1. Learning, Training & Development
Training - Introduction
Training can be defined as:
The process of increasing the knowledge and skills of the workforce to enable them to perform
their jobs effectively
Training is, therefore, a process whereby an individual acquires job-related skills and
knowledge.
Training costs can be significant in any business. However, many employers are prepared to
incur these costs because they expect their business to benefit from employees' development
and progress.
Training takes place at various points and places in a business. Commonly, training is required
to:
 Support new employees (“induction training”)
 Improve productivity
 Increase marketing effectiveness
 Support higher standards of customer service and production quality
 Introduction of new technology, systems or other change
 Address changes in legislation
 Support employee progression and promotion
Effective training has the potential to provide a range of benefits for a business:
 Higher quality
 Better productivity
 Improved motivation - through greater empowerment
 More flexibility through better skills
 Less supervision required (cost saving in supervision)
 Better recruitment and employee retention
 Easier to implement change in the business
Effective training starts with a “training strategy”. The three stages of a training strategy are:
 Identify the skills and abilities needed by employees
 Draw up an action plan to show how investment in training and development will help
meet business goals and objectives

2.  Implement the plan, monitoring progress and training effectiveness
Given the costs involved, you might not be surprised to learn that many businesses do not
invest enough in training.
Some firms don’t invest anything in training! Here are the most common reasons for under-
investment in training:
They fear employees will be poached by competitors (who will then benefit from the training)
 A desire to minimize short-term costs
 They cannot make a justifiable investment case
 Training takes time to have the desired effect – management are impatient!
 Sometimes the benefits of training are more intangible (e.g. morale) than tangible – so
they are harder to measure
Implementing an Employee Training & Development Program
 The goals of the employee training or development program are clear
 The employees are involved in determining the knowledge, skills and abilities to be learned
 The employees are participating in activities during the learning process
 The work experiences and knowledge that employees bring to each learning situation are
used as a resource
 A practical and problem-centered approach based on real examples is used
 New material is connected to the employee's past learning and work experience
 The employees are given an opportunity to reinforce what they learn by practicing
 The learning environment is informal, safe and supportive
 The individual employee is shown respect
 The learning opportunity promotes positive self-esteem
The employee training and development process
Learning happens all the time whether or not you are fully aware of it. Are you a person who
forgets to save your work on your computer on a regular basis? If a power failure occurs and
you lose some data, do you learn anything? If you say to yourself, "I must remember to save
more often", you have done some learning. This type of learning is called incidental learning;
you have learned without really thinking about it or meaning to. On the other hand, intentional
learning happens when you engage in activities with an attitude of "what can I learn from this?"
Employee development requires you to approach everyday activity with the intention of learning
from what is going on around you.

3. Who is responsible for employee training and development?
Employee training is the responsibility of the organization. Employee development is a shared
responsibility of management and the individual employee. The responsibility of management
is to provide the right resources and an environment that supports the growth and development
needs of the individual employee.
For employee training and development to be successful, management should:
 Provide a well-crafted job description - it is the foundation upon which employee training
and development activities are built
 Provide training required by employees to meet the basic competencies for the job. This is
usually the supervisor's responsibility
 Develop a good understanding of the knowledge, skills and abilities that the organization will
need in the future. What are the long-term goals of the organization and what are the
implications of these goals for employee development? Share this knowledge with staff
 Look for learning opportunities in every-day activity. Was there an incident with a client that
everyone could learn from? Is there a new government report with implications for the
organization?
 Explain the employee development process and encourage staff to develop individual
development plans
 Support staff when they identify learning activities that make them an asset to your
organization both now and in the future
For employee development to be a success, the individual employee should:
 Look for learning opportunities in everyday activities
 Identify goals and activities for development and prepare an individual development plan
The individual development planning process
An individual development plan is prepared by the employee in partnership with his or her
supervisor. The plan is based upon the needs of the employee, the position and the
organization. A good individual development plan will be interesting, achievable, practical and
realistic. It is implemented with the approval of the employee's supervisor.
Step 1 - Self-assessment
The employee identifies his or her skills, abilities, values, strengths and weaknesses. To
conduct a self-assessment:
 Use the many self-assessment tools found on the internet
 Compare your knowledge, skills and abilities to those identified in your job description

