Part F: Employee Training

F.1 Training linked to organizational needs

Training

An organization’s planned efforts to help employees acquire job-related knowledge, skills,

abilities, and behaviors, with the goal of applying these on the job. Continuous learning
requires employees to understand the relationship between their jobs, their work units, and
the company and to be familiar with company business goals.

The success of a company can depend on how fast employees can learn new technologies
and apply them to serving customers. An investment in training can gain the company a
competitive advantage.

Training Linked to Organizational Needs

Rapid changes, especially in the area of technology, require employees continually to learn
new skills. The growing reliance on teamwork creates a demand for the ability to solve
problems in teams, an ability that often requires formal training. An effective training
program teaches what it is designed to teach, and it teaches skills and behaviors that will
help the organization achieve its goals.

Instructional design — A process of systematically developing training to meet specified

needs. Instructional design is a systematic approach for developing training programs. It has
five steps:

1. Needs assessment;
2. Ensure employees’ readiness for training;
3. Training methods;
4. Implementing the training program;
5. Measuring results of training.

To carry out this process more efficiently and effectively, organizations often are using a
learning management system (LMS).

 Learning management system (LMS) - A computer application that automates

the administration, development, and delivery of training programs.

Managers and employees use the LMS to identify training needs and enroll in courses. This
approach can make training programs more widely available and help companies reduce
travel and other costs by providing online training.

F.2 1) Needs assessment

The process of evaluating the organization, individual employees, and employees’ tasks to
determine what kinds of training, if any, are necessary. As this definition indicates, the
needs assessment answers question in three broad areas:

1. Organization - what is the contest in which training will occur?

2. Person - who needs training?
3. Task - what subjects should the training cover?
Organization analysis

A process for determining the appropriateness of training by evaluating the characteristics

of the organization. Even if training fits the organization’s strategy and budget, it can be
viable only if the organization is willing to support the investment in training.

Person analysis

A process of determining individuals’ needs and readiness for training.

Task analysis

The process of identifying and analyzing tasks to be trained for. Usually, task analysis is
conduct along with person analysis. Understanding shortcoming in performance usually
requires knowledge about the tasks and work environment as well as the employee.

A variety of conditions may prompt an organization to conduct a needs assessment.

Management may observe that some employees lack basic skills or are performing poorly.
Decisions to produce new products, apply new technology, or design new jobs would prompt
a needs assessment, because these changes tend to require new skills.

F.3 2) Ensuring employees’ readiness for training

Readiness for training

A combination of employee characteristics and positive work environment that permit

training. Employees learn more from training programs when they are highly motivated to
learn; that is, when they really want to learn the content of the training program. Readiness
for training also depends on two broad characteristics of the work environment: situational
constraints and social support. Managers play an especially important role in providing
social support.

Planning the training program

Employees need to know why they should learn. They have to understand the objective of
the training program to learn best. A training objective has three components:

1. A statement of what the employee is expected to do;

2. A statement of the quality or level of performance;
3. A statement of the conditions under which the trainee is expected to perform the
desirable outcome

Request for proposal (RFP) is needed, which is a document that outlines for potential
vendors and consultants the types of service the company is seeking, references needed,
number of employees who should be trained, project funding, the follow-up process
expected completion date and the date when proposals must be received by the company.
The next step is to choose a provider. It is necessary to consider the extent to which the
program will be customised or if there will be used a generic framework. The time you need
the consultant depends on the information, the number of employees and the need for
feedback.

The second step in instructional design process is to evaluate whether employees are ready
to learn. Readiness for training refers to whether employees have the personal
characteristics and the work environment will have to facilitate the learning. Managers play
an important role in motivating employees. They can do this by ensuring employees self-
efficacy. Self efficacy is the employer’s belief that they can successfully learn the content of
a training program. Managers can increase this level by:

 Letting employees know the purpose of the training;

 Providing as much as information as possible about the training;
 Showing employees the success of the training program;
 Providing employees with feedback that learning is under their control;
 Pointing out the benefits that may come of the training program like career
possibilities.

