TRAINING

Meaning
Training constitutes a basic concept in human resource development. It
is concerned with developing a particular skill to a desired standard by
instruction and practice. Training is a highly useful tool that can bring an
employee into a position where they can do their job correctly, effectively,
and conscientiously. Training is the act of increasing the knowledge and
skill of an employee for doing a particular job.
Training can be defined as an on-going process of teaching new
employees the basics skills they need to perform their task effectively and
efficiently. Training is a short term skill development campaign intended to
impart the basic skills of work to middle and lower level employees.

Training program is arranged in order to provide basic knowledge and skill

specially for non-managerial employees. The training arrangement involves
a systematic procedures that helps to increase the knowledge and skills of
newly appointed employees and also for existing employees to develop
them according to change in environment. It develops the technical knowhow so as to increase employee's operating skills for performing specific job
with proficiency.
Definition
Dale S. Beach defines training as the organized procedure by which
people learn knowledge and/or skill for a definite purpose. Training refers
to the teaching and learning activities carried on for the primary purpose of
helping members of an organization acquire and apply the knowledge,
skills, abilities, and attitudes needed by a particular job and organization.
According to Edwin Flippo, training is the act of increasing the skills of an
employee for doing a particular job.

Objectives
i) To impart to new entrants basic knowledge and skills,
ii) To assist the employees to function more effectively in their
present position by exposing them to the latest concepts, information and
techniques and developing in them the skills required in their fields,
iii) To build up a second line of competent officers and prepare them as a
part of their career progression to occupy more responsible positions.
iv) To broaden the minds of the senior managers by providing them
opportunities for interchange of experiences within and outside with a view
to correct the narrow outlook that may arise from over specialization.
(v) To impart customer education.

Importance
An employee who receives the necessary training is better able to perform
her job. She becomes more aware of safety practices and proper procedures
for basic tasks. The training may also build the employee's confidence
because she has a stronger understanding of the industry and the
responsibilities of her job. This confidence may push her to perform even
better and think of new ideas that help her excel. Continuous training also
keeps your employees on the cutting edge of industry developments.
Employees who are competent and on top of changing industry standards
help your company hold a position as a leader and strong competitor within
the industry.

A structured training and development program ensures that employees

have a consistent experience and background knowledge. The consistency
is particularly relevant for the company's basic policies and procedures. All
employees need to be aware of the expectations and procedures within the
company. This includes safety, discrimination and administrative tasks.
Putting all employees through regular training in these areas ensures that
all staff members at least have exposure to the information.
Employees with access to training and development programs have the
advantage over employees in other companies who are left to seek out
training opportunities on their own. The investment in training that a
company makes shows the employees they are valued. The training creates
a supportive workplace. Employees may gain access to training they
wouldn't have otherwise known about or sought out themselves. Employees
who feel appreciated and challenged through training opportunities may
feel more satisfaction toward their jobs.
Most employees have some weaknesses in their workplace skills. A
training program allows you to strengthen those skills that each employee
needs to improve. A development program brings all employees to a higher
level so they all have similar skills and knowledge. This helps reduce any
weak links within the company who rely heavily on others to complete basic
work tasks. Providing the necessary training creates an overall
knowledgeable staff with employees who can take over for one another as
needed, work on teams or work independently without constant help and
supervision from others.

Methods of Training
On-the-job Training Methods
Under these methods new or inexperienced employees learn through
observing peers or managers performing the job and trying to imitate their
behaviour.

1. Coaching: Coaching is a one-to-one training. It helps in quickly

identifying the weak areas and tries to focus on them. It also offers the
benefit of transferring theory learning to practice. The biggest problem is
that it perpetrates the existing practices and styles. In India most of the
scooter mechanics are trained only through this method.
2. Mentoring: The focus in this training is on the development of attitude.
It is used for managerial employees. Mentoring is always done by a senior
inside person. It is also one-to- one interaction, like coaching.
Off-the-job Training Methods
Off-the-job training methods are conducted in separate from the job
environment, study material is supplied, there is full concentration on
learning rather than performing, and there is freedom of expression.
Important methods include:
1. Job Rotation: It is the process of training employees by rotating them
through a series of related jobs. Rotation not only makes a person well
acquainted with different jobs, but it also alleviates boredom and allows to
develop rapport with a number of people. Rotation must be logical.
2. Understudy: In this method, a superior gives training to a subordinate as
his understudy like an assistant to a manager or director (in a film). The
subordinate learns through experience and observation by participating in
handling day to day problems. Basic purpose is to prepare subordinate for
assuming the full responsibilities and duties.
3. Simulation Exercises: Simulation is any artificial environment exactly
similar to the actual situation. There are four basic simulation techniques
used for imparting training: management games, case study, role playing,
and in-basket training.

Advantages of Training

1. Increased efficiency of employees: An effective training programme

can make the employees of the company work in an effective manner. With
training people gain confidence and this confidence is seen in the output
and results.

2. Reduced supervision: An employee needs to be supervised when he

works. When the employee has got sufficient training the amount of
supervision required is less as mistakes are less. This reduces the workload
of the supervisor.
3. Less amount of wastage: The amount of wastage by an employee is
reduced a lot due to training and therefore if we take an account of the
amount of wastage we find that the company has saved a lot of money.
4. Reduced turnover: Proper training improves chances of obtaining
promotions and employees are happy because they have better
opportunities Due to this their chances of leaving their current job reduces
greatly thereby reducing labour turnover in the company.
5.Helps new employees in the organization: Training always benefits
employees whether old or new. In case of new employees, training helps
them a lot . This is because new employees may not be aware of the
functioning of the organization and training helps them to gain knowledge
and insight into the working of the company.
Disadvantages of Training
1. Cost- One of the biggest potential problems with employee training is the
cost of the process. If you handle the training internally, it costs money
because you have to pay one of your employees for training instead of doing
productive work. If you use an outside trainer, you have to pay him for his
time. You could send your employees to a seminar or training conference in
another location, which also can represent a substantial cost for the
company.
2. Qualifications- If an employee is very talented at her job, you might
think that she would make a good trainer for new employees.

Unfortunately, this is not the case for many employees. Being able to train
employees is a special skill and not everyone has this ability. When it comes
to using an employee to train other employees, you might move someone
out of her comfort zone and she may be unable to train the new employees
as you need them to be trained.
3. Time Requirements- Another potential problem with training employees
is that you may not have enough time to do so adequately. Many companies
only devote a small amount time to training new employees, and it could
result in the employees not knowing everything they need to know to be
successful. The trainer may have to rush through the important parts of the
job and skip over some of the other tasks that also need to be understood by
the employee.

Need for Training

1. It is essential to increase productivity and reduce cost of production for

meeting competition in the market. Effective training can help increase
productivity of workers by imparting the required skills.
2. The customers have become quality conscious and their requirement
keep on changing. To satisfy the customers, quality of products must be
continuously improved through training of workers.
3. Systematic training through trained instructors is essential to reduce the
training period. If the workers learn through trial and error, they will take a
longer time and even may not be able to learn right methods of doing work.

4. Trained workers can handle the machines safely. They also know the use
of various safety devices in the factory. Thus, they are less prone to
industrial accidents.
5. Training creates a feeling of confidence in the minds of the workers. It
gives them a security at the workplace. As a result, labour turnover and
absenteeism rates are reduced.
6. Technology is changing at a fast pace. The workers must learn new
techniques to make use of advance technology. Thus, training should be
treated as a continuous process to update the employees in the new
methods and procedures.