not yet been realised. And that is the reason why evaluation is so essential, because it helps us to reflect on our current mentoring and coaching efforts and then to identify opportunities for improvement. While several companies have wasted days, weeks and months to debate the differences between mentoring and coaching, the masses remain uneducated, under-utilised and frustrated. This chapter is based on the premise that given our current skills crisis, unemployment, under-employment and poverty, there is no time for debate. Rather, let us embrace mentoring and coaching, get on with it, and develop the knowledge and skills of people to turn the current skills crisis around. In many professions today, mentors are thought to enhance if not ensure the professional development and success of talented employees. That is the reason why mentoring and coaching are such valuable talent management strategies (see chapter 16). Increasingly, mid-career professionals seek mentors and/or coaches when they wish to develop new levels of expertise and to advance in their organisations. Similarly, lower level employees often need mentors or coaches to accelerate their growth and development. But what is mentoring and coaching really? Mentoring is a professional relationship where an experienced person (mentor) assists another (mentee) to achieve personal and professional growth, maximising potential and improving performance. It is a mutually agreed-to relationship outside the supervisor/subordinate relationship and is maintained through mutual trust and respect. It usually lasts for a minimum period of one year, but may become long term. Coaching is a professional relationship where a person with specific knowledge and/or skills (coach) assists another (coachee) to develop more knowledge or skills as defined in coaching goals stated upfront. Source: SABPP (2015). Thus, as can be seen from the above definitions, mentoring is knowledge and wisdom orientated, while coaching is task and output related based on clear goals to be achieved. It is also significant to note how often CEOs refer to the role of their mentors in helping them to climb the corporate ladder. Raymond Ackerman of Pick ’n Pay dedicated the first five chapters of his autobiography Hearing grasshoppers jump to the five major mentors in his Life (Prichard, 2004). Many CEOs are quite open in stating that they would not have been in their positions if it was not for the support, guidance and encouragement of key mentors during the development of their careers. In the context of these business trends, mentoring and coaching help organisations and managers to deal with this reality. In fact, mentoring can achieve far more than a traditional management development programme. Mentoring involves real learning in real-life situations, not simply theory one reads in textbooks or journals. However, the role of a mentor is not only to give advice: it is twofold. Firstly, mentors provide career development behaviours such as coaching, providing challenging Chapter 10: Mentoring and coaching 289 assignments and fostering the mentee’s visibility. Secondly, they provide psychosocial support such as counselling, support and role modelling. Without a mentor, an individual will learn less, more slowly or not at all. However, overemphasis of the psychological perspectives of mentoring and coaching will do this powerful concept more harm than good. Managers in hard business-driven productivity-focused organisations such as banks, mines and manufacturers do not have the time to spend days and weeks working with psychologists in so-called “coaching” sessions. And that is the reason why we propose moving away from a “soft” psychological approach to a business management approach to mentoring and coaching – one that integrates the needs of the business with the needs of people (Meyer, 2007). In South Africa, mentoring and coaching can play a vital role in promoting equal opportunity, employment equity and broad-based black economic empowerment. Mentoring programmes can seek diversity outcomes and involve designated members. The challenge is to first identify pools of potential mentors and mentees, provide mentoring training with particular emphasis on diversity issues, and then offer informal opportunities for the development of informal mentoring relationships. Further support can be provided by structuring diverse work teams that span departmental and hierarchical lines, and by facilitating informal interactions aimed at dispelling stereotypes and attributions. Mentoring is about facilitating change by providing a stable source of support throughout the process. To understand the background to and context of mentoring in an organisation, it is useful to look at the concept of coaching. All supervisors should be coaches, which means that the coaches play a role in training and developing their employees to achieve the required results. So be careful of consultants who tell you that only they can be the coaches – ideally your managers should be coaches themselves. There are two approaches to coaching: one is psychodynamic, and the other one a business approach – coaching a person to do the job well, as in, say, sport. This type of coaching therefore entails the systematically planned and direct guidance of an individual or group of individuals by a coach to learn and develop specific skills that are applied and implemented in the workplace, and therefore translates directly into clearly defined performance outcomes achieved over a short period of time. Coaching is primarily concerned with performance and the development of definable skills. It usually starts with the learning goal already identified, if not by the executive, then by an influential third party. Coaching in an human resource development (HRD) context is a form of on-the-job training, using work to provide planned opportunities for learning under guidance. It is therefore not surprising that the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) registered unit standards emphasising the “training” role of the coach. It is important to focus on the key role of managers in driving organisational success. However, managers are often so busy strategising and planning around achieving business objectives, that they do not engage sufficiently in reflecting on the impact of their own behaviour on the organisation and its people, let alone deal with complexity, volatility and disruption in the business environment. The role of a coach in assisting managers to do introspection in a focused way is key to managerial growth and development (Mkhondo, 2016). We need both mentoring and coaching in our organisations. We need coaching to help individuals perform over the short term so that business goals are met. We need mentoring to ensure that employees and managers are continuously developed so that the 290 Managing Human Resource Development organisation’s performance can be sustained and improved over the long term. If the wisdom of mentors is shared with mentees, the future sustainability of organisations is enhanced. Both mentoring and coaching is therefore a strategic business management imperative in organisations. While it is crucial to understand the above terminology, of greater importance is grasping the interrelationship between the different concepts. The strength of mentoring and coaching lies in the integration of these two primary concepts. A good mentor is in all probability also a good manager and leader. Furthermore, a mentor must also fulfil the role of an informal counsellor to be able to help a mentee through problems and obstacles when they occur. A mentor and coach should also be a trainer when he or she trains the mentee to acquire certain knowledge and skills to do his or her job more effectively. 10.2 Benefits of mentoring and coaching But why are mentoring and coaching so popular today? There are a number of good reasons (Meyer, 2007): • It is an excellent tool for management and leadership development. • It supports and reinforces training and skills development interventions. Mentoring, when combined with training, increases a manager’s productivity by 88% according to the Association for Talent Development (ATD). • It can help with the induction and orientation of new employees or managers. • It assists in career development and talent management. • It promotes succession planning and skills transfer. • It promotes teamwork and sound working relationships. • It assists in the implementation of performance management. • It contributes to job satisfaction. • It accelerates employment equity and black economic empowerment. • It builds competence and capacity in an organisation. • It contributes to employee retention. Business Week reports that over 35% of employees who are not mentored within 12 months of being hired are actively looking for a job! (Career Systems International, 2003.) According to Louis Harris Associates, only 16% of those with good mentors are expected to seek other employment (Sukiennik, 2004). • It harnesses the full potential and talents of employees. • It promotes a learning culture in an organisation. • It helps a company to achieve its business objectives. • It supports the principles of sound corporate governance, in particular the emphasis on succession planning and human capital development. 10.3 Pitfalls of mentoring and coaching Despite the overwhelming benefits of mentoring and coaching, there are indeed some pitfalls to avoid when implementing mentoring and coaching interventions in organisations (Meyer, 2007): • Management is often not committed to mentoring or coaching. They believe that they “came up the ranks the hard way, why must the youngsters now get all the support and opportunities that they as managers themselves did not have?” Chapter 10: Mentoring and coaching 291 • HR and HRD managers know that their organisations need mentoring and coaching, but they often don’t know where to start. • While we spent too much time arguing and debating about the difference between mentoring and coaching, the rest of the organisation has lost interest. • Mentoring and coaching are seen as the latest buzzwords and therefore haphazardly adopted to align yourself with what other companies are doing. • There are too many consultants and training providers in the market and many of them have totally different perspectives on how to implement mentoring/coaching. The market is thus confused. • Like other typical power plays, national attempts to professionalise the “coaching profession” has led to political infighting and turf battles between the leading consultants in the field. While some consulting firms have gained enormously from a financial perspective, the market lost in the process. • Every second consultant these days has become an “executive coach” or “life coach” overnight and many of these people do not necessarily have the required credentials. In addition, the over-emphasis on “professionalisation” without recognising great mentors or coaches who have been doing excellent work for decades, defeats the object of skills transfer. Surely, it will be absurd to expect the Raymond Ackermans, Patrice Motsepes and Trevor Manuels of this world to “register” as coaches. They have already shown that they have what it takes to lead people and great organisations to success. • Learnerships have institutionalised “workplace mentors” as part of the learnership agreement, but in reality no or little workplace mentoring takes place, it is merely seen as a paper exercise signed off by the “workplace mentor”. • Mentoring and coaching are often viewed from a simplistic and one-sided perspective, while it is in fact a multi-disciplinary field. It does not belong to psychology, or industrial psychology, HR management, or any other specific subject discipline. It has failed when people from one of these fields claimed exclusive ownership and therefore attempted to implement it from a narrow one-sided perspective. Taking the best elements from psychology, business management, project management, leadership, human resource development, general management, sport management, sociology and some other fields will produce a more integrated approach to mentoring and coaching. The time for protection and self-interest is over, now we have to learn, share and empower – isn’t that what mentoring and coaching is all about? • Mentoring and coaching “training” or capacity-building is provided, in the absence of a proper mentoring and coaching strategy and policy framework. • No or limited skills transfer strategies are in place to ensure that mentoring and coaching is implemented effectively. • Mentoring and coaching programmes are not aligned with the overall business strategy of the company and it is therefore not surprising that they are not seen as adding any value to the organisation. • Because of all the above-mentioned problems we have forgotten about what matters most in mentoring and coaching – the development and growth of mentees and coachees. 292 Managing Human Resource Development 10.4 Types of mentoring and coaching interventions Different types of mentoring and coaching interventions have emerged from traditional approaches to mentoring and coaching, so much so, that vast options are available for companies and individuals. In fact, the options are so vast, and the different approaches and methodologies so varied, that it can be extremely confusing to select the most appropriate type of mentoring or coaching intervention. However, some of the traditional approaches are still very relevant today, and with some modification can yield significant benefits for companies all over the world. Two broad programme approaches are available: Directive mentoring/coaching Non-directive mentoring/coaching Steering or directing the person in the right direction Asking questions to help the person to discover the solutions him or herself • Directive mentoring/coaching, that is, when the mentoring or coaching plays a direct role in providing advice and support, to a certain degree the mentor or coach is almost like a conductor – steering and directing the mentee or coachee in the right direction. This type of mentoring and coaching is especially relevant in countries like South Africa where serious skills and education gaps are prevalent. • Non-directive mentoring/coaching, that is, when the mentor or coach uses a more facilitative style by listening and asking the right questions at the right time to help mentees or coachees to generate the answers themselves. This approach is very popular among psychologists who have recently entered the field of coaching. Within these two broad approaches, a whole list of mentoring and coaching options are available. Table 10.1 Types of mentoring and coaching interventions Types of intervention Brief description Typical applications Executive coaching An external coach has regular sessions with a senior manager to help him or her make better life and business decisions Senior management development Performance coaching A line manager provides clear guidance to employees to improve their performance Performance management continued Chapter 10: Mentoring and coaching 293 Types of intervention Brief description Typical applications A company appoints mentors from different groups to help key staff members learn at a cultural or technical level. The roles are thus reversed, because the more “junior” employee mentors the boss Diversity management Electronic mentoring When staff members are in different cities, provinces or countries, electronic mentoring is used to conduct the relationship via email Performance support Regional or global business strategy Multiple mentoring (also called power mentoring) More than one mentor is assigned to develop a wide variety of diverse skills to accelerate development Multi-skilling Accelerated development (employment equity) Management development Professional development Traditional mentoring An independent third party who is not the direct manager of the mentee is used as mentor to facilitate growth and development Management development Employment equity Learnerships Professional mentoring An employee striving to achieve professional status in a professional field (for example, law or accountancy) is mentored by a senior registered professional in that field Career development Recruitment and selection Continuous professional development Reverse mentoring Transformation, BBBEE Management development Life coaching An individual is coached by a coach helping him or her to make important decisions affecting his life, in most cases, life coaches support the achievement of balance and excellence in both personal and work lives Personal development Decision-making Work-life balance Employee wellness Team coaching A team is coached to help the team work more effectively in achieving the goals of the team in a more effective manner Team-building Goal achievement Sources: Adapted from Ensher and Murphy (2005), Meyer and Fourie (2006) and Mthembu (2007). The above-mentioned mentoring and coaching options are not mutually exclusive. It is indeed possible to use a combination of all these options. However, HRD managers should be careful not to lose focus in the process, because it may be difficult to integrate all these options into one HRD strategy. Selecting the best consultants may also be challenging in the light of the large number of consultants working in the field, and some of them are not able to integrate their approach, style and methodology with the particular business needs of the company. 10.5 Role of HRD While the benefits of mentoring and coaching are clear for an organisation and its staff, clear role clarification is needed regarding the role of HR, HRD, mentors or coaches, management and the mentees or coaches. Management should drive mentoring and coaching 294 Managing Human Resource Development in an organisation, mentors and mentees should play their role to make the relationships work, and HRD will typically fulfil the following functions: • Doing proper needs analyses to determine mentoring, coaching and other capacitybuilding needs. • Selecting consultants and coaches to support the initial and/or ongoing implementation of mentoring/coaching. • Build the capacity of mentors/coaches and mentees/coachees to effectively manage the relationships. • Assist in the matching of mentors/coaches and mentees/coachees. • Create and maintain a sound institutional framework for mentoring and coaching by drafting policies, strategies and action plans. • Monitor the effective implementation of mentoring and coaching relationships and strategies. • Integrating and aligning mentoring and coaching with other organisational strategies such as talent management, career development, knowledge management, performance management and HR strategy. • Provide follow-up capacity-building interventions identified during mentoring and coaching. • Evaluating and measuring the impact of mentoring and coaching on the organisation, if possible, by calculating the return on investment (ROI). • Ensuring that mentoring and coaching agreements are implemented, especially if these agreements form part of the workplace components of learnerships. 10.6 The coaching and mentoring national standard (SABPP) In 2014, the SA Board for People Practices (SABPP) developed a HR professional practice standard as part of the National HR Standards project. The standard provides a clear guideline on how to implement mentoring and coaching in the workplace. Figure 6.1 illustrates the standard on coaching and mentoring. Chapter 10: Mentoring and coaching 295 Figure 6.1 Coaching and mentoring HR professional practice standard (SABPP) INPUTS PROCESS L&D policy Recruit/screen/train coaches and mentors Business case defined Identify coaches/mentees OUTPUTS Observable improvements as defined Match Coaching/ mentoring programme defined Programme management Contract including goals/outcomes Programme reports and analyses Support, monitor and intervene if necessary Amend goals if necessary MONITOR + EVALUATE Source: SABPP (2015). As is evident from Figure 10.1, the standard provides a professional and systematic approach to mentoring and coaching. Currently there are too many fragmented and superficial consulting models and the standard attempts to address this matter by creating a consistent and professional approach to mentoring and coaching. The standard goes on to specify the following fundamental requirements for good coaching and mentoring practices (SABPP, 2015): • Both coaching and mentoring are more effective if positioned as developmental in nature rather than for correcting performance deficiencies. • Coaches and mentors are essential in transferring knowledge and skills, especially in relation to practical and experiential workplace learning. Coaching and mentoring can support formal training programmes and ensure transfer of learning back into the workplace. 296 Managing Human Resource Development • Both coaching and mentoring should take place within a defined organisational programme with specific business objectives, supported by policies and procedures on issues such as, who qualifies for coaching and/or mentoring, which budget is used if external coaches are used, who decides on suitable coaches and mentors, and who chooses the specific coach or mentor. • Confidentiality of the content of coaching and mentoring sessions should always be assured. Feedback to sponsors should be on progress against defined goals, never on the detailed content of the discussions. Both parties should sign confidentiality agreements. • Goals/outcomes and duration should be agreed upfront for each relationship. • All coaching and mentoring should be monitored to identify relationship problems and intervention instituted where necessary and progress should be measured. The final achievement of the coaching/mentoring relationship in relation to goals/outcomes should be assessed through appropriate means at the conclusion of the intervention. • Coaching and mentoring programmes should be managed by staff who are qualified to do so. • Participation in coaching and mentoring activities should be voluntary for both coaches/mentors and coachees/mentees. • Coaches/mentors and coachees/mentees should be equipped with skills and resources to support effective coaching and mentoring. Resources for coaches/mentors should include professional support from a professional coach in regular supervision sessions. 10.7 The mentoring and coaching implementation process Mentoring and coaching, like all other HRD interventions, must be implemented in a carefully planned and professional manner, both in terms of the process and content of the intervention. Some of the major steps in initiating and managing a mentoring programme in an organisation will be discussed below as outlined by Meyer and Fourie (2006). 