Employee Training Effectiveness By Smitha Das

Training is an important factor in all firms business strategy, but firms dont assess the impact of training programme over the employees all the time. Training is effective only if it produces desired outcome. When the organization is implementing a training programme, there should be an ideal forum on which the evaluation scheme can be build and assessment of effectiveness of training and development activities can be done. The article elucidates the impact of an effective training programme on the career growth and development of employees. The author has also put forward some suggestions for increasing the effectiveness of the training that will help the organization to step into a bright future. Training and Development- A Prologue Intensifying business performance is an expedition, not a destination. The success of business operations depends upon the ups and downs of the employee performances. Hence the HR managers started looking for the methods to boost the performance and efficiency of its workforce to carry out the work today and to train them for meeting tomorrows goal. Training programmes had developed many years back, but now-a-days, it became a crucial factor in companies with certain objectives in mind. Training and development practices should boost up performance and develop the skills, knowledge and expertise of the employees. The vital objective of training is to build up right ability and capability in the labor force so that they can perform to meet the needs, wants and expected returns of the employer. The training procedure comprises of three phases: Phase 1: Pre-training: - This may also be called as the preparation phase. The process starts with an identification of the circumstances requiring more efficient performance. A firms concern prior to training lie primarily in four areas: Clarifying the precise objectives of training and what the organization expects to make use of the participants after training; selection of appropriate participants; building favorable expectations and inspiration in the participants before training; and planning for any changes that improved task performance requires in addition to training. Phase 2: Training: - During the course of the training, participants focus their attention on the new impressions that seem useful, thought-provoking and engaging. There is no guarantee that the participants will in fact learn what they have chosen. But the main reason remains; trainees explore in a training situation what interests them, and a training institutions basic task is to offer the required opportunities. Phase 3: Post-Training: - This may be called as the follow up phase. When the trainees go back to job after attending the training, a practice of adapting change begins for each one

participated. The newly acquired skills and knowledge undergo modification to fit the work condition. Participants may find their organizations offering support to use the training and also the support for continuing contact with the training institution. On the other hand, they may step into a quagmire of distrust. More effective behavior of people on the job is the prime objective of the training process conducted by an organization as a whole. Assessment of Training- What is the Need? Corporate, today, expend large amount of money on imparting training and development practices. But prior to spending such vast amount, they should analyze the need for conducting training to the workforce. There are chances in which firms can make mistakes if they are not assessing the training needs. An employee, for sure, requires training when he is found to be not capable enough to meet the goals of the organization and when there is a gap between the current performance and expected performance. Meagerness in recital occurs due to the lack of sufficient knowledge and expertise, monotonous management or any other personal and official issues. All these problems spotted can be tackled by providing an effective training programme to the right employee and at the right point of time. Training Effectiveness and its Significance In India, training as an activity has been going on as a distinct field with its own roles, structures and budgets, but it is still young. This field is however; expanding fast but controversy seems to envelop any attempts to find benefits commensurate with the escalating costs of training. Training has made remarkable contributions to the improvement of all kinds. Training is essential; doubts arise over its contribution in practice. Complaints are growing over its ineffectiveness and waste. The training apparatus and costs have multiplied but not its benefits. Unhappiness persists and is growing at the working level where the benefits of training should show up most clearly. This disillusionment shows in many ways- reluctance to send the most talented workforce for training, inadequate use of personnel after training etc. with disillusionment mounting in the midst of expansion, training has entered a dangerous phase in its development. Training is neither a panacea for all ills nor is it a waste of time. What is required is an insight into what training can or cannot do and skill in designing and executing training successfully and cost-effectively. At the present time, all the organizations give more trust on commercializing their activities. All the firms in order to continue to exist in the competitive global market and to be effectual, should espouse the most modern technology i.e., mechanization, computerization and automation. Technical know-how alone, however, does not assure success unless it is sustained by workforce possessing indispensable expertise. Hence organization should train the employees to enrich them in the areas of changing technical skills and knowledge from time to time. The firms consider its human resources as one of its most precious assets. Training is a valuable assessment device that helps the organization to improve the performance and skill level of its employees and to monitor them on continuous basis for effectiveness of human resources. The

