Human Resources Management

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Training and Development

Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to • Define the terms training and development • Describe a systematic HRM approach to training and development—including training needs assessment, design, development, delivery, and evaluation • List and describe various forms of training • Explain decisions that are often necessary to create and administer training program • Discuss opportunities, challenges, and recent trends in training and development

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he American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) is an organization of experts in training and development; the ASTD is the most widely recognized organization of this kind in the United States. The ASTD attracts members from around the world and from all types of organizations, all sharing a common professional interest in training and development processes and in HRM. This chapter is based on ASTD’s established training and development models. The link below gives access to the ASTD’s website.

WEB LINK
The American Society for Training and Development: www.astd.org

According to the ASTD, U.S. organizations spent $134.39 billion in 2007 on employee learning and development. Organizations view these substantial expenditures as investments in human capital, with returns in the form of higher employee productivity, talent retention, and the creation of a sustainable human-based competitive advantage. Training is a process that provides employees with opportunities to obtain the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that enable them to perform their current job-related duties more effectively and responsibly. Employee development, on the other hand, is not necessarily related to the job an employee currently holds, although it can be related to that job (London, 1989). Usually, however, development focuses on the future and prepares employees to take on the duties and responsibilities of other positions (Fitzgerald, 1992). Most of the concepts discussed in this chapter apply to both training and development, and the two terms are used interchangeably in most sections.

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raining imparts knowledge. Because knowledge is a key to organizational success, training must be considered strategically. Training creates value through investing in employees who add value to an organization and who constitute its intellectual capital. Training helps organizations leverage knowledge, and it therefore enables them to become more competitive. Even organizations that have exceptional recruitment and selection competencies sometimes find that they lack critical KSAs because environmental, market, and technological changes continuously render existing KSAs redundant, obsolete, or of limited use. However, training by itself does not have any strategic value unless it is linked to organizational goals and objectives. In other words, training should be designed, implemented, and evaluated so that it contributes to measurable improvements in organizational core competencies. Training can also have a positive effect on an organization’s rate of employee retention. Workers are on the lookout for employers who offer and promote training and career advancement. Training and career development are valued more highly than high salaries, and they contribute to job satisfaction. Therefore, training plays a critical role in attracting and retaining talent (Hequet, 1993).

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7.2 The Training Process

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raining starts with an accurate, comprehensive, and strategically oriented assessment of an organization’s training needs. Training is then designed and developed based on those needs. Strategic decisions must be made regarding how, when, where, and by whom training should be delivered to maximize its effectiveness and impact. Finally, a comprehensive assessment of training outcomes makes it easier to evaluate how well a training program has met the organization’s identified needs and objectives. This information feeds into subsequent cycles of training needs assessments and leads to an ongoing improvement of training initiatives. Figure 7.1 summarizes the training process and relates it to the strategic HRM process.

Training needs assessment

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Training often entails substantial resource investments; an organization should therefore assess An organization stays competitive by its needs for training before it decides to provide ensuring its employees possess necessary any type of training to its employees. For many knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). organizations, training is the first resort when any problems are detected. However, training cannot resolve every organizational problem; training tends to be most effective in resolving KSA deficiencies. For example, compare the following three scenarios: 1. An employee prefers to work on her own rather than be part of a team. 2. An employee asks his supervisor and coworkers too many questions and seems to always need help and assurance that he is on the right track. 3. An employee wastes his time and his coworkers’ time, hopping between cubicles to chat and gossip. Many organizations would approach these three situations indiscriminately, treating them all as training needs. For example, all three of these individuals’ managers might ask HR to train their staff on teamwork, technical skills, interpersonal skills, and office etiquette. However, only the second scenario clearly signals a training need. The employee who asks too many questions may lack technical KSAs or the self-efficacy to apply his current KSAs, both of which can be enhanced through training. The first employee’s preference for individual work may be due to her personality trait of introversion, which cannot be changed through training. Or perhaps her preference proceeds from a lack of trust, which is part of the organization’s or work unit’s culture. Alternatively, the reward system of the organization or work unit may be geared toward individual performance rather than collaboration and teamwork. Again, training is not the best

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Figure 7.1: Training and development
Job analysis and job design Attraction and recruitment of talent

Strategic HR planning

Benefits and benefit administration

Selection and job fit

Compensation

Performance appraisal/ management

Training and development

Training needs assessment

Training evaluation
• reaction • learning • behavior • results

Training design

Training delivery

Training development

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intervention to resolve these challenges. Other organizational interventions include changing the selection criteria for that position to hire more extroverted individuals, introducing organizational development initiatives to increase trust, or creating team-based rewards. Any of these interventions may be more effective than training in the first scenario. In the third scenario, training is also unlikely to ameliorate the gossiping employee’s counterproductive behavior. Excessive chatting is rarely a result of KSA deficiencies; negative attitudes such as lack of job satisfaction, work engagement, or organizational commitment are more usual sources for this behavior. Training is unlikely to resolve these underlying problems; motivational techniques are necessary instead. To increase this employee’s motivation, it may be necessary to redesign his job to make it more challenging or to transfer him to a job that better fits his abilities. Alternatively, the reward system of the organization may be promoting this employee’s counterproductive behavior—for example, if he is paid an hourly rate or a fixed salary, or if he believes that playing office politics is the way to move ahead in his organization. Changing the reward process to depend on productivity rather than “face time” or politics may be appropriate for this situation. Training needs assessment is the first stage of the training process. Training needs are assessed through evaluating performance at the organizational and individual levels, identifying any gaps between the current and the required competencies that might hinder the organization’s progress. If training is indeed necessary, then the next step is to determine the type of training that will most effectively strengthen the specific areas where employees are struggling (O’Connor, 2006). Three sources of information help an organization determine the type of training it needs: • Organizational analysis makes it possible to determine the current and future needs for KSAs, taking into consideration internal and external forces that could possibly have an impact on training. High absenteeism or turnover are also considered throughout this process. • Job analysis or task analysis is the review of job specifications to compare the KSAs needed to perform a specified job with the KSAs an employee currently has. • Individual analysis compares employee performance against pre-established performance standards. In this case, performance appraisal data can be used as a good source of information for the analysis. Moreover, input from employees themselves can also help an organization identify its training needs.

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Training needs are assessed after a performance evaluation at the individual and organizational levels.

