Training

Training is an organized activity aimed at imparting information and/or instructions to improve the performance or to attain a required level of knowledge or skill in order to perform a particular task.

Training Costs
Organizations commit to training for different reasons, such as improving product quality, introducing technology to gain operational efficiency, reducing errors, etc. Yet, capturing the training cost per employee is only the initial step in quantifying the value of training. So, it is necessary for HR professionals to analyze the effectiveness of training by identifying operational results, if any, that training had on employee performance Types of cost in training program Direct implementation costs (e.g., training materials, technology costs, facilities, travel accommodation costs, equipment, instructors salary and benefits). Indirect implementation costs (e.g., participants' wages, including all on-costs, such as tax and workers' compensation, the cost of temporarily replacing staff, or the cost of productivity loss while they are being trained, the cost of management time spent setting up the required training and administrative costs).

Training Implementation
To put training program into effect according to definite plan or procedure is called training implementation. Training implementation is the hardest part of the system because one wrong step can lead to the failure of whole training program. Even the best training program will fail due to one wrong action. Once the staff, course, content, equipments, topics are ready, the training is implemented. Completing training design does not mean that the work is done because implementation phase requires continual adjusting, redesigning, and refining. Preparation is the most important factor for the success. Therefore, following are the factors that are kept in mind while implementing training program:-

The trainer The trainer need to be prepared mentally before the delivery of content. Trainer prepares materials and activities well in advance. The trainer also set grounds before meeting with participants by making sure that he is comfortable with course content and is flexible in his approach. Physical set-up Good physical set up is pre requisite for effective and successful training program because it makes the first impression on participants. Classrooms should not be very small or big but as nearly square as possible. This will bring people together both physically and psychologically. Also, right amount of space should be allocated to every participant. Establishing rapport with participants There are various ways by which a trainer can establish good rapport with trainees by:

Greeting participants simple way to ease those initial tense moments Encouraging informal conversation Remembering their first name Pairing up the learners and have them familiarized with one another Listening carefully to trainees comments and opinions Telling the learners by what name the trainer wants to be addressed Getting to class before the arrival of learners Starting the class promptly at the scheduled time Using familiar examples Varying his instructional techniques Using the alternate approach if one seems to be failed.

Reviewing the agenda At the beginning of the training program it is very important to review the program objective. The trainer must tell the participants the goal of the program, what is expected out of trainees to do at the end of the program, and how the program will run. The following information needs to be included:

Kinds of training activities Schedule Setting group norms Housekeeping arrangements Flow of the program Handling problematic situations

Models/Approaches of Training A. Model of Systematic Approach to Training (SAT)

To operate training in a systematic manner, it has to cover some inter related stages and processes, they are :1) Analysing training needs: Finding out what people need to learn. This is done by: Analysing the knowledge, skills and attitudes/behaviours that each job requires; and Assessing the degree of competence of job-holders to meet those requirements.

2) Setting aims and learning objectives Specifying what trainees should be able to do as a result of training. 3) Designing training strategy Deciding on a strategy to meet training needs, e.g., by designing courses / modules, suggesting various methodologies, deciding key learning points trainees must grasp and also sending some learning material (preview) to trainees. 4) Implementing training strategy Putting the training into practice. 5) Validation: Internal/external Establishing and assessing the quality and effectiveness of training. The entire process is covered by the term Systematic Approach to Training (SAT), which can be described as follows: a) Identifying training needs Any training strategy has to first identify the target groups and assess their training needs. Since the precise training needs of each of these groups differ from those of others both in content and focus, they should be analysed using proven instruments for Training Needs Analysis (TNA).

b) Aim & training objectives After identifying the training needs we need to formulate the aim of training and set training objectives. Aim links training design to the training needs. It may be expressed in a dry and matter of fact manner or dressed up to be as appealing as a TV advertisement. c) Training design Designing training programme is an important component of systematic approach to training. It should be designed enlisting active participation of the personnel at varying levels. If possible, training experts should be consulted. Programme design must be custom-made to achieve specific objectives of the individuals or groups. Designing training programmes involves determining the level of participants, identifying the resource persons and selecting appropriate methods and techniques for training. d) Match between training objectives and training methods Training is designed to achieve the objectives formulated and appropriate training methods should be adopted to achieve the objectives effectively. The trainer has a wide range of training methods to choose from. A judicious mix of one or more methods should be adopted to suit each training programme. Some of the important training methods are enlisted below: Lecture Discussion Case study Role play Sensitivity training Brain storming Computer assisted learning Exercises Business games On the job training Project work Programmed learning The training objective and the outcome an event seeks to achieve determine the choice of training method. For example, if the objective is to develop technical skill, then there is need for practical exercises; if conceptual skill, then case study could be a method. If attitudinal orientation is intended, then role-play is an appropriate method.