4.  Review performance assessments (performance assessments are often used as the starting
place for developing individual development plans)
 Ask for feedback from your supervisor
Step 2 - Assess your current position and your work environment
The employee does an assessment of the requirement of his or her position at the present time
and how the requirements of the position and/or organization may change. To conduct a
position assessment:
 Identify the job requirements and performance expectations of your current position
 Identify the knowledge, skills and abilities that will enhance your ability to perform your
current job
 Identify and assess the impact on your position of changes taking place in the work
environment such as changes in clients, programs, services and technology.
Based on your analysis in Steps 1 and 2, use the sample Individual Development Plan form to
answer the following questions:
 What goals do you want to achieve in your career?
 Which of these development goals are mutually beneficial to you and your organization?
Write what you would like to achieve as goals. Select two or three goals to work on at a time.
Set a time frame for accomplishing your goals.
Step 3 - Identify development activities
Identify the best ways to achieve your development goals.
 What methods will you use?
 What resources will be required?
Step 4 - Put your plan in action
Once you have prepared a draft of your individual development plan:
 Review your plan with your supervisor for his or her input and approval
 Start working on your plan
 Evaluate your progress and make adjustments as necessary
 Celebrate your successes
Cost-effective methods for employee training and development
Employee training and development needs to suit your organization's context, job descriptions,
employment contracts and collective agreements. When selecting employee training and
development methods, it is important to remember the learning process. There are many ways
to provide employees with learning opportunities, including:

5. On-the-job experience
Committees
 Committees are part of every-day activity in any organization. They can also be
effective learning tools, with the right focus
 Committees made up of staff from different areas of your organization will enhance
learning by allowing members to see issues from different perspectives
 Set aside part of the committee's work time to discuss issues or trends that may impact
on the organization in the future
Conferences and forums
 Employees can attend conferences that focus on topics of relevance to their position
and the organization
 Upon their return, have the employee make a presentation to other staff as a way of
enhancing the individual's learning experience and as a way of enhancing the
organization. (Some conferences and forums may be considered off-the-job learning)
Critical incident notes
 Day-to-day activities are always a source of learning opportunities
 Select the best of these opportunities and write up critical incident notes for staff to
learn from. Maybe a client complaint was handled effectively. Write a brief summary of
the incident and identify the employee's actions that led to a successful resolution
 Share the notes with the employee involved and with others as appropriate. If the
situation was not handled well, again write a brief description of the situation
identifying areas for improvement
 Discuss the critical incident notes with the employee and identify the areas for the
employee to improve upon and how you will assist the employee in doing this
Field trips
 If your organization has staff at more than one site, provide employees with an
opportunity to visit the other sites
 This helps your employees gain a better understanding of the full range of programs
and clients that your organization serves
 Field trips to other organizations serving a similar clientele or with similar positions
can also provide a valuable learning experience
 Give staff going on field trips a list of questions to answer or a list of things to look for
 Follow up the field trip by having staff explain what they have learned and how they
can apply that learning to your organization. (Fieldtrips can also be an off-the-job
activity)
Job aids

6.  Tools can be given to employees to help them perform their jobs better. These tools
include: manuals, checklists, phone lists, procedural guidelines, decision guidelines
and so forth
 Job aids are very useful for new employees, employees taking on new responsibilities
and for activities that happen infrequently
Job expanding
 Once an employee has mastered the requirements of his or her job and is performing
satisfactorily, s/he may want greater challenges. Consider assigning new additional
duties to the employee
 Which duties to assign should be decided by the employee and her or his manager
 Organizations with flat organizational structure are starting to give some managerial
tasks to experienced staff as a way of keeping those staff challenged
Job rotation
 On a temporary basis, employees can be given the opportunity to work in a different
area of the organization
 The employee keeps his or her existing job but fills in for or exchanges responsibilities
with another employee
Job shadowing
 If an employee wants to learn what someone else in your organization does, your
employee can follow that person and observe him or her at work
 Usually the person doing the shadowing does not help with the work that is being done
Learning alerts
 Newspaper articles, government announcements and reports can be used as learning
alerts
 Prepare a brief covering page which could include a short summary and one or two key
questions for your employees to consider. Then circulate the item
 Include the item on the agenda of your next staff meeting for a brief discussion
Peer-assisted learning
 Two employees agree to help each other learn different tasks. Both employees should
have an area of expertise that the co-worker can benefit from
 The employees take turns helping their co-worker master the knowledge or skill that
they have to share
'Stretch' assignments
 These assignments give the employee an opportunity to stretch past his or her current
abilities. For example, a stretch assignment could require an employee to chair a
meeting if the person has never done this before
 To ensure that chairing the meeting is a good learning experience, the manager should
take time after the meeting to discuss with the employee what went well and what
could have been improved

