Planned effort by a company to facilitate employee’s learning of job-related competencies

A series of programs or events that employees are required to attend

Employees are responsible for using what they learn in training on the job

No information about how training connects to job performance, development objectives or business goals

Business conditions are predictable and controllable

A company can control and anticipate the knowledge and skills that employees need in the future

A company that has an enhanced capacity to learn, adapt, and change.

Supportive learning environment – Employees must feel safe to express their thoughts, disagree with management, and admit mistakes. Different perspectives are valued. Employees are encouraged to take risks and be innovative.

Learning processes and practices – Knowledge is created and shared. Systems are developed to help enable this sharing, including communication channels and collaboration tools.

Managers reinforce learning – Managers must actively question and listen to employees while encouraging dialogue and debate. Managers hear alternative points of view. Time is devoted to learning processes and practices and giving feedback. Learning is rewarded, promoted and supported.

First, in order to be effective, learning has to be related to helping employee performance improve and the company achieve business goals. This directs resources into focused areas that will help the business succeed and motivate employees.

Second, unpredictability in business environments will continue to be the norm. Problems cannot be predicted in advance, so learning will need to occur in an as-needed basis.

Third, Tactic knowledge is difficult to achieve (if you needed a review: personal knowledge based on individual experience) so employers need to foster learning that occurs through mentoring, social networks and job experiences.

And finally, learning needs to be supported psychologically. The culture needs to support learning. Managers and peers need to encourage it.

1. Business Strategy
2. Strategic Training and Development Initiatives
3. Training and Development Activities
4. Metrics That Show Value of Training

Business Strategy Formulation and Identification

In order to start a business strategy, first the mission, vision, values, and goals of the company need to be identified.

An internal analysis of the strengths and weaknesses and an external analysis of opportunities and threats to the company that currently exist or are anticipated.

A SWOT analysis focuses on questions including where to compete, how to compete, and with what to compete

The strategy believed to be the best alternative to achieve company goals

Strategic Training and Development Initiatives

Diversify the Learning Portfolio
Expand Who is Trained
Accelerate the Pace of Employee Learning
Improve Customer Service
Provide Development Opportunities and Communicate with Employees
Capture and Share Knowledge
Align Training and Development with the Company’s Direction
Ensure that the Work Environment Supports Learning and Transfer of Training

Training and Development Activities

Use Web-Based Training
Making Development Planning Mandatory
Develop Websites for Knowledge Sharing
Increase Amount of Customer Service Training

Use technology, such as the internet, for training

Facilitate informal learning

Provide more personalized learning opportunities

Train customers, suppliers, and employees

Offer more learning opportunities to non-managerial employees

Quickly identify needs and provide a high-quality learning solution

Reduce the time to develop training programs

Facilitate access to learning resources on an as-needed basis

Ensure that employees have product and service knowledge

Ensure that employees have skills needed to interact with customers

Ensure that employees understand their roles and decision-making authority

Ensure that employees have opportunities to develop

Ensure that employees understand career opportunities and personal growth opportunities

Ensure that training and development addresses employees’ needs in their current job as well as growth opportunities

Capture insight and information from knowledgeable employees

Organize and store information logically

Provide methods to make information available

Identify needed KSAs or competencies

Ensure that current training and development programs support the company’s strategic needs

Remove constraints to learning, such as lack of time, resources, and equipment

Dedicate physical space to encourage teamwork, collaboration, creativity, and knowledge sharing

Ensure that employees understand the importance of learning

Ensure that managers and peers are supportive or training, development, and learning

Metrics that Show the Value of Training

Business-level outcomes chosen to measure the overall value of training or learning initiatives (e.g. turnover or customer service ratings)

Training program outcomes are used to determine the success of a training course or program often measure trainee satisfaction or assessing improvements in knowledge or skills, like a pre- and post-test format. Metrics focus on results rather than outcomes and are business-related.

Means of performance measurement that provides managers with a chance to look at the overall company performance or the performance of departments or functions (training) from the perspective of internal and external customers, employees and shareholders.

There are four perspectives of the balanced scorecard:

customer
internal
innovation and learning
financial

The customer perspective includes customer reactions and satisfaction. Internal refers to internal business processes and allows managers to know how the business in running. Innovation and learning refers to employee training and cultural attitudes toward self-improvement. Financial refers to the typical need to assess financial data.