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Training design
Once an organization determines that training is needed, the next step is training design: setting the training’s objectives and priorities. The objectives depend on the capabilities that employees currently have and the new capabilities that an organization wants them to have. These training objectives become the foundations for developing, delivering, and evaluating training outcomes. Training objectives should also be communicated to trainees to allow them to see the big picture; this process is referred to as whole training, and it increases training effectiveness. Learner readiness, learning styles, and transfer of learning are three factors that should be addressed during the training design stage to ensure that the training will be effective: 1. Learner readiness is the capacity, willingness, and motivation to learn. It is the first of many factors to be addressed during the training design stage. Employees must at least possess fundamental math, writing, and reading skills to be able to grasp the content of the training program. If employees lack these fundamental skills, then teaching them these basics becomes one of the training objectives. A training program’s objectives should be tailored in the design stage to fit employees’ readiness and capacity to learn. Another important factor in learner readiness is self-efficacy, which has been defined as a person’s “belief about his or her ability to mobilize the motivation, cognitive resources, and courses of action necessary to execute a specific action within a given context” (Stajkovic & Luthans, 1998, p. 66). Thus, self-efficacy can be critical in learner motivation and willingness to learn. Indeed, learning self-efficacy is a mediator between learning goal orientation and performance (Potosky & Ramakrishna, 2002). Employees need to believe they are able to learn training materials effectively, and training design must include ways to increase trainees’ levels of confidence. The following methods are the most widely recognized ways to build self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997): • Mastery and success experiences increase employees’ confidence by helping them master a task successfully. Maintaining trainees’ confidence is challenging when they are faced with new challenges. However, trainees’ confidence can increase when experienced trainers and coaches offer them “guided mastery” experiences through a series of training tasks that gradually increase in difficulty. • Observation and modeling are techniques used when experienced trainers demonstrate desired job behaviors. These techniques are particularly suitable when trial-and-error learning is prohibitively expensive or too risky—for example, for pilots, surgeons, and construction workers. In these cases, experienced trainers can demonstrate or model the desired job behaviors. Observing a model successfully complete a task has been found to increase trainees’ confidence. • Social persuasion involves receiving positive feedback and listening to motivational speakers. Although this method influences trainees less strongly than mastery and modeling training techniques, it can instill a confident, can-do attitude in learners. • Physiological and psychological arousal make trainees more confident about their learning abilities. Training can be designed to capitalize on physiological and psychological arousal through setting reasonable start and

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end times, securing a distraction-free learning environment, including activities that put trainees in a good mood, and providing adequate breaks and nutritious meals throughout the training. Trainees’ general health also affects their ability to learn. 2. Learning styles are another factor to be addressed during the training design stage. People learn in different ways, so there is no single way that works best for everyone. The Felder-Silverman model is one of the most recognized models of learning styles; according to it, individual learners can have any combination of these four continua of learning styles: • • • • active or reflective sensing or intuitive visual or verbal sequential or global (Felder & Spurlin, 2005)

Learning styles should be incorporated into the training design stage to align the training with the trainees’ particular learning styles. Since training often involves learners with different styles, trainers who utilize multiple methods can deliver a more efficient and effective training that meets the needs of more learners (Karns, 2006). To find out about your own learning style, visit the link below.

WEB LINK
The Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire: http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/ learningstyles/ilsweb.html 3. Transfer of training is another factor of training design; it’s the extent to which capabilities learned in training are subsequently applied on the job. Accordingly, training should be designed to help employees apply what they learn in training sessions to real job situations. The need Photononstop/Superstock for transferrable capabilities should shape Transfer of training is the extent to which an employee’s not only the training training is used and applied to the job. objectives but also the training methods in order to maximize learners’ readiness and motivation and to fit their learning styles. For example, consider the effectiveness of the following common alternatives for construction workers’ safety trainings:

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• A lecture in a meeting room explaining safety regulations and expected behaviors • A handbook with written safety guidelines and pictures depicting safe and hazardous behaviors • An online step-by-step presentation showing workers behaving in safe and hazardous ways with a narrated explanation of the behaviors • A site visit and in situ demonstration of safe and hazardous situations The above alternatives are progressively better at enhancing learner readiness and facilitating training transfer. To cater to multiple learning styles, a combination of some or all these alternatives is recommended, especially for a topic as critical as safety training in an industry as hazardous as construction.

Training development
Training design helps an organization answer the “what” questions about training—such as what are the training objectives? What are the trainees’ learning styles? What will enhance learners’ readiness and knowledge transfer? In contrast, training development answers the “how” questions. It is about finding the content and resources to meet the training’s goals and objectives. The training development stage requires numerous decisions. The most critical is whether the organization has the resources to develop, deliver, and assess training in house. According to ASTD, about two-thirds of training expenditures by U.S. organizations are for internal learning functions, such as training-staff salaries and the administrative costs involved in internal development. However, training development, delivery, and evaluation are often outsourced if the needed training will be long or complex, requires specialized expertise, or requires assessment through designated entities. For example, if professional certification is required, an organization is likely to send its employees to specialized qualifying courses and have employees take the standard examinations required by the certifying body. It is also often more cost-effective to outsource highly technical training, particularly when the number of employees who need training is too small to make it cost effective to develop in house. On the other hand, when large organizations do have enough employees to make in-house development cost effective, one effective way to develop and deliver training is through corporate universities. Unlike typical universities’ degrees, degrees from corporate universities are not universally recognized outside the organization. However, corporate universities resemble typical universities in hiring subject-matter experts to develop specialized trainings and in having an administrative structure that is separate from the corporate organization. Corporate universities’ goal is to promote a learning environment and organizational culture that encourage ongoing learning and development at both the individual and organizational levels. If training will be developed in-house, the developers will need to determine • the topics to be covered • the skills to be practiced • the mastery levels to be achieved for each, based on the predetermined needs and objectives

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Developers will also need to select and develop the materials for the training. A critical decision is whether to develop new learning material, adapt existing material from internal or external sources, or use off-the-shelf material. New learning material has the advantage of being organization-specific. This makes it most relevant to the training needs of the employees. It is also most likely to yield organization-specific knowledge, which can more effectively build unique competencies than off-the-shelf training material that competitors could copy and use for their employees. However, developing new training material can be costly and time consuming. It may require hiring subject-matter experts. On the other hand, if the training needs and objectives can be met using available material, then this material can still be adapted to become more organization-specific at a fraction of the cost and time.

Training delivery: Decisions about types of training
Training development focuses on training content and how well it meets training needs and objectives, while training delivery focuses on training methods and logistics. Many critical decisions are made at this stage, and many delivery options are weighed so that trainees can benefit as much as possible from the content.

