Human Resource- Only bid if you can meet budget

One Training in Organizations

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

· ■ Describe the components of a general open systems model.

· ■ Describe how an open systems model applies to the training unit of an organization.

· ■ List and describe the interrelationships among the five phases of the training process model.

· ■ Explain how the training model can be applied to organizational improvement and problem solving.

· ■ Describe the challenges/opportunities facing training.

· ■ Define key terms used in the training literature.

· ■ Describe the benefits of integrating organizational development and training principles.

· ■ Describe the differences in how small and larger businesses might implement the training process model.

CASE TAKING CHARGE AT DOMTAR: WHAT IT TAKES FOR A TURNAROUND *

Domtar is the third largest producer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America. In the decade prior to 1996, Domtar had one of the worst financial records in the pulp and paper industry. At that time it was a bureaucratic and hierarchical organization with no clear goals. Half of its business was in “trouble areas.” Moreover, the company did not have the critical mass to compete with the larger names in the field. The balance sheet was in bad shape, and the company did not have investment-grade status on its long-term debt.

In July of 1996, Raymond Royer was named president and chief executive officer (CEO). This was quite a surprise because, although Royer had been successful at Bombardier, he had no knowledge of the pulp and paper industry. Many believed that to be successful at Domtar, you needed to know the industry.

Royer knew that to be effective in any competitive industry, an organization needed to have a strategic direction and specific goals. He decided to focus on two goals: return on investment and customer service. Royer told Domtar executives that to survive, they needed to participate in the consolidation of the industry and increase its critical mass. The goal was to become a preferred supplier. The competitive strategy had to focus on being innovative in product design, high in product quality, and unique in customer service. At the same time, however, it had to do everything to keep costs down.

When Royer took over at Domtar, he explained to the executive team that there were three pillars to the company: customers, shareholders, and ourselves. He noted that it is only “ourselves” who are able to have any impact on changing the company. He backed up his words with action by hiring the Kaizen guru from Bombardier. Kaizen, a process of getting employees involved by using their expertise in the development of new and more effective ways of doing things, had been very effective at Bombardier. Royer saw no reason why it would not be successful at Domtar. Royer also knew that for the new strategic direction and focus to be successful, everyone needed to both understand the changes being proposed and have the skills to achieve them. The success of any change process requires extensive training; therefore, training became a key part of Royer’s strategy for Domtar.

This last point reflects the belief that it is the employees’ competencies that make the difference. The Domtar Difference, as it is called, is reflected in the statement, “tapping the intelligence of the experts, our employees.” Employees must be motivated to become involved in developing new ways of doing things. Thus, Domtar needed to provide employees with incentives for change, new skills, and a different attitude toward work. The introduction of Kaizen was one tactic used to achieve these goals.

Training at Domtar went beyond the traditional job training necessary to do the job effectively and included training in customer service and Kaizen. This is reflected in Domtar’s mission, which is to

· • meet the ever-changing needs of our customers,

· • provide shareholders with attractive returns, and

· • create an environment in which shared human values and personal commitment prevail.

In this regard, a performance management system was put in place to provide a mechanism for employees to receive feedback about their effectiveness. This process laid the groundwork for successfully attaining such objectives as improving employee performance, communicating the Domtar values, clarifying individual roles, and fostering better communication between employees and managers. Tied to this were performance incentives that rewarded employees with opportunities to share in the profits of the company.

Has Royer been successful with his approach? First-quarter net earnings in 1998 were $17 million, compared with a net loss of $12 million for the same time period in 1997, his first year in office. In 2002, third-quarter earnings were $59 million and totaled $141 million for the year. That is not all. Recall his goal of return on equity for shareholders. Domtar has once again been included on the Dow Jones sustainability index. Domtar has been on this list since its inception in 1999 and is the only pulp and paper company in North America to be part of this index. To be on the list, a company must demonstrate an approach that “aims to create long-term shareholder value by embracing opportunities and managing risks that arise from economic, environmental, and social developments.” On the basis of this, it could be said that Royer has been successful. In 2003, Paperloop, the pulp and paper industry’s international research and information service, named Royer Global CEO of the year.