10.7.1 Introducing the intervention A mentoring or coaching process is introduced in an organisation when an individual has the vision to see that mentoring will provide a credible method of accelerating empowerment or supporting other HRD interventions. The programme needs to be introduced as a way of supporting the process of empowering the members of the organisation. Critical to implementing the initiative, is the support of management for the process, because much of the learning and application will need to be demonstrated in the workplace. Hence, some managers may be expected to fulfil the role of coach to ensure the development of competence and the transfer of learning in the workplace. The mentorship process may also be seen as a mechanism to ensure the transfer of learning to the workplace. Here there would be a partnership between various role-players involved, and the co-operation of those who manage the workplace is therefore essential to the support of mentoring that has taken place. Furthermore, it is in the workplace that applied competence needs to be demonstrated. At this stage it is important to specify the objectives of the mentoring programme, for example, management development, learnerships, succession planning or fast-tracking to achieve employment equity targets. Mentoring support structures are needed to steer the Chapter 10: Mentoring and coaching 297 implementation of the mentoring strategy. These support structures may assume various forms, depending on the unique nature of the organisation. The following options are possible: • A policy statement on mentoring • The formulation of a mentoring strategy • Appointing mentoring co-ordinators • Allocation of resources for mentoring • Derivation of a communication and marketing plan for mentoring and coaching. When large-scale mentoring and coaching programmes are launched, mentor co-ordinators need to be assigned to ensure that the process is implemented and maintained to the advantage of the mentors, mentees and the organisation. Typically, these individuals would also assess the process to ensure its continued effectiveness. They could also provide the organisation’s employment equity committee with the necessary information and feedback. 10.7.2 Training of steering committee Although mentoring and coaching co-ordinators might be positively inclined towards the process and its implementation, they need knowledge and skills to implement mentoring effectively. Their training would typically revolve around the mentoring and coaching process, as well as broader aspects of organisational development and transformation. 10.7.3 Identifying mentors/coaches and mentees/coachees Mentors/coaches and mentees/coachees are identified. The steps one takes to market the mentoring and coaching programme and recruit participants depend on what is available and appropriate in the organisation and the resources available. In deciding how to publicise the programme, the appropriate communication channels in the organisation need to be considered. The information can be presented in brochures, newsletters, poster displays in high-use areas and e-mail notices. In the process of preparing publicity material, try to locate people who have experience either as mentors or mentees in the programme. One is able to use their endorsements in the brochures or newsletters as indications of benefits that can be derived from mentoring and coaching relationships. Try to promote the programme in other interactive sessions. This gives staff the chance to ask questions and clarify what the programme might have to offer them. Encourage people to contact the mentoring/coaching co-ordinator in person if they do not feel comfortable with a public forum. In some instances the recruitment process of individuals to become mentors and mentees is controlled at a centre (HR department or a committee on skills development). In other cases, participation is voluntary. The main qualifying aspect of participation is mentors’ voluntary participation, but one should not have to wait until they nominate themselves, because some of them might be hesitant to do so. Instead, ask other members in the organisation to nominate potential mentors or coaches. This includes asking potential mentees whom they would suggest. This exercise enhances the credibility of the programme. Approach the nominated members and establish whether they are willing to participate. If mentors select themselves for the programme, this demonstrates their level of commitment. This is clearly advantageous to the mentoring and coaching initiative. 298 Managing Human Resource Development 10.7.4 Capacity-building for all role-players All role-players are oriented and trained for their role and responsibilities in the mentoring/ coaching relationship. Joint induction training for mentors/coaches and mentees/coachees affords valuable opportunities to become acquainted and reach agreement about expectations. Even those who know each other well will need to set parameters in terms of their existing relationship to encompass the roles of mentor/coach and mentee/coachee. If you use external consultants or coaches, ensure that there is clear role-clarification and deliverables to be achieved. Be careful not to allow external coaches to run the show for you. Despite their specialised knowledge in certain areas, you know what is best for your organisation. 10.7.5 Matching of mentors/coaches and mentees/coachees Ideally, the linkages between the parties should be a natural process. However, there are times when it is necessary to ensure that all learners are linked to a mentor/coach and have a mentoring or coaching relationship at a formal level. The matching of mentors and mentees is absolutely critical. We can allow mentees to identify and approach their own mentors. Where there was already a mentoring relationship of some sort between manager and employee, this must be encouraged to strengthen the relationship. In other instances, try to find out as much information as possible about what the potential participants consider important so that you have a strong foundation on which to base the matching. One can also generate a dossier from which the participants can choose. 10.7.6 Relationship goal-setting The mentor and mentees hold a discussion during which they formulate the developmental goals. Part of this discussion includes the quality of evidence required to determine whether the objectives of the programme will be met. To ensure that there is clarity about what is to be achieved, a learning contract serves as a mechanism to ensure effective communication and understanding. Guidelines are useful for documenting what needs to be achieved and how the achievements will be evaluated. Another vital instrument in managing the mentoring relationship is the maintenance of a contact log of all interactions between mentor and mentee. This can be used to exercise control over the mentoring relationship and ensure that all actions are documented for future reference and follow-up action. However, be careful of over-control, it may reduce the dynamic nature of a mentoring or coaching relationship. 10.7.7 Implementation Once the previous six steps have been followed, one is ready to implement the mentoring process. This means that the goals and action plans for the mentoring or coaching relationship have already been set and that the parties can now work actively to make the mentoring and coaching process work. Flexibility is crucial during the process of implementation, in other words, adapting the process to suit the needs of the programme. However, it is essential that both mentors and mentees should realise that they have a responsibility to keep to the deadlines and action plans decided upon by both parties. An effective relationship will be founded on mutual respect and will be a “risk-free zone” for the mentee to examine options and brainstorm strategies. Remember that many Chapter 10: Mentoring and coaching 299 of us “talk our way to understanding” when we are given freedom and encouragement to express our creative thoughts without fear of judgement. Active listening on the part of both mentor and mentee is important. Make sure all parties view the mentees as capable adults who are able to draw their own different conclusions. The aim of the relationship should not be for the mentee to copy the mentor or adopt ideas or approaches without question, but rather for the mentor to help the mentee explore the possible outcomes or consequences of a strategy that they propose and then make their judgement and choices. The mentor/coach can then share his or her own experiences with the mentee and disclose the problem-solving process used in similar or related issues. The relationship should be subject to renegotiation in order to accommodate new issues and address needs as they arise. Clear and concise records of dates of meetings should be kept. The duration of each meeting will vary according to the learner’s need to discuss issues. At least one hour should be set aside for every meeting. The meeting times and venues should be conducive to focused and confidential discussions and should be mutually convenient. The venue should be private. The times of meetings should vary, but should not always be at the end of a working day or week. Periodic feedback and discussion are essential to ensure the continued development and support of the coachee. This will also provide an opportunity to establish progress and provide resources and aids. All progress should be recorded to provide an indication of what needs to be done in the next review period. Feedback needs to be done in a way that supports learning. Ensure that the feedback session is a dialogue in which the mentees also has the opportunity to voice their ideas and opinions on the issues at hand. Feedback should first be given on positive issues, for example, something the mentee has done well, then moving on to the areas where development is still required, ending with issues regarding areas where the mentee has performed well again. Feedback should be descriptive, specific, in the mentee’s interests, useful, given at the right time, clearly formulated and correct. Conditions under which feedback occur should be socially minded; refrain from demoralising the mentee and giving subjective interpretations; do not confuse feedback with value judgements; be open and honest. Finally, the feedback should relate to the learning and how performance may be improved. The learning contract would be completed when the mentees have evidence that all the learning included in the contract has taken place. The completion would depend on the learner’s ability to apply what has been learnt. This is particularly useful when mentoring is used as part of a learnership. 10.7.8 Evaluation Evaluation means that the success and problems of the programme must be assessed to determine whether the objectives of the programme have been met. All role-players must form part of the evaluation process, that is, the mentors/coaches, mentees/coachees, managers, mentoring co-ordinators or other staff who have inputs in the programme such as the skills development facilitator or employment equity manager. One of the shortcomings of mentoring and coaching programmes in South Africa is that very few of them involve systematic evaluation. Different types of evaluation may be conducted. 300 Managing Human Resource Development Measuring relationship processes asks questions such as: • Have the mentor/coach and learner established close rapport? • Are meetings sufficiently frequent? • Do the mentor/coach and learner value them? • Are both the mentor and mentee learning? And if so, what have they learned? Measuring relationship outputs focuses on more quantitative data such as: • How many of the learning objectives were achieved? • Has the mentee improved key scores on his or her performance appraisal? • Does the supervisor feel that mentoring/coaching is helping the learner to progress? Measuring/coaching intervention outputs involves the following: • A decrease in employee turnover • The achievement of performance appraisal scores on key competencies • The number of mentees considered suitable for promotion after a set period. Another skill learners need is to be able to reflect on and assess performance. This means that he or she must have a high level of self-awareness and be committed to continuous improvement. 10.7.9 Improvement No mentoring or coaching intervention will be perfect. Mentoring and coaching, like many other functions in an organisation, depends largely on the human element, which means that mistakes are inevitable. All role-players should therefore see the intervention as a learning experience. The long-term objective should be to improve employee performance and development. Mentoring and coaching, unlike performance management, has more medium and longterm implications. For certain skill areas, it will be impossible for the learner to develop the required skills within a year. It may be necessary for the learner to attend other courses or do a degree before he or she will obtain the overall level of competence required. 10.8 Guidelines for effective mentoring and coaching The following guidelines can be used to ensure effective mentoring and coaching in the workplace: • Do proper planning before embarking on a mentoring or coaching initiative. • Create a mentoring and coaching guidelines document or policy to promote clarity and focus. • Be careful to select consultants too quickly. Use a thorough screening process. • Train mentors/coaches and learners in the dynamics of the relationship and their roles in order to optimise these relationships. • Provide the necessary resources to make the intervention work. • Set clear goals and targets to achieve. • Carefully manage consultants. There are hundreds of consultants out there who do not really have the knowledge to be mentors or coaches. • Keep records of learner achievements. Chapter 10: Mentoring and coaching 301 • Communicate details about the programme to the whole organisation. • Share success stories and lessons with all parties. • Monitor and evaluate the impact of the programme. 10.9 Company examples Mentoring 4 Success (Pty) Ltd has been a pioneer in developing large group-based Critical Knowledge Transfer and Structured Knowledge Mentoring programmes in multiple technical sectors for over 10 years, and consequently has had the pleasure and privilege to work with some of the giants in the Southern and African Engineering and Construction sectors. Without divulging individual organisational strategies on developing and implementing successful and sustainable knowledge sharing and mentoring cultures and capabilities, this case study is based on the experiences and lessons learned from planning, managing and facilitating large group Structured Mentoring programmes, and associated training and transfer interventions, in the following three major organisations: • AECOM (Africa) – a global multi-disciplinary leader across multiple general and specialised engineering and technical fields; • WBHO – a local and international leader in large scale civils, building, roads and earthworks projects; and • Stefanutti Stocks – a local and international leader in large scale civils, building, roads and earthworks projects. A common thread amongst all three of these world class organisations is that knowledge sharing and mentoring is fully supported by the executive management teams and indeed the Chief Executives, who not only participate in the projects as either executive sponsors and in some instances even as executive mentors, but also maintain a close connection with the subtle nuances and needs contained in the regular feedback. Each organisation ensures that even in these tough, recessionary times, the most experienced and connected grouping possible of executive directors and senior line managers, plays an active role as either fully participative mentors, or oversight mentors – contributing significantly to the year-on-year success of these collaborative mentoring programmes. An additional element of success is that the author is also a Professional Civil Engineer in South Africa (Pr.Eng), as well as a Chartered Civil and Structural Engineer (C.Eng) internationally, and was intimately involved as both the Managing Director of Mentoring 4 Success, as well as the lead facilitator and “master mentor” in all the above projects. 10.9.1 Study Sample and Data Collection and Analysis Method The study sample has been collected and collated from the following body of both experiential as well as empirical evidence, gathered as follows from 2008 to 2016: • AECOM – six large group, 12 month, multi-regional, structured mentoring and professional registration support programmes from 2008 to 2016, involving as many as 80 to 100 mentors and mentees per year (with an average of 22 “person years of engineering experience” per partnership, equating to nearly 2200 years of “experiential wisdom” that is connected for mentoring and improved collaboration each year); • WBHO – three large group, 12 month, multi-regional, structured mentoring and site management development programmes from 2012 to 2014, involving as many as 50 302 Managing Human Resource Development mentors and mentees per year (with an average of 23 “person years of construction experience” per partnership, equating to nearly 1150 years of “experiential wisdom” that was connected for mentoring and improved collaboration during each year of the programmes); and • Stefanutti Stocks – four large group, 12 month, multi-regional, structured mentoring programmes from 2013 to 2015, involving as many as 75 mentors and mentees per year (with an average of 23 “person years of construction experience” per partnership, equating to nearly 1725 years of “experiential wisdom” that was connected for mentoring and improved collaboration during each year of the programmes). The programme data and feedback collection methodology is as follows: • Monthly Progress Presentations and Feedback Reports are collated for each group and the key threads and insights are analysed and consolidated into a Monthly Management Progress Report to each client’s Executive Sponsor and HR Executive. • An “anonymous” Interim Partnership Progress and Programme Evaluation is completed by each participant at the half-way mark in each programme (month 6) and the feedback is once again collated and consolidated into a confidential/no-names feedback report to the client’s Executive Sponsor and HR Executive. • An “anonymous” Programme Close-Out and Evaluation is also completed by each participant at the end of each programme (month 12) and the feedback is once again collated and consolidated into a confidential/no-names feedback report to the client’s Executive Sponsor and HR Executive. • A Yearbook is also prepared from volunteered feedback from each participant in each programme, which provides an equally rich source of experiential and important “sentiment data”. • The above data set for each project, for each client, for each year, represents a substantial body of evidence, which the Mentoring 4 Success team use to guide the facilitation process as well as the interaction with each group, which in turn leads to an additional wealth of interactive “experiential feedback” and has also been included in this case study. 10.9.2 Methodology and Approach Each of the above organisations identified a combination of needs and expectations from the various Structured Mentoring Programmes as summarised below: • Initiating and nurturing a sustainable culture of mentoring and mutual support; • Candidacy and professional registration support (1 to 3 year journeys); • Scarce and critical skills and knowledge sharing and transfer; • Both consulting and construction site management development; • Personal growth and development to foster confidence and capability; • Connecting knowledge sources and seekers through improved internal communication; and • Improving intra-organisational cooperation and collaboration. Each programme is initially set up with a set of agreed “measurables” with the client’s business sponsor and HR executive. These measurables are used as the key performance Chapter 10: Mentoring and coaching 303 indicators of progress and success in the various monthly, interim and close-our programme reports itemised above. The findings in this case study are based on the large amount of feedback as measured against the individual programme measurables and expectations. 10.9.3 Findings The following findings are those which are most consistent across the three sample organisations and are indeed also consistent amongst a variety of other highly “technical and specialist organisations” spanning the banking, financial services, nuclear, manufacturing and armaments industries. The data source for these findings are extracted from not only the reports mentioned previously in this case study, but also the comments offered for the production of the 13 Mentoring Programme Yearbooks produced as a keepsake for each of the programmes identified. Executive commitment, buy-in and active participation There is no doubt that programmes that enjoy highly transparent levels of executive engagement yield far higher knowledge exchange results and have repeatedly led to both cost savings and business process improvements. All three of the sample organisations above demonstrated very tangible and consistent senior executive engagement – from the initial orientation sessions to the final graduation and celebration function. Mutual clarification of common internal purpose A multiplicity of objectives can be achieved through structured mentoring, but trying to use the initiative as a “catch-all” will eliminate focus and a clearly measurable outcome. It is essential that the business sponsor, programme champion, internal co-ordinator and all participants (mentors, mentees, managers and subject matter experts) are all completely aligned as to the mutual objectives and outcomes expected (and the metrics of success to be used). Strategic alignment to external national imperatives and laws Structured mentoring initiatives offer multiple benefits to various strategic, societal and legal drivers. This requires an integrated approach and systems thinking mindset, which spans multiple opportunities and reporting requirements (for example, the B-BBEE, SARS, CETA). It is the authors experience and opinion that this integrated value chain and the profound nation-building benefits achievable therefrom, could be improved in all three sample organisations. Time and distance are the most common challenges expressed Constantly changing project schedules, over-stretched management and specialists, pressures on utilisation and billable hour contributions, pressurised personal diaries, logistical separation, traffic congestions and mercurial client priorities do not only create major challenges for “one-on-one” mentoring partnership sessions, but also create a far more complex mathematical conundrum for achieving any form of coordinated group collaboration and knowledge exchange. Modern technologies in the form common knowledge-based collaboration tools and mobile mentoring apps are essential solutions for addressing these very real challenges. 