7. Special projects
 Give an employee an opportunity to work on a project that is normally outside his or
her job duties. For example, someone who has expressed an interest in events
planning could be given the opportunity to work as part of a special events team
Relationships and feedback
Coaching
 Coaching refers to a pre-arranged agreement between an experienced manager and
his or her employee. The role of the coach is to demonstrate skills and to give the
employee guidance, feedback, and reassurance while s/he practices the new skill
Mentoring
 Mentoring is similar to coaching. Mentoring occurs when a senior, experienced
manager provides guidance and advice to a junior employee
 The two people involved have usually developed a working relationship based on
shared interest and values
Networking
 Some professional specialties have informal networks designed to meet the
professional development need of the members. Members meet to discuss current
issues and to share information and resources
Performance appraisal
 Performance appraisals are partly evaluation and partly developmental. In traditional
performance appraisals the manager and employee evaluate the employee's strengths
and weaknesses. In a 360-degree performance appraisal, feedback is gathered from
supervisors, peers, staff, other colleagues and sometimes clients. The results of an
appraisal can be used to identify areas for further development of the employee
Classroom training
Courses, seminars, workshops
 These are formal training opportunities that can be offered to employees either
internally or externally. A trainer, facilitator and/or subject matter expert can be
brought into your organization to provide the training session or an employee can be
sent to one of these learning opportunities during work time
Off-the-job learning
Courses offered by colleges or universities
 Many colleges and universities offer courses relevant to employees in the non-profit
sector. Employees may attend these classes on their own time or your organization
may give them time off with pay to attend. Employees are often compensated by the
organization for the cost of the course
Professional associations
 Professional associations, like networks, provide employees an opportunity to stay
current in their chosen field
Reading groups (also called learning circles or reading circles)

8.  A group of staff meets to discuss books or articles relevant to the
workplace/organization. Meetings usually take place outside normal working hours,
such as noon hour or right after work
Self-study
 Self-paced independent reading, e-learning courses and volunteer work all provide
learning opportunities. The employee engages in the learning activity by choice and at
his or her desired pace of learning
 Information and course offered by the internet are called e-learning. A variety of
learning opportunities can be accessed this way. The choices range from formal
training offered by colleges and universities, to an informal walk-through of a given
subject, to reading reports on a topic. E-learning can take place on or off the job
Essentials of Human Resource Training and Development
In a nutshell, Human Resource training and development should be of such nature that it
should oil the human resources machinery making it something that takes the organization
forward. If Human Resource training and development is not professional or appropriate; the
result is a bureaucratic setup that is a hindrance to everyone in the organization. Rather than
get mired in mindless formalities; HR should facilitate the growth of the organization, for all of
which Human Resource training and development is the foundation.
Human Resource training and development is the imparting of necessary knowledge and skills
to a human resource professional in the organization. This is necessary for a number of
reasons. HR professionals are very important for the organization. They need continuous
upgrade of their skills and attitudes. Training them to bring them on par with the organization's
goals and in tune with the industry trends is necessary, since well-equipped HR professionals

9. are the means to ensuring optimal performance from the organization's employees.
Recruitment techniques
Since HR is engaged in what is perhaps the most important task for the organization –that of
selecting employees who will become valuable resources –Human Resource training and
development has to be focused on the right techniques for recruitment. Human Resource
training and development should include ways by which the HR professional goes about finding
the right candidate for every position in the organization.
This technique is not about just posting requirements on jobsites and bringing the candidate to
the interview panel. Each interview has to be meaningful and effective. It is a session in which
the employees who are going to become part of the organization are selected. For this to be
meaningful, Human Resource training and development should be such that even a junior HR
professional in the organization is able to make the right choice. Human Resource training and
development should be focused on training the HR professional to understand requirements
threadbare from the organizational perspective.
Send the right candidate for next round
The HR professional who is in charge of recruitment should be able to gather requirements
from respective managers. When the candidate is finally passed on to the manager for a further
round; there should be very less wastage of time. For this to happen, the HR professional
should be in complete sync with the requirements. Technical or non-technical, the requirement
should be thoroughly understood. When HR interviews a candidate, it should be a formality for

10. the higher up manager to whom the candidate will eventually report. This is a technique that
Human Resource training and development within the organization has to hone in the HR
professional.
Policies and regulations
Another important work of HR's is to enforce policies and regulations. For this too, the HR of
the organization has to be thoroughly trained. Human Resource training and development
should be of such quality and relevance that no regulation should be out of place with the
employees or out of alignment with company vision. In the first place, HR formulates rules for
the organization. Although it makes rules and regulations in consultation with management; it
should ensure that these reflect the organization's culture and are employee-friendly.
Staying tuned to organization is important
When a policy is unpopular, it is HR which gets rapped. Human Resource training and
development should be such that these rules are not only in line with the organization's ethics
and image; they should be popular with employees, as well. In fact, Human Resource training
and development should be of such standard that it should be able to identify any discrepancy
and be able to come up with suggestions to managements at the time of formulation itself. All
this would become possible only with sound Human Resource training and development.
Benefits of Employee Training and Development:
The best place to start is by being clear about what results you want to achieve. Then finish
with an assessment of the results that are actually being achieved. It’s also important to
remember that the real benefits of employee training should be seen as a progression. That is,
where performance improvements in individuals progress to performance improvements
throughout the entire organization.
What are the benefits of employee training?