It was Royer’s sound management policies and shrewd joint ventures and acquisitions that helped Domtar become more competitive and return their long-term debt rating to investment grade. However, joint ventures and acquisitions bring additional challenges of integrating the new companies into the “Domtar way.” Again, this requires training.

For example, when Domtar purchased the Ashdown Mill in Arkansas, the management team met with employees to set the climate for change. The plan was that within 14 months, all mill employees would complete a two-day training program designed to help them understand the Domtar culture and how to service customers. A manager always started the one-day customer focus training, thus emphasizing the importance of the training. This manager returned again at lunch to answer any questions as the training proceeded. In addition, for supervisor training, each supervisor received skill training on how to effectively address employee issues. How successful has all this training been? Employee Randy Gerber says the training “allows us to realize that to be successful, we must share human values and integrate them into our daily activities.” The training shows that “the company is committed to the program.” Tammy Waters, a communications coordinator, said that the training impacted the mill in many ways and for Ashdown employees it has become a way of life.

The same process takes place in Domtar’s joint ventures. In northern Ontario, Domtar owns a 45 percent interest in a mill, with the Cree of James Bay owning the remaining 55 percent. Although Domtar has minority interest in the joint venture, training is an important part of its involvement. Skills training still takes place on site, but all management and teamwork training is done at Domtar’s headquarters in Montreal.

Royer’s ability to get employees to buy into this new way of doing business was necessary for the organization to succeed. Paperloop’s editorial director for news products, Will Mies, in describing why Royer was chosen for the award, indicated that they polled a large number of respected security analysts, investment officers, and portfolio managers as well as their own staff of editors, analysts, and economists to determine a worthy winner this year. Raymond Royer emerged a clear favorite, with voters citing, in particular, his talent for turnaround, outstanding financial management, and consistently excellent merger, acquisition, and consolidation moves as well as his ability to integrate acquired businesses through a management system that engages employees. Of course, that last part, “a management system that engages employees,” could be said to be the key without which most of the rest would not work very well. That requires training.

*Swift, A. “Royer’s Domtar turnaround.” Financial Post (October 6 2003), FP3. Allen, B. 2003. The Domtar difference.  www.pimaweb.org/conferences/june2003/BuddyAllen.pdf . Anonymous (January 2001) Partnership between Domtar and Cree First Nations brings results.  www.diversityupdate.com . Richard Descarries, Manager, Corporate Communications and External Relations, Domtar, personal communication (2004).

OVERVIEW OF TRAINING

Everyone in an organization is affected by training. Everyone receives training at one time or another, usually multiple times. Managers and supervisors need to be sure that their direct reports have the competencies required to perform their jobs. Subject matter experts (managers and others) are asked to provide training. Significant budget dollars are allocated to training employees. Although the US economy has suffered significant losses over the last several years, companies still dedicate substantial resources to employee learning. In 2010, it is estimated that over $171.5 billion was invested in training activities. Most ($103 billion) was devoted to internal training services, with the rest allocated to external providers. The average expenditure per employee increased from $1,081 in 2009 to 1,228 in 2010. 1

Why do companies continue to invest in training, even in the most difficult economic times? Evidence shows that companies investing more in training produce improved financial results in terms of higher net sales, gross profits per employee, stock growth, and ratio of market to book value. 2  For example, in a Mutual of Omaha study, it was determined that those with higher levels of training generated, on average, an additional $150,000 of new business premium each year. However, training doesn’t always lead to an improved bottom line. Many companies report that they perceive little value from their training initiatives. 3  Obviously, companies that report 

