Chapter 8

Employee Training and Development

• Importance of Training
• Who Will Do the Training
• How Employees Learn Best
• Developing a Job Training
Program
• Retraining
• Orientation
• Overcoming Obstacles to Learning

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 Importance of Training
Teaching people How to do Their Jobs:
• There are three kinds of training:
Job Instruction, Retraining, and
Orientation.
• The big sister, big brother, or
buddy system is when a old hand
shows a newcomer the ropes.
• When good training is absent there
is likely to be an atmosphere of
tension, crisis, and conflict because
nobody knows what to do.
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The Benefits of Training
• Gives the supervisor more time to
manage, standardized performance, less
absenteeism, less turnover, reduced
tension, consistency, lower costs, more
customers, better service
• Gives the workers confidence to do their
jobs, reduces tension, boost morale and job
satisfaction, reduces injuries and accidents,
gives them a chance to advance.
• Gives the business a good image and more
profit.

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Then why is training often neglected?
• Urgency of need
• Training time
• Costs
• Employee turnover
• Short-term worker
• Diversity of worker
• Kinds of jobs (simple-complex)
• Not knowing exactly what you
want your people to do and how
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Who will do the Training?
• The magic apron method: people train
themselves the easiest ways to get the job
done, and what will keep them from
getting into trouble.
• The person that is leaving trains:
teaches shortcuts and ways of breaking the
rules.
• Big sister, big brother, or buddy
method: passes on bad habits and may
resent new person as a competitor.
• The logical person to train new workers
is YOURSEF!
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How do Employees Learn the Best?

• Learning is the acquisition

of skills, knowledge, or
attitudes.
• The adult learning theory
is a field of research that
examines how adults learn.
A number of the following
tips come from the adult
leaning theory.

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 How employees learn the best:
• When they are actively involved in the
learning process-(to do this choose a
appropriate teaching method).
• Training is relevant and practical.
• Training material is organized and
presented in chunks.
• Training is in an informal, quiet, and
comfortable setting.
• When they have a good trainer.
• When they receive feedback on
performance.
• When they are rewarded. 7
 Developing a Job-Training Program
• Training plan: A detailed plan for
carrying out employee training for
a unit of work.
• 1st- establish performance
standards: they provide a ready
made structure for a training
program.
• 2nd- write a training objective
derived form above.
• 3rd- Develop standard procedures
(list tasks and spell them out).
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Developing a Unit Training Program
• This is taught in several sessions.
• It should provide check points to
measure progress.
• Should include two elements:
1. Showing and telling the employee
what to do.
2. Having the employee do it (right).
• Location should be quiet.
• Training materials should be the
same as used on the job.
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 Moving from Plan to Action
• Training people with some
experience begins with a
pretest.
• Carry out the training
program with employees
who do not meet standards.
• Once the training process is
complete EVALUATE.

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 Evaluation
• Formal evaluation: uses observation,
interviews, and surveys to monitor training
while its going on.
• Summative evaluation: measures results
when training is complete in five ways:
1. Reaction
2. Knowledge
3. Behavior
4. Attitudes
5.Productivity

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Job Instruction Training (JIT)
• Also called on the job training.
• Consists of 4 steps:
1. Prepare the learner
2. Demonstrate the task
3. Have the worker do the task
4. Follow through: put the
worker on the job, correcting and
supporting as nessicary.
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 Classroom Training Skills
• Be aware of appropriate body
language and speech.
• Watch how you talk to employees.
Covey respect and appreciation.
• Handle problem behaviors in an
effective manner.
• Avoid time wasters.
• Facilitate employee participation
and discussion.
• Use visual aids to avoid constantly
referring to notes.
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Retraining
• Needed when changes are made that
affect the job, employees performance
drops below par, or when the worker has
not mastered a particular technique.
• A positive one-on-one approach to
retraining is referred to a coaching.
• Coaching is a two part process.
1. Observation of the employees
performance.
2. Conversation between manager and
employee focusing on job performance.
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 Orientation: the pre-job phase of training.

• Introduces each new employee

to the job and the workplace.
• Tells new staff members what
they want to know and what the
company wants them to know.
• Communicates information give
out a employee handbook.
• Creates positive employee
attitudes toward the company
and the job.
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Overcoming Obstacles to Learning
• Reduce fear with a positive
approach (convey confidence in the
worker).
• Increase motivation: emphasize
whatever is of value to the learner,
make the program form a series of
small successes, build in incentives
and rewards.
• Limited abilities: adjust teaching to
learners level.
• Laziness, indifference, resistance:
May mean a problem worker. 16
Overcoming Obstacles to Learning
• Teaching not adapted to learners:
Deal with people as they are (teach
people not tasks), keep it simple,
involve all the senses.
• Poor training program: revise to
include objectives.
• Poor instructor: The trainer needs
to know the job, be a good
communicator + leader, sensitive,
patient, helpful, etc.

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