MPHR7113

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER
TRAINING EMPLOYEES

- MEHAN -
 CHAPTER 7

TRAINING EMPLOYEES

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© 2022 McGraw Hill. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom. No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill. 2
 What Do I Need to Know?
LO 7-1 Discuss how to link training programs to organizational needs.
LO 7-2 Explain how to assess the need for training.
LO 7-3 Explain how to assess employees’ readiness for training.
LO 7-4 Describe how to plan an effective training program.
LO 7-5 Compare widely used training methods.
LO 7-6 Summarize how to implement a successful training program.
LO 7-7 Evaluate the success of a training program.
LO 7-8 Describe training methods for employee orientation and onboarding and for diversity
management.

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 Introduction

TRAINING
• Acquiring job-related knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors.

• Programs range from formal classes to one-on-one mentoring.

• Takes place on the job or at remote locations.

• Should be linked to organizational needs and motivation of employees.

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 Training Linked to Organizational Needs 1

IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING
• More important than ever due to nature of the modern business
environment.

• Change requires employees to learn new skills continuously.

• Growing reliance on teamwork creates a demand for the ability to

solve problems in teams and often requires training.

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 Applications of Training 1

ORIENTATION
Training designed to prepare new
employees to:
• Perform their jobs effectively.
• Learn about organization.
• Establish work relationships.
ONBOARDING
• Ongoing process that aims to
prepare new employees for full
participation.
• Conscious attempt to get new
hires to identify and connect
with employer.

Objective is to familiarize new

employees with rules, policies, and
procedures.
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 ONBOARDING
What is an Onboarding Program?
"Onboarding" refers to the processes in which new hires are
integrated into the organization. It includes activities that allow
new employees to complete an initial new-hire orientation
process, as well as learn about the organization and its
structure, culture, vision, mission and values.

Objectives of an Onboarding Program:

Help new employee learn the company's mission, vision, strategic
goals, and priorities. Help new employee understand performance
expectations for new job. Help new employee reach those
performance expectations.
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 ONBOARDING
Why is the onboarding process important?
Onboarding is important because it acclimates employees to their
role, the company's philosophies, and what the company has to
offer. It also engages employees, creating workers that are
committed to the company's success and helps retain new hires
by making them feel like a member of the team.
What are the three 3 phases of employee onboarding?
When people teams talk about onboarding they use it to mean just
about everything that happens after a new hire signs an offer letter
to get them started in their role. Typically, all those different things
fall into three overlapping phases: admin, orientation, and
enablement.
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 Figure 7.4 Goals for a Four-Stage Onboarding Process
What is successful onboarding?
A successful onboarding program will likely include orientation,
job-specific training, introductions, culture acclimation and follow-
ups. And it all starts the second a new hire commits to the job.

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 Training Linked to Organizational Needs 2

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
Teaches skills and behaviors that help organizations achieve goals.
Used by HR professionals.
Includes:
1. Assessment of needs.
2. Preparation for training.
3. Planning the training program.
4. Implementing the program.
5. Evaluating the results of the program.

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 Figure 7.1 Stages of Instructional Design

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 Training Linked to Organizational Needs 3

LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (L M S)

• Computer application that automates the administration, development, and

delivery of training programs.

• LMS makes design process more efficient and effective.

• Can link to performance management system to plan and manage training needs,

outcomes, and associated rewards.

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 Needs Assessment 1

THE FIRST ELEMENT OF INSTRUCTIONAL

DESIGN IS NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
Evaluating the organization, individual employees, and tasks to determine what kinds
of training, if any, are necessary.

Answers three questions:

• Organization: What is the context in which training will occur?
• Person: Who needs training?
• Task: What subjects should the training cover?

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 Needs Assessment 2

ORGANIZATION ANALYSIS
The beginning of needs assessment.
It looks at training needs in light of:
• The organization’s strategy.
• Resources available for training.
• Management’s support for training activities.

The organization should show trainees how to use newly learned skills,
knowledge, and behaviors on the job.
Managers need to know how training will help them achieve business goals.

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 Needs Assessment 3

Employee training must fit with the

organization’s strategy and budget. Such
training can only be successful if managers are
willing to help trainees use their newly
learned knowledge and skills on the job.