training should be imparted to all the staff on their specialized area as well as general areas irrespective of their position in the company. In the context of globalization, human resource development with proper training to the workforce is required to meet the challenges in future and to win the global competitive advantage. The organizations spends huge amount of money on imparting training to its employees. So it is very important to evaluate the efficacy of the training programmes conducted so far and to find out whether the executives are able to implement the skills that they learned in the training and development process. Effective Training Programme- Underlying Principles Any training programme in order to be effective must have some precise goals and objectives: To enlighten the partakers more about their organization, its aspirations, challenges and the business background in which it operates. To make the human resources cognizant of the functions of different sections. To train them to be aware of the significance of communication and enthusiasm in their day to day work as a tool for better organizational climate and morale. To see that once they go back after attending training, they feel that they belong to the organization. To ensure that the participants would share their information gained from training with their co-workers. To develop friendship, fellowship, support and trusteeship among trainees. To ensure that technical, managerial, supervisory and human competencies are built up in the employees on a continuous basis to enable them to perform their current assignments effectively and also to set up them to execute their future tasks. To put forward the attitude based training to ensure that a value based and self sustained culture is built in the organization. To offer the required training inputs to all employees in a need based, organized and lucrative manner. The training programmes imparted to the workforce should be of superior standards with a view to develop good working environment, provide work culture inspiration, support attitudinal change, improve interpersonal relationships, reduce accidents, perk up efficiency, update knowledge and technology, educate saving and investment habits among employees, create consciousness of work-related health hazards etc. Also, the training institute should comprise of all type of audio visual aids, which forms the venue for the in-house training and development programmes in the organization.

Evaluation of Training Effectiveness Evaluation and appraisal of training programme is a necessary practice in any firm as it is an assessment of the total value of a learning event and not just how far it achieves its learning goals and objectives. Training assessment is about seeking to evaluate whether or not training is, in fact, generating pertinent and appreciated results through proficient and well-managed practices. It is a process of collecting data with which to make decisions about training activities. It thus places the episode in a broader outlook and offers information, which is vital for future planning and development. The information acquired by the assessment of the training programme can be used to find out the lags or shortcomings in the training programme and make successive suggestions and advices for making it more effectual. In turn to categorize areas of assessment, Donald Kirkpatrick formed what is still one of the most generally used models. The inquiry that has to be raised by the management to evaluate the effectiveness of training in each level is listed below:

Stage 1: Response- Were the trainees satisfied and what is their idea to perform with the skills acquired? Stage 2: Knowledge- Whether and to what extent the talent, awareness and approach of the workforce have changed? Stage 3: Performance- Were the conduct of the workforce improved on the basis of what they have trained? Stage 4: Outcome-Whether the improvement in the performance has an impact on the desired output of the firm?

Training Evaluation- How does it help? The training evaluation and assessment has three main reasons: Feedback to help trainers understand the extent to which goals are being met and the effectiveness of particular learning activities- as an aid to continuous improvement. Control to make sure training policy and practice are allied with managerial objectives and providing lucrative solutions to managerial concerns. Intervention to raise awareness of key issues such as pre-course and post-course briefing and the selection of delegates. The following are the clear advantages of training evaluation: Enhanced value of training programmes. Improved skills and capability of the trainers to associate inputs to output Superior differentiation among training programmes that are worth enough to be retained and those to be dropped. Good incorporation of training provided by the firm and employee improvement. Healthier collaboration between instructors and executives in the growth of workforce. Proof about the contribution that training and development programmes are providing to the meet the goals of the firm. Faster inclusion of training needs and managerial goals. Evaluation of training effectiveness should not be treated only as a corrective measure for the existing training programmes offered by the organization, but also as a pro-active measure for making future training programmes effective. Today only those firms are flourishing who become accustomed to the changes in the right time with the right course of action. Only an effective training facilitates in improving the human resource of the organization making them adaptable to changes that takes place in their business environment. As the work turn out to be more complicated, the significance of the employee development also raises. However it is also a process that a firm must place resources to if it is to uphold a workable and talented employees.

