Training
Training is not just for new staff! If it is to be successful, it must be for all employees and ongoing.
Training starts with a strategy
It is important that a business provides training that is consistent with the business strategy. The main steps in
developing a training strategy are to:
- Identify the skills and abilities needed by employees;
- Draw up an action plan to show how investment in training and development will help meet business goals
and objectives;
- Implement the plan, monitoring progress and training effectiveness
What training cannot solve
it is tempting to think that training is the solution to many if not all business problems. However, there are
some things that training can rarely solve: these include:
- Poor management (although management training might help!)
- Poor job design
- Ineffective or inefficient equipment, production organisation
- Recruitment
If training is so important, why do some businesses invest so little in it?
Ideally training should be seen as an investment in the future of the business. it takes time for the effects of
training to impact business performance.
Some businesses are reluctant to spend on training because:
- They fear employees will be poached by competitors (who will then benefit from the training)
- A desire to minimise short-term costs
- They cannot make a justifiable investment case
IB Business & Management
Training notes
Neil.elrick@tes.tp.edu.tw
On the job training: getting instruction while you carry out your work. For example by observing someone
who already does the job or an explanation from a supervisor.
The most common methods of on the job training are:
- Demonstration / instruction; showing the trainee how to do the job
- Coaching - a more intensive method of training that involves a close working relationship between an
experienced employee and the trainee
- Job rotation - where the trainee is given several jobs in succession, to gain experience of a wide range of
activities (e.g. a graduate management trainee might spend periods in several different departments)
- Projects - employees join a project team - which gives them exposure to other parts of the business and
allow them to take part in new activities. Most successful project teams are "multi-disciplinary"
ADVANTAGES
• Generally more cost effective
- Less disruptive to the business - i.e. employees are not away from work
- Training an employee in their own working environment, with equipment they are familiar with and people
they know can help they gain direct experience to a standard approved by the employer
- Employees may find that they have more confidence if they are supervised and guided as they feel they
are doing the job right
- Employees may feel more at ease being taught or supervised by people they know rather than complete
strangers at an external training course
- Managers or supervisors can assess improvement and progress over a period of time and this makes it easier
to identify a problem intervene and resolve problems quickly
- On the job training is also productive, as the employee is still working as they are learning
- As training progresses and the employee begins to feel more confident, this confidence would allow them
to work at a higher standard and ultimately be more productive
- Training "on-the-job" provides an opportunity to get to know staff they might not normally talk to
DISADVANTAGEs
-Teaching or coaching is a specialist skill in itself; unless the trainer has the skills and knowledge to train, this
would mean that the training will not be done to a sufficient standard
- The trainer may not be given the time to spend with the employee to teach them properly, which would
mean substandard training has been achieved and learning has only been half done
- The trainer may posses bad habits and pass these on to the trainee
IB Business & Management
Training notes
Neil.elrick@tes.tp.edu.tw
Off the job training:
Any training that is done away from the immediate workplace.
It can be conducted by the firm (in-house), or by an outside organisation. It tends to relate far more to the
theoretical side of the job.
Off the job training courses might be run by the business' training department or by external providers.
The main types of off the job training courses are:
- Day release (where the employee takes time out from normal working hours to attend a local college or
training centre)
- Distance learning / evening classes
- Revision courses (e.g. in the accountancy profession, student employees are given blocks of around 5-6 weeks
off on pre-exam courses)
- Block release courses - which may involve several weeks at a local college
- Sandwich courses - where the employee spends a longer period of time at college (e.g. six months) before
returning to work
- Sponsored courses in higher education
- Self-study, computer-based training (an increasingly popular option - given that attendance at external
courses can involve heavy cost)
Benefits of training (hopefully)
1. Employees will be able to perform their jobs better.
2. Employees will feel the firm ‘cares’ about them, and values them enough to invest time and money in
training them. This increases motivation and retention.
3. A reputation for training is often a big plus for potential recruits and allows firms to recruit high calibre
candidates.
4. It will create a multi-skilled workforce that should be more adaptable and ready for change.
However, there are costs involved in training
1. Opportunity cost. Time/money used in training could have been used elsewhere.
2. Workers are away from their job while the training is happening, and so their work is lost.
3. Once they have been trained, workers become more attractive to other companies, so often leave for
better pay.
4. Some managers feel it reduces the control they have over their subordinates.
N.B.
The benefits of training are long run and the costs are short run, this puts off many small firms off
conducting adequate training for their staff.
Disadvantages of off-the-job training:
- Employee needs to be motivated to learn
- May not be directly relevant to the employee's job
- Costs (transport, course fees, examination fees, materials, accommodation)
In summary, a firm is more likely to invest in training if…….
9 It thinks long term
9 Quality and innovation are important
9 Its staff lack the skills needed to meet either the present or future demands of the job.
9 Its managers believe in developing their staff
9 It has resources to invest
9 It is difficult to recruit people with the right skills
9 Competitors spend large amounts on training.
IB Business & Management
Training notes
Neil.elrick@tes.tp.edu.tw
Induction training
The process whereby new employees become familiar with the workings of their new firm. Usually, when
people move to a new job they already have a pretty fair idea of how to do the job (Why else would you give it
to them?), what they don’t know are all the little quirks of the new firm. All those little internal rules or the
culture of the firm.
This is the purpose of induction training, so that they know their way around the new firm more quickly, settle
in fast, and so become productive employees. Often it will include some mandatory things such as health and
safety lectures. The same advantages and disadvantages apply to this as apply to other forms of training.
The key to exam success is to make those ideas fit a NEW employee at the particular firm in the
case study.
Devising an effective induction training programme
The induction programme should be drawn up in consultation with all those involved. Depending on the size
and complexity of the business this may include:
• Senior management (including directors)
• Supervisors or line managers
• Personnel officers
• Health and Safety managers
• Employee or trade union representatives
What induction training involves
Usually induction involves the new employee meeting and listening to different people talk about aspects of the
business.
Other methods include written information, audio visual aids and group discussion.
The following items should be covered in an effective induction programme:
• Introduction to the business/department and its personnel/management structure
• Layout of the buildings (factory / offices)
• Terms and conditions of employment (explaining the contract of employment)
• Relevant personnel policies, such as training, promotion and health and safety
• Business rules and procedures
• Arrangements for employee involvement and communication
• Welfare and employee benefits or facilitie
IB Business & Management
Training notes
Neil.elrick@tes.tp.edu.tw