Human Resource Management

by Shraddha Naik (M19095)

1b. Give an overview of “Training and development” as a functional area of HRM,

especially comparing and contrasting its past and present and highlighting the differences
thereby.

➔ Training and Development is a subsystem of an organization which emphasize on the

improvement of the performance of individuals and groups. Training is an educational process
which involves the sharpening of skills, concepts, changing of attitude and gaining more
knowledge to enhance the performance of the employees.
Training is about knowing where you are in the present and after some time where will you reach
with your abilities. By training, people can learn new information, new methodology and refresh
their existing knowledge and skills. Due to this there is much improvement and adds up the
effectiveness at work. The motive behind giving the training is to create an impact that lasts
beyond the end time of the training itself and employee gets updated with the new phenomenon.
Importance of Training and Development
For companies to keep improving, it is important for organizations to have continuous training
and development programs for their employees. Competition and the business environment
keeps changing, and hence it is critical to keep learning and pick up new skills.The importance of
training is stressed by a growing gap between existing competences and skills and those
competences and skills that are required to meet future challenges and ensure a successful
modernisation of official statistics. A framework of skills/capabilities begins with a gap analysis
and a description of how to close the gap. Lack of resources is a major barrier. To stay updated
competences of employees need to be assessed and trained regularly. This is sometimes referred
to as competence management, other times as development plans. The key issue is that the
management regularly assess the skills and knowledge of the employees in a systematic way and
follow-up on this.
Why Traditional Training Method no longer work:
• In Instructor-led classroom training employees are passive recipients of information in
presentation training methods. Poor offerings rely heavily on theoretical teachings, and
have a prescribed format which is wheeled out time and again, regardless of the
audience. They rely heavily on PowerPoint and reams of handouts, which often create an
instantaneous glazing over of eyes when produced.

• Another problem with a lot of traditional training offerings is that they are not designed
around the individual. They take the same approach with all delegates and often there is
not contact with those delegates prior to the course to identify needs, objectives and
personality. This is a huge mistake and creates a feeling of the delegate being taught

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 ‘at’. No wonder so many participate reluctantly feeling that the course has little or no
relevance to their own needs. When pre-care is provided, such as a questionnaire or
contact call, the delegate instantly feels cared for and has ownership of the process.
• Too often the contact with training participants ends when the event finishes, and the
material is filed away in the drawer and forgotten about, another box ticked. Without
good follow ups and after care for training, there is little point in doing it in the first
place. A great way of ensuring that learnt methods are being used and personal training
objectives achieved is to have both pre and post event contact, perhaps creating a
permanent and interactive record of the objectives and to follow up on how these have
been achieved.

Modern training & development:

Modern Training and skills development comprises a broad range of activities and arrangements,
including formal and informal training, job-rotation, traditional class-room courses, internal vs
external training, cooperation with e.g. universities, competence mapping, (personal) training
plans (development plans), special (introductory) training for newly recruited people, mentoring
and the use of new organisations or technologies in training, such as E-learning.
1)Hands-on training:
Hands on methods encourage the learner to participate in the learning process. The main forms
of hands on methods are on the job training, behavior modeling, business games, case studies
and simulations. Employees learn by observing their colleagues perform their duties in the on the
job training.These include the self directed learning programs and apprenticeship.
2)Computer based & e-learning:
E-Learning offers possibilities of training that are less restricted by space and time and which
can be used for both general training or more specific purposes or for specific groups of staff, for
training in regional offices. It also has potential for use across countries since the same E-
learning course could be offered to different countries and hence be available for much more
people than would be possible in a traditional class room training. E-learning can be developed at
relative low costs compared to traditional training, but there is also evidence that it may be less
efficient and that it should be followed up closely or complemented with face-to-face activities.
3)Coaching & Mentoring:

Having a mentor not only creates growth opportunities for employees, but it builds relationships
that help them feel more connected to and supported by your company. Mentoring can also
impact your company’s bottom line; 77% of companies say their mentoring program improves
employee retention and job performance. However, mentorship programs require your most
high-performing people to step away from their primary roles to grow newer team members.

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A great example of a company with a successful mentorship program is Boeing. They offer new
hires and interns the opportunity to learn from established executives who help them set career
goals and develop their leadership skills.

4)Group Building Methods:

This method improves the effectiveness of a team or a group. This entails employees sharing
experiences and ideas, understanding interpersonal dynamics, building group identity and
learning personal weaknesses and strengths plus those of others. These methods encourage
experiential learning.The main forms of group building methods are action learning, team
training and adventure learning. The methods are effective in developing team work skills. These
include risk taking, conflict management, problem solving and self awareness. Team
performance comprises of behavior, knowledge and attitude. Action learning entails giving work
groups or teams a real problem, allowing them to solve it, committing to a plan of action and
holding the trainees accountable to the execution of the plan. Practical problems include how to
develop global leaders, removing barriers between the company and its customers, better
utilization of technology and how to change the business.

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2B. Comment on the Contemporary Workplace Flexibility Practices such as Work from
home, Flexi work, Leave pooling, Auto promotion etc. adopted by modern organisations
and emphasise on their advantages or disadvantages if any along with relevant examples.

