Training & Development

A recap of all that we discussed so far during the A2Z challenge of Blogchatter, would indicate and underscore the fact that the various activities of HR are interrelated. The tools used come in handy and useful for various purposes. As for example, well written job descriptions not only facilitates recruitment of right fit candidates but also assists us at the time of training and development. The gap between the requirement enumerated in the job description and the competency of the incumbent can be addressed by training. Similarly, training needs are thrown up after a performance appraisal exercise.

The tone, tenor and understanding of training has changed over the years. At one time, employers considered sponsoring an employee for a three day training to a exotic hill resort as a reward for good performance. You now know that training is not just about the fun and frolic. It is not merely a transaction to be completed so as to be able to proudly claim at the end of the year that "Ours is a great organization that has a healthy statistic of mandays training". We now examine and discuss about the impact of training. A lot of expenditure is incurred for training programs such as development of 'Future leaders'. How much of change happened after the training is a question asked these days.

In some of the posts we discussed about the significant skills gap between that of candidates passing out of educational institutions and the skill needs of the job. Therefore proper training needs to be ensured even before the job aspirants become employees. In this connection, it is important for educational institutions and corporations to collaborate and design syllabuses that meet the requirement of the industry. Industries can consider adopting community colleges in their geographical location.

This would enable the companies to provide inputs as to the actual requirements of the industry and the students can also be given opportunities to visit and see for themselves how work happens in real time. An initiative on these lines would be a Win- Win for both as students / interns are assured of employment and the employer can look forward to better quality of employees. In view of the bond created during the process, there are also better chances of retaining them.

The modes of learning have increased and the way or preference for learning is also undergoing change. At an evening meet of a professional body in Bangalore in October 2016, Dr Moorthy Uppiluri, then CEO, Randstad India, had predicted that in future there would be less of class room learning and that the focus would shift to E learning and webinar modes, He opined that this would be more so as there is an attention deficit in today's Gen Y students who would prefer learning at their pace through online courses. The arrival of the virus Covid 19 quickened this process, as many classes happened online during the period. With lot more acceptance of virtual learning, we can look forward to more of Hybrid learning in the days to come, be it at colleges or in corporations.

Learning and Development needs to be flexible like trapeze artists in the circus to contribute to a work scenario in which, the way people learn is changing drastically. It could mean using more of E learning platforms like Coursera and planet Ganges but coming out with more local solutions, relevant to the country and organization. In Hyundai Motor India Ltd, where I worked prior to my retirement in 2015, many courses are run for its employees all over the world through E learning platforms monitored by the headquarters in Korea. The learning & Development function can contribute to developing learning platforms and help corporates move from knowledge retention to knowledge creation.

The challenges and priorities of work force training would no longer be limited to enhancing skill sets but would also include aspects of cultural fit and style fit to the organization. Further, lot of uncertainties have been thrown up post covid , with the world economy undergoing a recession. Known opportunities could disappear with many new unknown ones emerging. Lot of horizontal movement could happen with production guys moving into service and those in service getting into production and so on. The role of training and development in such a scenario can be challenging and more collaboration may be necessary with external training providers.

The training and development role is poised to play a big role in the days to come as there is a demand for updating and relearning of skills. Technology blended learning solutions could be increasingly preferred. At a seminar in Bangalore Mr Mohan Srinivasan, Head, Centre for behavioural excellence, Wipro Technologies explained how technology was used effectively for learning and tracking the progress of their 8 day English speaking "Fluency Program" designed for fresh engineers from a rural background. Based on the extent their language is comprehendible to listeners, the participants are given alerts of how they are doing - green colour for very well and at the bottom red colour, poor. Tests and feedback through technology helps the trainee move up on their level of fluency.

As there is increasing demand and expectation to measure the impact of training, Training & Development department should take steps to implement the 4 level (reaction, learning, behaviour and results) Kirkpatrick model of training evaluation. Depending on the importance and financial implication of the training program, evaluation can be done at the appropriate level.

At a seminar Mr Bhat of Sundaram Finance shared how the impact of sales training was assessed. One of their units was selected for the experiment and provided training. The performance comparison between team members of the unit that received training and the other units which did not receive training revealed higher figures in terms of actual sales and other parameters for the employees of the unit that underwent the training. Blended learning is likely to be the future for the T&D process- Apart from face to face learning, E learning, tests, quizzes, role plays, learning during live situations at work, using the mobile and social media as tools of learning etc.

In conclusion, it is to be reiterated that as in the case of HR function as a whole, Training & development can be effective only if its importance and necessity is understood and appreciated by the executives/ employees of the whole company. There is a need to take inputs from line managers before designing the program, keep them informed about the learning imparted in the program and the support expected for implementation on the job, post training . The training objective is fulfilled and the circle is complete only after application of learning happens on the job after the training.

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z 2023