304 Managing Human Resource Development The need for improved inclusion of the Modern Learner concept The research conducted through Bersin by Deloitte (2015) and the multi-programme experience during the sample programmes above, as well as the on-going research of the author, Marsh (2016), are in complete congruence – the modern generation of younger engineering and construction graduates are overwhelmed, impatient and confused with the sheer overload of information and expectations. Collaborative mentoring and group interaction, with the higher degrees of knowledge sharing and “experiential wisdom” offered, are preferred over the traditional and more confidential types of one-on-one mentoring, where cultural, academic and generational differences may present unintentional barriers to building individual trust and effective knowledge exchange. Changes in project personnel needs The changing life-cycle of projects and the almost nomadic nature of both experienced and younger technical staff, creates shorter than ideal time-frames to establish effective and sustainable trust-based mentoring relationships. It is therefore essential that the mentor’s pool is seen as more of a cooperative resource pool, for the knowledge potentiation of the collaborative, as opposed to traditional and more confidential partnership resources only. “Effective empowerment” training of mentors and mentees Training of mentors and mentees needs to include far more focus on the neurosciences and essential soft skills, as opposed to just the traditional focus on hard competencies and contractual matters, which tends to be the focus of many of the more generic construction mentoring type programmes. The generally tough environment and the relentless pressures experienced in the engineering and construction sector have tended to perpetuate the baby boomer culture of over-focusing on performance, procedures and productivity, and less on passion, potential and personality. There is strong evidence in the feedback reports and yearbooks across all three organisations that the “soft human side” of the 13 sample programmes was highly valued and an unexpected benefit of the journey. The training of mentors and mentees should therefore always include a combination of both interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, including self-assessment, self-correction and personal growth and re-generation techniques. Differentiation between job support, professional registration, knowledge gathering and career development An important lesson learnt across the 13 sample programmes is that “one-size-does-notfit-all” and that there needs to be clear differentiation in programme structure, format and inputs in order to effectively achieve any of the above with measurable success. For example, the monitoring and reporting required to offer the benefits of a DTI Skills Matrix Category C – Professional Registration Support Mentoring Programme (Candidacy Development), is completely different to what is required in a knowledge gathering programme. The former is almost solely inwardly focused on the three-to-four year process-like journey to registration of an individual candidate, whilst the latter is a rich group collaboration and explicit contextualisation and mapping intervention. Similarly, the focus on current job-based requirements for needed skills and knowledge is vastly different to the experiential and relationship development journeys of career mentoring. So clarification and focus is essential. Chapter 10: Mentoring and coaching 305 Validation of effective knowledge sharing and transfer Validation of effective knowledge sharing and transfer always needs to be built into the process to avoid the common human challenges of miscommunication and expectation of understanding. An interesting but consistent outcome across all the three organisations, is that whilst the pressurised mentors want to spend shorter amounts of time listening to progress and feedback from the mentees, the mentees themselves view the opportunity to discuss and share their growth and development within a trusted collaborative environment, as an essential ingredient of success. Indeed, when the monthly Mentee Progress Feedback sessions were curtailed on two of the 13 programmes due to pressure from the mentors, the sudden drop off in attendance and the reduction in perceivable participation was palpable. 10.10 Conclusion Mentoring and coaching have many business benefits for South African organisations. In fact, they are two of the most powerful business management tools of the twenty-firstcentury organisation. Not only do they provide opportunities to accelerate skills development, but they also help an organisation achieve its overall business objectives. However, it is crucial for an organisation to adopt a business management approach to mentoring and coaching and then decide how these concepts can be internalised and optimised. The SABPP HR professional practice standard on coaching and mentoring provides a sound framework for a systematic approach to ensure good governance and application. A clear implementation process is needed to effectively manage mentoring and coaching in the workplace. 10.11 Case study Neville Pritchard, HRD manager at Barclays presented a paper at an ATD conference on how they created a coaching culture at the bank. Barclays decided to develop a coaching culture as part of its management and leadership development interventions. The performance development model consisted of line managers who played the role of “head coaches” with the necessary support provided by human resource specialists. According to the Barclays philosophy, a coaching culture is a culture where every individual is able to focus on their own performance and support others through coaching activity and is willing to receive coaching from others whatever their status to take responsibility for co-ordinating development. Barclays conceptualised the following six elements of effective implementation: • Engage • Enthuse • Equip • Enable • Energise • Effect The initial learning was the main focus of the relationship to ensure that coaching takes place. Awareness was created to optimise buy-in and support from all role-players. The measurement system used consisted of a pre-measure of performance, the intent of coaching, reaction evaluation, application as well as measuring the value. continued 306 Managing Human Resource Development Several actions were implemented to support the coaching initiative: • A coaching academy was launched to steer the process. • A performance agreement ensured accountability for all line managers. • The training and development role-model specialist coaches, circles and pilot the intervention within a significant business unit. • A coaching website was launched to provide information and resources. • Hints and tips booklets were compiled as additional support material. From a measurement point-of-view the intervention played a huge role to support people development at Barclays. For instance, telesales induction was reduced from 22 days to six days (saving pounds). Advisors are in their role taking telephone calls much earlier, and thereby reducing customer waiting time. Furthermore, advisors are building up confidence in answering phones, developing product and business area knowledge and experiencing the bigger picture. Advisors are also better controlled, because they don’t move onto the next phase of the training programme until they and their managers feel that they are ready. Some of the reported results are as follows: FTE saving 1 500 000 Additional income 3 336 900 Cost Benefit 1 500 000 2 396 275 Training travel saving 4 886 900 4 886 900 Several measures were used as indicators for success of the programme: • Reduction in the number of training requirements • Delivering bigger impact sessions • Positively taken into performance • Team performance is more important than individual’s • Individuals help each other A coaching culture was effectively created at Barclays. Out of a hundred, the number of colleagues with personal development plans before coaching was 15. It has now improved to 90. Barclays build their coaching strategy on benchmarking data that showed that the average ROI on executive coaching is 570% (Manchester USA). The ability of the bank to maintain the coaching culture as well as their effort to measure the financial impact thereof contributed significantly to the success of the intervention. Source: Adapted from Pritchard (2002). Questions 1 Analyse the above case study and identify the key success factors from the Barclays approach to coaching. 2 Identify other HRD themes from your textbook that are used at Barclays. 3 Motivate the extent to which Barclays measured the business impact of coaching. 10.12 Key learning points The key learning points from this chapter are as follows: • Mentoring and coaching can play a critical role to enhance sound HRD practice in organisations. • Mentoring and coaching have many benefits for companies. • Despite the benefits of mentoring and coaching, there are certain pitfalls to avoid. • The role of HRD in mentoring and coaching programmes should be clarified. • A range of mentoring and coaching options are available depending on the needs of the organisation. Chapter 10: Mentoring and coaching 307 • The HR professional practice standard on coaching and mentoring developed by SABPP provides a systematic approach for effective application of mentoring and coaching best practices in the workplace. • A clear implementation plan is needed to ensure the effective implementation of mentoring and coaching interventions. 10.13 Self-assessment questions 1 2 3 4 5 Explain the meaning of the terms “mentoring and coaching”. Indicate the benefits of mentoring and coaching. Identify the pitfalls of mentoring and coaching. Develop a mentoring and coaching implementation plan for an organisation. Differentiate between the different mentoring and coaching options for your organisation. 6 Provide guidelines for effective mentoring and coaching interventions. 7 Explain how you will apply the HR professional practice standard on coaching and mentoring. 8 Clarify the role of HRD in mentoring and coaching. 10.14 References Dennis H, 2004, “Mentoring and coaching best practices”, Sandton: Knowledge Resources. Ensher E and Murphy S, 2005, Power Mentoring: How Successful Mentors and Protégés Get the Most out of their Relationships, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Koeppel D, “In the market for a high-paying job? Try hiring an executive coach”, Sunday Times, 3 June 2007. Meyer M and Fourie L, 2006, Mentoring and Coaching: Tools and Techniques for Implementation, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Meyer M, 2007, Measuring the Return on Investment in Mentoring and Coaching, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Mkhondo L, 2016, “Introspection: A vital leadership responsibility”, BBQ, Third Quarter, Cape Town: Cape Media. Mthembu D, 2007, Team Coaching, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. SABPP, 2015, National HR Professional Practice Standards, Parktown: SABPP. Sukiennik D, 2004, “A group mentoring model for developing leaders”, Sandton: Knowledge Resources. 10.15 Suggested reading Abbott P and Bennett K, 2011, A Guide for Coachees: How to Optimise your Personal Coaching Journey, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Allan D, Finkelstein LM and Poteet ML, 2009, Designing Workplace Mentoring Programs, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. 308 Managing Human Resource Development Brent M, and Dent FE, 2015, The Leader’s Guide to Coaching and Mentoring: How to Use Soft Skills to Get Hard Results, London: Pearson/FT Publishing. Brockbank A and McGill I, 2006, Facilitating Reflective Learning through Mentoring and Coaching, London: Kogan Page. Heroldt J (ed), 2012, Mentoring and Coaching: Articles from the Human Capital Review, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Klasen N and Clutterbuck D, 2002, Implementing Mentoring Schemes: A Practical Guide to Successful Programs, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Law H, Ireland S, Hussam Z and Hoboken NJ, 2007, The Psychology of Coaching, Mentoring and Leadership, New Jersey: John Wiley. McLeod A, 2003, Performance Coaching: The Handbook for Managers, HR Professionals and Coaches, Bancyfelin, Wales: Crown. Meyer M (ed), 2011, Wisdom from HR Mentors, Randburg: Knowres/SABPP. Nicholson H, 2006, Networking: The Unwritten Rule of Business you Need to Know, Johannesburg: Helen Nicholson. Scheepers C, 2011, Coaching Leaders: The 7 “P” Tools to Propel Change, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Steinman N, 2006, Raising Giant Killers: The Fundamentals of Mentoring, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Stone FM, 2007, Coaching, Counselling and Mentoring: How to Choose and Use the Right Technique to Boost Employee Performance, New York: AMA. Stout Rostron S, 2010, Business Coaching: Wisdom and Practice, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Tucker K, 2007, Establishing a Mentoring Programme, Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Whitworth L, 2007, Co-active Coaching: New Skills for Coaching People Toward Success in Work and Life, 2nd edn, Mountain View: Davies-Black. 10.16 Internet sites Association for Talent Development: http://www.atd.org Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development: http://www.cipd.co.uk Coaches and Mentors of South Africa: http://www.comensa.org.za Coach U: http://www.coachinc.com SA Board for People Practices: http://www.sabpp.co.za 10.17 Acknowledgements Thank you to Philip Marsh from Mentoring4Success for the engineering and construction case study and to Neville Pritchard of Barclays for the case study he provided. I also would like to thank my mentors, Elizabeth Dhlamini-Kumalo and Michael Glensor for their continuous efforts to mentor me, as well as for the SABPP Mentoring Committee Chairperson, Getty Simelane for her leadership role. In addition, a special word of thanks to Lazarus Nenungwi, one of my most successful mentees, for his continued success as evidence that mentoring really works. CHAPTER 11 ELECTRONIC, MOBILE AND SOCIAL LEARNING Marius Meyer Computing is not about computers any more. It is about living. (Nicholas Negroponte) LEARNING OUTCOMES • • • • • • • Motivate the benefits of e-learning to organisations Distinguish between different types of e-learning and terminology Develop a management plan for the implementation of e-learning Identify the competencies required for the design and implementation of e-learning Indicate the role-players in the design of e-learning and their responsibilities Develop an action plan to prepare trainers for e-learning Formulate an implementation plan for EPSS 11.1 Introduction The past ten years have seen dramatic changes and developments in the area of information technology. There has been an exponential growth in the power, speed and capacity of computers and other devices such as smart phones and iPads. Technological applications have become a necessity in society and the modern business environment. All jobs and functions are affected by information technology. How does technology affect training in the workplace? Perhaps more important is the question whether HRD practitioners are equipped to deal with the technology revolution. 309 310 Managing Human Resource Development Not only do HRD practitioners have to prepare managers and employees to become skilled in the use of technology in their day-to-day work, they have to acquire skills themselves to effectively use technology when they facilitate effective learning in the workplace. This approach is clearly encouraged by SAQA when they state in the sixth critical outcome that learning programmes should equip learners to use science and technology effectively and critically (SAQA Bulletin, 1997). Responding to the technology challenge, some companies have started to make use of technology-based training or electronic learning (e-learning). E-learning can be defined as the application of electronic technological systems to support the learning process. Trainers are increasingly using multimedia computers and the Internet as part of their training approach. These sophisticated tools are available to meet modern training needs. It is evident that the advent of e-learning signifies a new era in training. In fact, e-learning has the potential to revolutionise workplace learning and performance. It has enormous power to make learning more user-friendly, effective and cost-effective. More recently, the exponential growth in the use and sophistication of mobile and smart phones has led a new form of e-learning called mobile learning (m-learning). Learners can now learn on their own devices wherever they are, and many of these devices have now replaced laptops. Moreover, the explosion of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn has added social learning (s-learning) as an informal but very powerful variation of e-learning and m-learning. The challenge for HRD practitioners is to combine the needs of learners with the appropriate technological application to enhance productive learning and performance. ASTD Global Network South Africa and SABPP (2010) investigated the status and prevalence of the use of e-learning among HRD managers and their companies in South Africa. The results of its investigation are presented in Figure 11.1. Figure 11.1 Prevalence of e-learning in South Africa In the area of e-learning it appears that good progress has been made over the last couple of years. The use of e-learning in South Africa increased from 29% in 2007 to 33% in 2010 and is considerably higher than the 15% reported in the USA in 2009 but lower than the figure reported for the UK where e-learning makes up 57% of training in the workplace. Furthermore, while 19% of companies were working on an e-learning strategy in 2003, this figure increased to 26% in 2007, 2008 and 2009 but dropped slightly to 25% in 2010. Of significant interest is that the proportion of companies surveyed who indicated Chapter 11: Electronic, mobile and social learning 311 that they would not use e-learning remained consistent at 3% to 4% which compares with the figure for 2003 (4%). However, there still appears to be some uncertainty with regard to e-learning in that 31% of respondents do not know whether their organisations are using e-learning. This figure is much lower, however, than the 38% reported in 2006 and the 40% of the 2003 study. This chapter will focus on the effective implementation of e-learning in the work environment. E-learning terminology will be clarified, as will the benefits for an organisation of e-learning. We will use the term e-learning as the overarching focus of this chapter, while we encourage readers to bear in mind that m-learning and s-learning are powerful new developments to be optimised as part of an overall e-learning strategy (see Table 11.1 for a description of these terms and other related concepts). While technology enables e-learning and m-learning, it also promotes social learning (s-learning) given the fact that people are better connected today. You learn from others on a daily basis, and smart phones enable you to learn every minute about almost any topic with other social learners from all over the world. A myriad of applications and social media platforms offer instant access to learning and the sharing or information. Hence, technology accelerates social learning on a wider scale than ever before. The major part of this chapter will address the management of the implementation phase of e-learning in order to contribute to productive learning in the workplace and society at large. 