Employee Training and Development

Employee training and development is part of the field of human resource management. It is concerned with activities related to the management of an organization, its aim is to better the performance of groups and individuals in an organizational setting. Employee training and development is known by many names, including human resource development, employee development and learning and development. The quality of employees and their development through education and training is a major factor in determining profitability [long-term] of a business. It is a good policy to invest in the development of employee skills, especially if the employees are good at their jobs. Training and development not only help the employees to better their performance, but it also increases productivity. Training is mostly associated with new employees, which is a mistake because current/old employees also benefit from it. Training helps employees to adjust to rapid changes in job requirements and keeps them updated to new technologies and methods. Training may include some of the following methods; other such methods are mentioned and explained further below:

•    Job rotation
•    Lectures
•    Role playing and simulation
•    Apprenticeships
•    Audiovisual methods
•    Internships and assistantships
•    Programmed learning or laboratory training

Purpose of Training and Development

The purpose of training and development as mentioned above is simply to enhance employee knowledge about particular methods to improve their job performance. It also helps employees to develop a greater sense of self worth, well-being and dignity as they become more valuable to their organization or society. Generally, employees are the ones who gain more because of their increased productivity. Such factors give them a sense of satisfaction through the achievement of company as well as personal goals. Recent research has shown specific benefits that a business receives from employee training and development, including:

•    Reduced Turnover
•    Increased productivity
•    Increased efficiency resulting in financial gain
•    Decreased need for supervision

However, some of the reasons for the emphasis on the development and growth of personnel may include the following: “Creating a pool of readily available and adequate replacements for personnel who may leave or move up in the organization, Enhancing the company’s ability to adopt and use advances in technology because of a sufficiently knowledgeable staff, Building a more efficient, effective and highly motivated team, which enhances the company’s competitive position and improves employee morale and Ensuring adequate human resources for expansion into new programs.”[sky]

Training Process

The steps given below are necessary in the training process:

•    Organizations objectives
•    Need of assessment
•    Identifying a Gap
•    Training objectives
•    Selecting trainees
•    Selecting the training method and mode
•    Choosing the means of evaluation
•    Administering training in the organization
•    Evaluation of the training

Remember that the business should have a clearly defined strategy and a set of objectives that directs and drives all the decisions, which are made especially for the training decisions. Organizations that plan their training process are much more successful than those that do so without planning ahead. Most of the time business owners want to succeed, but do not want to engage in a training design to improve their chance of success. Why is that? Below are five most identified reasons: