Impact of training and development on employee performance

Impact of training and development of employee performance

In today’s competitive world, the key to success in any business is customer satisfaction. As a result, servicing customer needs has become a priority for many organizations. In order to service the needs of customers properly, organizations must train and develop their employees.

Assessing the current skills and abilities within the team will enable managers to strategically plan targeted development programmes that consider any potential skills gap.

The benefits of training are attained when training is planned. This ensures that the employees in the organization are prepared for the training in advance. Training consists of the following steps:

1. Identify training needs.

2. Decide the training method required to address these needs.

3. Implement the training by using experienced trainers.

4. Evaluate training for effectiveness.

Identifying training needs

When employees are not performing at an expected level then training is needed. There are different factors to consider that can help determine the kind of training that is needed by different employees and these are:

1. Organization

This focuses on identifying where within the organization training is needed. It considers the organization’s structure, policies and procedures, communication and information channels as well as the organization’s goals. Reviewing documents, processes, carrying out an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) and setting up advisory teams may help in identifying training needs.

• Employees

This involves discovering the level of performance of individual employees. It involves assessing the employee’s current skills and qualifications which help identify the employees who may need training and the type of training that may be needed for them.

This information may be gathered from performance reviews and appraisal systems. It also determines if employees understand the goals and objectives of the organization. In addition, this assessment also looks at the work etiquette of the employees, which involves looking at how the employees dress, how they behave, how well they work with others and their communication skills. Surveys, interviews, questionnaires and focus groups can also help in identifying the individual employees’ training requirements.

• Environment

This step evaluates the future skillsthat may be needed in order to meet the changes in products, equipment, technology andeconomy. Training needs of an organization may also be influenced by changes in law orindustry standards.

• Job description

Training needs can be identified by looking at the work experience of an employee, their responsibilities in the organization and whether or not they are motivated to do their job. Job analysis, performance appraisal, interviews with job holders, supervisors and higher management may provide insight to the identification of training needs.

• Cost Benefit

This is the analysis of the return on investment (ROI) of the training. Return on investment shows the value of expenditures related to training. It helps in tracking the effectiveness of training and measuring the value of the training. It also shows how long it will take for training to provide a return on investment to the organization.

Planning training programmes

Planning the training programmes involves determining the facilities to be used, techniques

to be used to conduct the training, where the training will be undertaken and who will be

training the employees.

There are different training methods that organizations may adopt depending on the organization’s strategy, goals, resources available and the target group to be trained. On the

job training includes induction training, apprenticeship and refresher training. During this

training, employees are familiarized with the working environment they will become part of.

Off the job training is undertaken outside of the immediate work environment. This type of

training includes lecturing, coaching, mentoring, online learning, work shadowing and industry visits.

Implementing training

Implementation involves delivering the training to the employees by disseminating the strategies and activities planned, providing feedback about the program, administering tests and modifying the design of the training based on the feedback of the employees.

Evaluating training

Training evaluation helps organizations to identify training gaps and opportunities in training its employees. Weaknesses in the training program as well as employee performance review can be identified by analysing feedback obtained from the employee and the trainer. It involves determining how employees responded to the training that they received. This can be done through the use of surveys to gauge the employee’s reaction to training.

Summary

An organization’s success depends on its people. Training and development is an opportunity for growth and an investment that yields higher returns and benefits to the organization and its employees. A good training and development programme will induce the employees into working hard and also improve their general attitude towards the progress of the organization.

By Ashlene Moyo