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 Needs Assessment 4

PERSON ANALYSIS
Process of determining individuals’ needs and readiness for training by answering
three questions:
1. Do performance deficiencies result from a lack of knowledge, skill, or ability?
2. Who needs training?
3. Are the employees ready for training?
The primary variables are:
• The person’s ability and skills.
• Attitudes and motivation.
• The organization’s input.
• Performance feedback.
• Positive consequences to motivate good performance.
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 Needs Assessment 5

TASK ANALYSIS
Conditions to be considered:
• Job’s equipment and environment.
• Time constraints.
• Safety considerations.
• Performance standards.

Employees are interviewed and a questionnaire is created about the

importance, frequency, and difficulty of the tasks.
Determines which tasks will be the focus of training.

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 Readiness for Training

READINESS FOR TRAINING

Combination of employee characteristics and positive work environment that
permits training.
Necessary employee characteristics: ability to learn, favorable attitudes toward
training, motivation.
Positive work environment encourages learning.
• Situational constraints.
• Social support.

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 Table 7.1 What Managers Should Do to Support Training
Understand the content of the training.
Know how training relates to what you need employees to do.
In performance appraisals, evaluate employees on how they apply training to their jobs.
Support employees’ use of training when they return to work.
Ensure that employees have the equipment and technology needed to use training.
Prior to training, discuss with employees how they plan to use training.
Recognize newly trained employees who use training content.
Give employees release time from their work to attend training.
Explain to employees why they have been asked to attend training.
Give employees feedback related to skills or behavior they are trying to develop.
If possible, be a trainer.
Sources: J. Kirsch and S. Wzientek, “The Manager’s Role in Reinforcing Learning,” Training Industry Magazine, March–April 2018, pp. 38–41; D. W. Ballard,
“Managers Aren’t Doing Enough to Train Employees for the Future,” Harvard Business Review, November 14, 2017,
https://hbr.org; S. Bailey, “The Answer to Transfer,” Chief Learning Officer, November 2014, pp. 33–41; R. Hewes, “Step by Step,” TD, February 2014, pp. 56–61.
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 Planning the Training Program 1

TRAINING OBJECTIVES INCLUDE A STATEMENT OF:

1. Expectations.

2. Quality or level of acceptable performance.

3. Conditions under which the employee is to apply what they learned.

4. Measurable performance standards.

5. Resources needed to carry out desired performance outcome.

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 Planning the Training Program 2

IN-HOUSE OR CONTRACTED OUT?

Organizations can provide an effective training program even if they lack
expertise in training.
Many organizations use outside experts.
• Request for proposal (RFP).

Training administration is done by an HR professional.

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 Table 7.2 Categories of Training Methods
Method Techniques Applications
Presentation methods: trainees Lectures, workbooks, video Conveying facts or comparing
receive information provided by clips, podcasts, websites. alternatives.
others.
Hands-on-methods: trainees are On-the-job training, Teaching specific skills; showing
actively involved in trying out simulations, role-plays, how skills are related to job or
skills. computer games. how to handle interpersonal
issues.
Group-building methods: Group discussions, experiential Establishing teams or work
trainees share ideas and programs, team training. groups; managing performance
experiences, build group of teams or work groups.
identities, learn about
interpersonal relationships and
the group.

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 Figure 7.2 Use of Instructional Methods

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 Training Methods 1

CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION
Usually a trainer lecturing group.
Distance learning.
• Trainees at different locations.
• May involve videoconferencing, e-mail, instant messaging,
document-sharing software, and web cameras.
• Interaction between trainer and audience may be limited.

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 Training Methods 2

COMPUTER-BASED TRAINING
E-Learning:
• Web-based training modules, distance learning, and virtual
classrooms.

Electronic performance support systems (EPSS):

• Provides access to skills training, information, and
expert advice as needed.

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 Training Methods 3

ON-THE-JOB TRAINING (OJT)

Person with job experience and skill guides trainees.
• Apprenticeships.
• Internships.

OJT should include:

• Policy statement describing the purpose of OJT and emphasizing the organization’s support for it.
• Who is accountable for conducting OJT.
• Managers and peers should be trained in OJT principles.
• Access to lesson plans, checklists, procedure manuals, training manuals, learning contracts, and
progress report forms.
• The organization should assess the employee’s level of basic skills.

