HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Human Resource Management is defined as the people who staff and

manage organization. It comprises of the functions and principles that are
applied to retaining, training, developing, and compensating the employees
in organization. It is also applicable to non-business organizations, such as
education, healthcare, etc Human Resource Management is defined as the
set of activities, programs, and functions that are designed to maximize
both organizational as well as employee effectiveness…………… ……………………

Scope of HRM without a doubt is vast. All the activities of employee, from
the time of his entry into an organization until he leaves, come under the
horizon of HRM.
The divisions included in HRM are Recruitment, Payroll, Performance
Management, Training and Development, Retention, Industrial Relation, etc.
Out of all these divisions, one such important division is training and
development.

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT is a subsystem of an organization. It

ensures that randomness is reduced and learning or behavioral change takes
place in structured format.

TRADITIONAL AND MODERN APPROACH OF TRAINING AND

DEVLOPMENT

Traditional Approach – Most of the organizations before never used to

believe in training. They were holding the traditional view that managers are
born and not made. There were also some views that training is a very
costly affair and not worth. Organizations used to believe more in executive
pinching. But now the scenario seems to be changing.

The modern approach of training and development is that Indian

Organizations have realized the importance of corporate training. Training is
now considered as more of retention tool than a cost. The training system in
Indian Industry has been changed to create a smarter workforce and yield
the best results

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES

The principal objective of training and development division is to make sure
the availability of a skilled and willing workforce to an organization. In
addition to that, there are four other objectives: Individual, Organizational,
Functional, and Societal.

Individual Objectives – help employees in achieving their personal goals,

which in turn, enhances the individual contribution to an organization.

Organizational Objectives – assist the organization with its primary

objective by bringing individual effectiveness.

Functional Objectives – maintain the department’s contribution at a level

suitable to the organization’s needs.

Societal Objectives – ensure that an organization is ethically and socially

responsible to the needs and challenges of the society.

Employee Motivation, the Organizational Environment and Productivity

Human Resource Management

Function 7: Employee education, training and development
In general, education is 'mind preparation' and is carried out remote from the actual work area,
training is the systematic development of the attitude, knowledge, skill pattern required by a
person to perform a given task or job adequately and development is 'the growth of the
individual in terms of ability, understanding and awareness'.

Within an organization all three are necessary in order to:

• Develop workers to undertake higher-grade tasks;

• Provide the conventional training of new and young workers (e.g. as apprentices, clerks,
etc.);
• Raise efficiency and standards of performance;
• Meet legislative requirements (e.g. health and safety);
• Inform people (induction training, pre-retirement courses, etc.);

From time to time meet special needs arising from technical, legislative, and knowledge need
changes. Meeting these needs is achieved via the 'training loop'. (Schematic available in PDF
version.)

The diagnosis of other than conventional needs is complex and often depends upon the intuition
or personal experience of managers and needs revealed by deficiencies. Sources of inspiration
include:

• Common sense - it is often obvious that new machines, work systems, task requirements
and changes in job content will require workers to be prepared;
• Shortcomings revealed by statistics of output per head, performance indices, unit costs,
etc. and behavioral failures revealed by absentee figures, lateness, sickness etc. records;
• Recommendations of government and industry training organizations;
• Inspiration and innovations of individual managers and supervisors;
• Forecasts and predictions about staffing needs;
• Inspirations prompted by the technical press, training journals, reports of the experience
of others;
• The suggestions made by specialist (e.g. education and training officers, safety engineers,
work-study staff and management services personnel).

Designing training is far more than devising courses; it can include activities such as:

• Learning from observation of trained workers;

• Receiving coaching from seniors;
• Discovery as the result of working party, project team membership or attendance at
meetings;
• Job swaps within and without the organization;
• Undertaking planned reading, or follow from the use of self–teaching texts and video
tapes;
• Learning via involvement in research, report writing and visiting other works or
organizations.
So far as group training is concerned in addition to formal courses there are:

• Lectures and talks by senior or specialist managers;

• Discussion group (conference and meeting) activities;
• Briefing by senior staffs;
• Role-playing exercises and simulation of actual conditions;
• Video and computer teaching activities;
• Case studies (and discussion) tests, quizzes, panel 'games', group forums, observation
exercises and inspection and reporting techniques.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of training is done to ensure that it is cost effective, to identify
needs to modify or extend what is being provided, to reveal new needs and redefine priorities
and most of all to ensure that the objectives of the training are being met.

The latter may not be easy to ascertain where results cannot be measured mathematically. In the
case of attitude and behavioral changes sought, leadership abilities, drive and ambition fostered,
etc., achievement is a matter of the judgment of senior staffs. Exact validation might be
impossible but unless on the whole the judgments are favorable the cooperation of managers in
identifying needs, releasing personnel and assisting in training ventures will cease.

In making their judgments senior managers will question whether the efforts expended have
produced:

• More effective, efficient, flexible employees;

• Faster results in making newcomers knowledgeable and effective than would follow from
experience;
• More effective or efficient use of machinery, equipment and work procedures;
• Fewer requirements to implement redundancy (by retraining);
• Fewer accidents both personal and to property;
• Improvements in the qualifications of staff and their ability to take on tougher roles;
• Better employee loyalty to the organization with more willingness to innovate and accept
change

introduction

Training & Development

Training is a process of learning a sequence of programmed behaviour. It improves the employee’s

performance on the current job and prepares them for an intended job.

Development not only improves job performance but also brings about the growth of the personality.
Individuals not only mature regarding their potential capacities but also become better individuals.
Difference between Training & Development:

Training:

1. It’s a short term process.

2. Refers to instruction in technical and mechanical problems

3. Targeted in most cases for non-managerial personnel

4. Specific job related purpose

Development:

1. It is a long term educational process.

2. Refers to philosophical and theoretical educational concepts

3. Managerial personnel

4. General knowledge purpose

Purpose of Training:

1. To improve Productivity: Training leads to increased operational productivity and increased

company profit.
2. To improve Quality: Better trained workers are less likely to make operational mistakes.
3. To improve Organizational Climate: Training leads to improved production and product quality
which enhances financial incentives. This in turn increases the overall morale of the organization.
4. To increase Health and Safety: Proper training prevents industrial accidents.
5. Personal Growth: Training gives employees a wider awareness, an enlarged skill base and that
leads to enhanced personal growth.

Steps in Training Process:

1. Discovering or Identifying Training needs: A training program is designed to assist in

providing solutions for specific operational problems or to improve performance of a trainee.
• Organizational determination and Analysis: Allocation of resources that relate to
organizational goal.
• Operational Analysis: Determination of a specific employee behaviour required for a
particular task.
• Man Analysis: Knowledge, attitude and skill one must possess for attainment of
organizational objectives

2. Getting ready for the job: The trainer has to be prepared for the job. And also who needs to
be trained - the newcomer or the existing employee or the supervisory staff.
3. Preparation of the learner:
 • Putting the learner at ease

• Stating the importance and ingredients of the job

• Creating interest

• Placing the learner as close to his normal working position

• Familiarizing him with the equipment, materials and trade terms

4. Presentation of Operation and Knowledge: The trainer should clearly tell, show, illustrate
and question in order to convey the new knowledge and operations. The trainee should be
encouraged to ask questions in order to indicate that he really knows and understands the job.
5. Performance Try out: The trainee is asked to go through the job several times. This
gradually builds up his skill, speed and confidence.
6. Follow-up: This evaluates the effectiveness of the entire training effort

The Sequence of Training Program can be put in a Flowchart as below:

Discovering or Identifying Training Needs -> Getting Ready for the job -> Preparation of
Learner (Creating desire) -> Presentation of Operation & Knowledge -> Performance Try
out -> Follow up and Evaluation

Training Techniques:

An effective training fulfills the following criteria:

1. Adaptation of the technique/method to the learner and the job

2. Provides motivation to the trainee to improve job performance

3. Creates trainee’s active participation in the learning process

4. Provide knowledge of results about attempts to improve

Development

Management development attempts to improve managerial performance by imparting

1. Knowledge

2. Changing attitudes

3. Increasing skills

The major objective of development is managerial effectiveness through a planned and a deliberate
process of learning. This provides for a planned growth of managers to meet the future organizational
needs.

Development Process:

1. Setting Development Objectives: It develops a framework from which executive need can
be determined.
 2. Ascertaining Development Needs: It aims at organizational planning & forecast the present
and future growth.
3. Determining Development Needs: This consists of
• Appraisal of present management talent

• Management Manpower Inventory

The above two processes will determine the skill deficiencies that are relative to the future needs of
the organization.

1. Conducting Development Programs: It is carried out on the basis of needs of different

individuals, differences in their attitudes and behaviour, also their physical, intellectual and
emotional qualities. Thus a comprehensive and well conceived program is prepared depending
on the organizational needs and the time & cost involved.
2. Program Evaluation: It is an attempt to assess the value of training in order to achieve
organizational objectives.

The Development process can be pictorially represented in a Flowchart as below:

Setting Development Objectives -> Ascertaining Development Needs -> Determining

Development Needs -> Conducting Development Program -> Program Evaluation
 The HR functioning is changing with time and with this change, the
relationship between the training function and other management
activity is also changing. The training and development activities are
now equally important with that of other HR functions. Gone are the
days, when training was considered to be futile, waste of time,
resources, and money. Now-a-days, training is an investment because
the departments such as, marketing & sales, HR, production, finance,
etc depends on training for its survival. If training is not considered as a
priority or not seen as a vital part in the organization, then it is difficult
to accept that such a company has effectively carried out HRM. Training
actually provides the opportunity to raise the profile development
activities in the organization.

To increase the commitment level of employees and growth in quality

movement (concepts of HRM), senior management team is now
increasing the role of training. Such concepts of HRM require careful
planning as well as greater emphasis on employee development and long
term education. Training is now the important tool of Human Resource
Management to control the attrition rate because it helps in motivating
employees, achieving their professional and personal goals, increasing
the level of job satisfaction, etc. As a result training is given on a variety
of skill development and covers a multitude of courses.

Role of HRD Professionals in Training

This is the era of cut-throat competition and with this changing scenario
of business; the role of HR professionals in training has been widened. HR
role now is:

1. Active involvement in employee education

2. Rewards for improvement in performance
3. Rewards to be associated with self esteem and self worth
4. Providing pre-employment market oriented skill development
education and post employment support for advanced education and
training
5. Flexible access i.e. anytime, anywhere training
methods

Training and development. Training and development managers and specialists conduct
and supervise training and development programs for employees. Increasingly,
management recognizes that training offers a way of developing skills, enhancing
productivity and quality of work, and building worker loyalty to the firm, and most
importantly, increasing individual and organizational performance to achieve business
results. Training is widely accepted as an employee benefit and a method of improving
employee morale, and enhancing employee skills has become a business imperative.
Increasingly, managers and leaders realize that the key to business growth and success is
through developing the skills and knowledge of its workforce.