Presentation methods

Training methods in which trainees receive information provided by instructors or via

computers or other media.

Hands-on methods

Training methods that actively involve the trainee in trying out skills being taught. These
methods are ideal for developing specific skills, understanding how skills and behaviours can
be transferred to the job.

Group building methods

Training techniques that help trainees share ideas and experiences, build group identity
understand the dynamics of interpersonal relationships and get to know their own strengths
and weaknesses and those of their coworkers. All the various techniques involve
examination of feelings, perceptions, and beliefs about the functioning of the team,
discussion and development of plans to apply what was learned in training to the team’s
performance in the work setting.

The transfer of training requires technological support, manager support, peer support, self-
management skills, and opportunity to use the learned capability, and a climate for transfer.

Employees need the training program to be properly co- ordinated and arranged, which is
one of the aspects of training administration. This involves communicating courses and
programs, enrolling employees, preparing and processing materials, arranging the training
room, testing equipment, having backup, providing support during the training, distributing
training material, facilitating communications between trainer and the group, recording
course completion. Good co-ordination ensures that trainees aren’t distracted. The end of
the program can be used to evaluate and make some adjustments when needed.

The transfer of training refers to on the job use of knowledge, skills and behaviour. It is
influenced by:
 Climate for transfer which refers to the trainee’s perception about a wide variety of
characteristics of the work environment that facilitate or inhibit use of trained skills or
behaviour;
 Manager support refers to the degree to which they emphasize the importance of
attending the training programs, and stress the application of training content to the
job. They can also attend the program themselves to give support. Or they can write
an action plan to ensure the training transfers to the job. The action plan includes a
goal, a strategy to achieve this goal, getting feedback and an expected outcome;
 Peer support. Transfer of training can also be enhanced by creating a support
network among the trainees which helps trainees to discuss progress in using learned
capabilities;
 Opportunity to use learned capabilities this refers to the extent to which the trainee
is provided with or actively seeks experience with newly learned knowledge, skills
and behaviour form the training program. This can be through assigned work
experiences that require their use. Opportunity to perform can be measured by
asking former trainees to indicate whether they perform a task, how many times and
how difficult it is;
 Technological support. This can be by computer applications that can provide skills
training, information access and expert advice;
 Self management skills. Training programs should prepare employees to self manage
their use of new skills and behaviours on the job. Specifically within the training
program trainees should set goals for using skills or behaviours on the job, identify
under which conditions they might fail to use them. Identify the positive and negative
consequences for them and monitor their use of them. Trainees need to create their
own reward system and ask managers for feedback.

F. 4 3) Training methods

A wide variety of methods is available for conducting training:

 Classroom instruction;
 Audiovisual training;

 Computer-based training;
o Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSSs): computer applications that
provide access to skills training, information and expert advice when a
problem occurs on the job;

 E-learning: receiving training via the Internet or the organization’s intranet.

 On-the-job learning: training methods in which a person with job experience and skill
guides trainees in practicing job skills at the workplace;
o Apprenticeship: a work-study training method that teaches job skills through a
combination of on-the-job training and classroom training;
o Internship: on-the-job learning sponsored by an educational institution as a
component of an academic program.

 Simulation: a training method that represents a real-life situation, with trainees

making decisions resulting in outcomes that mirror what would happen on the job.
Simulations enable trainees to see the impact of their decisions in an artificial, risk-
free environment. They are used to teaching production and process skills as well as
management and interpersonal skills;
o Virtual reality: a computer-based technology that provides an interactive,
three-dimensional learning experience;

 Business games and case studies: used to develop management’s skills;

 Behavior modeling: training sessions in which participants observe other people
demonstrating the desired behavior, then have opportunities to practice the behavior
themselves;

 Experiential programs: training programs in which participants learn concepts and

apply them by simulating behaviors involved and analyzing the activity, connecting it
with real-life situations;
o Adventure learning: a teamwork and leadership training based on the use of
challenging, structured outdoor activities.