very positive improvements are using more effective training practices than those that do not. Effective training differs from ineffective training in terms of the processes used to determine what employees need to learn and how training is designed and implemented. The first three chapters of this book provide you with an understanding of the context and theoretical foundation on which effective training is based.  Chapters 4  through  8  provide you with an in-depth understanding of how to determine training needs and how to design, develop, and implement training to meet those needs. Even companies that have reported unsatisfactory results from their training efforts are doing at least one thing right—they are evaluating their training and can take corrective action. Companies that don’t evaluate their training don’t have a clue about its effectiveness. We believe that it is useful, first, to give an overview of what an effective training unit should accomplish in an organization. This chapter and the next cover a broad set of organizational issues that provide the context for developing and implementing effective training. As we discuss this context, we will be referring back to the Domtar case from time to time, to illustrate in concrete ways how training relates to organizational effectiveness.

Training System and Processes

Training provides employees with the knowledge and skills to perform more effectively. This allows them to meet current job requirements or prepares them to meet the inevitable changes that occur in their jobs. However, training is only an opportunity for learning. What is learned depends on many factors, such as the design and implementation of training, the motivation and learning style of the trainees, and the organization’s learning climate.

Training is also part of an integrated system in which performance is measured against criteria (best practices benchmarks) that are tied to strategic objectives. Training is used extensively to help employees understand how they can assist in meeting corporate objectives. Clearly, Domtar knows that. Recall, when Domtar purchased the Ashdown Mill, training was an immediate focus. Within 14 months, all mill employees completed a two-day training program so they would understand Domtar’s culture and know how to service customers in the appropriate manner. Always having a manager kick off the training and later return to answer questions shows the importance Domtar attached to training. But effective training requires more than just having key managers available. It requires that effective systems are in place to address the performance issues facing the organization. With that in mind, we turn to the design of an effective training system.

TRAINING AS AN OPEN SYSTEM

Figure 1-1  shows a general  open systems model . 4  Open systems have a dynamic relationship with their environment; closed systems do not. Obviously, a business must interact with its environment, making it an open system.

As  Figure 1-1  indicates, an open system depends on the environment for the input that supports the system. A business, for example, needs raw materials, capital, and employees in order to operate. The environmental inputs are transformed into outputs by the system’s processes. For a business, these would include its products and services. The system’s outputs flow into the environment and might or might not influence future inputs into the system. In effective systems, the system output influences the environment to supply new supportive input to the system.

FIGURE 1-1 General Open Systems Model

A system, such as a business, must be responsive to the needs and demands of its environment because the environment provides the input needed for the system to replenish itself. For example, if a business is responsive to the needs of society by providing valued goods and services (output), it receives financial and goodwill credits (input). The business uses these inputs to continue operating. If the business does not provide sufficient value to its environment, it will fail because the environment will not provide the necessary input for the system to replenish itself.

FIGURE 1-2 Training as an Open System

Many open systems exist as part of another open system and, therefore, are called subsystems of that larger system. For example, a product assembly system is a subsystem of a manufacturing system, which itself is a subsystem of the company, which is a subsystem of the industry, and so on. Training can be seen as a subsystem within the larger human resources (HR) unit, which itself is a subsystem of the company.  Figure 1-2  illustrates some of the exchanges that take place between the training system and the larger organizational system. The organization’s mission, strategies, resources, and the like, all represent sources of input into the training subsystem. Of course, if the training department is part of a larger HR function, then these inputs would be filtered through that system. Organizational and employee needs, training budgets, staff, equipment, and so forth, are all inputs from the organization to the training subsystem. Training processes transform these inputs into usable output for the organization (improved knowledge, skills, and attitudes; job performance; and so on). Looking at the training unit from an open system perspective shows how interconnected training activities are with what is happening elsewhere in the organization. The point here is that the organization invests money in the training function, for which it expects a favorable return. Periodically, the organization will examine the returns from training and determine whether the training system is working properly and what further investment is appropriate.  Training in Action 1-1  demonstrates the consequences of a poor match between the training system and the organizational environment.

THE TRAINING PROCESS MODEL

This book will take you through the complete training process as it would be conducted under ideal conditions. Unfortunately, most organizations do not operate in ideal conditions. Insufficient financial resources, time, and training professionals represent just a few of the challenges faced by most companies. Recognizing these limitations, we also provide variations to training practices and systems that, although not ideal, do a reasonable job of accomplishing  training objectives . Of course, these shortcuts exact a price, and we identify the major consequences associated with these shortcuts. Thus, we try to provide both “ideal” and more practical approaches to implementing the training processes. Nonetheless, even in less-than-ideal conditions, all of the training processes are critical to the success of training. Although less-than-ideal methods may be used to carry out the training processes, elimination of one or more of the processes places the entire effort at grave risk.

Effective training is not just running a lot of people through a lot of training programs. To view training this way is shortsighted. Instead, training should be viewed as a set of integrated processes in which organizational needs and employee capabilities are analyzed and responded to in a rational, logical, and strategic manner. When training is conducted this way, both the employees’ and organization’s performance will improve. This will increase the value of the training unit, and, as a result further investment in training is likely to occur. Our model of training processes, depicted in  Figure 1-3 , reflects this approach.

1-1 Training in Action Team Building Sizzles, Then Fizzles

The director of a city utilities department felt that creating employee problem-solving teams would improve the quality of operations and the efficiency of the department. All employees were provided the opportunity to participate in team-building and problem-solving training. About 60 percent of the employees, including the director and his management group, signed up for the training. Three-hour training sessions took place once a week for ten weeks. Working on a common process within their department, employees were grouped into teams for three weeks of team-building training and seven weeks of problem-solving training.

At the beginning of the problem-solving training, each team identified a problem in its area of operation. Each team then worked through the problem as they progressed though each step of the training. The team members were delighted to be learning new skills while working on a real problem. By the end of training, each group actually solved, or made significant progress toward solving, the problem it was working on. Evaluations taken at the conclusion of training indicated that trainees enjoyed the training and understood the steps, tools, and techniques of team building and problem solving. The director was pleased with the results and submitted a report documenting the successes of the training to the city manager.

Follow-up evaluation conducted six months later showed only one team still in operation. The other teams fell apart for various reasons, such as excessive workloads, little recognition being given when problems were solved, nontrained employees resisting making changes in work processes, or teams being ridiculed by those who had not participated in training. Clearly, the training did not achieve the desired outcomes. If the director had understood the system and what was and was not rewarding, a more successful outcome could have been achieved. By using the analysis phase of the Training Process Model, the relevant aspects of the system would have been identified and adjustments to either the system or the training could have been made.

Figure 1-3  is merely an overview of the process. A more detailed figure for each phase is provided at the beginning of each relevant chapter, with the input and output of each process described in considerably more detail. Our model is an adaptation of what has become widely known as the  ADDIE  model. ADDIE is an acronym for the major processes of training: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. Many, including your authors have attempted to find the original source for this model, but apparently there is no single source. It seems to have evolved over time to become an umbrella term without a fully articulated underlying structure. 5  Like others, we have used ADDIE as the generic basis for our own model of how training should proceed. In the following paragraphs, we will briefly describe each of the ADDIE phases and their relevant inputs and outputs. This model is used extensively throughout the book, so it is important to be familiar with it.

The training process begins with some type of triggering event. A  triggering event occurs when a person with authority to take action believes that  actual organizational performance (AOP)  is less than the  expected organizational performance (EOP) . For example, the quality standard (the EOP) at Company X is three rejects per thousand. An examination of the data for the previous month indicates that the actual quality level (AOP) was 17 rejects per thousand. If a person with authority to take action sees this gap as a concern, it would trigger an analysis of why the number of rejects is so high. This analysis is discussed next.