e) Balanced content A training programme should not be too heavy, so as to leave no time for the trainee to absorb the inputs. Neither should it be so light as to convey the impression that the training programme is not a serious endeavour. The programme should be stimulating enough, but must leave time and opportunity for reflection. f) Assess results The intention of training is to help people and organisations with performance related problems. Intentions cannot be measured, but results can be. The final part of systematic training is, therefore, to use suitable measuring techniques to assess: The quality of training provided Whether this resulted in improved performance; and Whether the training was worth doing g) Feedback At the end of the day, the training programme is as good as the participants found it. Their feedback helps not only in evaluation of the training programme but also helps improve future programmes.

B. Transitional Model
Transitional model focuses on the organization as a whole. The outer loop describes the vision, mission and values of the organization on the basis of which training model i.e. inner loop is executed. Vision focuses on the milestones that the organization would like to achieve after the defined point of time. A vision statement tells that where the organization sees itself few years down the line. A vision may include setting a role mode, or bringing some internal transformation, or may be promising to meet some other deadlines. Mission explain the reason of organizational existence. It identifies the position in the community. The reason of developing a mission statement is to motivate, inspire, and inform the employees regarding the organization. The mission statement tells about the identity that how the organization would like to be viewed by the customers, employees, and all other stakeholders.

Values is the translation of vision and mission into communicable ideals. It reflects the deeply held values of the organization and is independent of current industry environment. For example, values may include social responsibility, excellent customer service, etc. The mission, vision, and values precede the objective in the inner loop. This model considers the organization as a whole. The objective is formulated keeping these three things in mind and then the training model is further implemented.

C. Instructional System Development Model (ISD Model)

Instructional System Development model was made to answer the training problems. This model is widely used now-a-days in the organization because it is concerned with the training need on the job performance. Training objectives are defined on the basis of job responsibilities and job description and on the basis of the defined objectives individual progress is measured. This model also helps in determining and developing the favorable strategies, sequencing the content, and delivering media for the types of training objectives to be achieved. The Instructional System Development model comprises of five stages: 1. ANALYSIS This phase consist of training need assessment, job analysis, and target audience analysis. 2. PLANNING This phase consist of setting goal of the learning outcome, instructional objectives that measures behavior of a participant after the training, types of training material, media selection, methods of evaluating the trainee, trainer and the training program, strategies to impart knowledge i.e. selection of content, sequencing of content, etc. 3. DEVELOPMENT This phase translates design decisions into training material. It consists of developing course material for the trainer including handouts, workbooks, visual aids, demonstration props, etc, course material for the trainee including handouts of summary. 4. EXECUTION This phase focuses on logistical arrangements, such as arranging speakers, equipments, benches, podium, food facilities, cooling, lighting, parking, and other training accessories.

5. EVALUATION The purpose of this phase is to make sure that the training program has achieved its aim in terms of subsequent work performance. This phase consists of identifying strengths and weaknesses and making necessary amendments to any of the previous stage in order to remedy or improve failure practices. The ISD model is a continuous process that lasts throughout the training program. It also highlights that feedback is an important phase throughout the entire training program. In this model, the output of one phase is an input to the next phase.

Training Room Design Seating Arrangements

Even if the activities of the learning session do not require changing the seating rearrangements, there are several reasons to do so:
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Learners are given a new perspective on the activity by sitting in a different part of the room. They get better acquainted with their peers. Learners are not consistently punished by being at greater distances from the screen or speakers. Small cliques do not arisethere is nothing wrong with cliques but in some cases they can become a problem by forcing their norms or agendas upon the entire group.

