LATEST TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENTs PRACTICES/STRATEGIES APPLIED IN ORGANIZATIONS

Why training and developments practices important in any organization?

In any organization when a new employee joins he needs to develop his confidence and his motivation level to work efficiently in that organization to achieve goals and objectives. He needs to be groomed very well with his skills to actually know how he can serve the organization at his best. And even an old employee seeks some or the other practices to rebuild his confidence and motivation when he starts working below the par due to some or the other reasons. In view to that organizations provide training and development practices and programmes to motivate all their employees to make them know their working capabilities. Traditionally, the purpose of training and development has been to ensure that employees can effectively accomplish their jobs. By definition, training and development refers to the process to obtain or transfer knowledge, skills and abilities needed to carry out a specific activity or task. To meet current and future business demands, training and development encompasses a wide range of learning actions, from training for tasks and knowledge sharing to improved customer service and career development, thus expanding individual, group and organizational effectiveness. The use of training is essential for employees to understand and aid in carrying out the goals of the organization. Organizations must employ skilled workers who are both proactive and reactive to a changing environment. They must identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to obtain their goals and instill them into their employees. In doing so, organizations must ensure that the competencies identified for individual employees match the goals and objectives of the organization. Investment in continuous training and development of competencies in their employees will help organizations to better meet their goals and objectives Training programs can be developed to focus on managing change within the work environment .For example, an organization may develop a new performance management system that better communicates the overall objectives of the organization. Employees can be trained to efficiently use the new performance management system, and therefore aide in the overall objectives of their organization. Essentially, implementation of training can assist an organization in management of large-scale change. An organizations value chain yields products and services with competitive advantage. The concept of value chain analysis can also apply to the business of T&D. At this level, the primary strategic objective of T&D activities is to provide more valuable employees to the company. Activities in the best-practice T&D value chain precede employment and extend beyond termination:

Pre-employment: Community, governmental and educational outreach programs Sourcing and recruitment activities Employer-of-choice branding and realistic job-preview activities Pre-employment assessments and interviews

 During employment:

On-boarding activities Enculturation, reinforcement of values and basic operational training Career guidance and management activities Functional, professional, management and leadership training Assessment for promotion or individual insight and development Safety, compliance and regulatory training

Post-employment:

Exit interviews and surveys Outplacement support Employee alumni groups and networks

LATEST PRACTICES IN SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS

1) COCA COLA They have an extensive on the job training program to focus on the day-to-day needs of their people and in each of their offices across the continent there are a number of local training initiatives catering to particular regional needs. It provides excellent learning opportunities to help you develop both personally and in business. You can take advantage of a variety of flexible, tailored and diverse resources including:

Instructor led training classes in a range of areas including People Leadership, Franchise Leadership, Consumer Marketing and Customer/Commercial Leadership; E-learning to share core knowledge; Workshops to help generate new ideas and apply them practically; Just-in-time training and development for critical skills; An extensive online library of books and other resources to support on the job learning External speakers reviewing the latest thinking on hot topics.

2) HP It aligns individual learning with business group and function needs in support of HP's overall business strategy. Each employee creates a development plan with their manager as part of their annual performance review. Resource Centre enables employees to enrol in a variety of classroom and e-learning solutions. Offerings range from project management and professional business skills to technical and sales training. Career Development Frameworks provide employees with a summary of key roles within HP to help them map their career. The frameworks are organized around a common set of skills, knowledge and experience and are listed by career function. They help employees most benefit from career development discussions with their managers and provide information on how to set effective personal objectives. The framework includes:

Core learning that clarifies the values we expect from our leaders and how they contribute to company strategy Personal learning that focuses on individual effectiveness and leadership Group learning that equips managers with the skills needed to get the best from their team They also support employees in pursuing external educational opportunities such as conferences, seminars and technical certifications, as well as training at accredited institutions.