11.2 Terminology definition Many special technological terms are used in the field of e-learning. Some of these terms are very similar in meaning, but it is imperative that HRD managers and other training staff have a clear understanding of these terms in order to support the implementation of e-learning. The terms consolidated in Table 11.1 are among those used most frequently in South African organisations and companies worldwide. Table 11.1 Summary of e-learning terminology Term Description Source Application (App) A self-contained programme or piece of software designed to fulfil a particular purpose, especially as downloaded by a user to a mobile device. Wikipedia (2016) Asynchronous e-learning Learners learning at different times. In other words, the content is available and continuously updated and learners can access it whenever they want to. Fee (2009) Mankin (2009) Avatar A virtual tutor, or animated character, who guides learners through a course of e-learning (and has wider applications on other websites). Cascio (2012) Fee (2009) Blog An online diary that allows feedback and comments and is therefore a useful tool for interactive e-learning. Fee (2009) Browser A client programme used to surf the web, like Netscape or Explorer. Ravet and Layte (1997) continued 312 Managing Human Resource Development Term Description Source Cloud computing The practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer. Wikipedia (2016) Compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM) A format and system for recording, storing and retrieving electronic information on a compact disc that is read using an optical drive. Bassi and Van Buren (1999) Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) The use of a computer to deliver instruction. The modes of CAI are drill and practice, modelling, tutorial and simulation. Reynolds and Iwinski (1996) Computer-based training (CBT) A generic term for a computer programme used by a learner to acquire knowledge or develop new skills. Ravet and Layte (1997) Computer-managed learning (CML) A computer programme that directs and tests learners’ performance through their learning and produces various reports. Ravet and Layte (1997) Digital video interactive (DVI) DVI is a compact disc format designed for interactive multimedia. Reynolds and Iwinski (1996) Disruptive technology The kind of technology that displaces an established technology and shakes up the industry, or a ground-breaking product that creates a completely new industry. Michael (2016) Electronic performance support system (EPSS) EPSS is a well-constructed computerised tool, systematically integrated at the employee location, which exploits the diverse capabilities of a computer to improve individual and organisational performance. This means that the employee gets advice from the computer when a particular problem occurs. Barras-Baker and Steyn (1998) Extranet A collaborative network that uses Internet technology to link organisations with their suppliers, customers or other organisations that share common goals or information. Bassi and Van Buren (1999) Hypermedia A programme that links different media under learner control in a way similar to hypertext linkage or text. Hypermedia links media such as text, graphics, video, voice and animation. For example, the learner can choose video, see a related video sequence, and then return to the programme. Reynolds and Iwinski (1996) continued Chapter 11: Electronic, mobile and social learning 313 Term Description Source Hypertext A computer programme that links nonlinear text. Hypertext allows flexible, learner-directed browsing to seek additional information by moving between related documents along thematic lines, without losing the content of the original inquiry. Reynolds and Iwinski (1996) Hypertext mark-up language (HTML) The standard for web documents supported by Internet browsers. Ravet and Layte (1997) Integrated services digital network (ISDN) A telecommunication service with a bandwidth larger than current telephone lines. Ravet and Layte (1997) Interactive distance learning (IDL) IDL is an interactive training process in which the instructor and learners are separated by time and/or space. Schabel (1998) Interactive This is when a computer responds in real time to a user’s demand. True interactivity happens when people interact. Computers can be a support for interactivity when connected through a network like the Internet. Ravet and Layte (1997) Internet A loose confederation of computer networks around the world connected through several primary networks. Bassi and Van Buren (1999) Intranet The use of Internet technology within a group or an organisation. Ravet and Layte (1997) Local area network (LAN) A network of computers in a restricted area like a building. Ravet and Layte (1997) Menu-driven The types of authoring or learning systems in which actions or topics are selected by the learner from a list of choices. Reynolds and Iwinski (1996) Mobile learning (m-learning) e-Learning accessed via mobile devices such as phones and other handsets. Fee (2009) Modem A device placed at each end of a communication line to transfer data between computers. Ravet and Layte (1997) Multimedia A variety of media (text, graphics, sound and video) combined in a single medium or computer. Ravet and Layte (1997) Podcast An audio or video offer that may be accessed whenever the user chooses, even via a handheld device. Fee (2009) Reusable Simple Syndication (RSS) A process whereby users are alerted to the latest updates to a fast-changing website as they occur. Fee (2009) continued 314 Managing Human Resource Development Term Description Source Second Life An Internet-based virtual world where users can live, work, learn and undertake all kinds of virtual experiences. Cascio (2012) Fee (2009) Simulation A way of artificially representing or modelling events or behaviours, offering a safe and secure way of learning while being as close as possible to the real thing. Fee (2009) Social learning Learning that takes place at a wider scale than individual or group learning, up to a societal scale, through social interaction between peers. Wikipedia (2016) Social media A broad term used to describe a host of web-based technologies and developments and how modern Internet users typically interact, consume and generate content and images in an open-space electronic interactive platform. SABPP (2012) Staging Collecting all the relevant data while a subject matter expert is performing the tasks: video, documentation and job aids. Ravet and Layte (1997) Subjective probability measurement (SPM) An assessment technique where learners rate their confidence when they respond to a test. Ravet and Layte (1997) Synchronous e-learning Synchronised learner participation – that is, learners learn at the same time. Fee (2009) Uniform resource locator (URL) The Internet address of a document. Ravet and Layte (1997) User-friendly The desirable attribute of a computer system in which the user does not have to be an expert or use the system and that mistakes are easily overcome or avoided by the system. Reynolds and Iwinski (1996) Virtual reality (VR) VR is a computer-based technology that gives learners a three-dimensional, interactive or simulated experience. VR is used to simulate conditions that do not actually exist, but may also be used to simulate actual potential conditions. Gunther-Mohr (1998) Webinar A web-based seminar or live e-learning event. Fee (2009) Wiki A website based on software that allows users to create, edit, hyperlink and organise the website’s content collaboratively. Fee (2009) Worldwide web A distributed information service based on the metaphor of hypertext to structure the access to the Internet. Ravet and Layte (1997) Chapter 11: Electronic, mobile and social learning 315 11.3 Benefits of e-learning The power of technology not only provides invaluable support for learning, but also assists in the management of the learning process with unparalleled speed, versatility and accuracy. In fact, the application of sophisticated technology in the learning environment can yield multiple benefits for the organisation in all aspects and phases of the HRD process. The benefits of e-learning can clearly be seen in the following areas of training management. 11.3.1 Course administration Training-managers and course co-ordinators in South Africa must keep track of a variety of training events such as internal and external training courses and seminars, open and flexible learning, adult basic education and training, and aligning training programmes with the legislative requirements of the Skills Development Act and other relevant laws. These activities generate an enormous amount of paperwork and information-sharing which must be processed and acted upon continuously. A comprehensive administration system is therefore needed. Technology has made this task easier and more productive. In fact, Raven and Layet (1997:160) indicate that an e-learning system reduces the burden of training administration by 40%. Various software packages are available which provide a range of administrative options. These packages make it possible to process course registrations, update participant records and generate correspondence in a fraction of the time formerly used. In addition, the software packages can function as a management tool, since the raw data can be presented from many different angles depending on the particular needs of the user. Moreover, this information is immediately accessible. Accurate records can be immediately retrieved, for example, an employee’s training profile, information on course capacity, scheduled courses and venues. 11.3.2 Financial management One of the most significant features of an e-learning system is that it provides a tool for the sound financial management of the HRD function. Some software packages allow users to create a budget for each training programme using all the cost categories, such as trainer fees, accommodation, training aids and refreshments. Furthermore, it also calculates very specific measurements, such as the cost per delegate per hour, cost per class, etc. It is therefore evident that an e-learning system can ensure that the financial management of the training function is managed more effectively. 11.3.3 Management reports One of the main problems training departments experience is their capacity in terms of time and staff available to produce quality reports at the end of a training programme. This is an even greater problem for training centres that present a large number of training programmes in quick succession. Computer packages can be used to consolidate information from the training records which indicate timetables, participant lists, course programmes, guest speakers and others. Some packages make it possible to generate customised reports by selecting information from the database and sorting and organising it to meet specific report requirements. For example, one can create a report which details, by department or occupational category, which employees have undergone a particular training programme. These reports can help 316 Managing Human Resource Development build a business case for decision-making regarding further investment in equipment, identifying machines needing updating, employment equity reporting or meeting particular client needs. 11.3.4 Resource management Equipping a training centre with the necessary computer and other equipment constitutes a major investment. It is therefore unacceptable for expensive computer equipment to be under-utilised, especially in today’s business environment which focuses on cost savings and sound financial management. Software packages can be purchased which enable the training manager to monitor learner use of e-learning resources. Some programmes can measure and report individual work station usage, enabling the training manager to measure the return on investment of the equipment installed (Raven and Layte, 1997:161). A control system can record the use of the computers and allows for computers to be pre-booked at particular times. Moreover, the system can help the e-learning facilitator by reporting on learner progress in terms of material covered, modules completed and tests passed and exercises completed. The rapid development of training technologies over the past decade has dramatically expanded the possibilities for delivery of effective learning in the workplace using a variety of resources. Different types of technologies can be used such as CBT, EPSS, interactive multimedia and web-based training. The end-result is the better management of company resources, including people. 11.3.5 Cost savings The cost of traditional training is very expensive, especially when trainers from a head office are required to travel all over the country to present training courses at regional offices or branches. Staff members in Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Durban, Johannesburg and Harare can be trained at the same time if e-learning is used. E-learning is more costeffective because the same training session delivered at one central location can be transferred by means of satellite to various locations countrywide. Large numbers of learners can therefore be reached simultaneously. Considerable cost and time savings are thus achieved. Furthermore, training time can be dramatically reduced. Masten (1998) reports a 50% reduction in training time due to e-learning implementation. A reduction in training time has an immediate impact on training effectiveness and overall productivity in a company. 11.3.6 Learner needs Another key principle of adult learning is that the learner should be at the centre of the learning process. E-learning can make a significant contribution to institutionalising this principle in the workplace in that e-learning can accommodate individual learning needs. The computer can track the speed of learning and the knowledge of individual learners. One learner may have some knowledge of a particular topic and can, therefore, complete an e-learning programme quickly; another learner may need more time. Thanks to the flexibility embedded in e-learning, learners can take their time to master an e-learning programme. In addition, e-learning is effective for any kind of content, whether it is knowledge-based learning or skills training. Furthermore, whilst some learners are reluctant to ask questions in traditional classroom training, e-learners can “raise their hands” Chapter 11: Electronic, mobile and social learning 317 electronically with the push of a button. In essence, e-learning promotes collaborative and participative learning (Buchen & Hamelman, 2011). Also, the rapid growth in m-learning and s-learning makes it possible for learners to access learning platforms at any time using their smart phones or other devices. The digital learning hub at Unilever is an “always-on” service that employees can access 24/7 and it provides a wide range elearning courses covering many subjects in various interactive digital formats (Burrows, 2016). 11.3.7 Effective learning E-learning promotes effective learning through the fact that standardised computer systems are used. The different contributions of individual trainers are moderated in order to ensure a consistent training message conveyed by technology. Moreover, simulated practice can be used for applications in which OTJ training would be dangerous or inconvenient. Skills transfer is encouraged, especially with advanced e-learning systems such as EPSS which immediately improves OTJ performance. 11.3.8 Evaluation Sophisticated evaluation techniques can be used which are quicker and more accurate. Integrated tracking and record-keeping forms part of many e-learning systems which makes it possible for the trainers to start the evaluation process while they are busy facilitating the training session. myUNISA e-learning management system The University of South Africa (UNISA) is the fourth-largest university in the world with almost 300 000 students in different countries across the globe. Having originally started as a correspondence university more than a century ago it is now a fully fledged distance learning university, and you can study at UNISA from anywhere in the world. But how did the university create the capacity to serve so many students? Having developed a distance learning capacity over several decades, the growth in student numbers could not be maintained without adapting to current forces such as globalisation and technology. Most students are full-time employees and are sometimes transferred to other cities or other parts of the world right in the middle of their studies. UNISA realised the necessity to optimise technology in order to reach students throughout the world. Prior to the merger between the old UNISA and Technikon Southern Africa, the two largest distance education institutions in South Africa, two different online learning management systems were used at the campuses in Pretoria and Florida respectively. The challenge was to create a single integrated virtual campus system to replace the previous separate systems without losing the functionality of either system. The new system had to be presented through a portal. After an in-depth investigation it was decided to adopt Java-based architecture for the new virtual campus. Further investigation revealed that there was almost a 100% match between the online architecture envisaged for UNISA and the architecture adopted by an international initiative called Sakai. The Sakai Project is a community-source development project which aims to design, build and deploy a new collaboration and learning environment for higher education. The project was initiated in 2004 by the University of Michigan, Indiana University, MIT and Stanford along with the Open Knowledge Initiative and the uPortal consortium. The software is being built by designers, software architects and developers from more than 80 tertiary-education institutions from around the world, using a more formalised variation of the open-source development model called a community-source model. UNISA is currently deploying a localised version of Sakai to meet the needs of UNISA students. The system is called myUNISA not only to enhance the UNISA brand that is worth continued 318 Managing Human Resource Development R157 million but also to let the students take ownership of the system. The system belongs to them – they can access it any time of the day or night, chat with one another, or the lecturer, or view their marks and submit assignments online. myUNISA is thus an electronic learning management system designed to help learners connect with one another and with their lecturers. The success of the system depends to a great extent on the pioneering work done by the information technology management and specialists team especially by the director, Deon van der Merwe, who formed the international alliances and Johan Moller who is driving the implementation and capacity-building of staff and students using the system. What exactly are the benefits of myUNISA for students? • Students can access the system 24 hours a day – whenever they want, wherever they are, whether it is Nyanga, Ventersdorp, Dubai, London or Nairobi. The system therefore eliminates the distance between students and the university. • The system offers the opportunity to people who do not have the opportunity to attend residential classes to obtain qualifications via distance learning. • Owing to economies of scale, distance learning is on average of 50% cheaper than residential learning, making it a more cost-effective option for students. People also do not have to “wait” for three or four years of school to start working, you can commence employment immediately and study at the same time, thereby saving a few years of your life, with a positive impact on salary growth and career development. In addition, students can also continue with post graduate studies, and thereby further improve their career development and income potential. • It helps students improve their computer skills – a skill that is not only one of the NQF critical outcomes of all learning programmes, but also an essential life and work skill in the modern global business environment. • Students can check their marks on the system – it is a self-help system. • Students can get documents such as tutorial letters, articles, etc under the heading “materials”. It only takes one minute for a lecturer to load a resource for students, whereas previously it took more than a week for a document to be posted to students. • In the absence of face-to-face classes, students can join the electronic discussion group where they can chat with the lecturer and their fellow students in order to optimise the learning opportunity. This is very important in distance education, because students can feel very lonely if they only study on their own. • Most employers allow their employees to use company computers to access the Internet. There is thus no additional cost for the students. It is also not necessary to use your cell or work phone to contact the university. • The lecturer can present an “electronic class” via the group discussion forum which students can access 24 hours a day. Other tools such as blogs and wikis further enhance learning. • Students can get additional advice and learner support in the form of, for example, guidelines relating to the completion of assignments, study methods, etc. • Students are updated regarding changes and developments in the subject field. • Job and networking opportunities can also be posted on the system. • Students can join in a discussion that started weeks or months ago – you enter and exit when you want and when it suits you. This is real learner empowerment. • Should a student be away for business or relocate to another city or country, he or she can still access the system and continue with the learning process. • Student motivation and responsibility is encouraged and enhanced. The above example of the myUNISA e-learning system is one example of how e-learning can be implemented. Several other organisations in both the private and public sectors have enthusiastically embraced e-learning. Tshwane University of Technology is another highereducation institution that implemented e-learning as a mode of delivery, thereby reducing the amount and frequency of traditional contact classes (Botha, 2007). Chapter 11: Electronic, mobile and social learning 319 11.4 Disadvantages of e-learning Despite the advantages of e-learning, it is rarely the complete answer to a company’s training needs. According to Gerard et al (1998), the development cycle for e-learning courseware is expensive and time-consuming. Therefore e-learning is inappropriate for topics that change frequently or that require multiple versions to meet geographical or departmental variations within an organisation. Moreover, there are some topics such as conflict management and team-building that benefit from interactive discussion or roleplaying. Other disadvantages of e-learning are mentioned by Reynolds and Iwinski (1996:41) and Capdeferro and Romero (2012:26–30): • Off-the-shelf software or courseware may not be available, depending on the topic. • Generic off-the-shelf software or courseware may not meet local needs. • The initial cost of e-learning is high, compared with the cost of developing a lecturerbased course. • Development requires skills that may not be available. • Development of high quality instruction requires intense and extensive effort. • E-learning may require investment in new equipment. • Learner frustrations with ineffective online systems and collaboration. From the above, it is evident that e-learning should not be seen as a panacea to an organisation’s training problems. Rather, a holistic approach should be adopted in which e-learning contributes to overall training performance. The optimal learning situation is therefore a blend of e-learning and instructor-led learning. This approach is called “blended learning”. 