 Team training: coordinates the performance of individuals who work together to

achieve a common goal;
o Cross-training: team training in which team members understand and practice
each other’s kills so that they are prepared to step in and take another
member’s place;
o Coordination training: team training that teaches the team how to share
information and make decisions to obtain the best team performance;
o Team leader training: training in the skills necessary for effectively leading the
organization’s teams.

 Action learning: training in which teams get an actual problem, work on solving it and
commit to an action plan, and are accountable for carrying it out.

F.5 4) Implementing the training program

Employees are most likely to learn when training is linked to their current job experiences
and tasks. For employees to have to be motivated to learn in training activities the degree to
which they have basic skills can influence that basic skills consist of reading, writing, and
cognitive ability. Cognitive ability includes three dimensions: verbal comprehension,
quantitative ability and reasoning ability; this is very important and has a great influence on
performance in general. When the employee doesn’t have the right reading level
(readability) the training can be given on a different way, the reading level of the employee
has to be determined, the reading level has to be improved or the training has to be
adapted to the reading level of the employee.

The motivation to learn is the desire of the trainee to learn the content of the training
program. Self-efficacy is the employees' belief that they can successfully learn the content
of the training program. Managers can increase employees' self-efficacy level by: letting
employees know that the purpose of training is to improve performance, not identify
incompetencies, providing as much information as possible about the training program and
its purpose, showing employees the training success of their peers, and providing
employees with feedback.

Employees need meaningful training content, the training has to be meaningful to the
employer to make it easy to learn. To do this the training content will have to be familiar to
the employee, and the training context should mirror the working environment. The training
context is the physical, intellectual and emotional environment in which the training occurs.
When they have done the training program the employee needs the opportunity to practice.
Practice involves having the employee demonstrate what they have learned in training.

It is important to consider how much should be practised. Employees need feedback.

Feedback is the information about how well people are meeting the training objectives. To
be effective feedback should focus on specific behaviours and be provided as soon as
possible after the training.

According to the social learning theory people learn by observing and imitating the actions
of models. Employees learn by observing, experience, and interacting with others. For the
model to be effective the desired skills or behaviours need to clearly specified and the model
should have characteristics similar to the target audience. Communities of practice are
employees who work together learn form each other and have a common understanding of
how to accomplish work.

Part G: Employee Performance Management

G.1 Process of performance management

Performance management

Is the process through which managers ensure that employees’ activities and outputs
contribute to the organization’s goals.

Performance appraisal

Traditional approaches to management have viewed performance appraisal which is the

measurement of specified areas of an employee’s performance.

Many of executives report that performance measurement encourages employees to

cooperate and helps the company focus on smooth operations, customer loyalty and
employee development.

To meet these objectives, performance management extends beyond mere appraisals to

include several activities which are defining performance, measuring performance ad
feeding back performance information.
Traditionally the former performance appraisal system has been viewed as the primary
means for managing employee performance. Performance appraisal was an administrative
duty and was primarily the function of HRM.

G.2 Purposes of performance management

Performance management has three purposes:

 Strategic purpose: the performance system has to be linked with the company’s
strategy and goals. The performance system can also be useful for communicating
corporate culture and values in companies whose business operations are becoming
more global;
 Administrative purpose. Organisations use performance management information in
many administrative decisions like salary, promotion, termination and recognition of
individual performances;
 Developmental purpose. To develop employees who are effective at their jobs. When
employees are not performing as well as they should performance management
seeks to improve this by feedback and determine the causes of the low performance.

Fulfilling these three purposes is central to gaining competitive advantage

G.3 Criteria for effective performance management

There are many ways to measure the performance of an employee. For performance
management to achieve its goals, its methods for measuring performance must be good.
Selecting these measures is a critical part of planning a performance management system.

