Whitney and Company
What could Whitney do to enhance the value of training?
My recommendation for Whitney and Company is to incorporate the following changes to their current training program to ensure that they are meeting the needs of the trainees and also meeting the company’s overall objectives in an efficient and cost effective manner.
• Testing during the initial hiring phase
• On-the-spot Assessments
• Blended Training Approach
• Tailoring training content be to be more specific and opportunity for hands-on
• Evaluation and Feedback on training program and instructors
Specific job-related testing during the initial screening phase will allow Whitney and Company to determine competency level of candidate(s) and whether or not training is required. An On–the-spot Assessment will help identify the specific needs of each group of trainees by means of general questions, open discussion and/or a group activity. Another technique might be a pre-course assignment. Either one will solicit responses that can be useful to the instructor in preparing or tweaking training contents and method(s). Training methods should include interactive training, such as role playing, group activities, discussions, and whenever possible hands-on training, because people learn more easily when they build upon experience this would give the employees an opportunity to apply the skills they learned and not just learning in theory in a three and a half month training program. Shadowing might be another method of training for employees that enjoy this type of interaction. It also promotes team building. Ensuring that the content of the material is specific to each group of trainees is crucial and can help trainees learn it more effectively. More is not necessarily the best approach because you run the chance of being too general and overloading the trainees. The training program might also be broken into different modules which allow trainees to go back to their respective department for some
My recommendation for Whitney and Company is to incorporate the following changes to their current training program to ensure that they are meeting the needs of the trainees and also meeting the company’s overall objectives in an efficient and cost effective manner.
• Testing during the initial hiring phase
• On-the-spot Assessments
• Blended Training Approach
• Tailoring training content be to be more specific and opportunity for hands-on
• Evaluation and Feedback on training program and instructors
Specific job-related testing during the initial screening phase will allow Whitney and Company to determine competency level of candidate(s) and whether or not training is required. An On–the-spot Assessment will help identify the specific needs of each group of trainees by means of general questions, open discussion and/or a group activity. Another technique might be a pre-course assignment. Either one will solicit responses that can be useful to the instructor in preparing or tweaking training contents and method(s). Training methods should include interactive training, such as role playing, group activities, discussions, and whenever possible hands-on training, because people learn more easily when they build upon experience this would give the employees an opportunity to apply the skills they learned and not just learning in theory in a three and a half month training program. Shadowing might be another method of training for employees that enjoy this type of interaction. It also promotes team building. Ensuring that the content of the material is specific to each group of trainees is crucial and can help trainees learn it more effectively. More is not necessarily the best approach because you run the chance of being too general and overloading the trainees. The training program might also be broken into different modules which allow trainees to go back to their respective department for some
References: Mel Silberman, Assisted by Carol Auerbach (3rd Edition) Assessing Training Needs, Preparing Brain Friendly Lectures Online Sources: September 24, 2002 E-learning vs. Classrooms http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/Week1_Elearningvs.Classrooms.htm Dan Carnevale (February 24, 2002). The Chronicle of Higher Education. Online Students Don 't Fare as Well as Classroom Counterparts