Roles of Employees and Managers – Do employees have more responsibility they need to be trained for, such as conflict resolution

Top Management Support for Training – CEO determines the importance of training and management acts a role models

The Company’s Degree of Integration of Business Units – If units are highly integrated, employees may need to learn about other units

Global Presence – Will training prepare employees for overseas assignments?

Business Conditions – Organizations may need to attract and retain talent through the training they offer

HRM Practices (Staffing Strategies and Human Resource Planning) – Filling roles internally or externally changes training

Extent of Unionization – Unions should be involved in training design to see the value of the training

Extent of Involvement in Training and Development by Managers, Employees, and HR Staff – Managers need to be committed to being involved in training design to ensure that it meets business needs, and be rewarded for doing so.

Concentration Strategy

Internal Growth Strategy

External Growth Strategy

Disinvestment Strategy

Focuses on increasing market share, reducing costs, or creating and maintaining a market niche for products and services

Training focuses on team building, cross training, specialized programs, interpersonal skills, and on-the-job training

Focuses on new market and product development, innovation, and joint ventures

Training focuses on high quality communication for product value, cultural training, development of an organizational culture that values creative thinking and analysis, and manager training.

Focuses on acquiring vendors and suppliers or buying businesses that allow the company to expand into new markets

Training focuses on determining the capabilities of acquired employees, integrating training systems, team building, and development of shared methods, procedures, and cultures,

Focuses on liquidation and divestiture of the business.

Training focuses on outplacement assistance, job-search skills training, and stress management.

Centralized Training

Corporate University Model

Business-Embedded Model

Change Model Perspective

Centralized training means that training and development programs, resources, and professionals are primarily houses in on location and that decisions about training investment, programs, and delivery are made from that department.

Allows for stronger alignment with company goals
Success can depend on top management feelings of control

In the Corporate University Model, not only do employees and managers receive training, but so do stakeholders outside of the company including colleges, universities, grade schools and high schools. A corporate university can help make training more strategic by providing a clear mission, values, vision and culture for learning, control costs, dissemination of best practices, and establishing relationships with those outside of the company to develop custom training and degree programs. Can control costs and maximize the benefits of learning.

Characterized by five competencies:

strategic direction
product design
structural versatility
product delivery
accountability for results.

The strategic direction includes a clearly described goal and direction to the department, as well as a customer focus that includes customizing training to meet customer needs and continuously improving programs. Customer-focused.

A BE training function not only views the trainees as customers, but also views managers as customers who make decisions to send employees to training and senior-level managers as customers who allocate money for training.

Most notable feature: In business-embedded model, all persons who are involved in the training process communicate and share resources.

Four conditions are necessary for change to occur:

1. Employees must understand the reasons for change and agree with those reasons
2. Employee must have the skills needed to implement the change
3. Employees must see that managers and other employees in powerful positions support the change
4. Organizational structures, such as compensation and performance management systems, must support the change.

Managers’ and employees’ unwillingness to change

Relates change to managers’ and employees’ ability to obtain and distribute valuable resources such as data, information, or money. Change can cause managers and employees to have less control over resources.

The ability to influence others. Managers may lose the ability to influence employees as employees gain access to databases and other information, thus getting more autonomy to deliver products and services.

Create changes in managers’ and employees’ role and job responsibilities. Employees may be asked not only to participate in training, but also consider how to improve its quality.

Making employees and managers excited about training and learning.

Some successful internal marketing tactics include involving the target audience in the development of the training initiative, showcase examples of how the training has been used to solve business needs, identify a “champion” and have them actively support the training, advertise via email, on the intranet, or in break areas, and determine what financial numbers executives are concerned with and connect the training to those numbers

A brand includes the look and feel of the training function that is used to create expectations for its customer.

the use of an outside company (external services firm) that takes complete responsibility and control of some training or development activities or that takes over all or most of a company’s training (administration, design, delivery, development)

Outsourcing any business process, such as training.

Cost savings

time savings to allow focus on business strategy
improvements in compliance and accuracy in

training mandated to comply with federal, state or local rules (safety training)

lack of capability within the company to meet learning demands

and desire to access best training practices.

Inability of outsourcing providers to meet company needs and the company’s desire to maintain control over all aspects of training and development, especially delivery and learning content.