Training Effectiveness- A Drive to Victory As a result of globalization, business is exerting pressure on world wide. All the firms need to reduce production cost and improve operational efficiency. Hence it is important for all organizations to maintain an efficient work force for attaining these aims. The firms can develop their employees as talented and knowledgeable workers by means of identifying their insufficiency and lack of knowledge in the required areas and thereby providing sufficient training and development programmes to fill the gap. The organizational training effectiveness and its evaluation play a crucial role in an organization to decide whether the proposed business upshots are attained or not. An effective training programme is emerging as one of the most vibrant and exhilarating aspect for the firms to solve their managerial and human resource issues and thereby winning advantage in the competitive market

Improving business performance is a journey, not a destination. Business performance rises and falls with the ebb and flow of human performances. HR professionals lead the search for ways to enhance the effectiveness of employees in their jobs today and prepare them for tomorrow. Over the years, training programmes have grown into corporate with these goals in mind. Training programmes should enhance performance and enrich the contributions of the workforce. The ultimate goal of training is to develop appropriate talent in the workforce internally. Training has made significant contributions to development of all kinds. Training is essential; doubts arise over its contribution in practice. Complaints are growing over its ineffectiveness and waste. The training apparatus and costs have multiplied but not its benefits. Dissatisfaction persists and is growing at the working level where the benefits of training should show up most clearly. This disillusionment shows in many ways reluctance to send the most promising people for training, inadequate use of personnel after training etc. With disillusionment mounting in the midst of expansion, training has entered a dangerous phase in its development. Training is neither a panacea for all ills nor is it a waste of time. What is required is an insight into what training can or cannot do and skill in designing and carrying out training effectively and economically. The searchlight of inquiry may make the task and challenges stand out too starkly, too simply. Using experience with training in India and other rapidly developing countries has this advantage at similar risk. The contribution that training can make to development is needed acutely and obviously. At the same time, the limited resources available in these countries make this contribution hard to come by. These lines are sharply drawn; on the one hand, no promise can be ignored; on the other, no waste is permissible. Much of the training provided today proceeds as if knowledge and action were directly related. This assumption is itself a striking illustration of the wide gulf that separates the two. On a continuum with personal maturation and growth at one end and improvement in performance of predetermined tasks at the other, education lies near the former, and training near the later. Focusing training on skill in action makes the task wide and complex. Training embraces an understanding of the complex processes by which various factors that make up a situation interact.

For every training strategy, no matter which, the proper focus right from the very outset is on one or more people on-the-job-in-the-organization this whole amalgam. Wherever the focus moves during the training programme, the starting point becomes the focus again at the end. The difference lies in what people have learned that they now apply. That difference, in terms of more effective behavior is the measure of the efficacy of training.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Employee-Training Program

By Ken Lloyd Employee performance appraisals generate data that provide a solid basis for determining training and educational needs, whether on an individual or departmental basis. For example, a significant number of evaluations that point to problems in teamwork and cooperation indicate a need for training in these areas. Conversely, if the performance review data shows no teamwork or cooperation problems, even the best team-building program in the world would be of only marginal help. When employees are provided with clear and specific examples of performance where they fell short, and they understand the consequences associated with continued poor performance, their interest in taking corrective steps is significantly enhanced. As a result, they enter an educational program as motivated learners, which is essential for learning to occur. When a training program is completed, one key step is to evaluate its effectiveness. And one of the best ways to do this is to compare performance evaluations prior to and after the training. If the evaluations included consistently low ratings and negative comments on teamwork and cooperation prior to the training, while the ratings and comments became more positive in later evaluations, then the training most likely worked. However, if later evaluations show that the ratings and comments remained poor or even dropped, the issue needs to be revisited. In the world of training, excellent programs are described as having a high degree of transference, meaning that the information learned in these programs can be readily applied to the attendees jobs. Training that's conducted without consideration for the employees needs is destined to have minimal transference at best, and this means minimal interest, attention, and learning. For example, in order to perform more effectively on their jobs, apparel designers dont need training on tax laws.

Criteria for evaluating employee training effectiveness

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