Other factors involved in determining whether training is needed include the complexity of
the work environment, the rapid pace of organizational and technological change, and the
growing number of jobs in fields that constantly generate new knowledge, and thus, require
new skills. In addition, advances in learning theory have provided insights into how adults
learn, and how training can be organized most effectively for them.

Training managers provide worker training either in the classroom or onsite. This includes
setting up teaching materials prior to the class, involving the class, and issuing completion
certificates at the end of the class. They have the responsibility for the entire learning
process, and its environment, to ensure that the course meets its objectives and is
measured and evaluated to understand how learning impacts business results.

Training specialists plan, organize, and direct a wide range of training activities. Trainers
respond to corporate and worker service requests. They consult with onsite supervisors
regarding available performance improvement services and conduct orientation sessions and
arrange on-the-job training for new employees. They help all employees maintain and
improve their job skills, and possibly prepare for jobs requiring greater skill. They help
supervisors improve their interpersonal skills in order to deal effectively with employees.
They may set up individualized training plans to strengthen an employee’s existing skills or
teach new ones. Training specialists in some companies set up leadership or executive
development programs among employees in lower level positions. These programs are
designed to develop leaders, or “groom” them, to replace those leaving the organization and
as part of a succession plan. Trainers also lead programs to assist employees with job
transitions as a result of mergers and acquisitions, as well as technological changes. In
government-supported training programs, training specialists function as case managers.
They first assess the training needs of clients and then guide them through the most
appropriate training method. After training, clients may either be referred to employer
relations representatives or receive job placement assistance.

Planning and program development is an essential part of the training specialist’s job. In
order to identify and assess training needs within the firm, trainers may confer with
managers and supervisors or conduct surveys. They also evaluate training effectiveness to
ensure that the training employees receive helps the organization meet its strategic
business goals and achieve results.

Depending on the size, goals, and nature of the organization, trainers may differ
considerably in their responsibilities and in the methods they use. Training methods include
on-the-job training; operating schools that duplicate shop conditions for trainees prior to
putting them on the shop floor; apprenticeship training; classroom training; and electronic
learning, which may involve interactive Internet-based training, multimedia programs,
distance learning, satellite training, other computer-aided instructional technologies, videos,
simulators, conferences, and workshops

Training, Other
Qualifications, and [About this section] Back to Top

Advancement
The educational backgrounds of human resources, training, and labor relations managers
and specialists vary considerably, reflecting the diversity of duties and levels of
 responsibility. In filling entry-level jobs, many employers seek college graduates who have
majored in human resources, human resources administration, or industrial and labor
relations. Other employers look for college graduates with a technical or business
background or a well-rounded liberal arts education.

Education and training. Many colleges and universities have programs leading to a degree
in personnel, human resources, or labor relations. Some offer degree programs in human
resources administration or human resources management, training and development, or
compensation and benefits. Depending on the school, courses leading to a career in human
resources management may be found in departments of business administration, education,
instructional technology, organizational development, human services, communication, or
public administration, or within a separate human resources institution or department.

Because an interdisciplinary background is appropriate in this field, a combination of courses

in the social sciences, business, and behavioral sciences is useful. Some jobs may require a
more technical or specialized background in engineering, science, finance, or law, for
example. Most prospective human resources specialists should take courses in
compensation, recruitment, training and development, and performance appraisal, as well
as courses in principles of management, organizational structure, and industrial psychology.
Other relevant courses include business administration, public administration, psychology,
sociology, political science, economics, and statistics. Courses in labor law, collective
bargaining, labor economics, labor history, and industrial psychology also provide a valuable
background for the prospective labor relations specialist. As in many other fields, knowledge
of computers and information systems also is useful.

An advanced degree is increasingly important for some jobs. Many labor relations jobs
require graduate study in industrial or labor relations. A strong background in industrial
relations and law is highly desirable for contract negotiators, mediators, and arbitrators; in
fact, many people in these specialties are lawyers. A background in law also is desirable for
employee benefits managers and others who must interpret the growing number of laws
and regulations. A master’s degree in human resources, labor relations, or in business
administration with a concentration in human resources management is highly
recommended for those seeking general and top management positions.
 The duties given to entry-level workers will vary, depending on whether the new workers
have a degree in human resource management, have completed an internship, or have
some other type of human resources-related experience. Entry-level employees commonly
learn the profession by performing administrative duties—helping to enter data into
computer systems, compiling employee handbooks, researching information for a
supervisor, or answering the phone and handling routine questions. Entry-level workers
often enter formal or on-the-job training programs in which they learn how to classify jobs,
interview applicants, or administer employee benefits. They then are assigned to specific
areas in the human resources department to gain experience. Later, they may advance to a
managerial position, supervising a major element of the human resources program—
compensation or training, for example.

Other qualifications. Previous experience is an asset for many specialties in the human
resources field, and is essential for more advanced positions, including managers,
arbitrators, and mediators. Many employers prefer entry-level workers who have gained
some experience through an internship or work-study program while in school. Human
resources administration and human resources development require the ability to work with
individuals as well as a commitment to organizational goals. This field also demands other
skills that people may develop elsewhere—using computers, selling, teaching, supervising,
and volunteering, among others. The field offers clerical workers opportunities for
advancement to professional positions. Responsible positions occasionally are filled by
experienced individuals from other fields, including business, government, education, social
services administration, and the military.

The human resources field demands a range of personal qualities and skills. Human
resources, training, and labor relations managers and specialists must speak and write
effectively. The growing diversity of the workforce requires that they work with or supervise
people with various cultural backgrounds, levels of education, and experience. They must be
able to cope with conflicting points of view, function under pressure, and demonstrate
discretion, integrity, fair-mindedness, and a persuasive, congenial personality.

Certification and advancement. Most organizations specializing in human resources offer

classes intended to enhance the skills of their members. Some organizations offer
certification programs, which are signs of competence and credibility and can enhance one’s
advancement opportunities. For example, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit
Plans confers a designation in three distinct areas of specialization—group benefit,
retirement, and compensation—to persons who complete a series of college-level courses
and pass exams. Candidates can earn a designation in each of the specialty tracks and,
simultaneously, receive credit toward becoming a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist
(CEBS). The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) Certification Institute
offers professional certification in the learning and performance field. Addressing nine areas
of expertise, it requires passing a knowledge-based exam and successful work experience.
In addition, ASTD offers 16 short-term certificate and workshop programs covering a broad
range of professional training and development topics. The Society for Human Resource
Management offers two levels of certification, including the Professional in Human Resources
(PHR) and the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). Additionally, the
organization offers the Global Professional in Human Resources for those with international
and cross-border responsibilities and the California Certification in Human Resources for
those who plan to work in the State and are unfamiliar with California’s labor and human
resource laws. All designations require experience and a passing score on a comprehensive
exam. World at Work Society of Certified Professionals offers four levels of designations in
the areas of compensation, benefits, work life, and total rewards management practices.
Through the Society, candidates can obtain the designation of Certified Compensation
Professional (CCP), Certified Benefits Professional (CBP), Global Remuneration Professional
(GRP), and Work-Life Certified Professional (WLCP).

Exceptional human resources workers may be promoted to director of human resources or

industrial relations, which can eventually lead to a top managerial or executive position.
Others may join a consulting or outsourcing firm or open their own business. A Ph.D. is an
asset for teaching, writing, or consulting work.

responsibility

There is a large amount of diversity in the duties and levels of responsibility that a human resources
manager performs and this is precisely the reason why the educational background requirements of
human resources management training varies considerably.
In filling entry-level jobs while recruiting from human resource management training institutes, many
employers seek college graduates who have majored in human resources, personnel administration, or
industrial and labor relations. Other employers look for college graduates with a technical or business
background or a well-rounded liberal arts education.

Many colleges and universities in India today offer Human Resource Management Training programs
leading to a degree in personnel, human resources, or labor relations. Some of the Indian colleges offer
degree programs in Human Resource Management Training, and some others in development, or
compensation and benefits of human resource.

Depending on the college being attended in India, the human resources management training courses
may be found in departments of business administration, education, instructional technology,
organizational development, human services, communication, or public administration, or within a
separate human resources institution or department.

Most prospective human resources specialists should take courses in compensation, recruitment, human
resource training and development, and performance appraisal, as well as courses in principles of
management, organizational structure, and industrial psychology.

Other relevant courses in this area include business administration, public administration, psychology,
sociology, political science, economics, and statistics. Courses in labor law, collective bargaining, labor
economics, labor history, and industrial psychology also provide a valuable background for the
prospective human resource managers.

An advanced degree is increasingly important for some jobs. Many labor relations jobs require graduate
study in industrial or labor relations apart from a human resource management training course.
LSU Policy on Minimum Training for Supervisors

Civil Service Rule 7.4(f) establishes minimum training requirements for classified employees who
occupy certain supervisory and management jobs. Human Resource Management (HRM) has
responsibility for identifying and notifying the employees impacted by the rule of the requirements
and following up to ensure compliance. HRM’s Training & Development office is charged with the
responsibility of administering the program and supporting LSU's policy on minimum training.

The required training includes Supervisory Group 1 for first line supervisors and managers and
Supervisory Group 2 which is typically for mid-level managers. Some supervisory jobs are viewed
as working supervisors or functional/ program supervisors which are not required to participate.
HRM’s Training Section maintains a list of the jobs covered by the policy for Supervisory Group 1
and Supervisory Group 2 and of the specific courses required for each Supervisory Group.
Please check with the Training and Development (578-8333) if you are not certain which
supervisory group you are in.

It is the employee’s responsibility to schedule and attend the required training courses.
Departments must provide sufficient release time to the employees impacted by the requirement
to attend the mandated courses.

Generally, individual employee exceptions will not be granted. However, employees can contact
the Training Manager in HRM for consideration of a substitute of education, experience or training
for specific, required courses on a case by case basis.

Existing Employees
HRM maintains a list of those supervisory employees impacted by the most recent version of the
policy effective on 7/1/2008. These employees have three (3) years from their supervisory
promotion or appointment date to complete the required training that applies to their job.