Formal versus informal approaches
Formal training is structured: its content, approach, sequence, and organization are all predetermined. One example of formal training is the course you’re taking. Tremendous thought and energy have been invested in designing and developing this course before its delivery, and the course follows an established structure, including its process and outcomes. However, formal training does not have to be in a classroom setting. It can be online, as this course is. Formal training can also be in the form of formal mentoring relationships where protégés are assigned to mentors and specific mentoring logistics and outcomes are predetermined. Informal training is not as systematic or goal-oriented as formal training is. Informal training may occur through interacting with supervisors and coworkers, asking questions, having informal discussions, or independent reading. Informal training is often challenging to evaluate because it has few if any set goals. However, managers and employees sometimes set their own goals and objectives for informal training (Cofer, 2000), which can increase the training’s effectiveness in meeting specific needs and objectives. For example, informal mentoring, where mentors and protégés select each other based on mutual interests, has been shown to be more effective than formal mentoring (Ragins & Cotton, 1999).

On-the-job versus off-the-job training
On-the-job training (OJT) is a common method in which organizations focus on the technical aspects of the job. OJT is delivered where the job takes place. Throughout the training, trainees, also referred to as apprentices, are familiarized with the job and its tools, procedures, and techniques. Trainees gain hands-on exposure and they experience the work they’ll do after the training period ends. On-the-job training can be in the form of demonstration, instruction, or coaching. Other examples of OJT are job rotation, shadowing a more experienced employee, and assignment to a special project for the purpose of learning. Most informal training takes place on the job.

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When an employer sponsors off-the-job training, workers are usually given time off from work to attend training elsewhere. Employees may also use their personal time or employerapproved vacation time to pursue additional off-the-job training such as courses offered at training centers, evening classes at a local college, college programs, and self-study.

On-site versus off-site training

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Training may take place at an training used by organizations. employer facility or another venue. One of the advantages of on-site training is that there is no need for employees to commute to receive training, which can save time. The cost of on-site training can also be lower because additional costs such as rental charges and transportation are avoided. On-site training may also be more beneficial to an organization because it gives employees the chance to associate what they learn with the workplace. This benefit especially applies in on-the-job training. However, off-site training can be a better option when the training goal is developing new skills and preparing employees for future positions, challenges, or responsibilities. One of the advantages of off-site training is that employees are not interrupted while they are being trained, which helps them focus on the capabilities being taught. Off-site training may also be necessary if space or resources are not available on site. For example, many experiential training programs now have outdoors components that require rugged locations and special gear to provide opportunities for bonding, problem solving, and collaboration.

On-the-job training is one of the more common methods of

Education versus professional certification
Formal education opportunities may be offered to employees for career development purposes, and they can be provided either on or off site. Formal education can be in the form of workshops, courses offered by consultants, or classes offered by universities. Some of the programs offered at universities have residential requirements while others, such as this course, are entirely online. Many organizations now provide their employees with full or partial tuition reimbursement as an employment benefit. Larger organizations sometimes have arrangements with local universities to provide on-site classes equivalent to classes taught to students at the campus. Under this arrangement, employees can take their classes together and at times that do not interfere with working hours. Professional certifications are offered by specialized organizations or associations that are accredited to train and assess professionals in their areas of specialization. Holding a professional certificate means that an employee is well equipped with the knowledge,

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experience, and skills necessary to perform job duties effectively. A professional certification can sometimes be one of the requirements for employment or practice. The links below provide examples of certifications required to practice engineering, medicine, and law.

WEB LINKS
The Professional Engineering Exam: http://www.ncees.org/Exams/PE_exam.php The American Board of Medical Specialties: http://www.abms.org/ The National Council of Bar Examiners: http://www.ncbex.org/

Employee-initiated versus employer-initiated training
Employers initiate training for many purposes. They may want to provide career development opportunities, prepare employees for future responsibilities or positions, develop new KSAs in workers for their current roles, or help employees become more effective. Employers may also want to prepare new employees for their new roles or want to use training as a remedial course of action to deal with performance deficiencies. However, employees may also initiate or request training that is not required or recommended by the organization, or they may even pursue training and development opportunities at their own time and expense. The fact that employees move in and out of multiple careers during their lifetime has made many of them come to realize that they need to take the initiative and generate for themselves opportunities for training, development, and growth. Both employees and employers now value and appreciate the desire and pursuit of lifelong learning in their current and potential employees.

Self-paced versus facilitated training
Self-paced training gives learners access to the training material on demand, any time they want, so that they can take a training course at their own pace. The primary advantage of self-paced training is its flexibility. This flexibility gives trainees the ability to fit the training into their busy schedules and allows them to take as much time as they need to master challenging content. However, if learners do not possess good computer skills or

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Employer-initiated training programs may provide career development opportunities and prepare employees for future positions.

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self-motivation, they may not be able to benefit much from self-paced training. Moreover, it is usually costly and time consuming to develop high-quality self-paced materials. However, once they are developed, the cost per trainee becomes exponentially lower as the initial development costs are spread out over a larger number of trainees. On the other hand, facilitated training has a specific date and time. The host organization sets a schedule for the training in which an instructor or a facilitator will be available to train the trainees. Facilitated training usually requires a minimum number of learners, which may sometimes be hard to reach. In addition, well-equipped trainers must be available to deliver an effective training program, especially if it is facilitated online.

Mandatory versus optional training
Some types of training may required for all employees in accordance with legal rules and regulations enforced by agencies such as Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Examples include safety training and sexual harassment training. Others may be required for ongoing recertification. An organization may also mandate training to keep its employees’ KSAs up to date, prepare them to meet future goals and objectives, or resolve performance deficiencies. However, many organizations also offer their employees a wide range of optional trainings to choose from, based on their interest and availability. Optional training may cover technical or interpersonal topics that would be beneficial for professional growth. It may also cover other areas of interest. Health and fitness are becoming a common focus of optional training in many organizations.

