Activity (Employee Training)

Discuss the following

1. Why do employers offer training to their employees?

- Providing training and development to employees allows employers to pinpoint the
knowledge and skills they want their employees to have. Training and development programs
can educate employees about new skills or provide updates on existing skills to enhance
productivity.

2. Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of traditional training methods versus
those of technology-based training methods.
- Both advantages and disadvantages of traditional training methods and technology-based
training methods have been an ongoing debate for a long time. As they both have their pros
and cons. Traditional training had been the preferred way to train for many decades as it
offered a personal connection with the trainer, opportunities to clear doubts in real-time, and
provided occasions for socio-emotional learning. Also, till a decade ago, web-based
technologies were not as developed as they are now and were a source of limited training
(i.e., for coders, IT engineers and professionals). Even though training was costly,
organizations undertook training projects/programs with the utmost enthusiasm. Web-based
learning has made waves, transforming the way we perceive corporate training, ensuring a
more cost-effective learning experience. Fixed timetables have been replaced with selectable
study times guaranteeing learners opt for training sessions as per their convenience, paper
with eco-friendly and more elaborate electronic-media and the learners control the pace with
which the course proceeds. For those who prefer a classical approach, trainers can conduct a
conference tutorial, replicating the feel of a live face-to-face session, imparting training
online. Learners from across the globe can access such courses even with
computational/mobile devices.

3. Discuss the role and importance of transfer in evaluating training outcomes.

- Training transfer is effectively and continually applying on the job what the trainee learned
during training. Goals of successful training transfer:
- Trainees generalize skills to the work setting.
- Trainees maintain skills in the work setting.
- Training transfer is measured after participation in a training program.

4. Discuss how transfer can be supported before, during and after training.
- At a basic level, one thing you can do to help boost transfer of training is simply ask managers
to check in with employees before and after the training—having a discussion beforehand
about how they could exhibit what they learned on the job and checking in at certain intervals
afterward to discuss whether they have been able to apply what they’ve learned.
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5. Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of traditional training methods versus
those of technology-based training methods.
- Both advantages and disadvantages of traditional training methods and technology-based
training methods have been an ongoing debate for a long time. As they both have their pros
and cons. Traditional training had been the preferred way to train for many decades as it
offered a personal connection with the trainer, opportunities to clear doubts in real-time, and
provided occasions for socio-emotional learning. Also, till a decade ago, web-based
technologies were not as developed as they are now and were a source of limited training
(i.e., for coders, IT engineers and professionals). Even though training was costly,
organizations undertook training projects/programs with the utmost enthusiasm. Web-based
learning has made waves, transforming the way we perceive corporate training, ensuring a
more cost-effective learning experience. Fixed timetables have been replaced with selectable
study times guaranteeing learners opt for training sessions as per their convenience, paper
with eco-friendly and more elaborate electronic-media and the learners control the pace with
which the course proceeds. For those who prefer a classical approach, trainers can conduct a
conference tutorial, replicating the feel of a live face-to-face session, imparting training
online. Learners from across the globe can access such courses even with
computational/mobile devices.

6. Explain how new technologies are influencing training.

- Technology allows you to understand how effective your training and development is by
tracking employee knowledge before and after the process. It also lets you see how well-
crafted your training is. Technology offers ease of use, learning retention, dissemination of
information, the ability to reinforce learning, employee training convenience and a reduced
impact on productivity.

7. Explain learning and transfer of training are enhanced by new training technologies.
- Transfer of learning refers to the ability of a trainee to apply the behavior, knowledge, and
skills acquired in one learning situation to another. Training transfer means that learners can
“transfer” their knowledge and skills learned in a training session back to their jobs. The
importance of training transfer cannot be overemphasized. Organizations spend billions of
dollars each year on training, yet only a fraction of that investment results in improved
performance if training transfer is not supported by stakeholders (i.e., any individual or group
that has a “stake” in the transfer of training). These include managers, peers, customers, and
the employer.