11. The first thing to remember is that effective employee development is based on a progression
of benefits. These start with improvements in an individual’s performance, which then transfer
to his or her localized workplace, which then ultimately result in a positive impact on the whole
organization. The size or scale of that impact is not necessarily important. So long as it is
positive and significant.
The next thing to consider is that resources used in the development activity must be used
wisely. So, assessing the benefits of employee training is not just about feedback from a
training exercise. Such feedback may indicate that people enjoyed the activity or felt it was
useful, but managers must look beyond that. Ultimately, the real benefits of employee training
lie in the transfer of learning into the workplace. So feedback must also assess such things as:
what has been learned, how it is being used, what impact it is having at work.
So what are the benefits of employee training?
 New skills and knowledge can be acquired.
 Existing skills and knowledge can be enhanced or updated, enabling people to further
improve proven strengths.
 Weaknesses can be addressed or mechanisms put in place to compensate.
 Improvements in confidence, capability and competence.
 Employees feel supported and enabled in their work.
 Learning is progressed to practice in the workplace.
 Learning is used to improve performance at work.
 Learning is shared, enhancing team performance.
 Wider impact in the organization through performance improvements and the
dissemination of information, ideas and networking.
Types of Training
There are a number of different types of training we can use to engage an employee. These
types are usually used in all steps in a training process (orientation, in-house, mentorship, and
external training). The training utilized depends on the amount of resources available for
training, the type of company, and the priority the company places on training. Companies such
as The Cheesecake Factory, a family restaurant, make training a high priority. The company
spends an average of $2,000 per hourly employee. This includes everyone from the dishwasher
and managers to the servers. For The Cheesecake Factory, this expenditure has paid off. They
measure the effectiveness of its training by looking at turnover, which is 15 percent below the
industry average. [1] Servers make up 40 percent of the workforce and spend two weeks training
to obtain certification. Thirty days later, they receive follow-up classes, and when the menu

12. changes, they receive additional training. [2] Let’s take a look at some of the training we can
offer our employees.
As you will see from the types of training below, no one type would be enough for the jobs we
do. Most HR managers use a variety of these types of training to develop a holistic employee.
Technical or Technology Training
Depending on the type of job, technical training will be required. Technical training is a type of
training meant to teach the new employee the technological aspects of the job. In a retail
environment, technical training might include teaching someone how to use the computer
system to ring up customers. In a sales position, it might include showing someone how to use
the customer relationship management (CRM) system to find new prospects. In a consulting
business, technical training might be used so the consultant knows how to use the system to
input the number of hours that should be charged to a client. In a restaurant, the server needs
to be trained on how to use the system to process orders. Let’s assume your company has
decided to switch to the newest version of Microsoft Office. This might require some technical
training of the entire company to ensure everyone uses the technology effectively. Technical
training is often performed in-house, but it can also be administered externally.
Quality Training
In a production-focused business, quality training is extremely important. Quality
training refers to familiarizing employees with the means of preventing, detecting, and
eliminating nonquality items, usually in an organization that produces a product. In a world
where quality can set your business apart from competitors, this type of training provides
employees with the knowledge to recognize products that are not up to quality standards and
teaches them what to do in this scenario. Numerous organizations, such as the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO), measure quality based on a number of metrics. This
organization provides the stamp of quality approval for companies producing tangible
products. ISO has developed quality standards for almost every field imaginable, not only
considering product quality but also certifying companies in environmental management
quality. ISO9000 is the set of standards for quality management, while ISO14000 is the set of
standards for environmental management. ISO has developed 18,000 standards over the last 60