3) MC DONALDs Training and Development McDonalds training and development programme is a valuable contribution to the 100% consumer satisfaction goal that the company aims to achieve. The training and development programme takes place in certain stages. Firstly employees receive an orientation of the work area. This is the induction stage where employees are first introduced to the workplace and existing staff. It is a chance for employees to become familiarised with surroundings before they actually have to carry out the jobs assigned to them. This is why an induction is important because it means that when an employee's starts work they are able to carry out tasks to a better standard. After the initial induction period McDonalds operates on and off the job training to new employees. On the job training involves the staff being trained up in the job they have been set whereas off the job training is where employees go and take health and safety courses, food safety and first aid classes. Both these types of training help McDonalds employees to try and achieve the goal of 100% consumer satisfaction. There are different methods of Performance Management ranging from Appraisals to Target Setting. Appraisals These are used to highlight the effectiveness of an employee to the business they work for. Appraisals are likely to take place after the first few weeks of the employees contract to see how they are settling in and how they are developing. Whether there is anything that they need to work on or anything they should carry on doing. When a new employee joins the organisation, he is taken through a systematic induction programme. This is done through one-on-one interactions as well as exposure to the customer through operations training in the restaurants for a specified period of time. Crewmembers are trained extensively on all food safety and food handling processes. The crew trainees work shoulder-to-shoulder with their trainers while they learn the operational skills necessary for running the restaurant - from the front counter to the kitchen areas.

4) SYNERGY CONSULTANTS Synergy conducts highly participative, pro-active, short-term in-house training programmes and seminars for key-professionals. Our emphasis is on improving effectiveness, efficiency and skills of individuals and organizations. Synergy's programmes are developed to suit Client's specific focus and requirements. Our emphasis is on improving effectiveness, efficiency and skills of individuals and organizations, by creating an awareness of alternative methods, options and solutions, systematic analysis of problem areas and goal-orientation of plans / actions with a time-tested technique. Some of the common training areas are: Effective communication skills Team building Time management Total quality management

5) WALMART Ways of retaining employees at Wal-Mart One of the major indications of Wal-Marts' employee retention practices is its orientation program. Upon arrival at Wal-Mart, new employees are taken through a recruitment process where they can learn about all their new job position. Additionally, the orientation process is also present in order to teach employees about the organizational structure within the company. The company's representatives explain that the warm welcome extended to consumers upon arrival at the store is the same thing that occurs when new employees report to work. In this orientation process, staff members are taught how to gauge consumer expectations. Employees are also taught about the rich Wal-Mart history and the environment required delivering the high performance expectations synonymous with the company. All these initiatives are aimed at making employees stay within the organization more favourable Wal-Mart also offers training and development programs. Wal-Mart established a new type of creation known as the Leaders Out In Front. The purpose of this training program is to teach field associates within the country how to manage their portfolios effectively. The following professions are liable for training

Market managers Store managers Co-managers Assistant managers

The company asserts that this program prepares their employees to improve continuously through training. The first category of employees that is liable for the program, are the assistant managers. The program assists those managers in determining necessary skills required to be efficient leaders. It also helps them to assess quality in the work of their subordinates. This particular training program is not just effective for Wal-Mart in general, it is also important for those particular employees that do it. This is because it gives managers a competitive edge and makes them more lucrative for higher positions. Wal-Mart also ensures that their employees develop their careers through skill assessments. The company has instituted a program known as the Associate Investment model where supervisors evaluate employee competencies. This method of employee assessment is particularly accurate

owing to the fact that it allows the assessment of the evaluation process. This means that in case evaluation was done poorly, the company can detect it and makes their employees more prepared for future eventualities. The company goes through a rigorous process of career assessment and development through this tool. Faze one of the process entails on-boarding. Here, the company ascertains that their employees know all the skills and knowledge required to perform their job functions. So this can be regarded as the informative phase. The next step is called the fundamental track phase. Here, the company conducts performance management to assist their employees in the process of understanding their responsibilities. It is tailored at creating a good foundation for employees as they go about their duties.