Existing employees in Supervisory Group 1 who promote to jobs in Supervisory Group 2 have
one (1) additional year from the date of promotion or appointment to complete the training for
Supervisory Group 2 as well as complete the training for Supervisory Group 1. Contact HRM
Training and Development (578-8333) if you are not certain of your supervisory group.

Employees Accepting a Supervisory Job

Any employee who is appointed, promoted, reallocated or job corrected to a supervisory job after
7/1/2008 will have three (3) years from the date of the appointment to complete the required
training. Employees accepting positions in Supervisory Group 2 must have completed all of the
training in Supervisory Group 1 or will have one (1) additional year to complete all of the training
for Supervisory Group 1 and 2. HRM will notify the employee of the required training.

Employees transferring to LSU from another state agency or who are new to state service must
provide verification of any applicable training to HRM’s Training & Development Office.
Acceptance of said training will be approved on a case-by-case basis. The employee will be
notified individually of the results.

Consequences
Failure to complete the required training within the specific timeframe may result in the discipline
training and learning
development
training, coaching, mentoring, training and learning design -
developing people

Conventional 'training' is required to cover essential work-related skills,

techniques and knowledge, and much of this section deals with taking a
positive progressive approach to this sort of traditional 'training'.

Importantly however, the most effective way to develop people is quite

different to conventional skills training, which let's face it most employees
regard as a pain in the neck. They'll do it of course, but they won't enjoy it
much because it's about work, not about themselves as people. The most
effective way to develop people is instead to enable learning and
personal development, with all that this implies.

So, as soon as you've covered the basic work-related skills training that is
much described in this section - focus on enabling learning and
development for people as individuals - which extends the range of
development way outside traditional work skills and knowledge, and creates
far more exciting, liberating, motivational opportunities - for people and for
employers.

Organisations are facing great pressure to change these days - to facilitate

and encourage whole-person development and fulfilment - beyond traditional
training.

N.B. The UK (consistent with Europe) Employment Equality (Age) Regulations

2006, effective from 1st October 2006, make it unlawful to discriminate
against anyone on the grounds of age. This has several implications for
training, documents used, and the training of trainers and facilitators. For
 further guidance about the effects of Age Equality and Discrimination in
training and developing people, (and in other aspects of managing people),
see the Age Diversity information, which quite naturally relates to the subject
of 'whole-person' development, given its connections with diversity and
taking proper care of people.

You might not immediately be able to put great new emphasis on 'whole-
person development'. Being realistic, corporate attitudes and expectations
about what 'training' is and does cannot be changed overnight, and most
organisations still see 'training' as being limited to work skills, classrooms
and powerpoint presentations. However, if you start imagining and thinking
and and talking about concepts and expressions such as:

• 'enabling learning'
• 'facilitating meaningful personal development'
• 'helping people to identify and achieve their own personal potential'

then you will surely begin to help the organisation (and CEO) to see and
accept these newer ideas about what types of 'learning and development'
really work best, in terms of developing employees.

See facilitating learning - rather than imposing training for more ideas in the
area of whole-person development. And see the section on experiential
learning and guide to facilitating experiential learning activities, which
contains many of the principles advocated here.

The group selection recruitment/assessment centre design guide also

contains extremely relevant information for training and assessment design,
especially the need to establish a clear specification
(development/assessment criteria) before beginning to design training
concepts, content, delivery and methods of assessment, illustrated by this
outline process diagram:

training process ideas and outline process

5. Design
1. Assess and 2. Create 3. Consider
4. Plan materials,
agree training or learning
training and methods and
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needs specification personality
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Why people
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needs.

There are many different training and development methods. On-the-job

training, informal training, classroom training, internal training courses,
external training courses, on-the-job coaching, life-coaching, mentoring,
training assignments and tasks, skills training, product training, technical
training, behavioural development training, role-playing and role-play games
and exercises, attitudinal training and development, accredited training and
learning, distance learning - all part of the training menu, available to use
and apply according to individual training needs and organisational training
needs.

Training is also available far beyond and outside the classroom. More
importantly, training - or learning, to look at it from the trainee's
view - is anything offering learning and developmental experience.
Training and learning development includes aspects such as: ethics and
morality; attitude and behaviour; leadership and determination, as well as
skills and knowledge.

Development isn't restricted to training - it's anything that helps a person to

grow, in ability, skills, confidence, tolerance, commitment, initiative, inter-
personal skills, understanding, self-control, motivation (see the motivation
theory section), and more.

If you consider the attributes of really effective people, be they leaders,

managers, operators, technicians; any role at all, the important qualities
which make good performers special are likely to be attitudinal.
Skills and knowledge, and the processes available to people, are no great
advantage. What makes people effective and valuable to any
organization is their attitude.
Attitude includes qualities that require different training and learning
methods. Attitude stems from a person's mind-set, belief system, emotional
maturity, self-confidence, and experience. These are the greatest training
and development challenges faced, and there are better ways of achieving
this sort of change and development than putting people in a classroom, or
indeed by delivering most sorts of conventional business or skills training,
which people see as a chore.

This is why training and learning must extend far beyond conventional
classroom training courses. Be creative, innovative, and open-minded, and
you will discover learning in virtually every new experience, whether for
yourself, your team, or your organization. If you want to make a difference,
think about what really helps people to change.

Many of these methodologies are explained on this website. Explore them

and enjoy them, and encourage others to do the same.

All supervisors and managers should enable and provide training and
development for their people - training develops people, it improves
performance, raises morale; training and developing people increases the
health and effectiveness of the organization, and the productivity of the
business.

The leader's ethics and behaviour set the standard for their people's, which
determines how productively they use their skills and knowledge. Training is
nothing without the motivation to apply it effectively. A strong capability to
plan and manage skills training, the acquisition of knowledge, and the
development of motivation and attitude, largely determines how well people
perform in their jobs.

Training - and also enabling learning and personal development - is

essential for the organisation. It helps improve quality, customer satisfaction,
productivity, morale, management succession, business development and
profitability.

As regards conventional work-related training planning, and training itself,

these are step-by-step processes - see and download a free training process
diagram. More free training tools are available for download at the free
training tools and resources page.

See for example the training planner and training/lesson plan calculator tool,
which are templates for planning and organising the delivery of job skills
training and processes, and transfer of knowledge and policy etc. See also
the training induction checklist and planner tool.
Use these tools and processes to ensure that essential work-related skills,
techniques, and knowledge are trained, but remember after this to
concentrate most of your 'training' efforts and resources on enabling and
facilitating meaningful learning and personal development for
people. There is no reason to stop at work-related training. Go further to
help people grow and develop as people.

Having said this, we do need to start with the essentials, for example
induction training for new starters. Induction Training is especially important
for new starters. Good induction training ensures new starters are retained,
and then settled in quickly and happily to a productive role. Induction
training is more than skills training. It's about the basics that seasoned
employees all take for granted: what the shifts are; where the notice-board
is; what's the routine for holidays, sickness; where's the canteen; what's the
dress code; where the toilets are. New employees also need to understand
the organisation's mission, goals and philosophy; personnel practices, health
and safety rules, and of course the job they're required to do, with clear
methods, timescales and expectations.

Managers must ensure induction training is properly planned - an induction

training plan must be issued to each new employee, so they and everyone
else involved can see what's happening and that everything is included. You
must prepare and provide a suitable induction plan for each new starter.
Here's a free induction training checklist.

These induction training principles are necessarily focused on the essential

skills and knowledge for a new starter to settle in and to begin to do their
job. However there is great advantage in beginning to address personal
development needs, wishes, opportunities, particular strengths, abilities,
talent, etc., during or very soon after the induction process. The sooner the
better.

An organisation needs to assess its people's skills training needs - by a

variety of methods - and then structure the way that the training and
development is to be delivered, and managers and supervisors play a key
role in helping this process.

People's personal strengths and capabilities - and aims and desires and
special talents (current and dormant) - also need to be assessed, so as
to understand, and help the person understand, that the opportunities for
their development and achievement in the organisation are not limited by
the job role, or the skill-set that the organisation inevitably defines for the
person.

As early as possible, let people know that their job role does not define their
potential as a person within or outside the organisation, and, subject to
organisational policy, look to develop each person in a meaningful relevant
way that they will enjoy and seek, as an individual, beyond the job role, and
beyond work requirements.

If possible 'top-up' this sort of development through the provision of

mentoring and facilitative coaching (drawing out - not putting in), which is
very effective in producing excellent people. Mentoring and proper coaching
should be used alongside formal structured training anyway, but this type of
support can also greatly assist 'whole-person development', especially where
the mentor or coach is seen as a role-model for the person's own particular
aspirations.

It's important that as a manager you understand yourself well before you
coach, or train or mentor others:

Are your own your own skills adequate? Do you need help or training in any
important areas necessary to train, coach, mentor others? What is your own
style? How do you you communicate? How do you approach tasks? What are
your motives? These all affect the way you see and perform see the training,
coaching or mentoring role, and the way that you see and relate to the
person that your are coaching, or training, or mentoring. Your aim is to help
the other person learn and develop - not to create another version of
yourself. When you understand yourself, you understand how you will be
perceived, how best to communicate, and how best to help others grow and
learn and develop.

And it's vital you understand the other person's style and personality too -
how they prefer to learn - do they like to read and absorb a lot of detail, do
they prefer to be shown, to experience themselves by trial and error?
Knowing the other person's preferred learning style helps you deliver the
training in the most relevant and helpful way. It helps you design activities
and tasks that the other person will be more be more comfortable doing,
which ensures a better result, quicker. Various models and tests are available
to help understand learning styles - look at the Kolb model. Look at multiple
intelligences and the VAK learning model and free learning style tests.

See also the Johari Window model and adapted theory - it's a useful
explanation of the importance of open communications and strong mutual
understanding among staff in organizations, and for all situations where
people work together. It's also a useful model for personal awareness and
self-development.

prioritising training
 Given the vast range of skills and other competencies which can be
developed in people it is useful for some sort of prioritising to take place so
that training focuses on the areas which will yield best benefit, in other
words, return on investment (typically in terms of organizational
performance, although the needs of teams and individuals can also be very
significant in prioritising training and development, depending on the
situation.)

In addition to the skill-sets and training needs analysis tools on this website,
here are three other examples of methods for prioritising training:

Essential/Desirable - simply and quickly define each activity (skill,

competency, whatever) according to whether it is essential or desirable for
the job purpose and organizational performance. Training priority is obviously
given to developing essential competencies.