11.5 Different types of e-learning methodologies E-learning offers a range of methodologies that can be used in combination with one another, depending on the particular needs and the unique situation of a particular organisation. The most frequently used technologies are as follows: • Interactive multimedia: The trainer can communicate with trainees in different locations. The trainer and learners are separated by time and space. • Web-based training: This type of training offers increased access to information. The training is delivered to the desktop. Course content can be made available as an online reference that supports the transfer of learning to job performance. • Video conferencing: While the training takes place, speakers are in different locations. Video conferencing is therefore an effective training tool where the trainer and learners are in different locations. • Internet: The Internet offers new ways of increasing learning, such as the linking of resources and the sharing of knowledge within and outside an organisation. Interactive tutorials can be used that let learners take courses online. Learners can also download documents, tutorials and software. • Intranet: This form of e-learning uses internal electronic networks. The intranet provides opportunities to develop programmes that have been developed or customised for an organisation’s particular learning needs. The intranet affords an opportunity to develop a comprehensive management information system which administers, updates and changes information from a centralised organisational source. • EPSS: EPSS uses computers to capture, store and disseminate knowledge and information throughout an organisation. 320 Managing Human Resource Development • Social learning: Social media make it possible for learners to learn by using their handheld devices to access social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. For instance, via the LinkedIn discussion group of SABPP, the HR professional body, thousands of HR and HRD professionals working for different organisations can interact, learn and share ideas on a daily basis, any time of the day or night. 11.6 E-learning implementation The implementation of e-learning should be carefully planned and managed to ensure effective training and transfer of skills. When making decisions regarding e-learning, the phases and sub-steps indicated in Figure 11.2 should be used. It is interesting to note that the implementation process for e-learning development is very similar to that of the traditional training process, although some modification is needed to ensure proper management of the system and process, while leveraging the speed and power of technology. 11.6.1 Training-needs analysis As is the case with all other training interventions, the first step in planning e-learning is to conduct a training-needs analysis. This step is of paramount importance, especially in the light of the benefits and potential disadvantages of e-learning for the organisation. Some companies implement e-learning because of the attractiveness, sophistication, power and speed of technology. This means that e-learning is used for the sake of technology, and not necessarily to address a particular training need. The end-result is usually a waste of resources and the delivery of ineffective training. Figure 11.2 E-learning implementation process • • • • • 1 E-learning-needs analysis Select analysis methods Assess training needs Assess learner profile Conduct cost-benefit analysis Obtain management support • • • • • • • • 3 E-learning delivery • Revise project plan • Assign responsibility • Present programme 5 E-learning improvement • Review evaluation reports • Compile improvement plans • Communicate to whole organisation • • • • 2 E-learning platform and design Assign project team Review needs analysis report Design a project team Decide on system or outsourcing Acquire e-learning resources Develop e-learning system and platform Train e-learning staff Market e-learning system 4 Evaluation Reaction Learning Behaviour Results Chapter 11: Electronic, mobile and social learning 321 It is therefore essential to first conduct a thorough needs analysis. Various needs analysis techniques can be used such as focus groups, questionnaires or performance data analysis. The needs analysis should indicate the types of skills required and, secondly, whether e-learning is indeed the answer to the particular training need. For example, if training in conflict resolution is identified as a training need, a group facilitation session is probably a better training solution than e-learning alone. An essential component of e-learning-needs analysis is analysis of the learner profile. This means that the HRD manager should consider the characteristics of the learners including their preferred learning styles, their locations and their learning needs. This information will help the e-learning project team design appropriate e-learning interventions. In addition, given the need for IT governance in accordance with the King IV Code on Governance for South Africa, it is essential to manage any IT risks when implementing e-learning. Thus, policy frameworks such as social media policies may be useful to mitigate risks or problems during the implementation of e-learning (SABPP, 2012). 11.6.2 E-learning platform and design The design phase of e-learning is more complex and comprehensive than traditional training: even designing an appropriate training system to accommodate and integrate technology and training takes time, effort and resources. The complexity of e-learning requires that a project team should be constituted to develop and design the e-learning system. This project team should consist of an information technologist, instructional designer, graphic artist, line managers and the HRD manager. Once the platform has been created, the design process can commence. From Figure 11.2 and Table 11.3 it appears as though most trainers will find it difficult to bridge the gap between traditional training and e-learning. In fact, it will be rare to find these competencies in a single ETD practitioner. It is therefore of critical importance that a number of people be included in the design and development of e-learning. Ravet and Layte (1997:121) provide a list of parties that should be involved in the design of e-learning: • Trainers and training managers • Subject matter experts • Graphic designers • Human-computer-interface designers • Video or sound producers and editors • Programme designers and programmers • Project managers. It is clear that e-learning cannot be implemented by a training department alone. In fact, a project team approach is needed, one in which all the parties work together to achieve the goals of the particular e-learning intervention. The responsibilities of these parties are depicted in Table 11.2. From Table 11.2 it is evident that training managers and all the other role-players should work together as a team to make e-learning work. This will also require that a multitude of factors be taken into consideration when planning and designing e-learning. These factors are as follows: • Learner profile: The profile and needs of learners should be considered when designing and implementing e-learning. Important factors are the number of learners, the number 322 Managing Human Resource Development of sites, the distance of learners from the training site, the training schedule, the preferred learning style of learners and their level of computer proficiency. • Learning content: The type of content (whether it focuses on hard or soft skills), the availability of content experts, the difficulty of the content and the availability of resources should also be considered. • Training objectives: The particular training objectives should be taken into account, for example, the importance of consistency and performance tracking, the number of times the programme will be offered, the frequency of updates, the development timetable and business objectives. • Learning outcomes: The learning outcomes should be clearly specified and the training manager must ensure that an e-learning programme achieves the learning outcomes. The technology employed should facilitate the attainment of the learning outcomes. Table 11.2 Responsibilities of e-learning designers E-learning designers Responsibilities L&D managers Managing the e-learning process, building relationships, change management, ensuring e-learning is integrated in overall HRD strategy Subject matter experts Providing information and advice regarding the content of a learning programme Programmers Customising or creating computer programmes according to specifications Human-computer-interface designers Integrating human component and learning tasks with manipulation of the software supporting the learning tasks Project managers Managing and co-ordinating specific e-learning projects such as an e-learning satellite training programme on customer service skills Video or sound producers and editors Developing appropriate video and sound applications to support particular learning activities Graphic designers Designing and integrating graphics to support the learning content Trainers Presenting and facilitating a training session using e-learning to support the training message • Computing resources: Factors to consider are the availability and compatibility of computers, their configuration and the availability of support personnel. • Organisation readiness: The level of organisation openness to change should be determined, the organisation’s view of technology, the cash flow available, as well as the readiness of managers and employees to adapt to e-learning. • Decision-making regarding trainers and support staff: Consider the availability of skills of personnel, time available to undertake the initial project and subsequent projects. This will also include deciding whether internal trainers or outsourcing will be used. The team will review the needs analysis report with the objective of planning an e-learning system or outsourcing project to address the e-learning needs. A comprehensive e-learning Chapter 11: Electronic, mobile and social learning 323 plan is therefore needed to ensure the effective management of the e-learning system and that the necessary e-learning resources are acquired. Once the plan is in place, specific e-learning programmes can be developed or purchased. Changing from traditional training to e-learning requires that HRD practitioners should acquire a range of new skills and competencies which should be considered during the planning and design phase. Table 11.3 summarises the competencies needed to design, implement and evaluate e-learning interventions. From Table 11.3 it is evident that many HRD practitioners will have to be re-trained in order to acquire the competencies needed to implement e-learning. Moreover, the rate of technological change is so rapid that HRD managers should ensure that their staff members are continuously keeping abreast of the latest developments in the field of e-learning by studying market trends and attending e-learning seminars and conferences. Table 11.3 Competencies needed for e-learning design and implementation Competence area Reason and scope of competence Managing projects Interaction required with specialists and role-players such as information technologists, graphic artists, instructional designers, engineers, external suppliers, line managers and clients. Designing learning interventions Learning interventions focus on advanced technology. Design must consider the human-computer interface and ergonomics. Text, animation, graphics, video and sound are integrated. Decide on methods – for example, satellite, multimedia, EPSS, etc. Editing learning material Sound, video, simulations and interactivity models must be edited to test appropriateness and feasibility. Presenting e-learning A range of e-learning presentation skills is required, including voice quality, high energy level, body language, media co-ordination, organisation, social media etc. Evaluating e-learning Sophisticated evaluation techniques are used, for example integrated tracking, record-keeping and e-learning learner feedback. Once staff members have been trained to implement e-learning, the HRD department should embark on a marketing campaign in order to inform the rest of the organisation of the benefits of e-learning as well as the e-learning services that can be offered. During this process, it is imperative to highlight the benefits of e-learning in terms of cost-savings to line managers and supervisors alike. 11.6.3 Implementation of e-learning delivery The delivery phase of e-learning is when the actual learning will take place, for example, in the form of an interactive satellite session. It is imperative that the e-learning project plan be continuously revised to ensure the effective implementation of e-learning. In addition, regular meetings should be conducted so that the various role-players understand their assigned responsibilities as far as implementation is concerned. As indicated before, e-learning will require new skills on the part of the people responsible for e-learning. While training managers need knowledge of the overall e-learning 324 Managing Human Resource Development strategy implementation process, the people conducting the actual training session will have to utilise a new set of skills and competencies to deliver e-learning. Trainers who will deliver e-learning will have to concentrate on the following guidelines proposed by Schabel (1998) for presenting interactive e-learning: • A strong introduction and closure are needed to stimulate interest in the particular training intervention and to show the benefits of e-learning. • Trainers should involve participants in a variety of ways, by varying the instructional techniques to suit the particular training need and e-learning method. • Trainers should maintain constant eye contact with the camera. • E-learning facilitators need to improve their listening skills and show a “listening face”. This is especially important when people phone in and the e-learning facilitator answers their questions. • Voice quality is very important. The pitch and tone must be varied to make the presentation interesting and stimulating. • Trainers should develop a “screen personality” which is friendly, relaxed and organised. A sense of humour is also needed. • A high energy level is needed. Talk directly to participants and use verbal reinforcers. • Media co-ordination skills are also essential, for example, to switch from one camera to another. 11.6.4 Evaluation The next phase in the e-learning implementation process is to evaluate the effectiveness of the e-learning intervention. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2011) approach to the evaluation of training programmes can also be applied to evaluating e-learning: • Reaction evaluation in the form of reaction forms can be used to assess the learners’ perceptions of the quality of the e-learning programme. • Learning evaluation can occur while the e-learning programme is conducted by using computerised tests and exercises to assess whether the learners have learnt the acquired knowledge and skills. This form of evaluation is very useful in e-learning as instant feedback on learner performance can be provided to both the learner and trainer. • Behaviour evaluation can be used to measure the performance of the learner back in the work situation. This can be done by observation of learner behaviour, or by computerised systems such as EPSS. • Results evaluation is a crucial form of e-learning evaluation especially in the light of the large amount of resources invested in the design of e-learning systems. The impact of the e-learning intervention in terms of financial results should therefore be calculated and reported to management in order to ensure their continuous support of e-learning. Irrespective of the level of evaluation, it is important to ensure that e-learning evaluation meets the requirements for effective evaluation in a multimedia environment (Fee, 2009). Fredericks et al (1998) identify three criteria for evaluating the success of multimedia: • E-learning must be effective, in other words, the training must improve performance. • E-learning must be efficient. It should use the least resources consistently assuring effectiveness, which also means that learners know where they are and how to achieve the learning outcomes. Chapter 11: Electronic, mobile and social learning 325 • E-learning must be engaging. The learners are active rather than passive in the learning process and must feel in control of their own learning experience. These factors should be integrated in all e-learning evaluation systems to ensure that appropriate measurement takes place. Without a measurement system it will be impossible to determine the effectiveness of e-learning. 11.6.5 E-learning improvements As e-learning is a new training technique in South Africa, most companies are likely to use a trial-and-error approach. The feedback and information obtained from the e-learning evaluation process should be used to develop appropriate plans for improvements. These improvements should be documented and systematically integrated into the development of subsequent e-learning interventions. The improvements should also be communicated to the whole organisation to ensure that employees and managers are kept informed of the evolving nature of the e-learning system and to reaffirm their support of the implementation of e-learning. Many companies have opted for a blended approach to learning – using different training methodologies in addition to e-learning, such as self-paced learning packs and traditional class-room training. 11.7 Electronic performance support systems (EPSS) One particular e-learning intervention which has the potential to dramatically transform corporate training, is an EPSS. According to Barras-Baker and Steyn (1998), EPSS is a well-constructed computerised tool, systematically integrated at the employee location, which exploits the diverse capabilities of a computer to improve individual and organisational performance. This means that an employee receives information from the computer when he or she experiences a particular problem. It is therefore not necessary for the employee to attend classroom training, because EPSS provides the just-in-time training, support and information the employee needs in his or her own working environment. EPSS has many benefits to organisations: • There is less emphasis on training, and more on learning and performance. Training time is thus reduced. • New employees can perform a task with little or no prior training. • EPSS provides employees with the knowledge, information and support they need to perform effectively. • Close employee supervision is not needed as EPSS fulfils the support function. • Employees can solve their own problems quicker and more effectively. • Different learning styles can be accommodated. • Self-directed learning is promoted. EPSS can log errors, duration of transactions and other performance data to provide evidence for performance management. • Whilst traditional training is isolated from task performance, EPSS is integrated into the workplace. To make EPSS work, Barras-Baker and Steyn (1998) propose the following guidelines: • EPSS should be framed in the job context, not within a computing framework. • The EPSS information must not contain excessive background information, but should provide specific answers to the user’s questions and problems. 326 Managing Human Resource Development • EPSS must be user-friendly, relevant and stimulating. • There should be training and support for the use of EPSS. • The system should be continuously updated to accommodate changes and developments in the business. It is therefore clear that EPSS is an effective e-learning system. The implementation process for EPSS would be similar to that of e-learning as discussed before. 11.8 Company example: ABSA The need to train large numbers of employees simultaneously led to the introduction of e-learning at South Africa’s largest banking group, ABSA, a member of the Barclays Group. By means of decoder receivers attached to TV sets in the workplace, ABSA employees around the country at the various branches participate in training programmes. However, the system does make provision for interactivity as well and this is supplied with open telephone lines and fax machines so that the employees at branch level can communicate with the trainer in the studio. In addition, advanced multimedia methodologies such as CD-ROMs for computer-based training are also used. E-learning enables ABSA to train up to 40 000 people simultaneously. This is done live for up to five hours a day. Branches are not closed, because sessions are staggered, thereby not losing productive customer time. Costs such as travel and printing costs are dramatically minimised. In fact, e-learning enables ABSA to deliver training at about one-third of the cost of traditional training. Moreover, e-learning now generates revenue for ABSA through sales to other companies and educational institutions. Global Access is an ABSA subsidiary that offers innovative e-learning distance learning solutions (Financial Mail, 1997). ABSA focuses on the importance of e-learning from a business perspective. According to Hefer (1998), it is essential to understand the effect of distance learning on the bottom line of a company. Valuable time and money are saved when using e-learning, for example, travel and accommodation costs. Apart from the cost savings of e-learning, the question arises whether effective learning takes place by means of e-learning. Hefer (1998) points out that 95% of ABSA employees who were trained by means of e-learning indicated that they have learnt what they need through the implementation of e-learning. He also notes that 51% of employees regard satellite training as the most effective e-learning medium, while 37% prefer computer-based training and 12% view on-line reference as the most effective training method. Hefer (1998) highlights the following lessons on the implementation of e-learning at ABSA: • It is imperative to sell the concept of e-learning to line management. If they realise the enormous cost and time savings, they are likely to support e-learning and bridge the gap between traditional training and e-learning. • Each training and development programme must be regarded as a project and should be managed from a project management perspective. This will ensure that resources are committed and that the relevant role-players focus on the action plans and strategies needed to make the project work. • Different forms of technology must be integrated into the learning environment. This does not mean that traditional training should be discarded, but rather that it should be integrated with e-learning. • E-learning can only work if the organisational culture supports it. Not only must there be openness to accept and implement e-learning, but sound relationships must be fostered among the different role-players in the e-learning process. • Create a passion for management information by making the results of e-learning visible. For example, since the introduction of e-learning in 1994 the ABSA staff pass rate of the Institute of Banking examination has improved by more than 20%. Source: ABSA. Chapter 11: Electronic, mobile and social learning 327 11.9 Conclusion The rapid development of training technologies over the past decade has dramatically expanded the possibilities for effective learning in the workplace. Whilst instructor-led classes are still by far the most prevalent training method, some South African companies are starting to reap the benefits of blending e-learning with their more traditional programme delivery. E-learning offers many benefits for an organisation, the most important being savings in time, resources and costs. Regardless of the complexity of an e-learning intervention, it is important that the instructions be appropriately designed and managed on the basis of sound principles of instructional design and HRD. The system must be well planned, managed and appropriately integrated to meet learning outcomes. By implementing e-learning and accelerating learning in and outside the workplace by means of m-learning and s-learning, progressive South African organisations can gain a competitive edge if they deliver to their customers quality products and services better and more quickly than their competition. 