13. years. [3] With the increase in globalization, these international quality standards are more
important than ever for business development. Some companies, like 3M, [4] choose to offer ISO
training as external online training, employing companies such as QAI to deliver the training
both online and in classrooms to employees.
Training employees on quality standards, including ISO standards, can give them a competitive
advantage. It can result in cost savings in production as well as provide an edge in marketing of
the quality-controlled products. Some quality training can happen in-house, but organizations
such as ISO also perform external training.
Skills Training
Skills training, the third type of training, includes proficiencies needed to actually perform the
job. For example, an administrative assistant might be trained in how to answer the phone,
while a salesperson at Best Buy might be trained in assessment of customer needs and on how
to offer the customer information to make a buying decision. Think of skills training as the
things you actually need to know to perform your job. A cashier needs to know not only the
technology to ring someone up but what to do if something is priced wrong. Most of the time,
skills training is given in-house and can include the use of a mentor. An example of a type of
skills training is from AT&T and Apple, [5] who in summer 2011 asked their managers to
accelerate retail employee training on the iPhone 5, which was released to market in the fall.
Continuing Education Matters
A small business owner explains the advantages of offering informal skills training about new
products.
Soft Skills Training
Our fourth type of training is called soft skills training. Soft skills refer to personality traits,
social graces, communication, and personal habits that are used to characterize relationships
with other people. Soft skills might include how to answer the phone or how to be friendly and
welcoming to customers. It could include sexual harassment training and ethics training. In

14. some jobs, necessary soft skills might include how to motivate others, maintain small talk, and
establish rapport.
In a retail or restaurant environment, soft skills are used in every interaction with customers
and are a key component of the customer experience. In fact, according to
a Computerworld magazine survey, executives say there is an increasing need for people who
have not only the skills and technical skills to do a job but also the necessary soft skills, such as
strong listening and communication abilities. [6] Many problems in organizations are due to a
lack of soft skills, or interpersonal skills, not by problems with the business itself. As a result,
HR and managers should work together to strengthen these employee skills. Soft skills training
can be administered either in-house or externally.
Professional Training and Legal Training
In some jobs, professional training must be done on an ongoing basis. Professional training is a
type of training required to be up to date in one’s own professional field. For example, tax laws
change often, and as a result, an accountant for H&R Block must receive yearly professional
training on new tax codes. [7] Lawyers need professional training as laws change. A personal
fitness trainer will undergo yearly certifications to stay up to date in new fitness and nutrition
information.
Some organizations have paid a high cost for not properly training their employees on the laws
relating to their industry. In 2011, Massachusetts General Hospital paid over $1 million in fines
related to privacy policies that were not followed. [8] As a result, the organization has agreed to
develop training for workers on medical privacy. The fines could have been prevented if the
organization had provided the proper training to begin with. Other types of legal training might
include sexual harassment law training and discrimination law training.
Team Training
The goal of team training is to develop cohesiveness among team members, allowing them to
get to know each other and facilitate relationship building. We can define team training as a
process that empowers teams to improve decision making, problem solving, and team-
development skills to achieve business results. Often this type of training can occur after an

15. organization has been restructured and new people are working together or perhaps after a
merger or acquisition. Some reasons for team training include the following:
 Improving communication
 Making the workplace more enjoyable
 Motivating a team
 Getting to know each other
 Getting everyone “onto the same page,” including goal setting
 Teaching the team self-regulation strategies
 Helping participants to learn more about themselves (strengths and weaknesses)
 Identifying and utilizing the strengths of team members
 Improving team productivity
 Practicing effective collaboration with team members
Team training can be administered either in-house or externally. Ironically, through the use of
technology, team training no longer requires people to even be in the same room.
Human Resource Recall
What kind of team training have you participated in? What was it like? Do you think it
accomplished what it was supposed to accomplish?
Managerial Training
After someone has spent time with an organization, they might be identified as a candidate for
promotion. When this occurs, managerial training would occur. Topics might include those from
our soft skills section, such as how to motivate and delegate, while others may be technical in
nature. For example, if management uses a particular computer system for scheduling, the
manager candidate might be technically trained. Some managerial training might be performed
in-house while other training, such as leadership skills, might be performed externally.
For example, Mastek, a global IT solutions and services provider, provides a program called
“One Skill a Month,” which enables managers to learn skills such as delegation, coaching, and
giving feedback. The average number of total training days at Mastek is 7.8 per
employee [9] and includes managerial topics and soft skills topics such as e-mail etiquette. The
goal of its training programs is to increase productivity, one of the organization’s core values.
Safety Training

16. Safety training is a type of training that occurs to ensure employees are protected from injuries
caused by work-related accidents. Safety training is especially important for organizations that
use chemicals or other types of hazardous materials in their production. Safety training can also
include evacuation plans, fire drills, and workplace violence procedures. Safety training can also
include the following:
 Eye safety
 First aid
 Food service safety
 Hearing protection
 Asbestos
 Construction safety
 Hazmat safety
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, is the main federal agency
charged with enforcement of safety and health regulation in the United States. OSHA provides
external training to companies on OSHA standards. Sometimes in-house training will also cover
safety training.