Criteria that determine the effectiveness of performance measures include:

1. Fit with strategy —A performance management system should aim at achieving

employee behavior and attitudes that support the organization’s strategy, goals, and
culture.
2. Validity —validity is the extent to which a measurement tool actually measures what
it is intended to measure. In the case of performance appraisal, validity refers to
whether the appraisal measures all the relevant aspects of performance and omits
irrelevant aspects of performance.
3. Reliability —With regard to a performance measure, reliability describes the
consistency of the results that the performance measure will deliver. Interrater
reliability is consistency of results when more than one person measures
performance.
4. Acceptability —Whether or not a measure is valid and reliable, it must meet the
practical standard of being acceptable to the people who use it.
5. Specific feedback —A performance measure should specifically tell employees what
is expected of them and how they can meet those expectations. Being specific helps
performance management meet the goals of supporting strategy and developing
employees.

G.4 Methods for measuring performance

Making comparisons:

 Simple ranking: method of performance measurement that requires managers to

rank employees in their group from the highest performer to the poorest performer;
 Forced-distribution method: method of performance measurement that assigns a
certain percentage of employees to each category in a set of categories;
 Paired-comparison method: method of performance measurement that compares
each employee with each other employee to establish rankings.

Rankings systems can be useful for supporting decisions about how to distribute pay raises
or layoffs. However, rankings are not helpful for employee development and may hurt
morale or result in legal challenges.

G.7 Giving performance feedback

Performance feedback should be a regular, expected management activity.

During the feedback session, managers can take any of three approaches. In the ‘tell-and-
sell’ approach, managers tell the employees their ratings and then justify those ratings. In
the ‘tell-and-listen’ approach, managers tell employees their ratings and then let the
employees explain their side of the story. In the ‘problem-solving’ approach, managers and
employees work together to solve performance problems in an atmosphere of respect and
encouragement.

Legal and Ethical Issues in Performance Management

In the development and usage of performance management systems, human resource

professionals need to ensure that these systems meet legal requirements, such as the
avoidance of discrimination. Besides, those performance management systems should meet
ethical standards, such as protection of employees’ privacy.

Part H: Developing Employees

H.1 Training, development and career management

Employee development

The combination of formal education, job experiences, relationships, and assessment of

personality and abilities to help employees prepare for the future of their careers.

Organizations and their employees must constantly expand their knowledge, skills, and
behavior to meet customer needs and compete in today’s demanding and rapidly changing
business environment.
Development implies learning that is not necessarily related to the employee’s current job.
Instead, it prepares employees for other positions in the organization and increases their
ability to move into jobs that may not yet exist. Development also may help employees
prepare for change in their current jobs, such as change resulting from new technology,
work designs, or customers. So development is about preparing for change in the form of
new jobs, new responsibilities, or new requirements.

Training traditionally focuses on helping employees improve performance of their current

jobs.

The differences between training and development can be viewed on the following diagram:

Careers have been described as a sequence of positions held within an occupation. The new
concept of the career if often referred to as a protean career.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT LECTURE