11.10 Case study Ishikawa Motors is a Japanese car manufacturer and retailer which decided to open a plant in Middelburg. The company is faced with the challenge of training mechanics and salespeople on a soonto-be released car. The changing face of the car maintenance environment has presented new training challenges. The training and development manager, Alpheus Molapo, realises that traditional classroom training will not meet the imperative of a well-trained workforce within a reasonably short time frame. Most employees have been recruited from factories in Gauteng and Mpumalanga. These employees’ training background mainly consists of classroom training at their previous employers. They were used to this old approach to training. Alpheus is therefore concerned about the potential level of resistance on the part of the company’s employees and managers. Alpheus can see that the cost to the training department of obtaining and maintaining such equipment has become a major problem. Moreover, the problem is also to keep mechanics proficient in complex job skills with less OTJ practice. Alpheus was recruited from a car manufacturer in Kwazulu-Natal. His previous company has found itself having to provide training on expensive, complex and varied items of equipment. This problem is compounded by the frequent appearance of new products and equipment with shorter lifespans. The cost to the training department of maintaining this equipment has become a major problem. Moreover, it is also difficult to keep mechanics proficient in complex job skills with less OTJ practice. Training would typically provide practice on the basic version of the equipment, without catering for possible different options and configuration. This does not provide realistic practice because most customers buy special options such as leather seats, sun roof and a range of engines. Furthermore, over time the mechanics lose skills because of the infrequency with which critical tasks are performed. Alpheus felt that it was possible to use simulation as an e-learning technique. He wants to simulate operations carried out by the mechanics on the car with test equipment. The simulation of operational tasks includes carrying out standard maintenance procedures and selecting and using maintenance tools and job aids to support troubleshooting functions. The next step is to collect all the available data to build support for the relevant practice. A video tape is used to record a mechanic performing the required operations. A computer is used to capture data from the test equipment used. Data is captured with a photo, video and audio equipment. To reduce the development costs, Alpheus decided to use a standard web browser as user interface with the simulator. He felt that a balance should be reached between working on local information that could be on a local disk or on the CD-ROM, and information found on the Internet server. continued 328 Managing Human Resource Development Alpheus acquired the services of a multimedia expert to ensure that the simulator user interface is carefully designed. Operation of the simulator consists of two steps. First, the learners select a component by touching the image at that point. Then they select an action such as open, remove, unlock, secure or zoom from the menu in order to learn the appropriate information. Alpheus is excited about the implementation of e-learning at Ishikawa Motors. However, he is concerned that he is going to experience difficulty in convincing the instructors of the need for e-learning and their contribution in making it work. Questions 1 Suppose you are Alpheus. How would you deal with resistance to the implementation of e-learning by managers and employees? 2 Develop a training programme that you can use to prepare the training staff for e-learning implementation. 3 If the CEO is reluctant to commit financial resources to e-learning, how would you convince her to provide the resources for e-learning? 4 Apart from web-based training, which other types of e-learning methodologies can be considered at this company and how would you go about implementing them? 5 Indicate the role-players you would involve when planning the design of e-learning at Ishikawa Motors. 6 Explain the factors that should be taken into consideration when planning the design of e-learning at this company. 7 Develop a training evaluation system which can be used to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of e-learning at Ishikawa Motors. 11.11 Key learning points The key learning points from this chapter are as follows: • The benefits of e-learning should be clearly motivated to learners and management. • Different role-players should be consulted and their inputs used to ensure effective e-learning. • A well-planned implementation process is needed to effectively implement e-learning in the workplace. 11.12 Self-assessment questions 1 Define the term “e-learning”. 2 Prepare a presentation for the top management of your organisation to convince them of the benefits of e-learning to the company. 3 Differentiate between different types of e-learning. 4 Formulate a comprehensive management plan to implement e-learning in an organisation. Your plan should include m-learning and s-learning. 5 Identify the competencies needed to design and implement e-learning. 6 Indicate the parties who should be involved in the design of e-learning as well as their responsibilities. 7 Describe the factors that should be taken into account when planning and designing e-learning implementation. 8 Develop a plan that you can use to prepare trainers for e-learning. Chapter 11: Electronic, mobile and social learning 329 9 Define the term “EPSS”. 10 Compare the benefits of EPSS with the benefits of classroom training. 11 Develop a plan for the implementation of EPSS by considering the guidelines for effective EPSS. 12 Critically evaluate the following statement: “E-learning is the complete answer to a company’s training needs.” 13 Explain how social media can be used as an option for e-learning. 11.13 References ASTD/SABPP, 2010, Eight Annual ASTD State of the South African Learning Industry Report, Johannesburg: ASTD/SABPP. Barras-Baker and Steyn D, 1998, “Designing and implementing an electronic performance support system (EPSS) and ensuring that continuous competency is demonstrated in accordance with expectations”, Institute for International Research: Johannesburg. Bassi LJ and Van Buren ME, 1999, The ASTD State of the Industry Report, Alexandria: ASTD. Botha C, 2007, “E-learning at TUT”, Universities HRD Forum: Port Elizabeth. Buchen I and Hamelman H, 2011, “Developing 21st century skills: Web 2.0 in higher education – A case study”, Elearning Papers, 24: 1–5. Burrows T, 2016, “Geared to thrive, Top Employers 2017 Advertising Supplement”, Mail & Guardian, October 14–20. Capdeferro N and Romero M, 2012, “Are online learners frustrated with collaborative learning experiences?”, The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 13(2): 26–44. Cascio WF, 2012, “On-boarding”, paper presented at the 8th Annual International ASTD Global Network SA Conference, Drakensburg, 14 March. Fee, K, 2009, Delivering e-Learning: A Complete Strategy for Design, Application and Assessment, London: Kogan Page. Financial Mail, “ABSA: A corporate report”, Financial Mail, 17 October 1997, 146(2): 49–53. Fredericks S, Hahne G and Scott T, 1998, “Multimedia – The good, the bad, or the ugly?”, ASTD International Conference: San Francisco. Gerard J, Weatherwax B and Kenworthy N, 1998, “A recipe for success: Blending instructor-led and multimedia learning”, ASTD International Conference: San Francisco. Gunther-Mohr C, 1998, “Virtual reality for training: What you can do today”, ASTD International Conference: San Francisco. Hefer J, 1998, “Using advanced technology and distance learning to reach your people by organising an infrastructure which will effectively co-ordinate your training programmes and packages by establishing your training sites to be easily accessible to all learners”, Institute for International Research: Johannesburg. Kirkpatrick DL and Kirkpatrick J, 2011, Implementing the Four Levels: A Practical Guide for Effective Evaluation of Training Programmes, New York: Amacom. Knowledge Resources/SABPP, 2012, HR Survey 2012, Johannesburg: Knowres/SABPP. 330 Managing Human Resource Development Mankin D, 2009, Human Resource Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Masten D, 1998, “Integrated learning technologies: How JC Penney uses high-tech and high-touch”, ASTD International Conference: San Francisco. Meyer M and Bushney M, 2006, Fourth Annual ASTD State of the Training Industry Report, Johannesburg: ASTD Global Network South Africa. Michael D, 2016, “IT does not have to cost the earth”, BBQ, Third Quarter, Cape Town: Cape Media. Ravet S and Layte M, 1997, Technology-based Training: A Comprehensive Guide to Choosing, Implementing, Managing and Developing New Technologies in Training, London: Kogan Page. Reynolds A and Iwinski T, 1996, Multimedia Training: Developing Technology-Based Systems, New York: McGraw-Hill. Sadler E and De Beer T, 2014, Don’t Film Yourself Having Sex and Other Legal Advice For the Age of Social Media, Johannesburg: Penguin Books. SAQA, 1997, SAQA Bulletin, Pretoria: SAQA. SABPP, 2012, Social Media Policy, SA Board for People Practices: Parktown. Schabel S, 1998, “Lights! Camera! Ahhh! Successful transition from traditional to IDL facilitator”, ASTD International Conference: San Francisco. Wikipedia, 2016, Social learning. Accessed 4 December. 11.14 Suggested reading Belawski LB and Metcalf D, 2003, Blended eLearning: Integrating Knowledge, Performance Support and Online Learning, Amherst: HRD Press. Bentley T, 1992, Training to Meet the Technology Challenge, London: McGraw-Hill. Brown LA, 1996, Designing and Developing Electronic Performance Support Systems, Boston: Digital. Carr-Chellman AA (ed), 2005, Global Perspectives on e-Learning: Rhetoric and Reality, Thousand Oaks, California: Sage. Coetzee M and Schreuder D, 2016, Personnel Psychology: An Applied Perspective. Cape Town: Oxford. Driscoll M and Carliner S, 2005, Advanced Web-Based Training Strategies: Unlocking Instructionally Sound Online Learning, San Francisco: Pfeiffer. Gold J, Holden R, Iles P, Stewart J and Beardwell J, 2010, Human Resource Development: Theory and Practice, Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Hall B, 1997, Web-Based Training Cookbook, New York: John Wiley. Hartley DE, 2001, Selling e-Learning, Alexandra: ASTD. Horton W, 2000, Designing Web-Based Training, New York: Wiley. Horton W, 2001, Using e-Learning, Alexandra: ASTD. Mantyla K, 2001, Blending e-Learning, Alexandra: ASTD. Meyer ICA, 2006, Cost Efficiencies in Online Learning, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Palloff RM and Pratt K, 2005, Collaborating Online: Learning Together in Community, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Chapter 11: Electronic, mobile and social learning 331 Piskurich GM (ed), 2003, Preparing Learners for e-Learning, San Francisco: JosseyBass/Pfeiffer. Race P, 2005, 500 Tips for Open and Online Learning, London: Routledge. Rossett A, 2002, The ASTD e-Learning Handbook: Best Practices, Strategies, and Case Studies for an Emerging Field, Virginia: ASTD. Schank R, 2002, Designing World-Class e-Learning, New York: McGraw-Hill. Sorensen EK and Murchu DO, 2006, Enhancing Learning through Technology, Pennsylvania: Hershey. Van Merrienboer J and Koper R, 2004, Integrated e-Learning: Implications for Pedagogy, Technology and Organization, London: Routledge. Weert TJ and Kendall M (eds), 2003, Lifelong Learning in the Digital Age: Sustainable for All in a Changing World, Boston: Kluwer Academic. 11.15 Internet sites Alliance for Technology Access (ATA): http://marin.org/ata Association for Talent Development: http://www.atd.org Brandon Hall: http://www.brandon-hall.com Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development: http://www.cipd.co.uk CBT Creations: http://www.cbtcreations.co.za Centra: http://www.centra.com Computer Aided Education and Training Initiative (CAETI): http://www.arpa.mil/sisto/ symp/Overview/CAETI.html Development Dimensions International (DDI): http://www.ddiworld.com Learning Light e-Learning Centre: http://www.e-learning-centre.co.uk Electronic Performance Support Systems: http://www.epss.com E-learning Papers: http://www.elearningpapers.eu Global Access: http://www.globalaccess.co.za Human-Computer Interface Research: http://www.hydra.bgsu.edu IBM Education, Global Campus: http://www.training.ibm.com/usedu Institute for Simulation and Training: http://www.ist.ucf.edu Internet World: http://www.internetworld.com Intranet Journal: http://www.intranetjournal.com Journal of Technology Education: http://www.scolar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/jte.html Knowledge Planet: http://www.knowledgeplanet.com Learning Circuits: http://www.learningcircuits.org Learning Resources: http://www.lr.co.za Learning Solutions Alliance: http://www.learningsolutions.com Masie Center: http://www.masie.com Multimedia and Internet Training Newsletter: http://www.brandon-hall.com Multimedia Monitor: http://www.ijumpstart.com National Council for Educational Technology: http://ncet.csv.warwick.ac.uk 332 Managing Human Resource Development Online Electronic Technology Glossary: http://www.whatis.com Scottish Council for Educational Technology: http://www.scet.org.uk Skills Universe: http://www.skills-universe.com Smart Force: http://www.smartforce.com Society for Applied Learning Technology: http://www.salt.org Technology for Learning: http://www.trainingsupersite.com The Training Technology Resource Centre: http://www.ttrc.doleta.gov Virtual Reality: http://www.worlds.net/w; http://www.rti.org/vr Voice Recognition: http://www.att.com/aspg; http://www.speech.bc.philips.com WBT Information Centre: http://www.filename.com/wbt 11.16 Acknowledgements • A special word of thanks to Johan Moller, ITC Manager at UNISA, for his inputs into this chapter and for his leadership, support and motivation in driving the myUNISA online learning management system. • Jaco du Plessis, Social Media Coach at SABPP and Director of BCore, for his inspirational work and for encouraging us to add social learning to this chapter. CHAPTER 12 EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION Georg Knoke Successful induction will lead to better-motivated employees and higher productivity within the organisation. (Carrell et al) LEARNING OUTCOMES • Explain the importance and benefits of a structured employee orientation programme • Describe the objectives of employee orientation programmes • • • • • • Apply the steps in the on-boarding process according to the national standard Indicate the elements of successful employee orientation Design an employee orientation programme consisting of various phases Compile appropriate orientation checklists and documentation Indicate the roles and responsibilities of various role-players Evaluate orientation programmes to suggest improvements 12.1 Introduction Employee orientation or induction is the process of introducing and integrating a new employee into an organisation and a position. Orientation in this context can be defined as “the process of introducing new employees to the goals of the organisation, its policies and procedures, its values, the co-workers as well as the activities of the tasks to be performed and the equipment to be used” (Carrell et al, 1998:204). Some companies call orientation “on-boarding” which simply means familiarisation with and adaption to a situation or environment (Cascio, 2012). A well-defined formal orientation process is recognised worldwide as one of the cornerstones of organisational investment in human capital. 333 334 Managing Human Resource Development In fact, the process of HRD starts with employee orientation. Although employees enter organisations with their own set of skills, values, experience and knowledge, they must be orientated and developed to meet the requirements of a competitive and changing business environment. It is therefore evident that HRD commences the moment a new employee joins an organisation, as the employee immediately starts to learn new and unique methods, values, processes and procedures inherent to the organisation. All over the world successful organisations embark on formal structured orientation interventions. A Fortune magazine survey of the most admired organisations in the world, including American Airlines, Coke and McDonalds, indicates that the single best predictor of overall excellence is an organisation’s ability to attract, motivate and retain talented people (Fortune, 1998:89). A well-executed orientation programme significantly contributes to this. Cadwell (1988:4) regards the goal of orientation as being to capitalise on each new employee’s enthusiasm, and to keep it alive once the work begins, which results in the new employee becoming a valued asset to the organisation. According to him, one out of every five employees resigns from his or her job, with the cost of re-advertising, re-recruiting, re-orientating and retraining being between $5 000 to $30 000 per person, depending upon the position in the organisation. Apart from these costs and the negative impression that is formed about the organisation, the delay in re-appointing a replacement impacts substantially on customer service, productivity and, in the end, the financial results. In South Africa, orientation is generally regarded as a weakness of HR and therefore needs a lot of attention. Organisations expect new employees to become productive and contribute to the organisation almost immediately, even if the employees have not been well orientated to understand the policies, procedures and systems of the organisation and where their jobs fit into the overall business plan. Recently, the National School of Government introduced several structured induction training programmes (NSG, 2012). But what is employee orientation or on-boarding really? According to the new national HR professional practice standard on on-boarding developed by SABPP: On-boarding is the smooth introduction of newly employed or newly transferred employees to the philosophy, strategy, culture, physical and operating environment of the organisation; the facilitation of understanding of mutual expectations, company rules and regulations, employee responsibilities; and acclimatisation to the new working environment. Source: SABPP (2015). On-boarding is an essential bridge between the selection/engagement process and the employee maintenance processes of learning and development, performance management, reward management, employment relations management, wellness management and organisation development (SABPP, 2015). The standard goes on to outline fundamental requirements for good on-boarding practice (SABPP, 2015): • Some form of on-boarding should be in place for every employee who is new to the organisation or any part of it. To the extent appropriate, on-boarding should be done for new contractors and temporary or fixed term employees. • On-boarding material should be provided both interactively, and in some form of file/pack for future reference as the new employee settles in. Chapter 12: Employee orientation 335 • Whilst on-boarding may include safety training and medicals, it should be far from this – it needs to include everything a new employee needs in order to achieve targeted performance as quickly as possible. • On-boarding should be taken seriously and accorded priority over operational requirements in the first days/hours of the employee’s work-life. • On-boarding should be a planned process so that the new employee arrives to a ready/prepared workplace. • On-boarding is a socialisation process and should therefore include a strong element of support in establishing social links with appropriate fellow employees. • By the end of the on-boarding process, the new employee should be fully equipped to handle tasks expected in the normal job and to achieve performance targets within a specified time frame. • Effective on-boarding requires a partnership approach between line management and HR. • Where appropriate to the level of the new employee, encourage a self-directed approach so that on-boarding is done “with” the new employee, and not “to” them. • The effectiveness of on-boarding should be monitored, measured and analysed to enable continuous improvement. The implementation of the NQF in the workplace will benefit from a well-managed orientation process. If employees are well-orientated, they become productive in a short period of time. This will enable the HRD manager to assist employees in further developmental opportunities in order to progress to a higher educational level on the NQF. Well developed and fit for purpose employee orientation also assists new entrants to the labour market in bridging the gap between education at school and the workplace. As far as skills development as part of orientation is concerned, employee orientation will support the objectives of the Skills Development Act. The process of employee development helps an employee to acquire new skills which form the basis for continues learning in the workplace. As Carrell et al (1998:4) mention, one of the most stressful life experiences is starting a new job. Cascio (2012) supports this view, referring to a new job as a “culture shock”. This is exacerbated when the employee experiences the company as the opposite to what was portrayed during the interview process. In order to reduce anxiety and unnecessary stress, the purpose of this chapter is to focus on strategies that will assist in making the new employee an effective, proud and loyal staff member in the shortest period of time. 12.2 Objectives of a formal orientation process Apart from reducing turnover, the main reasons for the implementation of a well-planned orientation are to: • Reduce anxiety, uncertainty and possible turnover (the initial job decision of the employee is positively confirmed and experienced) • Initiate ongoing development of the employee 336 Managing Human Resource Development • Assist in increasing the employee’s speed to productivity, that is, the employee has a better understanding of the organisation, its policies, processes and procedures and can therefore focus his or her efforts on contributing positively to the organisation • Contribute to a positive image of the organisation as an employer of choice, which leads to increased loyalty towards the organisation • Encourage socialisation, and create a feeling of belonging, as well as acceptance by colleagues. The above-mentioned benefits are reason enough to arrange a well-planned celebration when the new employee starts, rather than to have a lavish farewell for employees who are leaving, in many cases to join the competition (Cadwell, 1988:6). A more proactive approach is therefore required. Disney World’s benchmark orientation programme informs new employees that their job is “to create happiness”. As a result employees demonstrate pride in belonging to the Disney family and a strong emotional connection exists between employee and organisation. The connection to a larger purpose is central to Disney World’s ability to motivate staff to maximise their performance and create “magical moments” for visitors (Training and Development, 1998:24). In the end it is important to realise that a well-planned orientation process, although relatively cost-effective, can be the factor that determines whether employees stay or leave an organisation. These decisions have serious cost implications for organisations. 