Importance/Competency matrix - the highest training priorities are

obviously the activities (skills, competencies, whatever) which are high
importance (of task to organizational performance) and low competence (of
trainee skill level).

high importance
high importance
and low
and high
competence =
competence = low
high training
training priority
priority

low importance and

low importance and
high competence =
low competence =
zero training
low training priority
priority

DIF Analysis - DIF stands for Difficulty, Importance, Frequency. DIF Analysis
is a sophisticated (and potentially very complex) method of assessing
performance, prioritising training needs and planning training, based on
three perspectives: Difficulty, Importance, and Frequency. The system looks
at tasks and activities (or skills, competencies, whatever) rather than looking
at development from a personal individual perspective. DIF Analysis can be
used in different ways: for example as a flow diagram to consider each
activity using a simple yes/no for each of the three factors in sequence of
Difficulty (yes/no), Importance (yes/no) and Frequency (yes/no), which
generates eight possible combinations. At a simple level, an activity that
scores low on all three scales is obviously low priority; whereas an activity
that scores high on all three scales is a high priority. Weighting (significance
of each factor relative to the job purpose/aims) is required in order to
optimise the usefulness and relevance of the system, especially if applied to
a group or organization. Analysis can become extremely complex, so it is
sensible to ensure that the level of analysis is appropriate for the situation
before starting to build complex analysis systems. For such a potentially
detailed system, DIF Analysis does not automatically take account of
personal preferences and potential capabilities, and as such consideration to
this aspect is wise where trainee commitment is influential upon
development, which in most situations is the case. The Skill-set and TNA
tools on this website could, given modest expertise in spreadsheets and
logic, be adapted to manage DIF Analysis, although better dedicated DIF
Analysis tools exist. If you have one to share please send it.

Other methods exist for prioritising training. Choose or develop a method

which is appropriate for your situation. Resist the tendency to become overly
detailed. Analysis and detail should always be a means to an end (to achieve
effective training and development), not an end in themselves.

Ultimately the best way to prioritise training is can be simply to agree with
the trainee what they are most keen to commit to. All the analysis and detail
in the world will not guarantee trainee commitment, which is generally the
most powerful force for effective training and development.

Task-based analysis is important for organizational development

measurement and planning, but approaching training prioritisation from
purely a task perspective ignores the vital personal factor.

developing people and capabilities

Many organizations face the challenge of developing greater confidence,
initiative, solutions-finding, and problem-solving capabilities among their
people. Organisations need staff at all levels to be more self-sufficient,
resourceful, creative and autonomous. This behaviour enables staff can
operate at higher strategic level, which makes their organizations more
productive and competitive. People's efforts produce bigger results. It's what
all organizations strive to achieve.

However, while conventional skills training gives people new techniques and
methods, it won't develop their maturity, belief, or courage, which is so
essential for the development of managerial and strategic capabilities.
Again, focus on developing the person, not the skills.

Try to see things from the person's (your people's) point of view. Provide
learning and experiences that they'd like for their own personal interest,
development and fulfilment. Performance and capability are ultimately
dependent on people's attitude and emotional maturity. Help them to
achieve what they want on a personal level, and this provides a platform for
trust, 'emotional contracting' with the organisation, and subsequent
skills/process/knowledge development relevant to managing higher
responsibilities, roles and teams.

Participative workshops work well in beginning this type of attitudinal

development. Involve people right from the start. Focus on what they want.
You could also use a personal development questionnaire to begin to set the
scene and provide examples of 'alternative' learning opportunities. It starts
with the person, not the skills. It's about attitude and emotional maturity. The
Emotional Intelligence principles and methodologies fit very well with
modern approaches to developing people's belief, maturity and attitude.

When people develop confidence, integrity, emotionally, they automatically

become more proactive, solutions-focused, responsive, etc., which across a
whole team has a cumulative effect. Johari is a useful model too. So many
people at work are simply 'going through the motions', acting in a
'conforming' state, often because they feel insecure, lack confidence to do
what they think is right, or are nervous about being bold, whereas
boldness is absolutely required for self-sufficiency, initiative,
greater responsibility; in fact all of the behaviours that organizations
strive to encourage.

You can't 'teach' boldness - people have to experience things which enable
them to feel bolder, to take risks, and to want to take risks.

This means the rewards must be there too, or people have no reason to stick
their necks out. And not just the prospect of financial reward. More
importantly the Herzberg-type motivators - real extra responsibility,
recognition, and involvement in new successful and interesting projects. This
is the fuel of people's growth and change.

designing self-study training and learning

programmes
The same basic principles apply to designing self-study programs as to any
other sort of training design.
The internet enables self-study learning and development programs to be
more useful, empowering and cost-effective than ever before.

The only limits are those you imagine. Be creative and innovative. Look on
the web for ideas and self-study and self-development resources, methods,
groups, and technologies. There are many.

This website is effectively a self-study program. It's not a particularly

conventional one, nor an accredited or measurable one. Like any sort of
learning it will appeal to some people but not others.

The growing Businessballs Space contains many other different innovative,

interesting and excellent ideas, providers, and free resources.

You will find many other self-development offerings on the internet if you tap
into relevant communities and portals.

As ever consider what you seek to achieve, before you design how to
achieve it.

Know yourself, and help trainees and learners to know themselves. Then it is
easier to decide how and what will help best.

To help you structure and design and assess learning, read the training
design and evaluation materials on this page and elsewhere on the website,
for example the Kirpatrick evaluation and design model, the learning styles
and multiple intelligence theories, and the Bloom learning domains
taxonomy model.

The group selection recruitment and assessment centre guide is also

relevant. Assessment and development are tightly connected.

To help you understand yourself read the materials relating to personality

and motivation, such as Erikson's theory, the personality styles theories, and
the ideas of Maslow, Herzberg, McGregor, etc.

Designing a good self-study program should if possible always involve the

students.

Involving people from the beginning increases ideas, relevance and

commitment.
mentoring linked to projects and objectives
activities
Linking mentoring with objectives and project tasks or activities is a highly
productive and effective modern method of training and developing people
in organizations, especially for staff in teams and departments, and for
developing organizations themselves. The approach builds on
management by objectives (MBO's) principles, but is more participative,
voluntary and inclusive. By comparison, MBO's are a 'one-way street';
isolated and individually separate, prescribed along a single-channel towards
a task focus. Well-facilitated 'activity focused mentoring' is consensual,
team-orientated, with a personal development and team building focus,
across multiple organizational interfaces, particularly to and between
management/subordinate/peer levels. Activity focused mentoring methods
also help develop systems (not IT and processes, but overall systems: ie.,
how an organization works), organizations, management and
communications, in an open, dynamic, organic, three-dimensional way. The
activity-mentoring approach uses several integrated techniques which
produce more reliable and relevant training and learning outputs, in terms of
individual skills, attitudinal development, and direct job and organizational
performance improvement. The approach is facilitative rather than
prescriptive, and broadly features:

• strategic assessment of organisational and department priorities and 'high-yield'

training needs
• interpreted discussion with line-managers of training delegates and strategic
managers of the organisation
• pre-training skills/behavioural needs-analysis - all training delegates - and pre-
training preparatory work
• small groups - practical workshops - short sessions - highly participative and
situation/solution-based - focused on practical job issues, individual
personality/learning style and organisational priorities
• individually agreed tasks and assignments - focused on practical priorities and
individual needs (SMART and WIIFM factors)
• follow-up coaching and mentoring one-to-one support - giving high accountability
and reliable deliverables
• ongoing feedback and review with line-managers and strategic managers -
coaching/task notes for line managers

The process works on several different levels: individual, team, task,

organisational and strategic. Activity focused mentoring also gives strong
outputs in skills, behaviour and job priority areas, as well as being strongly
motivational and where necessary resolving conflict and attitudinal issues.
mentoring cost analysis and justification
Mentoring can be provided in various ways and programmes take a variety of
shapes. Mentoring can be external, where the mentoring is essentially
provided by external people, or an internal activity, using mentors within the
organisation.

Due to the relative newness of mentoring as a formal organised process, and

because mentoring programmes are so varied, statistics as to general costs
and returns across industry are not easy to find. Here however are general
cost indicators for a program essentially delivered by internally appointed
mentors.

The main elements of a mentoring programme that carry quantifiable cost

would be:

• Training of mentor(s) - comfortably achievable for £1,000/head - it's not rocket

science, but selection of suitable mentor is absolutely critical - good natural
mentors need little training; other people who are not ready or able to help others
can be beyond any amount of training.
• Mentor time away from normal activities - needs to be a minimum of an
hour a month one-to-one or nothing can usefully be achieved, up to at most a
couple of hours a week one-to-one, which would be intensive almost to the point
of overloading the mentoree. That said, there may be occasions when the one-to-
one would necessarily involve a whole day out for the mentor, for instance client
or supplier visits. Say on average a day a month including the associated
administration work, particularly where the mentoring is required to be formalised
and recorded.
• Overseeing the program, evaluating and monitoring activity, progress
and outputs - depends on the size of the program, ie., number of mentors an
number of 'mentorees' - if the mentoring is limited to just a single one-to-one
relationship then it's largely self-managing - if it's a programme involving several
mentors an mentorees then estimate an hour per quarter (3 mths) per one-to-one
mentoring relationship - probably the responsibility of an HR or training manager.
If this person with the overview/monitoring responsibility needs external advice
you'd need to add on two or three days external training or consultancy costs.
• (Mentoree time away from normal activities - effective mentoring should
ideally integrate with the mentoree's normal activities, and enhance productivity,
effectiveness, etc., so this is arguably a credit not a debit.)

mentoring principles and techniques

Rather than simply give the answers, the mentor's role should be to help
the 'mentoree' find the answers for him/herself. While giving the
answers is usually better than giving no help at all, helping the mentoree to
find the answers for him/herself provides far more effective mentoring,
because the process enables so much more for the mentoree in terms of
experience of learning. Give someone the answers and they learn only the
answers; instead mentors need to facilitate the experience of discovery and
learning. The mentor should therefore focus mentoring effort and
expectations (of the person being mentored especially, and the organisation)
on helping and guiding the mentoree to find the answers and develop
solutions of his/her own.

Accordingly, many of the principles of mentoring are common to those of

proper coaching, which are particularly prominent within life coaching. You
should also refer to aspects of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), and
Sharon Drew Morgen's Facilitative Questioning methodology.

Mentors need to be facilitators and coaches, not tutors or trainers. Mentorees

need simply to open their minds to the guidance and facilitative methods of
the mentor. The mentor should not normally (unless in the case of
emergency) provide the answers for the mentoree; instead a mentor should
ask the right questions (facilitative, guiding, interpretive, non-judgemental)
that guide the mentoree towards finding the answers for him/herself.