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 Table 7.3 Typical Jobs for Apprentices and Interns

Apprenticeship Internship
Bricklayer Accountant
Carpenter Doctor
Electrician Journalist
Plumber Lawyer
Nursing assistant Nurse
Welder

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 Training Methods 4

SIMULATIONS
• Enable trainees to see the impact of their decisions in an artificial, risk-free
environment.
• May use avatars.
• Virtual reality provides an interactive, three-dimensional experience.

BUSINESS GAMES
• Trainees gather and analyze information and make decisions that influence the
outcome.

CASE STUDIES
• Detailed descriptions of a situation that trainees study and discuss.
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 Training Methods 5

BEHAVIOR MODELING
• An effective way to teach interpersonal skills with role-playing and feedback.

EXPERIENTIAL PROGRAMS
• Learning concepts and applying them by simulating behaviors involved and analyzing
activity.
• Connecting analysis with real-life situations.
• Adventure learning.

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 Teamwork

One of the most important features of

organizations today is teamwork. Experiential
programs include team-building exercises like
wall climbing and rafting to help build trust
and cooperation among employees.

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 Training Methods 6

TEAM TRAINING ACTION LEARNING

Individuals work together to
achieve a common goal.
• Cross training.
• Coordination training.
• Team leader training.
• Teams get an actual problem.
• They work on solving the
problem.
• They commit to an action plan.
• They are responsible for
carrying out plan.

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 Implementing the Training Program 1

PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING
• Employees learn best when training links to current tasks.

• Employees need the chance to demonstrate and practice what they

have learned.

• Trainees need to understand whether or not they are succeeding.

• Well-designed training helps people remember content.

• Written materials should have appropriate readability.

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 Table 7.4 Ways That Training Helps Employees Learn
Training Activity
Communicate the learning
objective.
Use distinctive, attention-
getting messages.
Limit the content of training.
Guide trainees as they learn.
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Ways to Provide Training Activity
• Demonstrate the performance to be expected.
• Give examples of questions to be answered.
• Emphasize key points.
• Use pictures, not just words.
• Group lengthy material into chunks.
• Provide a visual image of the course material.
• Provide opportunities to repeat and practice material.
• Use words as reminders about sequence of activities.
• Use words and pictures to relate concepts to one another
and to their context.
• Prompt trainees to evaluate whether they understand and
are using effective tactics to learn the material.
Sources: Adapted from R. M. Gagne, “Learning Processes and Instruction,” Training Research Journal 1 (1995/96), pp.
17–28; and Traci Sitzmann, “Self-Regulating Online Course Engagement,” T&D, March 2010, https://www.td.org.
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 Table 7.4 Ways That Training Helps Employees Learn
Training Activity
Elaborate on the subject.
Provide memory cues.
Transfer course content to the
workplace.
Provide feedback about
performance.
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Ways to Provide Training Activity
• Present the material in different contexts and settings.
• Relate new ideas to previously learned concepts.
• Practice in a variety of contexts and settings.
• Suggest memory aids.
• Use familiar sounds or rhymes as memory cues.
• Design the learning environment so that it has elements
in in common with the workplace.
• Require learners to develop action plans that apply
training content to their jobs.
• Use words that link the course to the workplace.
• Tell trainees how accurately and quickly they are
performing their new skill.
• Show how trainees have met the objectives of the
training.
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 Implementing the Training Program 2

TRANSFER OF TRAINING
• On-the-job use of knowledge, skills, and behaviors
learned in training.
• Implementation strengthened by social support,
technical support, and self-management.
• Communities of practice provide peer support.

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 TRAINING EVALUATION: DONALD KIRKPATRICK

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 Figure 7.3 Measures of Training Success

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 Measuring the Results of Training 1

EVALUATION METHODS

Three questions indicate transfer of training:

1. Do you perform the task?

2. How many times do you perform the task?
3. To what extend do you perform difficult and challenging
learned tasks?

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 Measuring the Results of Training 2

TRAINING OUTCOMES
• Information such as facts, techniques, and procedures that trainees
can recall after training.
• Skills that trainees can demonstrate in tests or on the job.
• Trainee and supervisor satisfaction with training program.
• Changes in attitude related to training content.
• Improvements in individual, group, or company performance.
• High return on investment.

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 Measuring the Results of Training 3

APPLYING THE EVALUATION

• Helps with future decisions about the organization’s training
programs.
• Organization may identify a need to modify the training and
gain information about the kinds of changes needed.

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 End of Chapter 7

© 2022 McGraw Hill. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom. No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill. 41