12.3 National standard on on-boarding (SABPP) The HR professional practice standard on on-boarding was developed in 2014. It provides a clear roadmap for planning and implementing on-boarding effectively. According to the standard, the process illustrated in Figure 12.1 should be applied to ensure effective onboarding (SABPP, 2015): Figure 12.1 National on-boarding standard for South Africa (SABPP) Employee arrival – give induction pack and welcome (disc, file, app) Welcome by a senior member of the company Preliminary arrangements/plan Initial contact with employee – email or telephonic – offer/letter General induction HR induction Departmental induction Source: SABPP (2015) Evaluation and feedback Chapter 12: Employee orientation 337 12.4 Phases of planning orientation A well-planned orientation process leaves a memorable impression, and encourages the new employee to adapt quickly to the new environment, confirming the professionalism of the organisation. The following phases are essential: 12.4.1 Interview phase During the interview phase it is important to provide the candidate with relevant and up to date information about the organisation. This information could include some of the following and could be shared with the employee verbally during a well-planned interview process: • The vision and mission of the organisation • The strategic intent of the organisation • A description of the values and the culture of the organisation • A role profile/job description for the role the employee applied to and how this fits into the organisation • Performance expectations and measurement • General terms and conditions applicable to employees of the organisation (inclusive of remuneration details). All of the above will assist both the candidate and the interviewers in establishing whether there is a match between the employee and the organisation. A standard checklist which acts as a guideline will ensure that the process is streamlined, that all bases are covered and that a positive and professional impression is left with the candidate. Even if the candidate is not perfectly suited, a positive impression is created and communicated to a wide variety of stakeholders. Successful candidates should be provided with a welcome pack once the contract of employment has been signed. This pack should include the detailed conditions of employment, relevant paperwork that must be completed by the new employee, details of the department and key members of the particular area, copies of the latest organisational newsletters, annual reports and other relevant information that will assist the employee in his or her orientation. Cadwell (1988:27) suggests supplying successful new out-of-town employees with general information about the city, names of reputable estate agents and employment agencies for the spouse. This will give a clear indication that the employer is a caring employer. 12.4.2 Pre-employment Before the employee physically starts, it is important to inform colleagues, superiors and even customers of the new employee’s start date. There is nothing more embarrassing for a new employee than to arrive at the new workplace and experience a situation in which it is evident that most people did not expect him or her to arrive on that particular day. In the physical sense, the new employee’s office, desk, IT equipment or other work setting should be arranged well in advance of the first day. The employees’ stationery, access card, parking or any other equipment the individual will need should also be ready on the first day of joining the organisation. 338 Managing Human Resource Development 12.4.3 The first day Although orientation is to be extended over weeks, the first day is crucial in terms of generating positive, lasting experiences. A well-planned first day with a written personalised plan or agenda indicates that care has been taken to genuinely welcome the employee into the organisation and make the adaptation process run smoothly. The role of an appointed mentor or supervisor is to expose the new employee to the immediate surroundings and introduce him or her to colleagues and supervisors (Cascio, 2012). A social get-together with colleagues, be it breakfast, mid-morning tea or lunch, provides an opportunity for the new employee to network, meet the role-players and become familiar with the business environment. Apart from the social side, the new employee has to observe, participate and finalise a task or assignment. Feedback will indicate the accepted standards of the organisation and will provide a sense of belonging and achievement. The role of standardised comprehensive checklists, from the most basic assumptions like having a desk with stationery to a detailed orientation plan (stretching over several days or even weeks) is not to be underestimated. Information overload should be prevented, as the new employee has to adapt to the new environment at an acceptable pace. At the end of the first day, positive perceptions about the organisation will confirm the new employee’s initial decision to join the organisation and will obviously be shared with family and friends. 12.4.4 The first month and beyond A comprehensive written orientation plan has to be drawn up by the mentor or supervisor. Finer details have to be discussed and agreed on with the new employee. This plan has to include the business focus, service standards, dress code, mission, purpose, values, business strategy, stakeholders (like customers, the community and shareholders), access to the electronic media and development activities with time frames. Organisations should strive to communicate “essential to know” information via pre-prepared multimedia to all employees so that a holistic overview of the organisation can be gained. New employees need to realise what contribution to the larger purpose of the organisation they are involved in. Where required, the new employee should either attend training courses or observe colleagues to make him or her fully proficient in the new position. Continuous two-way open communication, working on assignments towards set targets and standards, meeting challenges and creating an environment where mistakes lead to learning have to be prerequisites of development so that the new employee can become fully proficient. Major corporate businesses provide new employees with orientation folders that contain generic and job-specific details. These are beneficial as additional information and notes can be added as and when the new employee settles into the position. Although different employee groups within an organisation require different orientation programmes, generic fundamentals should form part of each orientation programme. Part of the mentor’s or supervisor’s orientation duties is to fully explain “how to” information, including required job outputs as per detailed job description, development plan with activities to be completed, and evaluation mechanisms. Time frames and performance standards should also be included to accelerate productivity. Where applicable, procedural manuals, Internet or intranet sites and other sources of information should be explained. Chapter 12: Employee orientation 339 This is what we would regard core induction: Where relevant, well-structured orientation sessions for groups of up to 20 new employees from different departments can be held, as this encourages cultural diversity, cross-functional bonding, a common purpose and provides personal and business networking opportunities. Interaction like question or answer sessions should be encouraged, as well as internalising organisational values. 12.4.5 Monitoring of process What can be measured can be managed. Constant and ongoing monitoring of performance progress and adaptation to the work environment is an essential part of the orientation process. Regular feedback in the first two to four weeks will indicate whether new employees are becoming active, productive and motivated members of the organisation. This feedback can be gained via personal interviews, inputs and feedback from new employees, standardised questionnaires or via productivity measurements. (The orientation process should be flexible and, as feedback is gained, be adjusted accordingly.) Disney’s internal research into its successful orientation indicates that new employees take pride in the organisation because they know that they and their ideas are valued and that ideas are acted on. There is constant encouragement to participate in problem-solving and suggest improvements. Feedback is critical in all orientation programmes (Cascio, 2012). 12.4.6 Exit interviews If large numbers of employees resign within the first three month of joining the organisation despite formal and structured induction, training and support from his or her mentor and HR, exit interviews can be used to establish the reasons for resignation. An analysis of the reasons given will highlight problems and identify challenges and blockages. Human resources should use the output of the root cause analysis to put remedial action in place and to ensure that issues are addressed adequately and solutions are presented. 12.5 Elements of successful orientation programmes Successful orientation programmes require comprehensive planning and organising to ensure that these programmes achieve the desired results. In an article in Training (1998:56), the following elements of a well-planned orientation process have been identified: 12.5.1 Give new employees what they need This includes introductions to their colleagues, a fully equipped office, training on the equipment to be utilised, fully explained job expectations and a real warm welcome. All of the above are cost-effective and not time-consuming. However, if not professionally and flawlessly executed, the new employee will find it difficult to adapt. 12.5.2 Allow enough time for orientation To acquaint new employees with the corporate culture takes time, days or even weeks on and off the job. Carefully designed and well-timed programmes and exercises should showcase organisation goals, the mission, purpose and values, and how to resolve problems. 340 Managing Human Resource Development 12.5.3 Provide a bonding experience The organisation should provide enough opportunities for new employees to connect with colleagues during and outside working hours. Teamwork, study groups and group assignments lead to internalised “feel good” experiences and bonding, which ensures retention and building of networks. 12.5.4 Make orientation universal Orientation should, without exception, be compulsory for all new joiners irrespective of level division, gender etc. Many organisations tend to invest a lot of resources when orientating senior and professional hires, while they often neglect the orientation of lower level employees. Often geographic footprint becomes a convenient excuse to not induct employees. Innovative ways should be used to ensure that employees in even the remotest parts of the country are inducted if your organisation has branches in different provinces or countries. 12.5.5 Immediate implementation As first impressions last, orientation sessions should be held as employees join the organisation, irrespective of the number of people available. Orientation that is conducted weeks after employees have joined the organisation has been proven to be ineffective and a waste of time and resources. 12.5.6 Announcing the appointment The appointment of a new employee can be announced in the local media, Sunday newspapers, notice boards, memos, newsletters or electronic bulletin boards or even social media and e-mail to teams and the broader organisation and its stakeholders. 12.5.7 Simplicity As there are various languages in South Africa, it is essential to ascertain that all orientation programmes are conducted in an understandable medium, both pertaining to speech and written material. The type of industry and level of employment will determine how orientation programmes are to be conducted, for example, the mining versus the banking industry. 12.5.8 Emotional element “Engage new employees on an emotional – not just intellectual – level that helps them remember and exhibit the behaviours expected of them” says Richard Parks, seminar facilitator at Disney World (HR Magazine, 1998:113). “We don’t put people in Disney, we put Disney in people.” New employees should have the opportunity to internalise what the heartbeat of the organisation is. Examples of good orientation activities are showing corporate social responsibility DVDs and sharing some of the organisation’s history and personal anecdotes from senior leaders in the business. 12.5.9 Management involvement Executive management, senior managers and other prominent role-players in the organisation should actively participate and encourage the orientation process by attending orientation sessions and connecting with new employees in a formal or informal way. This Chapter 12: Employee orientation 341 will make the new employee feel important and indicate that his or her contribution will be valued. 12.5.10 Human resource involvement Apart from recruiting the new employee, HR cannot become complacent and leave the process for line management to implement. They must spend time in orientation, addressing what assistance it can offer to employees in the future. The array of HR services provided to employees, like career guidance, transformation issues and training, must be communicated and arranged for new employees (De Cenzo and Robbins, 2007). Although line management is responsible for employee orientation, HR must provide the support to assist line management in this function. 12.6 Pitfalls in orientation programmes The above-mentioned success factors for employee orientation programmes will help organisations to implement effective orientation to its employees. However, orientation programmes may be well intended, but if they are not properly managed, various pitfalls represent themselves that should be avoided: • If too many people are responsible for the programme, responsibilities will not be clear and co-ordination problems will occur. • It too much information is given to the employee on the first day it will make it difficult for him or her to absorb this information, which could lead to unnecessary stress. • Too little information will lead to employee uncertainty and a fear of the unknown. • If employees are given too many tasks on the first day, they will find it difficult to adapt to the new work environment. • An absence of planning checklists will result in gaps and errors in the orientation process. • An overemphasis on “fitting in” or “the way we do things” may send a clear message that creativity is not encouraged. • The content of orientation programmes should be balanced and objective. Creating unrealistic employee expectations and hiding the organisation’s problems and mistakes, could lead to employee disillusionment and ultimately low productivity and labour turnover. Reflect on the orientation programme you have been exposed to when you joined an organisation. How effective was this orientation? What did you particularly like about the orientation? What were the shortcomings of the orientation programme? How did it affect your productivity? What would you have done differently? 12.7 The ABSA case study 12.7.1 Background The ABSA Group Limited (ABSA), part of the Barclays Group, is one of South Africa’s largest financial services groups offering a complete range of banking, bancassurance and wealth management products and services. 342 Managing Human Resource Development ABSA’s business is conducted primarily in South Africa and on the African continent, where it has equity holdings in banks in Mozambique, Angola and Tanzania. ABSA is a subsidiary of Barclays Bank PLC, which holds a stake of 56,6% in the Group. Barclays is an international financial services group engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit card issuing, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services. 12.7.2 Orientation within ABSA Staff development, including orientation, is a top priority at ABSA. Not only is this process supported and sponsored by senior leaders of the organisation it is also part of the organisation’s core values, more specifically, the value, “value our people and treat them with fairness”. ABSA has a multi-dimensional approach to orientation and all new joiners to the ABSA group, irrespective of region, business unit or level must participate in the generic orientation process. Orientation is not restricted to new joiners, it is also extended to internal transfers and/or promotions with a view to familiarise them with their new role and business unit in the shortest possible time, thus increasing their speed to productivity. Taking the size, geographic spread and diversity of ABSA into account, a generic (core) orientation process with common themes was developed, cutting across all business units and all levels. Functional and role-related orientation is taken care of by the various business divisions, ensuring that it is customised to serve the purpose and needs of the business unit. Orientation is delivered to new joiners/transfers/promotions via a variety of channels over a period of time. The process as set out below highlights generic yet essential phases and typical information shared about ABSA during these interventions. The orientation process starts with recruitment and ends when the employee leaves the employment of the organisation. The phases of orientation at ABSA are summarised in Table 12.1. Table 12.1 Phases of orientation at ABSA Phases Phase 1: Recruitment and on-boarding Description of activities The recruitment process is used to share role-related requirements and expectations, the organisation’s vision, mission and values with the candidate. It is a good opportunity for both organisation and candidate to see whether their goals and values are a match. Once the candidate accepts the offer, on-boarding starts. On-boarding is used to ensure that all physical requirements such as seating, IT and personal administration related to employment is completed prior to day one of employment. A good on-boarding process makes the employee feel welcome and contribute to settling in quicker. continued Chapter 12: Employee orientation 343 Phases Description of activities Phase 2: Day one: Reception of new employee New joiners are teamed up with a buddy to help them settle in during the first week. The buddy will show the employee around the office, introduce them to team members in the immediate vicinity and help with minor requests for stationery, where the canteen is, etc. The new joiner is also informed on this day of the ABSA orientation process and is provided with an orientation pack and file covering critical items. More senior employee will receive an induction agenda on day one. The induction agenda will outline meetings with stakeholders, customers, senior leaders or co-workers with whom the employee would need to spend time. All of this is done with the focus on settling the employee as quickly as possible, assist with networking and increase speed to productivity. Phase 3: First four weeks and beyond orientation During the first four weeks employees will be introduced and orientated to ABSA, their function as well as their role. A variety of channels are used to orientate the employee. Whilst core induction takes the form of a presentation, employees are given information via the employee portal. All systems, processes, policies and other interesting and important information are available on the portal and employees can in their own time work through this. Mandatory information pertaining to the banking industry is also published on the portal and employees are obliged to confirm their understanding of such information. Phase 4: Monitoring Progress reporting is done at regular intervals. Currently, reporting on progress is done with both the employee and the line leader. The progress report serves as a general “check-in”, measures the progress made and checks whether the employee has adapted well to their new environment. Phase 5: Exit process During the exit process an exit interview is undertaken. Interview feedback is sent to both the employee and manager. Conducting of exit interview, with feedback is channelled to HR. 12.7.3 Further details pertaining to phases one to four 12.7.3.1 Pre-employment activities Pre-employment activities are highly effective and contribute to a feeling of welcome; in addition the new joiner’s needs and value that he or she is bringing to the organisation is recognised. If neglected, the employee will experience his or her first day or weeks as unstructured and disorganised, which will not only frustrate the employee but also demotivate him or her. 344 Managing Human Resource Development 12.7.3.2 Functional and role orientation As mentioned, ABSA has a multi-dimensional approach to Orientation. Generic (Core) orientation is determined centrally and implementation is compulsory. Functional and role orientation on the other hand, is customised to reflect the needs of the business unit and the various roles in the unit. • During functional orientation the new employee will be introduced to the core business of the unit, its strategies and targets and any other relevant business-unit-related information that will help the employee to adapt and settle in quicker. • During role orientation the employee’s role and role profile is discussed as well as how this fits in with the overall group strategy and the business unit strategy. This orientation session also provides a good opportunity to discuss and agree performance objectives and expectations. The multi-dimensional approach makes orientation much more effective and allows for a good combination of a core “must do’s” and innovation from business unit to business unit. 12.7.3.3 Monitoring, evaluation and refinement Orientation is monitored by Learning and Development on an ongoing basis via a variety of interventions. Electronic follow-up reports are conducted with employees to check progress and ask for feedback on the process and approach as such. Currently feedback and follow up occurs four times from the dates of joining and normally ends within four to six months of joining the organisation. Output is collated and trends and patterns are identified. This is feedback to the business and refinement and change takes place where and when required. 