Face-to-face versus online training
Face-to-face training is conducted in classrooms. Employees and facilitators have to be physically present. Face-to-face training may be effective when interaction with instructors and peers is conducive to higher-quality learning. However, it may not be as effective for a large number of trainees. Online training, also referred to as e-learning, can be accessed anywhere, anytime, using the Internet. Some online training is conducted using an organizational intranet. It has long been believed that in-class training is more interactive than online training. However, research shows that this may not be the case (Maki, Maki, Patterson, & Whittaker, 2000). Programs such as Blackboard and WebCT have enabled trainees to have virtual chat as well as electronic file exchange, which make online training interactive. A special type of e-learning is virtual reality, which also gives trainees the opportunity to see and examine objects in a three-dimensional perspective. According to ASTD, young workers are more likely to prefer online training. Its many advantages include lower costs per trainee, flexibility, and access to a greater number of employees from a broader geographic area. Online training may be synchronous (at the same time, as a group) or asynchronous (at each employee’s convenience). Asynchronous online training also lends itself well to self-pacing, which allows trainees to take their time and master challenging skills.

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In general, blending a variety of training methods is recommended to cater to the needs, schedules, and learning styles of different groups of trainees (Mirocha, 2005; Rossett, 2006). For example, a safety training may include the following steps: • • • • an online, self-paced component to cover the basics a formal, instructor-led component to address questions a hands-on component for on-the-job training informal mentoring by the trainee’s supervisor to ensure correct and consistent application on the job

Similarly, a sales training may combine face-to-face interpersonal skills training, online technical training on the organization’s products and services, and shadowing a more experienced salesperson in the field.

Training evaluation: A multi-level perspective
After training has been delivered, it is critical that organizations assess whether it has met the needs and objectives it was designed for. Two critical decisions are made at the training evaluation phase: • what to evaluate • when and who to evaluate To determine what to evaluate, the most widely recognized training evaluation framework is Kirkpatrick’s model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2009), which describes four levels of assessment: 1. reaction 2. learning 3. behavior 4. results At the first level, trainee reactions to the training are measured, typically through surveys administered immediately after training is completed. Basic satisfaction with various aspects of the training are emphasized at this level, such as the training venue, the instructor’s style, and the training materials.
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While trainees’ perceptions and feelings about the training are important, it is even more important to assess how much learning actually took place. Kirkpatrick’s second level of assessment addresses learning, typically through some form of testing that examines the trainees’ degree of mastery for what they have learned.

In Kirkpatrick’s model of training evaluation, an employee may be asked to analyze a hypothetical problem that will help assess what he or she has learned during training.

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For example, trainees may be asked to recall, reiterate, or discuss what they have learned. They may also be asked to apply it to a scenario or use the information to analyze a hypothetical situation, make a decision, or solve a problem. In Kirkpatrick’s third level of assessment, change in work behavior is assessed to see if the training has produced the desired change in the way employees do their jobs. For training to be effective, it is also crucial that its impact extend beyond the training to affect actual behavior on the job. For example, production workers can be assessed after training for increased speed or quality. Salespersons can be assessed for more frequent cross-selling efforts for the organization’s products, better scheduling of sales calls, or increased courtesy toward clients. Kirkpatrick’s fourth and most important level of training assessment is the actual results of training, or the impact of training on the bottom line. Unfortunately, this impact is seldom assessed. It is important that trainees react positively to the training, learn from it, and alter their work behaviors based on what they have learned. Effective training should also lead to a positive impact on the organization’s profitability, efficiency, and effectiveness; however, it is often difficult to quantify the dollar value added from training. Difficulties in measurement lead many organizations to ignore this crucial assessment level. Unfortunately, in today’s tight economy, an inability to quantify the benefits of training and development often leads to significant cuts in budget allocations toward these important human investments. Human resource departments may also be perceived by the organization’s various stakeholders as lacking accountability for scarce resources, which reflects poorly on HR departments’ ability to contribute to strategic organizational goals. There are three approaches to determining when and who to evaluate: • post-measurement • pre-/post-measurement • pre-/post-measurement with a control group In post-measurement assessment, the effectiveness of the training is measured afterward by verifying that trainees’ performance will now meet expectations. However, sometimes it is possible that employees’ performance would have met the same standards without training; HR departments may therefore not be able to use the post-measurement approach to interpret results accurately or attribute positive results directly to the training. Just because a group of trainees are assessed to be superior performers after training does not mean that the training is the reason for their superior performance. They could have been higher performers to begin with due to effective employee selection and placement. The pre-/post-measurement method tests trainees both before and after the training. If they measure higher on the desired outcomes after the training than they did before the training, it can be argued that the difference in results can be attributed directly to the training. However, like post-measurement, this method does not prove that training is the source of improved performance. It can be argued that trainees’ performance level would have improved without any training, simply with practice and more experience over time. Alternative interpretations may also include changes in economic conditions, organizational culture, or reward systems. Moreover, people also tend to perform slightly better when they know they are being observed or tested; this common phenomenon is known as the Hawthorne effect.

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The pre-/post-measurement with a control group method tackles the deficiencies of the first two methods by comparing the trainees to a control group—another group of workers with the same level of skills who do not go through the training. The trainees and the control group are tested both before the training and after it. Often, to account for the Hawthorne effect, the control group is given an unrelated intervention. If the trained group shows more pre-/post-measurement improvement than the control group, then this difference is a good indication that the training was effective. The pre-/post-measurement method is also useful to compare alternative types of training or other interventions. For example, an organization may want to resolve performance deficiencies within a particular function, such as production. It may therefore design a training intervention, a modified reward program, and a job redesign initiative. The organization can then randomly assign the workforce into four groups: a group that receives training, a group that receives the modified reward program, a group whose jobs would be redesigned, and a control group that receives an unrelated intervention. Each of the four groups should be assessed before and after their designated interventions, and the group that shows the most improvement would indicate the superiority of that group’s respective intervention.

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raining and development can take numerous forms to serve different audiences and functions within the organization. Organizations have expanded their use of training and development beyond traditional training methods, including more creative approaches or more ambitious training objectives, such as meeting employees’ needs for personal and professional growth. This section provides a glimpse of some of the commonly used forms of training and development.

Orientation and onboarding
Orientation, also known as onboarding, is specifically designed for new employees. This process familiarizes new employees with the environment by introducing them to their jobs; their managers; their coworkers; and the organization’s structure, culture, and processes. Orientation and

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Orientation helps new employees reach desired performance levels sooner and gives them a better idea of what the organization expects of them.

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onboarding can also help new employees reach the desired performance levels sooner by accelerating their development and moving them faster along the learning curve. An effective orientation can also help the organization build a positive image among new employees. Along with operating managers and supervisors, HR professionals are often the organization members who carry out orientations, although many organizations today have formal orientation and onboarding programs that are delivered by training staff or online. For a great example of extensive orientation programs, visit the website below, which outlines the orientation program for new members of the nursing team at Yale–New Haven Hospital. This program spans 12 weeks to 6 months, depending on specialization and prior experience.