If a mentor tells a mentoree what to do, then the mentoree becomes like the
mentor, which is not right nor sustainable, and does not help the mentoree
to find his/her own true self.

The mentor's role is to help the mentoree to find his/her own true
self; to experience their own attempts, failures and successes, and
by so doing, to develop his/her own natural strengths and potential.

We can see parallels in the relationship between a parents and a child. If a

parent imposes his or her ways, methods and thinking upon a child, the child
becomes a clone of the parent, and in some cases then falsifies his or her
own true self to please and replicate the model projected by the parent. The
true self might never appear, or when it begins to, a crisis of confidence and
purpose occurs as the person tries to find and liberate his or her true self.

When we mentor people, or when we raise children, we should try to help

them develop as individuals according to their natural selves, and their
own wishes, not ours.
tips on establishing a mentoring service or
programme
There are very many ways to design a mentoring programme, whether within
an organization, or as a service or help that you provide personally to others.

Here are some questions that you should ask yourself. The answers will move
you closer to what you seek to achieve:

What parameters and aims have you set for the mentoring activity?

What will your mentoring programme or service look and feel like?

What must it achieve and for whom?

What are your timescales?

How will the mentoring programme or activity be resourced and managed

and measured?

What type of design and planning approach works best for you? (It makes
sense to use a design and planning approach that works for you.)

What are your main skills and style and how might these influence the
programme design?

What methods (phone, face-to-face, email, etc) of communication and

feedback are available to you, and what communications methods do your
'customers' need and prefer?

What outputs and effects do you want the programme to produce for you,
and for the people being mentored?

How might you build these core aims, and the implied values and principles,
into your programme design?

How can you best measure and agree that these outputs - especially the
agreed expectations of the people being mentored - are being met.

How can you best help people in matters for which you need to refer them
elsewhere?

What skills, processes, tools, experience, knowledge, style do you think you
will need that you do not currently have?
What do your 'customers' indicate that they want in terms of content,
method and style or mentoring - in other words what does your 'target
market' need?, and what parts of those requirements are you naturally best
able to meet?

Mentoring is potentially an infinite demand upon the mentor so you need to

have a clear idea of the extent of your mentoring 'offering'.

Establishing clear visible parameters enables proper agreement of mutual

expectations.

general training tips

These tips apply essentially to traditional work-related training - for the
transfer of necessary job- or work-related skills or knowledge.

These tips do not apply automatically to other forms of enabling personal

development and facilitating learning, which by their nature involve much
wider and various development methods and experiences.

When planning training think about:

• your objectives - keep them in mind all the time

• how many people you are training
• the methods and format you will use
• when and how long the training lasts
• where it happens
• how you will measure its effectiveness
• how you will measure the trainees' reaction to it

When you you give skills training to someone use this simple five-step
approach:

1. prepare the trainee - take care to relax them as lots of people find learning
new things stressful
2. explain the job/task, skill, project, etc - discuss the method and why; explain
standards and why; explain necessary tools, equipment or systems
3. provide a demonstration - step-by-step - the more complex, the more steps -
people cannot absorb a whole complicated task all in one go - break it down -
always show the correct way - accentuate the positive - seek feedback and
check understanding
 4. have the trainee practice the job - we all learn best by actually doing it - ('I
hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand' - Confucius)
5. monitor progress - give positive feedback - encourage, coach and adapt
according to the pace of development

Creating and using progress charts are helpful, and are essential for anything
complex - if you can't measure it you can't manage it. It's essential to use
other training tools too for planning, measuring, assessing, recording and
following up on the person's training.

Breaking skills down into easily digestible elements enables you to plan and
manage the training activities much more effectively. Training people in
stages, when you can build up each skill, and then an entire role, from a
series of elements, keeps things controlled, relaxed and always achievable in
the mind of the trainee.

Establishing a relevant 'skill set' is essential for assessing and prioritising

training for any role. It is not sufficient simply to assess against a job
description, as this does not reflect skills, only responsibilities, which are
different. Establishing a 'behaviour set' is also very useful, but is a more
difficult area to assess and develop.

More information and guidance about working with 'Skill-Sets' and 'Behaviour
Sets', and assessment and training planning see training evaluation, and
performance appraisals, and other related linked articles on this site. Using
Skill-Sets to measure individual's skills and competencies is the first stage in
producing a training needs analysis for individuals, a group, and a whole
organisation. You can see and download a free Skill-Set tool and Training
Needs Analysis tool the free resources page.

This will not however go beyond the basic work-related job skills and
attributes development areas. These tools deal merely with basic work
training, and not with more important whole person development, for which
more sophisticated questioning, mentoring and learning facilitation methods
need to be used.

Psychometric tests (and even graphology - handwriting analysis) are also

extremely useful for training and developing people, as well as recruitment,
which is the more common use. Psychometric testing produces reliable
assessments which are by their nature objective, rather than subjective, as
tends to be with your own personal judgement. Your organisation may
already use systems of one sort or another, so seek advice. See the section
on psychometrics. Some of these systems and tools are extremely useful in
facilitating whole-person learning and development.
Some tips to make training (and learning, coaching, mentoring) more
enjoyable and effective:

• keep instructions positive ('do this' rather than 'don't do this')

• avoid jargon - or if you can't then explain them and better still provide a written
glossary
• you must tailor training to the individual, so you need to be prepared to adapt the
pace according to the performance once training has begun
• encourage, and be kind and thoughtful - be accepting of mistakes, and treat them
as an opportunity for you both to learn from them
• focus on accomplishment and progress - recognition is the fuel of development
• offer praise generously
• be enthusiastic - if you show you care you can expect your trainee to care too
• check progress regularly and give feedback
• invite questions and discussion
• be patient and keep a sense of humour

Induction training tips:

• assess skill and knowledge level before you start

• teach the really easy stuff first
• break it down into small steps and pieces of information
• encourage pride
• cover health and safety issues fully and carefully
• try to identify a mentor or helper for the trainee

As a manager, supervisor, or an organisation, helping your people to develop

is the greatest contribution you can make to their well-being. Do it to your
utmost and you will be rewarded many times over through greater
productivity, efficiency, environment and all-round job-satisfaction.

Remember also to strive for your own personal self-development at all times
- these days we have more opportunity and resource available than ever to
increase our skills, knowledge and self-awareness. Make use of it all.

recognise and acknowledge training

achievements - letter examples
As an employer or manager, take the time to recognise and thank employees
for successfully (or unsuccessfully) completing training and development
courses, projects or challenges. Receiving recognition is a powerful motivator
and stimulant towards further training and personal development. And yet
the opportunity to acknowledge people's achievements is often overlooked.
A simple letter of congratulations, or a mention in a company magazine or
newsletter is all that it takes to give people a huge boost. Here's a simple
sample letter of congratulations for completing training and development.
Letters of recognition and congratulations are appropriate from line
managers, and higher up the organisation especially. An individual signed
letter of congratulations from the MD or CEO is a hugely motivational event
in most employee's lives. People's valiant failures deserve recognition too,
and often help the person to keep positive, and keep striving to succeed in
the future.

sample letter of congratulations

(name, home address, date)

Dear ..........

My warmest congratulations to you on your completion of your ...............

training course/programme on (date).

Your achievement (of ...... qualification/accreditation) is richly deserved, and

serves a great example for others to follow.

I encourage you to continue to strive towards further personal development.

Best wishes, etc.

sample letter of recognition of effort

(name, home address, date)

Dear ..............

I realise that your recent failure to achieve/complete ................................

qualification/course will have been a disappointment to you.

However, I wanted to let you know that I was greatly impressed by your
efforts and attitude in approaching your challenges, and I have every faith
that you will succeed on your next attempt.
The lessons we learn from our failures are often even more valuable than the
experience we gain from our successes.

Keep up your excellent efforts.

Best wishes, etc

leadership and management training and

development
Here's a simple process for training and developing management and
leadership skills, and any other skills and abilities besides. Use your own
tools and processes where they exist and are effective. Various tools are
available on the free resources section to help with this process, or from the
links below.

Refer also to the coaching and development process diagram.

1. Obtain commitment from trainees for development process. Commitment is

essential for the development. If possible link this with appraisals and career
development systems.
2. Involve trainees in identifying leadership qualities and create 'skill/behaviour-
set' that you seek to develop. Training and development workshops are ideal
for this activity.
3. Assess, prioritise and agree trainee capabilities, gaps, needs against the
skill/behaviour-set; individually and as a group, so as to be able to plan group
training and individual training according to needs and efficiency of provision.
Use the skill/behaviour-set tool for this activity. Use the training needs
analysis tool for assessing training needs priorities for a group or whole
organization.
4. Design and/or source and agree with trainees the activities, exercises,
learning, experiences to achieve required training and development in
digestible achievable elements - ie break it down. Use the training planner to
plan the development and training activities and programmes. Record
training objectives and link to appraisals.
5. Establish and agree measures, outputs, tasks, standards, milestones, etc. Use
the SMART task model and tool.

Training and development can be achieved through very many different

methods - use as many as you need to and which suit the individuals and the
group. Refer to the Kolb learning styles ideas - different people are suited to
different forms of training and learning.
Exercises that involve managing project teams towards agreed specific
outcomes are ideal for developing management and leadership ability. Start
with small projects, then increase project size, complexity and timescales as
the trainee's abilities grow. Here are examples of other types of training and
development. Training need not be expensive, although some obviously is;
much of this training and development is free; the only requirements are
imagination, commitment and a solid process to manage and acknowledge
the development. The list is not exhaustive; the trainer and trainees will
have lots more ideas:

• on the job coaching

• mentoring
• delegated tasks and projects
• reading assignments
• presentation assignments
• job deputisation or secondment
• external training courses and seminars
• distance learning
• evening classes
• hobbies - eg voluntary club/committee positions, sports, outdoor activities, and
virtually anything outside work that provides a useful personal development
challenge
• internal training courses
• attending internal briefings and presentations, eg 'lunch and learn' format
• special responsibilities which require obtaining new skills or knowledge or
exposure
• video
• internet and e-learning
• customer and supplier visits
• attachment to project or other teams
• job-swap
• accredited outside courses based on new qualifications, eg NVQ's, MBA's, etc.

management training with no guarantee of a

management job
Training people, especially graduates, young rising stars and new recruits, is
commonly linked to the veiled promise of or allusion to management
opportunity. But what happens when the organisation is unable to offer a
management promotion at the end of the training programme? This is a
familiar pattern and challenge in many organisations. How can you
encourage people into a management development programmes, with no
assurance of a promotion into management at the end of it?