Analysis Phase

The  analysis phase  begins with the identification of the  organizational performance gap  (AOP is less than EOP). Things such as profitability shortfalls, low levels of customer satisfaction, or excessive scrap are all examples of a current performance gap. Another type of performance gap is future oriented. Here, the company is seen as likely to perform poorly in the  future unless changes are made. For example, if an organization wanted to install robotic equipment in six months but employees were not able to program the robots, then there is an expected performance gap in the future. Once a performance gap exists, the cause must then be determined. *

FIGURE 1-3 Training Processes Model

Once the cause is determined, and its elimination is believed to be important, the elimination of the cause becomes a “need” of the organization

The analysis phase is often referred to as a  training needs analysis (TNA) . However, both training and nontraining needs are identified with this process, so it is incorrect to say it only focuses on training needs. The cause of the performance gap might be inadequate knowledge, skills, or attitudes (KSAs) of employees. If so, then training is a possible solution. However, KSA deficiencies are only one of many reasons for performance gaps. Other reasons, such as motivation or faulty equipment, must be separated from KSA deficiencies, as these are nontraining needs and require a different solution. In the analysis phase, the causes of a performance gap are identified, whether due to KSAs or something else. Those performance gaps caused by KSA deficiencies are identified as “training needs” because training is a solution. All other causes are defined as nontraining needs, and require other types of solutions.

The analysis phase also attaches priorities to the training needs that are identified. Not all needs will have the same level of importance for the company. This process of data gathering and causal analysis to determine which performance problems should be addressed by training is the analysis phase of the training process. It will be discussed in great detail in  Chapter 4 .

Design Phase

The training needs identified in the analysis phase, as well as areas of constraint and support, are the inputs to the  design phase . An important process in the design phase is the creation of training objectives. These provide direction for what will be trained and how. They specify the employee and organizational outcomes that should be achieved as a result of training and become inputs to the development and evaluation phases of the model. As such they become the evaluation objectives.

*There are often multiple causes of a performance gap, but we are using a single cause here for simplicity.

Another part of the design process is determining how the organizational constraints will be addressed by the training. Finally, identifying the factors needed in the training program to facilitate learning and its transfer back to the job are key outcomes from the design phase. All of these factors are used to create the guidelines for how the training will be developed. The design phase is the topic of  Chapter 5 .  Chapters 6  and  7  provide detailed descriptions of the various methods that can be used to deliver the content of the training.

Development Phase

Development  is the process of using the guidelines from the design phase to formulate an instructional strategy that will meet the training objectives. Obtaining or creating all the things that are needed to implement the training program is also a part of this phase. The  instructional strategy  describes the order, timing, and combination of methods and elements to be used in the training program to meet the objectives. The training objectives provide the focus for program development and the guidelines from the design phase set the parameters for what will and will not work. Outputs from this phase are all of the things needed to implement the training program. These include the specific content for of the training, instructional methods used to deliver the content, materials to be used, equipment and media, manuals, and so forth. These are integrated into a coherent, well-organized training plan focused on achieving the training objectives. These outputs of the development phase serve as inputs to the implementation phase. Both the development phase and the implementation phase are the focus of  Chapter 8 .

Implementation Phase

All the previous phases of the training process come together during the  implementation phase . It is useful to conduct a dry run or even a pilot of the program before actually delivering the training. This dry run, or pilot program, allows for the testing of the training to determine if any modifications are necessary before it is ready to go live.  Chapter 8  addresses the key aspects of the dry run and delivery of the training.

Evaluation Phase

Although we discuss this phase of the model last, it actually begins during the development phase. Recall that evaluation objectives are an output of the design phase. In the design phase the training objectives were identified, and these were used in the development phase to create the instruments and measures that will be used to evaluate the training. These become inputs to the  evaluation phase . More input comes from the organizational constraints. Time, money, and staff all affect how training is evaluated. Two types of evaluation are useful. First,  process evaluation  determines how well a particular training process achieved its objectives (i.e., outputs). In other words, did the trainer follow the exact training process suggested? For example, if role-plays were in the design, were they used properly? Collecting and analyzing process data can provide early warning of potential problems in the training program.