WEB LINK
Yale–New Haven Hospital Orientation Program for Nurses: http://ynhhcareers .org/nursing/programs/programs-orientation.asp

Technical and nontechnical training
Technical training is job-related, and it usually focuses on the technicalities of the job (or hard skills), whereas nontechnical training is not job-related (and focuses on soft skills). Its purpose is to enhance employees’ skills in other areas, such as team-building, organizational, management, problem-solving, decision-making, or communication skills. Nontechnical training can also be designed to educate employees about other cultures. Cross-cultural training can help global firms send their employees on international assignments, and it is critical to global strategic success. To avoid culture shock, not only employees but also their families must grow familiar with cultural differences; training can help people adjust to a culture that differs from their own (Yamazaki & Hayes, 2004). The same holds true for foreign employees who will be transferred to the United States. Nontechnical training can help expand employees’ horizons and prepare them for challenges in current roles as well as future roles beyond their immediate technical job responsibilities. Nontechnical training can also help build and enhance organizational culture and align employees’ competencies and skill sets with the organization’s mission, vision, and values.

Ongoing professional development
Ongoing professional development provides employees with training throughout their tenure with the organization. This ongoing training enables employees to develop the knowledge and skills needed not only to perform their jobs more effectively but also to grow and develop professionally throughout their careers. Ongoing professional development can also help employees develop basic skills such as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Almost 40 million people in the United Stated have a learning disability, which makes it challenging to develop basic skills throughout K–12 education (Ketter, 2006; Kalleba, 2007; Salopek, 2007).

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Mentoring and coaching
Mentoring and coaching are two methods of employee development. Mentoring helps an employee, also called a mentee or a protégé, to develop his or her skills by interacting with a mentor, who is a more experienced coworker or supervisor. Mentoring can either be planned by an organization or can follow an employee’s effort to seek a mentor (Fagenson, 1992; Turban & Daugherty, 1994) or a mentor’s desire to help and develop the less experienced employee. Mentors should generally possess good interpersonal skills, and they should be trained to be able to perform their duties effectively. In addition, they also should be evaluated by the organization (Eby, Butts, Lockwood, & Simon, 2004). Coaching is the hiring of a peer, manager, or outside consultant for the purpose of training one or more employees. The coach’s role is broader than a mentor’s. It is to motivate the employees as well as help develop their skills. Coaching can be done in many ways, including one-on-one coaching, which then enables employees to be on their own, helps them to learn for themselves, provides them with resources, or offers a combination of these approaches. Executive coaching is on the rise as a training and development approach for senior management candidates. Traditional, more structured approaches are not as effective as executive coaching to develop the higher-level skills necessary for these strategic roles. For coaching to be effective, it is best to identify areas that need improvement and iStockphoto/Thinkstock then set goals for this improvement (Smither, London, Flautt, Executive coaching is an effective training and development Vargas, & Kucine, 2003). approach for senior management.

Job rotation and temporary transfers
Chapter 3 offered job rotation—that is, assigning employees to different jobs—as a way to design jobs with a greater variety of activities and less boredom. Job rotation is also one of the techniques used for employee training and development. Through it, an employee is able to work in different functional areas on different assignments within an organization; the employee is therefore given the chance to experience other parts of the organization. Job rotation helps employees extend their experience, widen their understanding, and enhance their skills (Camion, Cheraskin, & Stevens, 1994). Organizations may also rotate employees through different job assignments in different countries (Weinstein, 2009). Temporary transfers are similar to job rotation in that an employee gets assigned to a position in another part of the organization. However, temporary transfers are more likely to be one-time occurrences, while rotations usually include a predetermined series of job

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changes. A temporary transfer may be lateral, which means that the employee will have the same level of responsibility. It also can be upward, in the form of a temporary increase in responsibilities and authority. For example, self-managed teams may designate a leader for each project assigned to the team; this designation constitutes a temporary upward transfer for the leader, who will then return to being a member of the team when the project is over. Transfers can also take the form of a temporary downward move because of poor performance or to allow an employee to build different skills.

International assignments
International assignments are also considered a form of training and development. They give employees opportunities to learn how to deal with different cultures and different economic, social, and political systems. These assignments also give employees opportunities to develop their managerial and leadership skills. International assignments also provide employees with opportunities for upward mobility in the organization when they come back; these assignments are recognized as one of the most effective ways to prepare future global leaders (Pope, 2009). However, international assignments also have some costs and disadvantages and involve some sacrifices by employees who go overseas. For instance, intensive and costly training is necessary before an international assignment to prepare employees and their families to adapt to the challenges in the new host country and to help lessen cultural shock. Problems may persist even after this training and may result in failure at assigned tasks or a premature return to the home country, which amount to a loss in the organization’s investment in training. These losses could have been avoided had the organization hired a qualified local resident for the foreign operation instead. Living abroad may also cause employees to miss important and noteworthy events at home, both personally and professionally.

Leadership development and management training
Leadership development can be defined as “expanding the collective capacities of organizational members to engage effectively in leadership roles and processes” (Day, 2000, p. 582). The need for leadership development has increased along with globalization and competitiveness. It is therefore crucial to develop the knowledge and skills of those who are in managerial positions to be able to contribute to future organizational performance. The leadership development process is also integral to succession planning and career planning. Organizations can effectively prepare a cadre of future leaders by assessing the needs for filling future management positions, evaluating potential candidates’ current performance, and then proactively imparting the required knowledge and developing the needed skills (Kristick, 2009). The overall purpose of a leadership development program should be to help the organization achieve its goals and objectives. Therefore, organizational strategy and goals must form the basis of the design, development, delivery, and evaluation of a training program. Leadership development can be offered through a combination of the methods and approaches discussed earlier, including in-house programs, professional programs, university programs, executive coaching, and mentoring. Leadership development can also be offered through action learning, in which participants work on real business challenges

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while reflecting on progress and lessons learned (Czarnowsky, 2008). Leadership development can also be achieved through a special form of job rotation that is often referred to as management training. A management training program is a structured program in which a high-potential trainee is groomed for a management position through a carefully designed sequence of short-term job transfers and rotations, gaining experience with various parts of the business, often with increasing levels of challenge and responsibility. When the trainee graduates from the program, he or she is usually ready to assume a leadership position. For example, Unilever has a well-known management training program to develop capable local leaders within their global operations. The program is designed for young, recent college graduates who show high leadership potential. The program promises them an accelerated career path to a senior management position within 8 to 10 years after they complete the program successfully.