The following seating designs list some of the pros and cons of different learning rooms (Laird, 1985). Note: In the following seating arrangements, 0 = the learners, x = the trainer, and - - equals a table. 1) Traditional Seating O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O x O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

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Best used for short lectures to large groups Communication tends to be one way Trainer cannot see the learners in the back

2) Modified Traditional Seating X O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

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There is more participation Allows the trainer to see all the learners Reduces space between trainer and learners as trainer can move up aisle Best used for short lectures to large groups

3) Horseshoe Seating X O O O O O O O O O O O

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Non-verbally encourages participation by allowing eye contact between the trainer and all the learners The trainer is able to move closer to each learner Works well when all learners must be able to see a demonstration Works good when learners will be involved in large group discussions

4) Modular O ---O | | O O | | ---X ---O | |O O | | ---O

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---| |O O | |O ---0 ---O | | O O | | O ----

O ---O | | O | | O ----

Learners can work in small groups on exercises and projects Communication between trainer and learners is more difficult Trainer must move between groups during lectures and activities Good for courses that require a lot of group work

5) Circle O O O O O O O O X O O O

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Most democratic and unencumbered with no status symbol With no table each person is "totally revealed" Subtle nonverbal communications are possible Good for T-groups and sensitivity training There will be conversations, shorter inputs, and more members will participate when they sit at a round table rather than at a square table

6) Square Solid O O O O ---------| | | | | | | | ---------O O O O Hole in middle O X O O ---------| ------ | | | | | | | | | | ------ | ---------O O O O

O O O O

O O O X

O O O O

O O O O

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More formality than a circle Nobody can see all the faces of the other participants Depending where visual aids are placed, one side may become the "head of the table" A solid table normally encourages more conversation Tables with a hole in the middle tends to make some people less talkative, while encouraging others to speak for longer periods of time

7) Rectangle O O O O O ---------------O | | O O | | O ---------------O O x O O

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The seats at the short dimensions of the table are often seen as leadership positions If used, the learners should be forced to take distinctly different positions every now and then (i.e. randomly shift the name cards) Fewer people can communicate face-to-face

8) Scatter-Shot O O O O O O x O O O O O O O O O O O O

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May appear haphazard but good for experiential training Permits quick change of learner focus Produces tremendous investments of learner energy Works well with multiple role plays Learners can quickly form into large groups Bad for note taking

Training Aids
Training aids are any item developed or procured with the primary intent that it shall assist in training and the process of learning. The device such as a chart, diagram, notes, etc, intended to enhance learning and retention by trainee. Types of training aids Overheads Computer projections Whiteboard Electronic whiteboard Posters and charts Flip charts Prepared video Models Real samples Equipment

Lesson plan
A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction for one class. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class instruction. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered, and the need and/or curiosity of children. There may be requirements mandated by the school system regarding the plan Developing a Lesson Plan While there are many formats for a lesson plan, most lesson plans contain some or all of these elements, typically in this order:

Title of the lesson Time required to complete the lesson List of required materials List of objectives, The set (or lead-in, or bridge-in) that focuses students on the lesson's skills or concepts these include showing pictures or models, asking leading questions, or reviewing previous lessons An instructional component that describes the sequence of events that make up the lesson, including the teacher's instructional input and guided practice the students use to try new skills or work with new ideas Independent practice that allows students to extend skills or knowledge on their own A summary, where the teacher wraps up the discussion and answers questions An evaluation component, a test for mastery of the instructed skills or concepts - such as a set of questions to answer or a set of instructions to follow A risk assessment where the lesson's risks and the steps taken to minimize them are documented. Analysis component the teacher uses to reflect on the lesson itself - such as what worked, what needs improving A continuity component reviews and reflects on content from the previous lesson.

Teaching and Facilitation

Teachers When a teacher walks into a classroom, she takes charge of the learning environment. The teacher is responsible for creating lesson plans that direct the course of study students follow. Clear and concise objectives delineate what the student learns on any given day. The teacher is responsible for measuring how much information the student learns. Evaluation is often in the form of tests, but the teacher may use other measurement tools to determine if the student met the teachers learning objectives. Facilitators Facilitators might not be subject area experts like a teacher. They do have special training in group dynamics, using processes such as conflict resolution, strategic planning and team building. In any group setting, a facilitator can quickly determine what the group knows so the group can proceed to build on that knowledge. By asking questions and keeping the group focused, a facilitator helps the group establish a set of ground rules, as well as its own learning objectives. The facilitator also helps the group evaluate what group members learned from their activities.

Teaching

Facilitation

A process whereby a teacher leads a group of Helping/making it easy for students to learn students in acquiring new skills, knowledge, together in a group, or to achieve something or understanding together as a group Most subject area teaching involves telling and Involves helping the students to discover by teaching the students. themselves Trainer is known as content expert/teacher Trainer presents information to the trainees Trainer is known as facilitator Trainer guides the trainees

Trainer provides the right answers to the Trainer provides the right questions to the trainees. trainees.