The problem lies in the mismatched expectations at the outset: the trainee
hopes (which develops into an expectation) for promotion. The organisation
cannot (quite rightly) guarantee that a management job will be offered. No
wonder that it often ends in tears, and what should have been (and actually
still is) a positive experience, namely the learning and experience achieved,
turns into a crisis for HR to diffuse, because the trainee feels let down and
disappointed.

Here's a different way to approach management development:

First, come back a few stages and consider the values, beliefs and real
nature of the emotional, spiritual and personal development that these
people (the management trainees) might need and respond to most. Then
you'll find it easier to define an honest set of expectations on each side (the
graduates and the employer).

If the 'training' is positioned as a possible step towards a management

promotion, people will become focused on the wrong expectations and aims,
and when, as most of them will do, people fail to achieve a promotion they
will feel they have failed, and the experience turns sour.

Better to design the 'learning' as a 'significant personal development

experience' in its own right, with absolutely no promise of a job or a
promotion at the end of it. That way everyone's (employer and employees)
expectations match openly and honestly, and people are all focused on
enjoying and benefiting from the learning as the central aim, rather than
continually hoping that the management job happens, or in the case of the
employer and program manager, preparing to defend and appease folks at
the end when there's no job.

Added to which, by defining and designing the programme as personal

development, enrichment, experience, life-learning, etc (there are many
highly appealing and worthy ways to specify and describe a programme like
this) - and not being afraid of doing so - you will attract the right sort of
people into it; ie., the more emotionally mature and positive ones, who want
to do it for the learning and experience, rather than purely for the chance of
a promotion into management.
The irony of course is that students who respond to a learning and personal
enrichment opportunity per se, with no guarantees or allusions to
management promotion, will be the best management candidates of all.

tips for assessing organizational training

effectiveness
Look at and understand the broad organizational context and business
environment: the type, size, scale, spread, geography, logistics, etc., of the
business or organization. This includes where and when people work (which
influences how and when training can be delivered). Look also at the skills
requirements for the people in the business in general terms as would
influence training significance and dependence - factors which suggest high
dependence on training are things like: fast-changing business (IT, business
services, healthcare, etc), significant customer service activities, new and
growing businesses, strong health and safety implications (chemicals,
hazardous areas, transport, utilities). Note that all businesses have a high
dependence on training, but in certain businesses training need is higher
than others - change (in the business or the market) is the key factor which
drives training need.

Assess and analyse how training and development is organized and the way
that training is prioritised. Think about improvements to training organization
and planning that would benefit the organisation.

Review the business strategy/positioning/mission/plans (and HR strategy if

any exists) as these statements will help you to establish the central
business aims. Training should all be traceable back to these business aims,
however often it isn't - instead it's often arbitrary and isolated.

Assess how the training relates to the business aims, and how the
effectiveness of the training in moving the business towards these aims is
measured. Often training isn't measured at all - it needs to be.

Look at the details and overview of what training is planned for the people in
the business. The training department or HR department should have this
information. There should be a clear written training plan, including training
aims, methods, relevance and outputs connected to the wider aims of the
business.

Look also at how training relates to and is influenced by appraisals and

career development; also recruitment, and general ongoing
skills/behavioural assessment. There should be process links between these
activities, particularly recruitment and appraisals, and training planning.
Detailed training needs should be driven substantially by staff appraisals. (It
goes without saying that there should be consistent processes and
application of staff appraisals, and that these should use suitable job
performance measures that are current and relevant to the operations and
aims of the business.)

Look particularly at management training and development. The bigger the

business, generally the bigger the dependence on management training and
development.

Look at new starter induction training - it's critical and typically a common
failing in situations where anything higher than a low percentage of new
starters leave soon after joining.

Look for the relationships between training, qualifications, job grades and
pay/reward levels - these activities and structures must be linked, and the
connections should be visible to and understood by all staff.

Look especially at staff turnover (% per annum of total staff is the key
indicator), exit interviews, customer satisfaction surveys, staff satisfaction
surveys (if they exist) for other indicators as to staff development and
motivational needs and thereby, training deficiencies.

Look for any market research or competitor analysis data which will indicate
business shortcomings and weaknesses, which will imply staff training
needs, obviously in areas of the most important areas of competitive
weakness in relation to the business positioning and strategy.

Look to see if there is director training and development - many directors

have never been trained for their roles, and often hide from and resist any
effort to remedy these weaknesses.

Base training recommendations and changes on improving training

effectiveness in terms of:

• relevance to organizational aims

• methods of staff assessment
• training design/sourcing
• training type, mix and suitability, given staff and business circumstances
(consider all training options available - there are very many and some are
relatively inexpensive, and provide other organizational benefits; in-house,
external training courses and seminars, workshops, coaching, mentoring, job-
swap, secondment, distance-learning, day-release, accredited/qualification-linked,
etc)
• remedies for identified organizational and business performance problem areas,
eg., high staff turnover, general attrition or dissatisfaction levels, customer
complaints, morale, supplier retention and relationships, wastage and shrinkage,
legal and environmental compliance, recruitment difficulties, management and
director succession, and other key performance indicators of the business (which
should be stated in business planning documents)
• comparative costs of different types of training per head, per staff type/level
• measurement of training effectiveness, and especially feedback from staff being
trained: interview departmental heads and staff to see what they think of training
- how it's planned, delivered, measured, and how effective it is

measuring and increasing training days or

hours per person
Measuring training hours per person as an average across the organization,
typically per year, is often a useful training and development KPI (Key
Performance Indicator) of the training function - more training acronyms
here. If you can't measure it you can't manage it, the saying goes.

The degree of difficulty in measuring training time per person depends on

what you define as training: training time per person on training courses is
relatively easy to measure, but on-the-job coaching, informal mentoring,
personal reading and learning - these are less quantifiable - you'd normally
need to get this data from the employees via a survey or other special
report.

It is possible to manage 'training time per person' aims and data via annual
appraisals, when training past and future could be quantified - this could be a
relatively simple add-on to whatever appraisal system you are using
currently, and could relatively easily be cascaded via managers.

Your previous year's total training course time - ie., 'person-days' spent on
training courses - divided by number of employees in the organization is an
easy start point. This will give you the average training course time per
employee, and if you have no other benchmarks is as good a start point as
any. Then perhaps agree a sensible target uplift on this, assuming the
training requirement is linked to organisational aims and personal
development, rather than training for the sake of it just to increase the hours
per person. You can make this calculation for a team, a job grade, a
department or a whole organization.

You could also survey the managers as to their estimate of how much on-the-
job-coaching they provided per person as an average during a week. This
gives another benchmark, albeit it an estimate, for which you can target an
uplift and then monitor via managers reporting back every month or quarter.
Remind managers to include, and if possible to categorise all the different
sorts of training and coaching that takes place, as they will tend to forget or
ignore certain types, for example; job cover, training at meetings, taking on
new tasks and responsibilities, delegated tasks, shadowing, etc. Training
comes in various forms - if you are measuring it make sure you don't
underestimate the level of activity.

training planning
These guidelines essentially deal with conventional work skills training and
development. Remember that beyond this, issues of personal development
and learning, for life, not just work, are the most significant areas of personal
development to focus on.

To plan traditional training of work skills and capabilities that links to

organizational performance improvement you must first identify the
organizational performance needs, gaps, and priorities. These are examples
of typical training drivers which give rise to training needs. It is rare to use all
of these aspects in determining training needs - select the ones which are
most appropriate to your own situation, the drivers which will produce the
most productive and cost-effective results, in terms of business performance
and people-development:

examples of training drivers

• Customer satisfaction surveys
• Business performance statistics and reports.
• Financial reports and ratios.
• Competitor analysis and comparison, eg SWOT analysis.
• Management feedback on employee needs, including from appraisals.
• Training audits, staff assessment centres.
• Staff feedback on training needs.
• Director-driven policy and strategic priorities.
• Legislative pressures.
• Relevant qualification and certification programmes.
Use the results and indicators from the chosen driver(s) to produce prioritised
training needs per staff type, which will logically enable staff and management to
achieve improvements required required by the organization.

There are several free training needs analysis and planning tools on the free
resources section which might help you assess and analyse staff training needs, and
then construct training plans.

potential conflict between HR/training

function and business management

Conflict can arise between HR/Training and other parts of the organization,
commonly due to differing priorities among performance management functions
within a business, and notably relating to training, development and welfare of staff.
If so, you need to identify conflict and manage it. Conflict is often caused by the
different aims of the departments, and you need to facilitate understanding and
cooperation on both sides. This is especially important in order to achieve
successful training needs assessment, training design, planning, delivery and
optimal take-up and implementation. Aside this there are very much deeper
implications for organizations seeking to be truly cohesive, 'joined-up', and aligned
towards common set of corporate aims and values. If you see any of the following
symptoms of conflict, consider the root cause and facilitate strategic discussion and
agreement, rather than limit your activity to simply resolving or responding only to
the symptom.

• management resisting release of staff for training due to day-to-day work

demands
• short-term needs of performance management vs long-term outlook of HR
• HR have no line authority over trainees therefore cannot control training take-up
• Training is rarely well followed-through once delegates are back in jobs, despite
HR efforts to achieve this via managers
• HR budgets are often cut if profits come under pressure

Generally conflict would stem from the values and priorities of directors,
managers and staff involved, and the aims and processes of the different HR
functions. Here are some subject headings that serve as a checklist to see
that the aims and priorities of HR/Training align optimally with those of other
departments (the list is not exhaustive but should enable the main points of
potential misalignment to be addressed):

• profit, costs, budgets

• well-being of staff
• ethics and morality in treatment of staff
• legal adherence
• business strategy
• training and development needs (skills, knowledge, EQ, etc)
• succession planning
• assessment and appraisals
• promotion
• recruitment
• age, gender, disability
• policies
• harassment
• counselling
• workforce planning
• management structure
• decision-making and approval processes
• outsourcing
• contracts of employment
• corporate mission and values
• acquisitions and divestments
• premises
• pay and remuneration plans and market positioning
• use of agencies
• advertising and image

positioning statement and introduction to

training courses and materials for groups of
mixed abilities
 In many training and teaching situations it is not possible to identify and
assemble groups of delegates whose needs, experience and ability levels
closely match each other.

Groups will therefore often comprise of trainees and learners who have
different levels of experience, and/or abilities, styles, expectations, needs,
aims, etc.

This places additional demands on the training provider/facilitators to ensure

that the needs of all delegates are met, while not causing any frustration or
boredom for delegates who already know or possess certain parts of the
information and abilities (or think they do) that the teaching seeks to
transfer.

