Training and development

2.1 Introduction
Training has played an important and integral part in the learning and development of human resources in organisations. Training has been viewed as a cost by many organisations in the past but nowadays it is viewed as an investment in employees for the long term as organisations is not spared from the pressure of globalisation and everyone is challenged by the speed of change, technological advancement and customer expectations. So in order to remain competitive and to operate effectively and efficiently, organizations have to train their staffs. Training should be an ongoing process.

Keep (1989) argued that Training of employees is not an option; it is an intrinsic part of the practice of HRM and is an investment in people. In this new era, almost all companies, organisation as well as government have started to appreciate the value of adequate, consistent and long term investment in training of their employees.

2.2 Training Definition

Training has been defined in many ways by different authors.

According to Oxford Dictionary, training is considered as being the “process of preparing somebody for a job”.

“Training is planned process to modify Skills, Knowledge and Attitude (KSA) through learning experience to achieve effective performance in an activity or range of activities. In work situations, its purpose is to develop the abilities of the individual and to satisfy the current and future needs of the organization.”
(Beardwell-Holden 1994)

“Training means investing in people to enable them to perform better and to empower them to make the best use of their natural abilities.” Training is generally defined “as a systematic effort to modify and develop knowledge, skills and attitudes through learning experiences to achieve effective performance in an activity or range of activities.”
(Garavan et al 1995)

Training is a systematic modification of behaviour through learning, which occurs as a result of education, instruction, and development and planned experience. It means investing in people to enable them to perform better and to empower them to make best use of their natural abilities.
(Armstrong 2001)

“Training is a process whereby people acquire capabilities to aid in the achievement of organisational goals.”
(Mathis & Jackson 2005)

Grobler et al (2006: 300) identify training as being task-oriented and focused on improving the learner’s job performance. Development, on the other hand, is argued to be directed towards “creating ongoing learning opportunities so that employees can improve over a longer period of time and learn skills other than those required in the current job.”
(Kleynhans et al, 2007: 117)

Training may be defined as the “planned effort by a company to facilitate employees’ learning of job-related competencies. These competencies include knowledge, skills or behavior that are critical for successful job performance.”
(Noe et al 2008: 267)

2.3 Training related concepts

It is necessary to distinguish training from closely related concepts of:
i. Learning. ii. Education. iii. Development.

Learning – The course of act whereby individuals acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes through experience, reflection, study or instruction.

Education – A procedure and a sequence of actions which aim at enabling an individual to assimilate and increase knowledge, skills, values and understanding that are not simply associated to a narrow field of action but permit a wide range of problems to be defined and solved. Education would mean any long term learning activity aimed at preparing individuals for a diversity of roles in society; as citizens, workers and members of family.

Development – Development can be seen as any learning which is heading towards potential requirements rather than present requirements, and which is worried more with career development than on the spot performance. The focal point of development tends to be first and foremost on an organisation’s future manpower provisions, and secondly on the growth needs of individuals in the place of work through training.

2.4 Systematic Approach to Training

Training should be systematic in that it is particularly designed, intended and implemented to meet defined requirements. It is provided by people who know how to train and later on the impact of training is carefully evaluated. The concept was initially developed for the industrial training boards in the 1960s and consists of a simple four-stage model.

1. Identify training needs.
2. Decide what sort of training is required to satisfy these needs.
3. Use experienced and trained trainers to implement training.
4. Follow up and evaluate training to ensure that it is effective.

Figure 2.1
Systematic Approach to Training (Armstrong 2001)

2.4.1 Training policy

In order to have training, there should be a well defined training and development policy declaration. The policy will give a structure within which training will function that is guidelines on the amount of training that should be given to each category of employees as well as managerial, professional and technical cadres. A successful training policy provides guidance for allocating department resources such as trainers, money, and time, gives a broad direction to training actions and outlines the authority given to the training department, as well as the restrictions to that authority. The policy must specify the approach to be adopted, whether training will take place within the organisation or have recourse to external specialised organisations, employees’ career development and management development schemes.

2.4.2 Identify Training Needs

The process of identifying exactly what training is required to fill the gap is called “Training Needs Analysis” (TNA). The function of TNA is to research and to analyse the nature of a meticulous job or role in a systematic way in order to identify the gap between job/role performance and the future requirements of the job/role. An identified gap between present and future performance requirements will assist in determining the training need, providing job/role holder with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to meet the requirements of future performance.

Levels of analysis for determining training needs
There are three levels of analysis for determining the needs that training can fulfil, namely:

i) The Individual Level. ii) The Organisational Level. iii) The Job Level.

i) The Individual Level
The needs analysis at an individual level will consist of:

1. Identifying the person specification and comparing it with job specification.
2. Identifying critical incidents that have recurred and caused stress over a period of time.
3. Identifying individual strengths and weaknesses and finding ways of developing the strengths and minimizing weaknesses.

ii) The Organisational Level
The needs of the organisation will be analysed based on the following:

1. Change in business strategy.
2. Change in organisation structure.
3. Development and trends in the market.
4. Level of competition.

iii) The Job Level

The needs analysis at the job level will consist of:

1. Identifying the job description and changes that have taken place.
2. Analysing the information from the person specification to know the kind of person required.
3. Identify the training priorities.

2.4.3 Design the Training
Selection of Trainees

In general, whenever training needs are assessed, the target group requiring the training is also determined. Selection of trainees for training programs should explicitly consider the ability of the employee to master the materials. A number of research studies have shown that an employee’s motivation to learn impacts on “knowledge gain, behaviour change or skill acquisition in training programs.”
(Noe et al, 2008: 280).