WEB LINK
Unilever’s Management Trainee Program: http://www.unileverme.com/careers/ graduate-recruitment/management-trainee-program/

Leadership development programs vary in their approaches, methods, level of formality, and structure. Regardless of these features, a leadership development program should emphasize realism, practicality, and application—giving trainees the opportunity to analyze and solve real organizational problems (Locke & Tarantino, 2006; Patton & Pratt, 2002; Zenger, Ulrich, & Smallwood, 2002).

Career development
Traditionally, the term career referred to a set of positions an employee occupied within one organization, often taking a progressive, upward direction. However, this is no longer the case due to the constant changes organizations go through. Examples of these changes include downsizing, restructuring, business process reengineering, and the resulting frequency of employees changing jobs and employers. Workers are now moving more toward a protean career model: workers are now the people who direct the progress of their careers based on their own interests, goals, and values (Hall, 2004).

iStockphoto/Thinkstock

The protean career model allows workers to direct the progression of their careers based on their interests, values, and goals.

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This career model is also related to the notions of career resiliency and the changing psychological employment contract discussed in chapter 2. As a result of these changes, workers are seeking to continually develop new skills, especially since most careers these days rely on a broader knowledge base (Arthur, Claman, & DeFillippi, 1995; Schawbel, 2009).

7.4 Linking Training and Development to the HRM Process

A

s depicted in the top half of Figure 7.1, training and development constitute one of the eight critical practices in the HRM process. This is because the purpose of strategic HRM is to help an organization achieve its goals and objectives through people. Therefore, training and development should help improve organizational competencies and performance. This improvement can be realized by viewing training needs in association with strategic organizational plans and prioritizing them accordingly (Clarke, 2003; Reed & Vakola, 2006). HR planning, job analysis and design, recruitment, selection, and performance appraisal should inform and be informed by the organization’s goals and strategies. Training needs assessment, design, development, delivery, and evaluation should likewise inform and be informed by the other strategic HR processes—adding value to the organization’s efficiency, effectiveness, and competitiveness.

A MOMENT IN THE LIFE OF AN HR MANAGER “Who should you send to training?”
Andrew is a sales manager at a department store called Living in Style, Inc. This morning, he received the following memo from the Claudia Moore, the training manager at the head office.
Living in Style, Inc.
From: Claudia Moore, Training Manager To: All sales managers Subject: New sales training program We are pleased to announce the launch of our newest sales training program, “The Art and Science of Selling.” This one-week program is designed to equip your sales force with the selling skills they need to increase sales and provide superior customer service, even in today’s tight economy. Topics covered include: • • • • • • • An overview of our product lines The effects of the current economic recession on consumer spending in our line of business Exceeding customer expectations on the sales floor Successful credit and layaway selling strategies Product cross-selling strategies Strategies for promoting consumer spending during holidays and seasonal sales And much more!

Because of the large number of stores and sales staff we have, each store may send only one sales representative to this initial session. This sales representative is then expected to prepare a presentation to brief the sales manager and staff at his or her store about the program. The program will then be offered again multiple times to accommodate your additional training needs. However, for now, we ask that you please nominate the salesperson in your store who you believe would benefit the most from this training. Please send your nomination by the end of the week. Regards, Claudia Moore, Training Manager

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Andrew is excited about this new training program. However, he has several concerns. 1. Andrew does not recall that anyone consulted him on what training his sales force needed. So he is unsure if the training will be relevant for their specific needs, especially since his store is in a relatively small town where he and his staff know most of the customers by name. 2. Andrew also believes that he has some of the best and most dedicated sales representatives in the company—and maybe even in the industry—so unless this training program offers new information, it may be a waste of their time. 3. What Andrew finds even more confusing is that in the last corporate meeting, management expressed concerns about the increasing default rates on credit and layaway sales. Reducing default rates is now one of the strategic goals of the organization. Because of his staff’s excellent and personal relationships with customers, his store was among the lowest on default rates. If that’s the case, he wondered why the sales training is promoting credit and layaway sales instead of emphasizing loyalty programs and other ways to establish stronger and longerlasting relationships with customers. 4. Another of Andrew’s concerns is the moral dilemma of promoting more spending in general when the economy is in recession. He sees the potential for this encouragement’s having an adverse impact on customers’ financial and psychological well-being. He sees it as contradictory and hypocritical to train salespeople to offer superior customer service to sell more products and cross-sell other products that the customer does not necessarily need with no consideration of the customers’ finances. Instead, he prefers to train his sales staff to better analyze the needs and finances of one customer and then sell him or her the product that fits those parameters. He believes that this strategy is both more ethical and more conducive to satisfied, loyal customers who will return to the store in the long run. However, Andrew understands that sending someone to this training program is a requirement. The problem is, whom should he send? He’s considering three candidates: • Joe White is the new sales representative, fresh out of college, with no sales experience. Joe is the lowest-paid and currently the slowest and least effective representative due to his lack of experience. + Advantages of sending Joe: He’ll definitely learn something new, and the lost productivity is the least compared to sending one of the higher performers. - Disadvantages of sending Joe: Joe is young and impressionable. If he comes back indoctrinated in those morally questionable selling techniques and ends up outselling others and making more money, that success could have a negative impact on the store culture. It may also upset the other salespeople to know that Andrew selected Joe to go to this training when they are all overdue for time away from the store and when they might enjoy this apparently fun event. • Doug Green is the longest-tenured, most experienced sales representative with the highest sales volume across all stores. However, Doug is very outspoken against corporate greed; he prides himself on never taking advantage of customers or selling them something they don’t really need. + Advantages of sending Doug: Doug will never fall for the newest trends and management fads. He will question everything, which may push the company to reevaluate its plans and strategies. His attendance will not compromise the store culture because he will discern the best new messages to communicate when he comes back. Sending Doug will also give him

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good visibility at the head office. Since Doug is overdue for a promotion, Andrew appreciates that this visibility will be good for Doug’s career progress. - Disadvantages of sending Joe: Doug will never change his ways, nor does he need to, in Andrew’s opinion. So sending him to this training program is a pointless waste of the company’s resources. Sparing Doug for a week will also definitely hurt the store’s sales volume. • Emma Brown has many years of experience in sales at a variety of industries, including working for competitors in the past. But she has only six months’ experience with Living in Style. Her background and KSAs are impressive, but she has a difficult personality, tends to be critical of everything and everyone, and tends to create conflicts with coworkers and customers. She has said many times that she feels overqualified for her job and wants opportunities for development and career advancement. + Advantages of sending Emma: Emma will perceive this training as an opportunity for development and career advancement. Sending her to the training will also give the store a break from her toxic attitudes. And who knows—maybe her attitudes will change, or she’ll get noticed at the head office and they’ll decide to keep her at a position that requires her level of assertiveness. - Disadvantages of sending Emma: Emma may have conflicts with others at the training, which could reflect poorly on the store’s image at the head office and compromise Andrew’s leadership. The training may also indoctrinate Emma in ideals that are wrong from Andrew’s perspective, which Emma seems more likely to adopt than Doug would be. Andrew also feels threatened by the possibility that the head office may consider Emma as a replacement for him, Andrew, if she seems more open to the training’s bottom-line value system.

