Beginners Guide to Employee training and development

Training is a program that is conducted by the organization to help an employee to learn new skills or attain knowledge with the main focus of improving their current skills to improve in their job. Development is more like an expansive and it mainly focuses on the growth of an employee and their future performance with less impact on the immediate job role.

Training and development is a planned effort and an important activity in any organization in the current world due to the reason that there are lots of changes happening on daily basis. The organization will have to act fast for the imparting the right training to the employees.

The difference between training and development is that training consists of providing an employee with the material that is required for the job role. Development of an employee is to identify their strengths and weaknesses and then motivating and pushing them to perform better.

Employee training and development program is a helpful program for both the employee and the organization.

Training and Development consist of the following 3 main activities:

• Training
• Education and
• Development

Training activity is focused and evaluated against the job.

Education activity is focused on the kind of jobs that an individual may hold in the long run and it is also evaluated.

Development is focused on the organizational activities and not possible to evaluate.

In order to meet the goals of the organization which is achieved through the employees, the employees will have to be up to date. This is possible when the right skills and knowledge is given to them at the right time. Hence for doing so, the organization will have to invest in updating the skills of its employees. This is done through the process of training and development.

The employee training and development activity program is an organizational activity which will have to cater to various kinds of employees within the organization. The main aim of the program will have to improve the performance of the employees. It will have to be well organized to increase the knowledge and expertise of the employees. The training will have to meet both the technical and managerial skills of the employees. It is considered that the skills and knowledge that are gained through the training and development are assets to the organization. Through this program, the employees can also be upskilled, boost their confidence with their job role and also have an opportunity to enhance their career.

Employee Training and Development program is important in an organization for the following reasons:

• Technology advancement on daily basis
• To meet the demanding customers
• To enhance productivity
• To ensure the output meets the quality standards
• To ensure that the employees are up to date that matches the market

Training and development should be a continuous process within the organization. Every measure should be taken by the management that these programs should bring out a positive change in the organization and the employees.

Objectives of Employee Training and Development

The main objectives of training and development programs in an organization are:

• To prevent outdated concept within the organization and their schedule
• To improve the knowledge and skills of the employees with a specific job role
• To provide various kinds of skills and knowledge to the employees so that they will be able to perform and handle various kinds of job roles
• To train the employees to handle their jobs in an efficient way
• To develop managerial skills to the employees so that they can handle higher positions and responsibilities

Benefits of Employee Training and Development

Through training and development is a costly affair, investing in training is important as the training will bring out new changes to the employee and organization.

Benefits of training and development programs in an organization are:

• Upgrading to new skills to work better
• Increase in productivity
• Standardization of procedures
• Boost up the motivation of the employees
• Managerial development

Benefits of training and development programs for an employee are:

• Increase in confidence to take up the job
• New skills upgrading
• Career enhancement and better income based on performance
• Develop flexibility in work

Employee Training and Development Process

The training and development process is a step by step process that is followed systematically in order to attain a successful program.

It has the following steps:

1) Analyze the Needs

The first step in training and development process is to analyze the needs for it. The need for training has to be identified through the analysis of future challenges. The training needs should match the goals of the organization.

The assessing of needs will have to be done keeping in mind the individual and the team requirement. The individual training is for the individual to apply the skills and the team training is to adhere to the changes that take place due to organizational strategy.

2) Objective setting

After analyzing the needs and identified, the objectives of the training are set. The objectives could be based on the gaps that are seen in their skill sets.

3) Design

Once the groundwork for the training is done, the next step is to design the training and development program which will match to the objectives. The main point of focus will be to identify the trainers and trainees, mode of training, level of training, activities included in training etc. The action plan is also included like preparing the training material, content and other requirements. The venue for the program, whether in-house or outside the organization will also be decided.

4) Implementation

After the design of the training and development program, the next task is to put it into action. The trainer will conduct the session. The trainees will be observed throughout the session.

5) Evaluation

Evaluation is an important step for all the training and development programs. Feedback is taken from the trainees to find out whether the program had an impact on the trainees. By using the feedback, the organization can identify any pitfalls in the program and can correct it in the coming programs.

Types of Employee Training and Development

Training and development programs will differ based on the various situations of the organization.

1) Induction Training – This training is carried on to introduce a new employee to the organization. It contains explaining the day to day activities of the organization, rules, services etc. The main objective of this training is to make the new employee feel at ease.

2) On the Job Training – This training is specific to a job. The employee will be trained as and when the job is allocated to the employee. This type of training will boost the confidence of the employee and also help to perform better.

3) Technical Training – Based on the job, the training will be provided. It is a training that is meant to teach new employees various technologies that are used for the job. For example – in a retail outlet, technical training will include teaching the employee the ways to use the billing machine.

4) Team Training – Team training is carried out to have a healthy relationship with the team members. Various team-building exercises will help them to understand the concept of teamwork. The main objective of this training is to build the cohesiveness among team members.

5) Soft Skills Training – This training is not related to the skills. This training mainly focuses on communication and the way to provide better customer service.

Conclusion

Employee training and development is very essential in today’s business. Through this program, the employee and employer will get benefitted to a larger extent.0