Good morning class,and welcome to our HUMAN RESOURCE MNGT course,

where we will be discussing the concept of performance management cycle
and its importance in the field of your study. This particular lesson is
designed to give you the tools, which in turn you can use to design an
effective performance management cycle. What is the performance
management cycle, and why is it important? In the outline given to you, this
is the last topic under Chapter IV , Maximizing Employee Performance.
In order for the performance management process to be efficient and
effective, supervisors and managers must master the process, and apply it
consistently. Therefore, performance management involves much more
than just assessing performance. It is a continuous cycle that involves a
number of steps, which are in place to ensure that performance
management is conducted in a way that is beneficial and constructive to
the employees and organization alike. Thus providing managers with the
desired outcomes. As a cycle that continues throughout the year, effective
performance management aligns the efforts of managers or supervisors
and employees with organizational objectives. Promotes consistency in
performance reviews and motivates all employees to perform at their best.
This process should be conducted with fairness and transparency. Many
employers or managers now treat performance management as an
ongoing cycle of activity which connects an organization's culture, business
goals, and strategy to individual performance and contribution. But what
does it involve? There are many versions of the performance management
cycle, often depending on the organizational strategy and managerial
needs and expectations. Also, depending on the type of organization, the
management cycle may take place over a year's period or month by month.
Generally speaking though, performance management will not work very
well if it's only seen as an annual process. The performance management
cycle works best if it's used as a series of mini cycles throughout the year.
Then, when it comes to a more detailed review and planning session, there
should be no surprises. Regular performance review keeps managers in
constant touch with what is happening and helps build a more effective
performance management process. In this session, we will demonstrate,
analyze and explain a typical performance management cycle which
contains five stages to consider when implementing a performance
management scheme. These five stages are stage one, planning, stage
two, developing, stage three, monitoring and performing, stage four,
reviewing, and stage five, rewarding. So let's now look at them, one by one.
Stage one, planning. The first stage of the performance management cycle
is to plan. At this stage, manager and employee get together in order to first
evaluate the employee's current role and performance. Identify areas for
improvement and then establish clear and specific performance
expectations and set achievable targets. By involving employees in the
planning process, they're able to understand the goals of the organization,
what needs to be done, why it needs to be done, and how well it should be
done. During this stage, a helpful tool to this process is for managers and
employees to agree on setting S.M.A.R.T. Objectives. Meaning goals that
are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and relevant, and time-
bound. By implementing smart goals, employees are able to structure and
monitor their goals and objectives. And work towards a certain objective
with clear milestones and an estimation of the goal's attainability. Stage
two, developing. The second stage of the performance management cycle
is to improve an employee's current expertise, but also to develop new
skills and knowledge as well as abilities and potential. This is mainly
achieved through training, giving assignments that introduce new skills or
high level of responsibility, improving work processes or other methods.
Development efforts can encourage and strengthen good performance and
help employees keep up with changes in the workplace. This stage is also
about providing support to an employee at all times, and ensuring that the
appropriate systems and tools are available to maximize performance
expectations. Stage three, monitoring and performing. Monitoring and
performing is about consistently measuring the performance and providing
ongoing feedback in relevant to simple ways to enable and support them in
achieving their goals. Ongoing monitoring provides the opportunity to check
how employees are doing and deal with potential problems or obstacles
early on. Stage four, reviewing. Reviewing is all about evaluating employee
or group performance against the goals, criteria and standards that had
been agreed during the planning stage. By using a number of tools such as
the 360 degree feedback, self-assessment, competence based
assessment, etcetera. A review will examine the results, both tangible and
intangible. And determine where to concentrate efforts, as the cycle returns
to the planning stage. Stage five, rewarding. If all the objectives have been
met, the final stage of the performance management cycle is to reward
employees. By rewarding employees, managers acknowledge the
employee's contribution to the organization, and provide incentives to
further motivate and engage them. There are many ways to acknowledge
good performance. From informal recognition to formal reward and
recognition programs. So hopefully, by now you will have a clear idea of
what a performance management cycle is, and the stages that it involves.
In our next session, we will discuss one of the most basic tools of the
performance management process, the performance appraisal, thank you.
[MUSIC]
What is the difference between
performance management and
performance appraisals?
With similar names and purposes that sometimes align, it is no
surprise that some people find it hard to spot the difference between
performance management and performance appraisals.

In fact, performance appraisals are often part of the performance

management process, although some companies still rely on
performance appraisals alone.

An easy way to understand the difference between the two is that

performance appraisals are reactive, and performance management is
proactive.

A performance appraisal looks at all of the past actions of the

employee within a set amount of time, and rates how well they
performed in their role and how many goals they met.

Performance management looks at the present and future of the

employee, and what can be done to help future performance and meet
future goals. Performance management is focused on the
development and training of an employee, and how that can benefit
both the employee and the company.

A performance appraisal is a formal, operational task, done according

to rigid parameters and in a quantitative manner. HR leads
performance appraisals, with input from management. Performance
management is much more informal and strategic, led by
management with input from the employees in a more flexible manner.
Performance Management Performance Appraisal

Proactive Reactive

Forward looking Backwards looking

Led by supervisors and management Led by HR with some management input

Flexible Rigid

Strategic Operational

Ongoing Once a year

Does not use ratings or rankings Uses ratings and rankings