Discussion Questions
1. If you were in Andrew’s position, which representative would you choose? Justify your answer. Optional: Work independently, and then compare notes with the rest of your group or with the class. Make your case for the sales representative of your choice, trying to win as many votes as possible for your choice of representative and discourage your classmates from voting for others. Find out which representative received the most votes. 2. If you were in Claudia’s position, how would you go about the training process to ensure that the program contributes to the organization’s performance and effectiveness and that the bestsuited candidates are sent to the training? Optional: Work independently, and then compare notes with the rest of your group or the class. 3. Integrate your answers into a proposed training process that follows the structure adopted in this chapter. Start with training needs assessment, going on to the design, development, and delivery, and finally the evaluation. How can each stage be improved to ensure that the most effective training program is offered to the sales representatives who are most likely to benefit from it?

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7.5 Opportunities, Challenges, and Recent Trends in Training and Development
Economic considerations: The increasing costs of training
The costs of training and development have been increasing. As a result, many organizations have cut their training budgets, especially during the recent economic slowdown. Costs are also one of the reasons why the outsourcing of training has not increased significantly (Van Buren, 2005). While many training programs may be more effectively administered externally through experienced third-party trainers or specialized entities, the costs of doing so are becoming prohibitive. For example, many organizations have significantly reduced or eliminated their tuition-reimbursement programs, although these programs have been shown to reduce turnover and facilitate talent retention, provided that they are accompanied with promotions and career progress (Benson, Finegold, & Mohrman, 2004). Realizing the importance of training for employee motivation and productivity, organizations are facing the challenge of finding more cost-effective ways to deliver quality training. Organizations are now attempting to cut costs through using in-house trainers and facilities. For example, experienced employees can mentor less experienced coworkers or provide on-the-job training. However, this opportunity comes at the sometimes-high cost of the reduced productivity of the more experienced employees who spend time training others. Online training is discussed next; it is another cost-effective alternative to more expensive face-to-face training options.

Technological developments: Online and open-source training
Online training requires the use of the Internet or an intranet, and it can be accessed from anywhere in the world. As discussed earlier, online training is on the rise. For example, in a survey, 60% of the organizations surveyed had online training initiatives, and 86% placed a high priority on moving their face-to-face training online (Strother, 2002). Research findings also suggest that the quality of online learning is comparable, and sometimes even superior, to face-to-face learning (Maki et al., 2000). For example, IBM saved $200 million in 1999 and provided five times the learning at one-third the cost by switching to online iStockphoto/Thinkstock training. The accountancy firm Ernst & Young reduced trainOnline training has changed the way organizations design, ing costs by 35% while improving consistency and scalability develop, deliver, and evaluate training. through using a combination

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of 80% online and 20% classroom instruction. The aerospace company Rockwell Collins reduced training costs by 40% by moving only 25% of its training online (Strother, 2002). In many ways, online training has changed the way organizations design, develop, deliver, and evaluate training. For example, open-source training is a form of online training that is available free of charge to the public. Many online resources are available at no cost and are continuously updated by experts who are motivated to spread new knowledge in their fields, advertise their discoveries, or build their reputations to establish a wider client base. For example, visit the website below to access hundreds of educational videos on numerous topics. Several colleges and universities are also now exploring the full reliance on open sourcing in teaching some of their courses to avoid costly textbooks and database subscriptions.

WEB LINK
Khan Academy: http://www.khanacademy.org/ht

Although online training has many advantages, it is also necessary to consider some disadvantages. For example, learners may be tempted to complete the online training quickly and therefore may not be able to retain or apply what they learn. Furthermore, not all topics can be taught effectively online. Finally, online training may be easier for competitors to copy or imitate than face-to-face training, which may cause losses in intellectual property and the intended human-based competitive edge that training initiatives aim to build.

Training and development for succession planning
As discussed in chapter 2, the aging workforce makes training for succession planning a high priority for organizations that want to be prepared when the baby boom generation retires. Globalization is also increasing the pressure for more effective talent development, management, and retention through succession planning (Rothwell, 2010). Organizations are now training and preparing employees who they think have the potential to hold management positions, although organizations focus almost exclusively on critical top positions, which is a rather limited perspective. Instead, training and development for succession planning should be a strategic goal at all levels of the organization. This planning can maintain competitiveness in cases of turnover or job changes and can facilitate promotions from within.

Effects of training and development on employees
The primary purpose of training is to enhance employees’ skills and enable them to perform their job more efficiently and effectively; training usually therefore has a positive effect on employee motivation, performance quality, productivity, and engagement. In addition, creating an environment that promotes training and offers career development opportunities will likely boost employee motivation, morale, and retention (Huselid, 1995).

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Diversity training
Given the increased diversity in the workplace, the importance of diversity management cannot be stressed enough. The purpose of diversity training is to create cross-cultural awareness among employees so that they can avoid discriminatory or harassing behaviors that intimidate others, allowing employees to work together in a more peaceful and harmonious way. Accordingly, diversity training should help create an environment that promotes cultural respect and acceptance. Such an environment can enable employees to be more productive and employers to face fewer lawsuits. Most importantly, a respectful environment can allow an organization to capitalize on the contributions and creativity of a diverse workforce. Unfortunately, most diversity training programs have been criticized for being ineffective in changing employee attitudes and value systems regarding diversity (Hemphill & Haines, 1997).