Establishing the Training Goals, Aims and Objectives

The setting out of clear goals enables planners to structure their activities with relevance and establish a basis for evaluating the extent to which the trainees will accomplish them. The goals of training program must be directly related to the needs analysis phase. Training goals and aims are broad statements of purpose or intention on the part of the employer. Objectives are far more precise in their nature. They are short, sharp statements describing what an employee should be able to do at the end of the learning event.

Training Program Content and Sequence

After TNA and setting of aims and objectives of training programs, designers must decide about the contents of the training program. The contents include the knowledge, the skills, the attitudes and behaviours to be passed on to trainees. Once the contents have been decided, the sequence of the events too must be decided. It should be decided which event should come first and which one should come at the end.

Establish Training Organisations

Training can be provided either internally or externally depending on the nature of the contents of the training program. Some organisations which have the necessary human resource, technical facilities, infrastructure and the required time, provide in-house training. Other organisations, which do not have the required resources, look for external specialised training institutions for training purposes. Some organisations may choose both in-house and off-the job training. For both cases, a safe learning environment is necessary for learning to take place.

The Location of Training

If the training will be held in the organisation itself, then there must be a comfortable room with sufficient space for the trainees with all the training materials and facilities required and the necessary comforts for trainees. If the training is off-the-job, the location should be easily accessible to all trainees.

Selection of Training Techniques

There are several methods which can be used to train and develop staff both on and off-the-job. However, it is important to recognise that no one method is inherently superior to any other, but that different methods are suitable for different sets of circumstances. Appropriate training techniques should be chosen which would attain training objectives in the best way. Sometimes, a combination of two or more training techniques should be used. Hereunder are a few examples of training techniques most commonly used: -

a) Lectures, presentation and videos – these are appropriate for large number of people to be given the same information at the same time.
b) Demonstration - it is a technique of telling or showing trainees how to do a job and then allowing them to get on with it.
c) Coaching – it is a person-to-person technique and provides guidance while the trainee is actually performing the job.
d) Handouts, brochures and pamphlets – many organisations rely a lot on these techniques to train and modify the attitudes of staff.

Selection and Training of Trainers

The selection and training of trainers is very important because the quality of training is heavily dependent upon the ability of trainers to plan, organise, execute and evaluate the training program. Trainees should be motivated in order to get their attention and commitment. Hence, if the trainers fail to motivate the trainees, the training program is not likely to attain its aims and objectives. A trainer must have a broad knowledge and a rich experience and skills about the job where training is being given. The trainer must have the ability to expose and present the materials in a language that is easily understood by the trainees and, with the learning materials, have good communication skills so as to obtain feedback from the trainees. He must have patience with trainees lagging behind and help them to cope with the material program by giving them special attention. Also, the trainer must be able to evaluate the performance of the trainees. Now if the trainer lacks a few of the skills and abilities, he must be trained so that he can execute the training program effectively. The trainer must develop a sense of mutual trust where the trainees are confident and may, thus, participate fully.

2.4.4 Implementation of Training Program

Before executing the training program some organisations adopting an open participative style of management, will consult the trainees and bring certain modifications to the training program if required and whenever applicable. There must be a time table for executing the training program with appropriate breaks. However, any problem encountered during the execution of the training program should be tackled and solved immediately so that it does not delay the training program.

2.4.5 Assessing the Effectiveness of Training

The final logical stage in the training process is to find out how effective the training has been. There are few who would disagree with and yet in many organisations, validation of training is either ignored or it is approached in an unconvincing or an unprofessional manner. Some trainers have reflected a defensive approach to validation because they have felt that it invites criticism and apportions blame when training has not been as successful as it might have been.

Another term which is used in the process of assessing the effectiveness of training is evaluation. For many trainers, evaluation has taken no vague connotation but generally it is seen as the process of attempting to assess the total value of training that is the cost benefit, and general outcomes which benefit the organization as well as the value of the improved performance of those who have undertaken training.

The close relationship of the activities of internal and external validation as well as the evaluation suggests the need for an integrated approach to assessing the effectiveness of training. Suggested steps or levels within such an approach, which reflect the work of Hamblin (1974) and of Kirckpatrick (1967) are Reaction, Learning, Job behaviour and performance and organization.

Reactions Level

How the students and trainers reacted to the training; their feelings about the structure and the content of the training and the methods employed.

These reactions reflect the trainees’ opinions in four main areas:

• The knowledge and skills content of training as it is expresses in the training objectives.
• The training methods or tactics used in the training and the trainers who delivered it.
• The general learning conditions and environment in which the training took place.
• The degree to which the attitudinal objectives of the training program have been achieved.

Learning Level

The learning level of validation is directed at measuring trainees’ performance in term of their knowledge, skills and attitudes against the criteria which were set for the period during which they are in training and the immediate post-training period. The criteria used at this stage and the standards set are not necessarily the same as those which might be used when assessing an experienced worker. For example, the period of training may concentrate on accuracy and subsequently; speed will be build up whilst performing the job. The standards expected of a trainee and the method of assessment should have been considered during the design of the training stage and therefore should be included in the training objectives.
To many trainers, this stage of measurement means an end-of-course test or assessment. However, to make optimum use of training, measurement of competence should be continuous so that trainers can introduce remedial strategies and further practice when it is appropriate.

Job Behaviour Level

At this stage the assessment of the effectiveness of training moves from the training context into the work environment, the trainer is naturally going to be concerned with how well the training experience has enable the trainees to perform cert