As such it is often helpful for trainers and delegates to acknowledge and

accept this situation at the beginning of the course or training session, with
the purpose of reducing potential frustrations and negative reactions and
effects as far as possible.

Here is a suggested introductory statement, which aims to achieve a

commitment to understand the needs of others. You will notice that the
statement is designed to appeal to the mature and responsible nature that
exists in virtually all people. The challenge is to tap into this at the outset, in
order to set a positive constructive atmosphere and standard of behaviour
for the training. Adapt it to suit your own situation.

This special training introduction is additional to any other introduction that

you'll be using to outline the training aims, domestic arrangements, fire-drill,
etc.

The statement or an adapted version can also be included within the

introduction section of training course notes and manuals.

Example training introduction for groups of mixed abilities and needs:

Training Introduction - Please help to make this

course/session as positive and helpful for all
delegates

While every effort has been made to design this

course/session to appeal to the needs of all delegates,
it is almost inevitable that each of you will have
slightly (and in some cases significantly) different past
experiences, levels of ability and knowledge, personal
skills and styles, and needs and expectations.

Therefore during this course/session some of the

learning might already be known or familiar to you.

Please bear in mind that this will not be the case for all
of your fellow delegates. We are all different.

As such we would greatly appreciate your cooperation,

tolerance and awareness as to the needs of others on
this course.

If you find yourself thinking that you've 'heard at all

before' please take a few moments to think:

Have you really 'heard it all before', or are you

overlaying your own experiences onto some new
ideas? This is not an unusual reaction among very
capable people when confronting new ideas, so first
it's good to test your initial reaction - it would be a pity
to miss out.

If you are convinced that the training is covering an

area that you know well please then consider how to
make the best of this situation.

If you know the area well, look for opportunities to

make constructive suggestions and to provide helpful
examples to the group. Trainers and facilitators have a
tough job to do and will generally appreciate
constructive help and participation from senior or
experienced members of the group.

If you find yourself completing exercises much quicker

than your fellow delegates, look to help others,
especially if the trainer or facilitator is working alone
with a large group, and especially if other members
are struggling.

If you find yourself knowing the answers to lots of the

questions that arise during the training, consider if less
experienced delegates will benefit from working out
the answers for themselves, with some prompting
from you if helpful. Nobody ever learned much from
answering an easy question, but we learn a lot from
helping someone else who finds a question difficult.

Delegates who help the group as well as learn new

things for themselves, invariably get the most from
training courses.

Thank you in anticipation of your understanding and

contribution towards making this a helpful session for
everyone.

Adapt this training course introduction to suit the situation. It is more

relevant to mixed groups of delegates from different experience and skills
backgrounds than to groups which have been selected according to closely
matching needs and ability levels.

This sort of statement can be included at the beginning of course notes, or

given as a separate handout (as a sort of philosophical scene-setter), and/or
explained and discussed verbally with the group.

In any event it's good also to seek agreement from the group that the
concept of making the most constructive use of time and everyone's ability
to contribute, is the right and proper approach.

The message to training course delegates is effectively: that learning new

things is an enjoyable rewarding part of life and personal development, and
so too is helping others to do the same.

resources for training and development -

building your own resources - and helping
others do so
We all need to maintain and develop our value in the marketplace.

Then we will always be in demand.

Two generations ago, jobs were for life - now some careers last just five or
ten years.
The world is changing faster.

Organisations, and everyone individually, must be able to assess their

capabilities, and re-skill when necessary.

Trainers, teachers, coaches, managers and leaders are central to these

assessing and re-skilling processes.

Whether you are a trainer, specialist, manager, leader, entrepreneur,

whatever, building your own resources will enable you to maintain and grow
your capabilities and value, and to help others do the same.

Here are some questions and answers about building training and
development resources.

building training and development resources

(I am grateful to Dawn Barclay of Potential Developments for raising the
subject of building personal resources, prompting this additional section and
the Q&A format.)

Q. What do we mean by resources in the context of learning and

development?

A. Resources are -

materials and tools of various types, which:

• describe
• define
• explain
• summarise
• teach
• and/or enable the acquisition, improvement, or delivery of -

• skills
• knowledge
• methods
• techniques
• attitude
• and/or behaviour
• and thereby, performance, results, fulfilment, well-being, and other good
outcomes.

Resources can therefore be all sorts of things. For example, a single tiny
inspirational quotation is a resource. And a big organisational learning and
development manual is a resource.

More example of resources are:

• teambuilding games or exercises

• testing instruments for individuals and teams (psychometrics and other
assessments)
• guides to a concepts or theories or models
• spreadsheets or other analytical tools
• case studies and best practice examples (good case studies are always in
demand)
• samples and examples - of anything relevant to your field or specialism
• templates and forms
• surveys and especially survey results
• statistics and reports
• contracts and legal documents
• manuals and guides
• specifications and project briefs
• plans of all sorts
• diagrams, pictures, cartoons
• books, magazines, journals, newsletters and newspapers (especially newspaper
cuttings)
• films, videos and clips
• pieces of music
• puzzles, tricks, and games
• quizzes and questions and answers
• websites or a webpages (favourites or links)
• CDs and DVDs
• physical props - real samples, or props as metaphors like a hammer or a lemon
• items of curiosity and collectibles - diversity and history are powerful
perspectives for teaching and learning
• personal contacts, or a network of contacts - yes people are resources too.
The list goes on. Anything which helps you and/or others to learn or improve
is a resource.

The most powerful resources are those which enable significant

relevant improvement quickly and easily - whether for yourself or for
others, and especially for others.

Q. Who can/should build resources - just trainers and teachers - or

everyone?

A. Everyone can and should build their personal learning and development
resources.

If you are a trainer, teacher, coach, manager or leader, you will already be
building resources of various sorts to help yourself and to help others.

If your work does not obviously involve helping and developing others, it
could do one day, and meanwhile you can/should build resources to develop
your own capabilities and your market value.

Q. Why build your personal resources?

A. Because we all need to learn and develop in order to maintain our

personal relevance and value.

As we grow we have increasing opportunities to help others, and whether

you pursue these opportunities as an informal mentor, or in a formal people-
development or leadership role, you will be more helpful and valued if you
have good resources.

Having good resources gives you a greater chance of providing answers,

solutions, ideas, examples and tools.

People who build personal resources tend to attract respect and followers.

Resources are also tools which enable positive change.

People who have resources and know how to use them become to central to
any group or organised activity.

Consider the many people who don't really bother to keep or collect or refine
personal resources.
To whom do these people turn when they need help?... They turn to the ones
with the resources.

Q. What about 'raw' and 'finished' resources?

A. Note: Permissions and attributions are significant in the use of certain

resources.

The difference between 'raw' and 'finished' resources is important:

A raw resource is anything you think will be useful but is not yet refined or
focused for a particular purpose.

A raw resource is not yet packaged or re-written or presented in a polished

way. It might be an idea written in a notebook.

A cutting from a newspaper or magazine is a simple example of a raw

resource. A book, from which you might later extract data or excerpts or
quotes, is also a simple example of a raw resource. An old photocopied
diagram is a raw resource. And more up-to-date, so is a webpage from
Wikipedia, or a slideshow full of useful facts, research, statistics and graphs.

Often you will not know precisely what a particular resource will eventually
be used for. You might only need a small part of it.

Within reason, it's easy to keep and store resources these days because
many resources are already digitised, and most resources that are not
digitised can be.

Resources can be refined, focused, packaged or re-packaged, extracted,

updated, re-oriented - whenever and however you need them.

Given today's modern desktop editing and publishing technologies, even the
rawest of resources can swiftly be converted into effective finished
resources. This is even easier when you have a designer or creative agency
at your disposal.

Not all raw resources are converted into learning and development aids:

Many raw resources find their way into reports, business plans, sales
presentations, or into the systems of organisations and teams. Some raw
resources find their way into best selling books. Other resources help to
make the ethos and strategies of world-beating new corporations.
The expression was: 'Knowledge is Power'.

The truth is now: 'Resources are Empowering'

Start building your resources now.

Q. What formats and types of media are best?

A. Raw resources can be in any format and media. Convert them into a
format useful for keeping and finding them if you can do so easily.

Finished resources need to be in a format and media type appropriate and

friendly for the audience or learners or users.

The format and media of finished resources should also be appropriate for
your delivery or operating strategy.

If resources are refined and developed they can become an offering or

business in their own right. Many information-based websites began in this
way.

The modern digital age provides wide-ranging possibilities for the production
and offering of finished resources.

Mobile technology especially offers amazing potential for the delivery of

finished resources.

Ultimately consider your audience/users' needs, and ensure your chosen

media works well for your operating methods and strategy.

Q. Where can you find resources?

A. Resources can be found everywhere.

For example:

• The web, especially websites offering reliable reference materials and tools.
• University websites are usually an excellent source of reliable resources.
• Libraries - although nowadays much under-used, libraries are fantastic places for
resources.
• Bookshops and online booksellers, including used books, which can be
remarkably inexpensive.
• Institutes and associations and societies. Every field or trade has its own
governing or representative organisation. These tend to be centres of expertise
and knowledge. Most have their own libraries too.
• Work tools that you use or create - spreadsheets and templates especially - can
be very useful resources for the future.
• Many resources come free and very easy, for example, ironically, junk mail can be
a useful source of good and bad examples of all sorts of business and
communications.
• Training courses and classes of all sorts naturally contain many resources that
can be re-used, adapted and re-cycled.
• Resources of a social/historical or amusing nature can be found easily and
cheaply at Sunday car-boot markets or jumble sales, or when you next clear out
an old attic or your childhood toybox.
• Use your imagination. Training and teaching becomes immensely more enjoyable
when quirky (but still relevant) props and materials are introduced into
proceedings.

That last point illustrates the wide range of things which can be resources.
Not all resources must be academic and business-like; many can be
entertaining, fun and quirky.

Avoid habitually using only the web for resources. Only a fraction of the
world's knowledge and information is on the world wide web.

Often the best and resources are found 'off the beaten track' so to speak,
especially if you seek resources in a particularly specialised field.

Be creative, imaginative and original.

Q. How can resources be developed?

A. Your personal resources - whether for yourself or for helping others - can
be an extension of you and how you want to be, and what you seek to
become.

So try to develop your resources so that they say something about you. Be
selective. You obviously can't keep everything of potential use or you'd not
have time to do anything else.

Devise a way of keeping resources which is manageable and searchable.

Chucking everything into a big cardboard box is probably better than not
collecting anything at all, but there are better ways of organising things in
terms of space and finding what you need later. Devise a system that works
for you.