12.7.3.4 Checklist The first three to six months of employment is critical to the success of the employee and the organisation. During this period the employee will assess whether he or she “fits in” and identifies with the organisation, its values, work practises, processes, policies and way of doing things. Checklists have been developed to assist Line Leaders and HR in the planning of orientation. It allows for planning and structure to the process and will ensure that all bases are covered. The checklists are basic guidelines and may be adapted to suit and reflect the needs of the business unit. Table 12.2 sets out parts of a checklists for illustrative purposes. Table 12.2 Example of Line Leader checklist for orientation Prior to date of appointment Tasks Yes No N/A Arrange on-boarding and day-one readiness process with all relevant departments such as HR Operations, IT, etc Ensure that the work station is furnished and set up continued Chapter 12: Employee orientation 345 Tasks Yes No N/A Yes No N/A Yes No N/A Yes No N/A Order required IT equipment and ensure it is set up for day one Order stationary and other basic requirements for day one Appoint a buddy and mentor to take care of the new employee Brief buddy and mentor on specific outcomes if required Draft induction agenda with key stakeholders and set up appointments for week one Day one of employment Tasks Meet and welcome employee Tour facility, explain parking and building Finalise any outstanding employee-related documentation and information matters Provide personalised welcome kit Introduce to mentor and/or buddy Introduce to team First week of employment Tasks Conduct functional orientation Explain reporting channels and structure Introduce to broader teams and explain work relationships Conduct role orientation Start Performance Objective planning First month of employment Tasks Ensure that the new employee has completed the orientation questionnaires in his or her personal mailbox memo Continue with the functional induction Agree and confirm performance objectives by the end of the fourth week 12.7.3.5 Accountability for orientation At ABSA, accountability for the quality and success of orientation rest foremost with Line Leaders. Line Leaders are supported by the provincial centres for people management who will assist with implementation, monitoring and evaluation. 346 Managing Human Resource Development The generic (core) orientation programme is continuously evaluated and enhanced by the learning and development in conjunction with the internal communications departments to ensure that the objectives of the orientation process have been achieved. 12.8 Conclusion The geographic footprint, size and diversity of ABSA necessitated a multi-dimensional orientation process. Orientation takes place at three levels: • Organisational level – generic/core orientation • Team level – functional orientation • Individual level – role orientation. This approach helps the organisation achieve the value “value our people and treat them with fairness”. It also greatly increases speed to productivity, provides clarity and direction on what is required and how things are done and recognises the employee as a valuable asset to the organisation. Apart from reducing turnover and increasing organisation loyalty, the new employee feels that he or she made the right choice – it therefore contributes to ABSA’s employer of choice strategy. In summary, this chapter emphasises the importance of employee orientation as the first phase of HRD. The HR professional practice standard on on-boarding provides a useful guideline for effective employee orientation. By having formalised employee orientation programmes, the new employee is effectively introduced to the organisation, speed to productivity is increased and it contributes to workplace learning and business performance. 12.9 Case study You are the newly appointed human resources manager in a medium-sized computer training college. As it is the beginning of the year, ten newly appointed staff members will be joining the present staff of 35 in two weeks’ time. These include six lecturers, two secretaries, one filing clerk and one driver. The rector is very concerned about the orientation of these new employees, as previously no process was in place and most new staff resigned after three months. He has requested you to provide him with a detailed orientation plan before implementing any activities. The students arrive one week after the new staff have commenced with their duties. Questions 1 What main orientation activities would you plan for: • the day of job commencement? • the first month? 2 How would you orientate employees from different occupations, as in the provided case study? Motivate your answer. What would you do to make the orientation programme memorable for all new staff? Discuss the roles of your colleagues in assisting you in implementing a successful orientation programme. 3 4 continued Chapter 12: Employee orientation 347 5 6 7 Provide a checklist that indicates activities to be included during the first day or first month. How would you monitor the progress of all new employees in the first two months in regard to adaptation and productivity? How can the SABPP national standard on on-onboarding assist you in getting on-boarding right at the company? 12.10 Self-assessment questions 1 Explain how you would implement an orientation programme in your work situation, with specific reference to: • The different phases to be considered • The roles of all personnel involved in the orientation process (from human resources to senior management) and the contribution of each • Elements that would make orientation memorable in your organisation • Provide an example of a checklist utilised during your orientation process • Discuss any changes you would implement to enhance your current orientation programme and give reasons why. 2 What is the best way to ascertain whether your orientation programme is successful? 3 Why do top organisations put so much energy into orientation programmes? 4 Discuss the role of accountabilities for the success of orientation programmes. 5 Explain the elements of the national HR professional practice standard on onboarding. 12.11 References Anon, “Building a better orientation programme”, HR Magazine, November 1996. Anon, “Creative orientation”, Executive Excellence, January 1998. Anon, “Disney Institute”, Training and Development, December 1998. Anon, “Elements of a great orientation”, Training Magazine, March 1988. Anon, “Leadership: Lessons from the Magic Kingdom”, Training and Development, July 1998. Anon, “Show and tell”, HR Magazine, April 1998. Anon, “Take new employee orientation off the back burner”, HR Magazine, May 1998. Anon, “What makes an organisation great?”, Fortune, October 1998. Boase N, 1998, “Induction – introducing new employees to the organisation”, People Dynamics 15(8). Cadwell CM, 1988, New Employee Orientation: A Practical Guide for Supervisors, Lonham: National Network. Carrell MR, Elbert NF, Hatfield RD, Grobler PA, Marx M and Van Der Schyf S, 1998, Human Resource Management in South Africa, Johannesburg: Prentice Hall South Africa. Cascio WF, 2012, “On-boarding”, paper presented at the 8th Annual International ASTD Global Network SA Conference, Drakensberg, 14 March. 348 Managing Human Resource Development De Cenzo DA and Robbins SP, 2007, Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 9th edn, New York: John Wiley. Palama, 2012, Induction Training: Making Government Work Better, Pretoria: Palama. SABPP, 2015, National HR Professional Practice Standards, Johannesburg: SABPP. 12.12 Suggested reading Barbazette J, 1994, Successful New-employee Orientation: Assess, Plan, Conduct and Evaluate Your Program, Amsterdam: Pfeiffer. Corporate Research Foundation, 1998, The 49 Best Companies to Work for in South Africa, Halfway House: Zebra. Fowler A, 1996, Employee Induction: A Good Start, 3rd edn, London: Institute of Personnel and Development. Gerber PD, Nel PS, Van Dyk PS, Sono TS and Werner A, 2001, Human Resources Management, 5th edn, Cape Town: Oxford University Press. Grobler PA, Warnich S, Carrell MR, Elbert F and Hatfield RD, 2002, Human Resource Management in South Africa, London: Thomson Learning. Jerris LA, 1993, Effective Employee Orientation, New York: Amacom. Meighan M, 1995, How to Design and Deliver Induction Training Programmes, London: Kogan Page. Meyer M and Kirsten M, 2005, Introduction to Human Resource Management, Cape Town: New Africa. Smalley LR, 1994, Effective Induction and Training: A Practical Guide to Enhanced Performance, London: Kogan Page. 12.13 Internet sites Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development: http://www.cipd.co.uk HR Future: http://www.hrfuture.net Society for Human Resource Management: http://www.shrm.org SA Board for People Practices: http://www.sabpp.co.za Workinfo: http://www.workinfo.com CHAPTER 13 EMPLOYMENT EQUITY AND DIVERSITY TRAINING Marius Meyer Training and development forms the cornerstone of most successful employment equity initiatives. (Adèle Thomas and David Robertshaw) LEARNING OUTCOMES • Differentiate between the concepts “equal opportunity”, “employment equity”, “diversity management” “affirmative action” and “broad-based black economic empowerment” • Indicate the implications of the Employment Equity Act for HRD • Compile an employment equity training strategy for an organisation • Develop a diversity training strategy for an organisation • Identify the pitfalls of diversity training • Provide guidelines for successful diversity training 13.1 Introduction One of the most pertinent challenges facing South African employers in the workplace today is the implementation of employment equity and black economic empowerment plans to redress the effects of discrimination in the workplace and South African society at large. The ultimate goal of the Employment Equity Act is to achieve a diverse workforce which is representative of the population. The Act makes provision for the elimination of unfair discrimination and the implementation of affirmative action measures to promote equity in the workplace. 349 350 Managing Human Resource Development Moreover, the modern business reality of globalisation presents a challenge on how to deal effectively across multi-national boundaries. With the increasing importance of doing business across national boundaries comes the realisation that business across cultures has some serious pitfalls if it is not properly managed. If a South African manager interacts with a counterpart in a foreign country without prior consideration of cultural differences, the outcome can be disastrous. In the process of redressing the effects of discrimination, the importance of education, training and development cannot be overemphasised. In fact, no form of employment equity programme can be effectively implemented without the necessary training and development interventions. Not only do designated employees need the required training opportunities, all members of the organisation must be educated and trained to deal with increasingly diverse workforce and customer profiles. In addition, managers and employees must be trained to understand and implement the Employment Equity Act and develop the required employment equity plans and support structures. In fact, the success or failure of an employment equity strategy will to a large degree depend on the quality of HRD interventions provided. Furthermore, the NQF and employment equity have an interdependent relationship. The NQF supports the principles of legitimacy, redress, progression, integration and skills development which are the key features of employment equity. Employment equity, in turn, will promote education, training and development in the workplace – all of which are essential components of the NQF. In this chapter emphasis will be on employment equity training and diversity training as key components of an employment equity strategy. These two issues should not be seen as two separate entities, but rather as an integrative system of HRD. Employment equity training relates to the training interventions instituted to ensure that a company conforms to the legislative requirements of the Employment Equity Act and implements effective HRD strategies to achieve competitive advantage. Diversity training can help an organisation to create an environment in which employment equity can be successfully implemented. HRD practitioners and line managers are faced with a lot of confusion with regard to various terms used in relation to employment equity. Employment equity plans can only be implemented effectively if the various concepts are clearly understood by line managers and human resource managers alike. The most important concepts in this wide field are “equal opportunity”, “affirmative action”, “employment equity” and “diversity management”. The relationship between these concepts is depicted in Figure 13.1. Equal opportunity: Equal opportunity means to provide all people with exactly the same opportunities with regard to employment practices. According to the Employment Equity Act (1998), every employer must take steps to promote equal opportunities in the workplace by eliminating unfair discrimination in any employment policy or practice. This means that there should be no unfair discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibility, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, HIV status, conscience, belief, political opinion, culture, language and birth. Affirmative action: Affirmative action measures are measures designed to ensure that suitably qualified people from designated groups have equal employment opportunities and are equitably represented in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce of a designated employer. Affirmative action includes preferential treatment of designated employees and the setting of numerical goals (Employment Equity Act, 1998). Chapter 13: Employment equity and diversity training 351 Figure 13.1 The relationship between equal opportunity, affirmative action, employment equity and diversity management Diversity management: Diversity management is a comprehensive and holistic process for creating and sustaining an environment in which all employees feel comfortable, recognised, valued and appreciated, based on differences such as race, gender, culture, religion, disability and sexual orientation. Diversity management plays a crucial role in complementing equal opportunity, affirmative action and employment equity by preparing an environment conducive to a more diverse workforce. Employment equity: Employment equity is the end-result of equal opportunity, affirmative action and diversity management, in other words, when real equality is achieved in the workplace. An organisation will achieve employment equity when its employee profile reflects that of the population at all organisational levels. Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment: The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act (South Africa, 2004) defines broad-based black economic empowerment as the economic empowerment of all black people including women, workers, youth, people with disabilities and people living in rural areas through diverse but integrated socio-economic strategies that include, but are not limited to – (a) increasing the number of black people that manage, own and control enterprises and productive assets; (b) facilitating ownership and management of enterprises and productive assets by communities, workers, cooperatives and other collective enterprises; (c) human resource and skills development; 352 (d) (e) (f) Managing Human Resource Development achieving equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce; preferential procurement; and investment in enterprises that are owned or managed by black people. 13.2 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act Having now successfully conducted four democratic elections and more than 23 years of a peaceful democracy, South Africa has much to be proud of. International commentators have hailed the transition from a white minority government to a black majority government as the most successful political transition in world history. However, on the economic front we are still faced with gross inequality because economic power is still mainly in the hands of the white minority group. We may have a stable political democracy, but the real question is for how long will we be able to sustain the peaceful perpetuation of inequality, poverty and unemployment. Against the backdrop of this reality, the government promulgated the Black Economic Empowerment Act to address the economic inequality that still pervades the South African economy (South Africa, 2004). This Act fundamentally changed the fabric of South African companies in order to make B-BBEE a reality. This time around there are no opportunities to continue with the window-dressing that characterised B-BBEE attempts in the first decade of democracy. The Act ensures that B-BBEE is achieved by linking measurement to performance targets and enforcement mechanisms. The B-BBEE score allocated to HRD is 30 points (Jack and Harris, 2007). The objectives of the B-BBEE Act are to facilitate B-BBEE by: • Promoting economic transformation in order to enable meaningful participation of black people in the economy • Achieving a substantial change in the racial composition of ownership and management structures and in the skilled occupations of existing and new enterprises • Increasing the extent to which communities, workers, co-operatives and other collective enterprises own and manage existing and new enterprises and increasing their access to economic activities, infrastructure and skills training • Increasing the extent to which black women own and manage existing and new enterprises, and increasing their access to economic activities, infrastructure and skills training • Promoting investment programmes that lead to broad-based and meaningful participation in the economy by black people in order to achieve sustainable development and general prosperity • Empowering rural and local communities by enabling access to economic activities, land, infrastructure, ownership and skills • Promoting access to finance for black economic empowerment. Instead of overemphasising the potential drawbacks of B-BBEE, the challenge is to internalise the benefits of B-BBEE in an organisation. For instance, adherence to B-BBEE policies puts you in a favourable position for investment and tendering. Failure to abide by B-BBEE laws will have your organisation facing costly penalties and fines, not to mention the reality of not obtaining lucrative government contracts as a result of noncompliance. Furthermore, your image as an employer and supplier may also be adversely affected if you are not seen as a preferred supplier of products and services. Chapter 13: Employment equity and diversity training 353 Example: Financial Services Charter The Financial Services Charter is one of the first good examples of how B-BBEE can be achieved. Clear guidelines are set for ownership, shareholding and procurement. For example, each financial institution will have a minimum target of 20% to 25% black people at senior management level by 2008, 4% black women at senior management level, 30% black people at middle management level, 10% black women at middle management level and 40% to 50% black people at junior management level and 15% of black women at junior management level by 2008. Just six months after the release of the Financial Services Charter, ABSA became the first of the big four retail banks to sell the crucial 10% stake to a black empowerment partner. The deal means that ABSA met its financial charter four years ahead of time, achieving its black ownership requirement of 25%. Source: Business Report (2004). HRD has a huge role to play in supporting B-BBEE. While the need for a transfer of ownership and preferential procurement is emphasised, it is through focusing on skills development that the true economic empowerment of black people in South Africa can be achieved (SAQA, 2005). Various HRD interventions can therefore be used to support and accelerate B-BBEE (Woolley, 2005; Jack and Harris, 2007): • Skills training for black employees • Learnerships • ABET programmes • Career deve
0
advertisement
Related documents
Download
advertisement
Add this document to collection(s)
You can add this document to your study collection(s)
Sign in Available only to authorized usersAdd this document to saved
You can add this document to your saved list
Sign in Available only to authorized users