Safety training
As discussed in previous chapters, OSHA requires safety and health training programs in many industries in the United States. The purpose of such programs is to inform employees about workplace safety standards and ensure everyone’s safety. These programs may include topics such as accident prevention and safety promotion, accident and emergency response, chemical and hazardous material safety, and general safety practices (Barnett, 2000). Effective safety training creates awareness of the significance of workplace safety and promotes a safe culture within an organization. Furthermore, it saves an organization money and time by lowering the number of injuries and deaths. Among the many other benefits are fewer incidences of illness, property damage, and worker compensation claims. Studies show that most forms of safety training have a positive impact, but that the most effective methods to reduce accidents, illnesses, and injuries are trainings that involve either interaction, hands-on practice, or behavioral modeling (Burke et al., 2006).

EYE ON THE GOAL “Make or buy? The payoff from training current employees”
Many employers worry that if they provide their employees with intensive, high-quality training, then employees will eventually leave the organization for better offers—taking with them all the training they received—and the organization will be left with the training costs it incurred. Instead, these organizations believe that it is more cost effective to hire employees who already possess the KSAs necessary for the job. While there is some truth to employers’ concerns about post-training turnover, research shows that training can reduce turnover while in progress. Following training with promotion can also reduce turnover afterward (Benson et al., 2004). Thus, for an organization to effectively increase capabilities while retaining talent, its training must be part of strategic HR planning. Long-term succession and career development plans are no exception. Furthermore, training has been shown to yield handsome returns for both shareholders and employees. For example, an extensive study of 575 publicly traded companies showed that companies that invested twice the industry average on training also outperformed the S&P 500 by 4.6%

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on various financial performance measures (Bassi & McMurrer, 2004). Organizations with higher training expenditures per employee clearly had higher price-to-book-value ratios, indicating humanbased value added. Employees of those organizations also showed higher income (Bassi, Ludwig, McMurrer, & Van Buren, 2002). Training current employees therefore does pay off. Training can also protect employees, customers, the organization, and society at large. For example, safety training can help prevent worksite accidents, which can compromise employees’ lives and health. Production training can help detect defective products or faulty processes, which can expose customers and society to health and safety risks. In turn, it can protect the organization’s reputation to prevent accidents and detect defective products and faulty processes before they pose serious risks. This achievement also helps an organization avoid costly lawsuits from those affected by improper or insufficient training. However, it is now critical, especially in a tight economy, to assess the value of training not only in terms of employee reactions, but also in terms of learning, behavior, and results (Cascio & Boudreau, 2011). Unfortunately, a recent survey showed that only 23% of organizations reported that measuring the impact of training was a high priority (O’Leonard, 2010). For example, many large organizations such as Philips, Estée Lauder, and Canon have maintained their investment in leadership development, even during the recent economic recession (Mattioli, 2009). Yet only 10% of leadership development programs go beyond reactions to also assess the impact of training and development on actual behaviors (Avolio, Sosik, Jung, & Berson, 2004).

Chapter Summary
• Training and development can lead to higher employee productivity, talent retention, and the creation of a sustainable human-based competitive advantage. These benefits often outweigh the costs of training and justify training investments, even during difficult economic times. • The stages of the training process include training needs assessment, design, development, delivery, and evaluation. • In order for training to contribute to an organization’s strategic goals, it should be based on those goals and should be evaluated against those goals. Trainee reactions, learning, behavioral change, and individual and organizational performance outcomes should all be considered. • Training should also be linked to the various components of the strategic HR process, including HR planning, recruitment, selection, and performance appraisal. It should inform and be informed by these processes. • Organizations can now choose from a wide range of training methods and approaches, especially due to technological advances in training facilitation. The relative efficacy of each training method depends on the topic at hand, the trainee, the trainer, and the organization’s culture.

Key Terms coaching: A broad form of training or development by a coach who can be a peer, a manager, or an outside consultant hired for the purpose of coaching one or more employees; a coach’s aim is to motivate the employee and help develop his or her skills.

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development: A process to prepare employees to take on the duties and responsibilities of other positions that they are to assume in the future. Felder-Silverman model: One of the most recognized models on learning styles; the model classifies learners as active/reflective, sensing/intuitive, visual/verbal, and/or sequential/global. Hawthorne effect: Employees’ tendency to perform better when they believe there is any form of intervention taking place, regardless of the effectiveness of the intervention. Kirkpatrick’s model: The most recognized model of training evaluation; it describes four levels of evaluation: reaction, learning, behavior, and results. leadership development: Expanding the collective capacities of organizational members to engage effectively in leadership roles and processes. learner readiness: The capacity, motivation, and willingness to learn. learning styles: factor to be addressed during the training design stage, as people learn in different ways and there is no single way that works best for everyone. mentoring: A developmental approach that helps an employee, also called the mentee or protégé, to develop his or her skills through interacting with a more experienced coworker or supervisor, called the mentor. orientation (also known as onboarding): Training administered to new employees to familiarize them with their jobs; their managers; their coworkers; and the organization’s structure, culture, and processes. self-efficacy: A person’s belief about his or her ability to mobilize the motivation, cognitive resources, and courses of action necessary to execute a specific action within a given context. training: A process that provides employees with opportunities to obtain the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities that will enable them to perform their current job-related duties more effectively and responsibly. training delivery: The fourth stage of the training process, which focuses on the methods and logistics of training. training design: The second stage of the training process, in which specific objectives are set for the training based on the identified training needs. training development: The third stage of the training process, in which the content and resources that best meet the goals and objectives of the training are determined and addressed. training evaluation: The last stage of the training process, in which organizations assess whether the training has met the needs and objectives it was designed for.

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training needs assessment: The first stage of the training process, in which performance is evaluated at the organizational and individual levels, including a search for gaps between the current and the required competencies that might hinder the progress of the organization. transfer of training: The extent to which training is subsequently utilized and applied on the job.

Critical Thinking Questions
1. Organizations have budget constraints regarding allocation of HR-related dollars. Under what circumstances would an organization want to invest more in training than in selection (or vice versa)? 2. Because of the sizeable investment that organizations put into training employees, through which other HR-related processes could they protect these investments? 3. In reflecting upon Kirkpatrick’s methods of evaluating training effectiveness, what happens if trainee reactions to training are mediocre, but recall/learning, transfer/behavior, and results are good? Is this good training? How do the ways to evaluate training relate to an organization’s ability to evaluate training effectiveness in the short term vs. long term? 4. When evaluating training success, besides being superior performers to begin with (i.e., the example used in the text), under what other circumstances could a group of trainees perform well, but not due to the training received? That is, besides differences in ability or actual training effectiveness, what factors could make it seem as if the trainees actually benefitted from the training when, in fact, they did not? 5. If an employee has poor performance evaluations, under what circumstances could the issue not be resolved by training the employee?