Develop your resources like you would build a team or organisation

around you, to help you achieve your aims and goals in life.

Develop resources that will help you to go where you want.

Imagine to yourself: "If I were doing my ideal future job what sort of personal
resources would I need?"

Build your resources to fit your aims.

Give yourself time. A world-beating (aim high) set of resources in any field
takes a while to build.

So start now.

In a few months you could be better resourced than anyone you know
personally in your field.

In a year or two you could be better resourced in your field than anyone else
anywhere. This is achievable if you focus and truly put your mind to the task.

You can, as the saying goes, stand on the shoulders of giants.

Q. What about permissions and attributions?

A. Since copyright law is complex and cannot be covered in depth quickly

and easily, here broadly are some simple guidelines for using resources in
the context of learning and development:

If you wish to use any resource created by someone else you must consider
whether you should seek permission for your particular usage.

Many resources, especially if extracted in part, are free to use for teaching
and training and self-development, however if you publish or sell material
('intellectual property' - IP as commonly called) which belongs to somebody
else, then this would normally require permission and perhaps licensing and
payment.
In general, the more you exploit somebody else's IP, then quite
understandably the more likely that the 'somebody' will require something in
return.

Showing some trainees a newspaper cutting to illustrate a point on a training

course would be highly unlikely to attract any issues copyright or permission.
On the other hand, using a 5,000 word training guide written by someone
else, in your own training manual, without suitable permission from the
writer, is not a good thing to do and could create a potential liability for you.

If in doubt ask. And if you cannot ask then take some time to understand
copyright law as it applies in your situation, (there are free guides to
copyright law available on the web) and make your own judgement.

The use of material without proper permission and/or attribution undermines

the credibility and integrity of the user, and can lead to more serious
problems if an IP owner considers that their rights have been seriously
breached. That said, permissions and attributions can generally be resolved
if approached positively and sensibly.

Whatever, there are countless resources which attract no liability at all, so if

you find a great resource but it contains challenging IP implications, then find
something else to use instead.

Q. What about accuracy - checking and researching - and 'currency'

(being up-to-date)?

A. Accuracy and reliability are very important aspects of teaching/training

resources.

Check your facts. Do not rely on the web alone for crucial data. The web can
be wrong - and if the web is wrong on one page, it can be wrong on other
pages too, given the tendency for web-based information to be copied.

Books can be wrong too of course, but good reference books are generally
far more reliable than the web.

A useful approach to gathering information resources is to use the web for

the bulk of the research, and then to check the crucial facts in a suitable
reliable reference book.

Certain resources are time-sensitive - that is to say, they become obsolete or

unhelpful or worse, if not updated.
Conversely, many other resources are timeless. It also depends on your
usage.

A 1995 guide to using the internet would be useless as a modern guide to

using the internet, but as a resource to illustrate how the internet changes, it
would be quite useful.

The ease by which you can establish accuracy and maintain currency ('up-to-
dateness') should be a big factor in your consideration of what sort of
resources to collect.

The area in which you work has a bearing on these aspects:

Certain areas - like law, finance, safety, for example - are strongly sensitive
to whether resources are current. Other disciplines - like motivation and
coaching - are far less sensitive to whether resources are current, but are
arguably more sensitive to whether resources are entertaining and unique.

Accuracy and reliability are important for all resources, unless the obsolete or
inaccurate nature of the resource is the purpose of its use (for irony, example
of 'how not to..', etc).

Currency (up-to-dateness) of resources is crucial for certain materials and

tools, but not so for others.

Use your judgement. Be aware of the pitfalls, and avoid them by considering
currency and accuracy when you gather and develop your resources.

Q. What about building connections with experts?

A. As suggested above, people are resources too.

Experts and good quality people of all sorts can help you build more and
better resources. They can help you adapt and develop resources, and give
vital feedback when you wish to expand your activities.

Experts and good quality people can also help you with using and
implementing your activities and plans.

This item doesn't focus on the value of people networks and networking,
because that's big different subject, nevertheless, the development of
contacts is an important part of your own development, so try to do it.
Successfully building and maintaining good connections with experts and
good quality people must be based on your giving them what they need in
return, whatever that might be (different people want and need different
things - provided its legal and ethical). So ask experts and good contacts
what they want from you and what you can do to help them.

People who take only, and give nothing in return, never build and sustain
good connections with anyone.

Consider that high-achieving expert people are not generally interested in

money or material gain. They are more interested in growth and self-
actualization motivators. See the theories of Maslow, Herzberg, etc

Changing Trends in Training and

Development: The HRM Challenge
In a previous post I delve on the importance of training and development programs for organizational

competitiveness, and highlighting the role of HRM (Human Resource Management Department or

Professional) as its facilitator. To amplify more on the issue, it should be noted that the HRM is

confronted with dynamic changes in approaches and methodologies in training and development.

Susan Heathfield of About.com posted an interesting article regarding this topic, and I’d like to

expound a bit of what she wrote adding some of my personal notes.

She observed that there are at least six critical trends in training that should be taken into serious

account by HRM professionals and organizations, to wit:

1. Adopt a Performance Consulting Strategy

2. Measure Results to See Impact

3. Training Delivery Is Changing

4. Training Delivery Systems Are in Transformation

5. Your Customer Is the Individual Employee

6. Training is Delivered Just-in-time, as Needed

Items 1 and 2 are not new, IMO. Training and development programs are supposed to be designed

and implemented to correct and/or improve employee’s or organization’s performance. And results

there from should be measured against projected or set training goals and objectives. The assessment

at the end of the program will not suffice. (Some organizations tend to use this to measure the
effectiveness of the training. This is very superficial, ineffective, and is based only on the impression of

the training activity not its results.) Metrics should have been defined even before the training plan is

approved. Otherwise, it would be a waste of resources to train people when there are no metrics in

place to evaluate learning and improvements results. Sarah is correct to observe that most training

programs are out of the shelf, catalogs, and have lost their effectiveness. They are no longer

performance related. In my book, these are what you call university or academic approaches to

human resource training and development.

Training and development programs, first and foremost , should address a discrepancy between the

current performance of the employee and to what is expected (based on his detailed job description or

KRA (Key Result Area) sheet. In cases of advancement, the discrepancy is the difference between the

current performance (that is, the employee is meeting desired performance criteria and goals)

compared against the desired level of performance when new responsibilities are added or where

promotion to the next job level is expected. Again, here is why performance evaluation and metrics

are very important.

Items 3 to 6 are more accurate observations. With the introduction of internet, intranet, and multi-

media devices, training delivery and systems are indeed changing. The HRM should be able to harness

these new systems to achieve better results from training. Plus, the emphasis on training employees

who are expert on certain topics to train others is indeed occurring. The trainers’ and HRM roles on

this should focus on developing good trainers out of this employees. In the first place, they are more

credible trainers when it comes to their areas of expertise. Training skills are thus required to make

them effective trainers.

It is good news that more and more trainers and HRM professionals are adopting the JIT* (just in

time) system in training. As I have mentioned earlier, if training should have been initiated to address

performance problems, then it follows that training are perfect JIT intervention. Although, let me be

clear here that not all performance problems or discrepancies can be addressed through training.

Sometimes, the underlying causes for this are entirely insignificant to training such as improvement

on the work process, machine problems, psychological issues like the lack of motivation, etc. However,

issues that needs to be addressed should be acted upon immediately.

If I may add:
Training programs should focused more on behavioral modifications rather
than skill building, and should be geared towards adding value to the
organization’s competitiveness.
Skill building is easier than behavioral modification. It takes time to have employees who are highly

motivated and are attuned to the positive corporate culture that company is trying to foster. I am

seeing more organizations who are placing more importance on this in their agenda and are reaping

positive results. Even in hiring, attitude and values are given more premium over skills and knowledge

on the premise that the latter can easily be acquired.

Training is becoming participative.

Meaning, trainees are now involve in the planning and development stages of the entire human

resource program. This way, their training needs are accurately addressed. Moreover, it lessens the

burden on the part of the training facilitator in terms of getting interests on the training program.

Lastly, employees involvement in the preparation of the program shares the burden of making it

meaningful and effective. The role of the HRM now in this trend is more of a coach and a guide, rather

than the provider of training itself.

Training and development programs, however the methods and trends are, will continue to

remain the most effective means of producing and maintaining a highly competitive

workforce. The HRM must endeavor to put more efforts towards effective implementations.

Introduction
It´s no news to trainers that they have to evaluate their training program to provide
evidence that it works. But what method of evaluation should you conduct? Here´s a
look at formative (before) versus summative (after) training evaluation.

Formative Evaluation

What is it?
Formative evaluation occurs while a training program is forming or occurring. For
example: a formative evaluation could be a pilot test, a structured walk-through, a
preview or collecting continuous feedback from participants in a training program in
order to modify it as needed.

How To Conduct Formative Evaluation

Here are several steps to conducting formative evaluation:

• Review the training materials with one or two trainees.

• Hold group discussions with the trainees to gain feedback.
• Use the materials in a situation similar to that of an actual training program
to see how the materials work.
• Assess the materials with managers and supervisors who oversee trainees
participating in training program.
• Observe trainee behavior.
• Give short tests to trainees.

Answer the following questions:

• Did you identify training needs correctly?

• Have you noticed other areas that need attention?
• Are there indications that the training objectives will be met?
• Do the objectives need to be revised?
• Are the training topics being taught?
• Have additional training topics come up which need to be taught?

Summative Evaluation

What Is It?
Summative evaluation takes place after the training program has occurred. Most
articles about training evaluations, and Kirkpatrick´s famous types of evaluation are
summative. For example: summative evaluation could be evaluating the attitudes
and information learned after the training program has been conducted, or
determining how the information provided is used back on the job.

How To Conduct Summative Evaluation

There are several methods to conducting summative evaluation:

• Ask trainees for their opinions about the training program after it has been
delivered.
• Test trainees to learn how well they grasped the information.
• Ask participants to demonstrate how they would use the information learned
in training.
• Conduct surveys or interviews with each participant to gain better
understanding of what they learned.
• Measure changes in production and quality of work that has been
accomplished after the training program.
Answer the following questions:

• Did you meet the training objectives?

• Will you need to improve and modify some areas?
• Should you conduct the training activity again?
• How can you help the trainees attain further training?

Conclusion
Most trainers are familiar with formal methods of evaluation after a training
program (summative). Fewer may have thought seriously about the importance of
formative evaluation (although no doubt they would have used some of the core
formative approaches such as a pilot test). To get the best results use both forms of
evaluation: formative and summative.