Strategic Training

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Introduction
 Business strategy – a plan that
integrates the company's goals, policies,
and actions.
 The strategy influences how the company
uses:
 physical capital, financial capital, and human
capital.
 Goals – what the company hopes to
achieve in the medium- and long-term
future.

2-2
Introduction (cont.)

 Strategy has a particularly strong

influence on determining:
 The amount of training devoted to current or
future job skills.
 The extent to which training is customized for
the particular needs of an employee or is
developed based on the needs of a team,
unit, or division.
 Whether training is restricted to specific
groups of employees or open to all
employees.

2-3
Introduction (cont.)

 Strategy has a particularly strong

influence on determining:
 Whether training is planned and
systematically administered, provided only
when problems occur, or developed
spontaneously as a reaction to what
competitors are doing.
 The importance placed on training compared
to other human resource management
practices such as selection and compensation.

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The Evolution of Training’s Role

 Learning – the acquisition of knowledge

by individual employees or groups of
employees who are willing to apply that
knowledge in their jobs in making
decisions and accomplishing tasks for the
company.
 Knowledge – what individuals or teams
of employees know as well as company
rules, processes, tools, and routines.
 It is either tacit knowledge or explicit
knowledge.

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The Evolution of Training’s Role
(cont.)

 Explicit knowledge – knowledge that

can be formalized, codified, and
communicated.
 Tacit knowledge – personal knowledge
based on individual experience that is
difficult to explain to others.

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The Evolution of Training’s Role
(cont.)

 Key capabilities needed to implement

learning strategies:
 Alignment of learning goals to the business
goals.
 Measurement of the overall business impact
of the learning function.
 Movement of learning outside the company to
include customers, vendors, and suppliers.
 A focus on developing competencies for the
most critical jobs.
2-7
The Evolution of Training’s Role
(cont.)

 Key capabilities needed to implement

learning strategies:
 Integration of learning with other human
resource functions such as knowledge
management, performance support, and
talent management.
 Training delivery approaches that include
classroom as well as e-learning.
 Design and delivery of leadership
development courses.
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Figure 2.2 - The Strategic Training
and Development Process

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The Strategic Training and
Development Process

 Mission – the company's reason for existing.

 Vision – the picture of the future that the
company wants to achieve.
 Values – what the company stands for.
 SWOT analysis – an analysis of the company's
operating environment to identify opportunities
and threats as well as an internal analysis of the
company's strengths and weaknesses.
 The company has to consider its competition.

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The Strategic Training and
Development Process (cont.)

 Strategic training and development

initiatives – learning-related actions
that a company should take to help it
achieve its business strategy.

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The Strategic Training and
Development Process (cont.)

 Metrics are used to identify:

 trainees' satisfaction with the training
program.
 whether the trainees' knowledge, skill, ability,
or attitudes changed as a result of program
participation.
 whether the program resulted in business-
related outcomes for the company.

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The Strategic Training and
Development Process (cont.)

 Balance scorecard – means of

performance measurement that provides
managers with a chance to look at the
overall company performance or the
performance of departments or functions
 It considers four perspectives: customer,
internal, innovation and learning, and
financial.

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Organizational Characteristics
That Influence Training

 Top management support

 The CEO is responsible for vision, and being a
sponsor governor, faculty, learner, and
marketing agent.
 The degree to which a company's units or
businesses are integrated affects the kind
of training that takes place.
 Global presence.
 Business conditions.
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Organizational Characteristics
That Influence Training (cont.)

 Human resource management (HRM)

practices – the management activities
related to investments, staffing
performance management, training, and
compensation and benefits.

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Organizational Characteristics
That Influence Training (cont.)

 Staffing strategy – the company's

decisions regarding where to find
employees, how to select them, and the
desired mix of employee skills and
statuses.
 Human resource planning –
identification, analysis, forecasting, and
planning of changes needed in the human
resource area to help the company meet
changing business conditions.
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Organizational Characteristics
That Influence Training (cont.)

 Extent of unionization
 Unions' interest in training has resulted in
joint union-management programs designed
to help employees prepare for new jobs.
 Staff involvement in training and
development
 If managers are not involved in the training
process, training may be unrelated to
business needs.

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Organizational Characteristics
That Influence Training (cont.)

 Staff involvement in training and

development
 If line managers are aware of what
development activity can achieve, they will be
more willing to become involved in it.
They will also become more involved in the training
process if they are rewarded for participating.
 An emerging trend is that companies expect
employees to initiate the training process.

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Models of Organizing the Training
Department

 Centralized training - training and

development programs, resources, and
professionals are primarily housed in one
location and decisions about training
investment, programs, and delivery
methods are made from that department.
 It helps companies better integrate
programs for developing leaders and
managing talent with training and
learning during times of change.
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Models of Organizing the Training
Department (cont.)

 Faculty model
 Look a lot like the structure of a college.
 Training staff are experts in the areas in
which they train.
 The training department's plans are easily
determined by staff expertise.
 The training function may not meet the needs
of the organization.
 Trainers may be unaware of business
problems or unwilling to adapt materials to fit
a business need.
2-20
Models of Organizing the Training
Department (cont.)

 Customer model
 Responsible for the training needs of one
division or function of the company.
 Training programs are developed more in line
with the particular needs of a business group.
 Trainers are expected to be aware of business
needs and to update courses and content to
reflect them.
 Involves considerable time, programs may
vary greatly in effectiveness, and design may
be poor.
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Models of Organizing the Training
Department (cont.)

 Matrix model
 The trainer has the responsibility of being
both a training expert and a functional expert.
 It helps ensure that training is linked to the
needs of the business.
 Trainer gains expertise in understanding a
specific business function.
 Trainers will have more time demands and
conflicts because they report to two
managers.
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Models of Organizing the Training
Department (cont.)

 The business embedded (BE) model is

characterized by five competencies
strategic direction, product design,
structural versatility, product delivery,
and accountability for result.
 It is customer-focused when compared to
the traditional training department.

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Marketing the Training Function

2-24
Marketing the Training Function
(cont.)

 Companies sell training services for the

following reasons:
 Some businesses are so good at a particular
aspect of their operation that other companies
are asking for their expertise.
 Other companies aim training at their own
customers or dealers.
 In some cases, the training department sells
unused seats in training programs or e-
learning courses.

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Outsourcing Training

 Outsourcing – the use of an outside

company that takes complete
responsibility and control of some training
or development activities or that takes
over all or most of a company's training
including administration, design, delivery,
and development.

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Outsourcing Training (cont.)

 Why companies outsource training:

 Cost savings.
 Time savings that allow a company to focus
on business strategy.
 Improvements in compliance and accuracy in
training mandated to comply with federal,
state, or local rules.
 The lack of capability within the company to
meet learning demands.
 The desire to access best training practices.

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Outsourcing Training (cont.)

 Two reasons companies do not outsource

their training are:
 The inability of outsourcing providers to meet
company needs.
 Companies' desire to maintain control over all
aspects of training and development,
especially delivery and learning content.

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Table 2.9 - Questions to Ask
When Considering Outsourcing

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