➔Workplace flexibility is becoming a popular term in many work venues and research
endeavours. It is heralded as a necessity in the contemporary workplace. A multinational
corporation makes workplace flexibility central to its global strategy to attract, motivate, and
retain key talent ; a respected non-profit foundation promotes workplace flexibility by funding
projects to encourage its adoption (Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace
Flexibility, 2007); a large government agency places flexibility in a prominent position in
funding projects through the Work, Family and Health Network; and testimony is given in the
US Senate that, ‘workplace flexibility will become one of the hallmarks of good management
practice, in part because it can produce positive outcomes for employees as well as for
workplaces. Media frequently mentions the value of workplace flexibility as a way for workers
to successfully integrate job and personal/family demands in today’s 24/7 global economy. It is
clear that workplace flexibility is gaining momentum.
Working flexibly, and working from home, is not for everyone but it does offer some significant
advantages. In the past, many talented professionals with young families, unable to meet the
requirements of nine to five work, have had to put in place either expensive child-care
arrangements or have one parent become a stay-at-home mum or dad. A flexible approach to
work hours can go a long way to improving the careers of young parents and ensure that great
talent is retained.
In Australia, approximately 500 employees, 75 percent of whom work from home. The policy
has been in place for over five years and has resulted in having one of the best staff retention
rates in the sector, with an average tenure of eight years.
Here’s a look at flexible work strategies, and some of the companies that employ them.
1) RESULTS-ONLY WORK ENVIRONMENT
Who’s using it: MindTools, American Society of Clinical Oncology, some departments of Gap
• The ROWE concept means that team members are measured by performance, results, or
output—rather than physical presence in an office or number of hours worked.
• A ROWE workplace can serve to enable flexibility for all types of employees—those
who must attend daytime appointments, those who seek to avoid heavy commute times,
or those who are trading off family caregiving with partners.
• The team at Mindtool uses ROWE and advises that consistently setting clear, measurable
goals is one of the best ways to keep the entire organization committed to this type of
productive flexibility.The focus is on results and goals. This means that team members
are clear about what they need to achieve, and how this contributes to the organization’s
objectives as a whole.

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2) TIME-AGNOSTIC WORK
Who’s using it: FlexJobs, CloudPeeps
• Work can sometimes require an interruption to the traditional nine-to-five, whether it’s to
nurture one’s own personal health or to take time off to provide care to others.
• The modern workforce is increasingly made up of people who have evaluated their
lifestyles and identified their unique productivity rhythms, dietary needs, and flow states.
• Traffic patterns, school schedules, and family obligations also factor in as we evaluate
which parts of the day are most favorable for getting work done.
• If remote work isn’t quite a workable solution, employers can offer flexibility regarding
when employees can put in their work. Scheduling with a bias toward flexibility can help
to retain the best and most loyal team.
There are a number of ways to add flexibility into employees’ schedules. Work Flexibility lists a
few here:

When workers have control over their own schedules, it results in lower levels of stress,
psychological distress, burnout, and higher job satisfaction. People who are in tune with their
daily habits understand which elements create more stress and what time of day offers the best
opportunity to be creative, which means flexible work can also create opportunities for more
exceptional work.

3) JOB SHARING
Who’s using it: U.S. federal government, Qualcomm

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 • Finally, job-sharing programs are one of the most common ways for specialized
professionals to create the time needed to care for their personal needs in addition to
performing excellent work.
• A job-share team is formed by two professionals who form a partnership to perform one
job. An example workweek might involve Teammate A working Monday to Wednesday
and Teammate B working Wednesday to Friday at the same position, with some handoff
and complementary responsibilities on the overlap day.
• Job sharing is a great solution to the “brain drain” and other loss of organizational
intelligence that occurs when highly experienced workers must face leaving the
workforce due to personal obligations. Two professionals who can join together to offer a
company their combined experience is one of the best ways to prevent a distraction from
the company’s directives.
• The U.S. federal government has promoted job sharing as an opportunity within its
departments to offer flexible employment to those who need more alternatives in taking
care of their families, pursuing education, or for those who have other reasons for
desiring part-time work. Several state legislatures are reviewing bills that will require
more flexible options for employees.

4) LEAVE POOLING
• Accenture India lately announced a policy, ‘Hours That Help’. The Company believes
that it encourages the spirit of sharing among the employees. It appeared as a result of
many of the company employees wanting to assist colleagues who desired extra leave on
account of a medical emergency or personal problem. Many people do not avail of their
leave fully by the end of the year. This offered an opportunity to address the other’s
problems or help them out. This is a facility that permits employees to donate their leave
in a common pool that everyone can dip into on the basis of individual requirements. It is
called as a ‘Leave Bank’.
• There are some MNCs which have similar special leave programs, including a month
long paid leave to employees who have served for over six years, sabbatical for long-
time, valuable employees and a provision for clubbing calendar holidays with week-end
offs. The leave pooling system also addresses the problem of some employees failing to
avail their leave. It ensures that leave is not wasted by transferring it to colleagues who
may need it more. It also facilitates bonding among colleagues. For the organization, such
initiatives help create a positive work atmosphere. Some companies may not have formal
leave policies, but empower team leaders/ managers to design their own policies to
ensure employees plan their leave better.