Question
Conduct a phone or personal interview with a Training Manager. Ask them to describe the role that training and development plays in their company utilizing the following questions:
Who conducts the training and how often is it delivered?
Who receives the training in the organization and what are the topics?
What are the typical steps in the training process in your organization?
How are your training efforts evaluated for effectiveness and efficiency?
answer
Training and Development
Abstract
This document contains the findings that were as a result of an interview with a training manager in a reputable organization on training and development. It covers the impact that training and development has in an organizational setting. These roles are discussed in the context of who is required to conduct the training, the beneficiaries of the training and the topic they are to be trained on, the steps followed in the training process together with the evaluation methods so as to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. It is therefore important to note that organizations are incorporating this into their systems to embrace the numerous changes that are happening in the market place as a result of globalization.
It is every organizations expectation that at the end of every training and development, necessary changes will be effected so as to improve productivity which can be measured using profit margin ratio , reduce employee turnover, increase efficiency and effectiveness and decrease the need for supervision of employees as they will understand what they need to do when, where and how. It came to my knowledge that the gap in the organization was on information systems which have been as a result of embracing technological changes that have been brought about by the numerous innovations. (Stephen, Larry, John &Glen, 1995)
Training process would involve clearly stating the organizations goals and objective as to why the changes in the information system were adopted, and conducting a need assessment to figure out what the employees expect to learn at the end of the training. Objectives of the training should also be clearly articulated and communicated to the selected category of employees who are to receive the training. It is also at this stage that an agreement would be met on how the training would be conducted and then choosing a means of evaluation which would act a guide to gauge the impact that the training had to the organization and its employees. After all is set training will be conducted with the hope that all that is set to be achieved at the end of the training will be achieved and implemented to the later. The last process would be evaluation, without it, it would be impossible to gauge the impact that the training had on the operation efficiency of the organization.
It clearly came out from the interview that majority of employees are yet to be conversant with the changes that were implemented such as working online through the server and how to access documents that have been posted on the server. The training was scheduled to be conducted by the overall information technology expert by demonstrating practically on how the introduced systems operate and allow room for consultation for those who might still seek clarification.
The current employees of the organization will be receiving the training but the training will be conducted on the basis of departments as the systems in each department are configured separately. The topics to be covered in the training are: communication, mobility and collaboration, data storage and management, information system governance and policies and security and risk management. Security and risk management will be given a lot of emphasis for accountability purposes.
At the end of the training the training efforts will be evaluated by using the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model which consists of; reaction, learning, behavior and results. The first level which is reaction will involve asking questions to the trainees to find out their opinion on the process and if they thought it was relevant. Learning measures the degree to which the trainees acquired the intended knowledge, skills and attitude. The employees’ behavior will be monitored to find out if there is any change as a result of the training. Results focus on measurable activities such as reduced absenteeism, increased turnover and also employee’s morale. (Donald, 1975)
References
Meir Liraz. Employee Training Process. Retrieved on 17, September, 2016 from www.bizmore.com
Stephen .H. Bell, Larry .L. Orr, John .D. Blonguist, & Glen .G. Cain. (1995).Methods Used to Evaluate Employment and Training Programs in the Past
Donald .K. (1975). Evaluating Training Program.
Related: Training, Evaluation and Validation