Outcome evaluation  is the evaluation conducted at the end of training to determine the effects of training on the trainee, the job, and the organization. This type of evaluation uses the training objectives as the standard. Outcome evaluation can also be used to improve training processes. Outcome evaluation data by themselves do not provide enough information for program improvement, but in combination with process evaluation data, they serve as a powerful tool for improving programs. For example, if one or more objectives are not achieved, the training process evaluation data can then be used to identify problems in the process and corrective action can be taken.  Chapter 9  provides a detailed discussion of the evaluation process.

TRENDS IN TRAINING

The business environment in North America will continue to change rapidly. These changes bring both challenges and opportunities. Successful companies in most industries must constantly realign their activities to meet new conditions while remaining true to their mission and strategic direction. As companies adapt, their training function also needs to adapt. Multiple surveys over the last several years have asked HR executives and human resource development (HRD) managers to identify their organization’s needs for the next several years. These are the major trends in training. 6

· • Aligning training with business strategy

· • Advances in Technology

· • Managing talent due to changing demographics

· • Improving the training function

· • Quality

· • Legal issues

Each of these issues is discussed in subsequent paragraphs in terms of the opportunities and challenges it presents to the training function. The ways in which companies are addressing these issues are covered in more depth in  Chapter 10 , Key Areas of Organizational Training.

Aligning Training with Business Strategy

For the past five years, virtually all the surveys show that aligning training with business strategy is a top priority not only of training managers, but also of HR managers and other business executives. Why is it such a high priority? First, it is only in the last decade that reliable evidence of training’s impact on the bottom line has surfaced. Second, and just as important, the business environment over the last decade has been changing rapidly, and all signs indicate that this will continue. Most companies will need to continuously realign their activities to meet new conditions. This requires people at all levels in the organization to be able to make day-to-day decisions that support the business strategy. Training initiatives will need to support the strategic direction of the company and the people who carry it out. Organizations now realize that effective training is a tool for getting better job performance, better bottom-line results, and creating organization-wide adaptability.

What actions did Domtar take to align its training with its business strategy? One component was the institution of Kaizen methods and the associated training. This aligns with the strategic goal of “tapping the intelligence of the experts, our employees.” Was the money Domtar spent on this training worth it? It would seem so. Using the Kaizen approach, employees developed a new way of cutting trees into planks. The result was fewer wood chips to transport and more logs produced per tree. Since 1997, it is estimated that Kaizen has saved Domtar about $230 million in production costs. Two of their mills are among the lowest-cost mills in North America. Clearly, the training at Domtar was aligned with its strategic goals.

Companies are now realizing that worker knowledge is a competitive advantage and that training is a strategic tool. As Angela Hornsby, V.P. of learning and development at Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, says: “Things are changing so much more quickly these days, and companies have to adapt so much faster than before to remain competitive. The fact is that one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal to change performance and help people to adapt more readily to that change is learning.” 7  Even though aligning training with business strategy is an important goal, it isn’t as easy to do. We will discuss this in more depth in  Chapter 2 , providing suggestions for how to meet this challenge and take advantage of the opportunities it affords.

Advances in Technology

The second biggest issue for training executives to deal with is the rapid advances being made in learning technologies. In addition to advances in Learning Management Systems, Intelligent Tutoring, interactive multimedia, and other tools that have been around for a decade or more, new possibilities for designing and delivering training programs are expanding exponentially. We will discuss these in depth in  Chapter 7 , so here we only identify some of the opportunities/problems these create for training executives and designers. The advent of Web 2 technologies can be applied to the design and delivery of training in a way that enhances trainees’ involvement and learning. Tools such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and Linkedin offer ways to enhance or in some  cases replace the traditional training that occurs in a classroom and even some earlier types of electronic-based training. Following are some of the ways these Web 2 applications can be used:

· • Social networking can provide support for on-the-job training.

· • Social networking and Web 2.0 tools can engage trainees before and after they attend a session and can be used to reinforce learning back on the job.

· • An online community can be created for trainees for reference, sharing information, and posting best practices. This allows trainees to continue learning beyond the classroom.

· • Blogs can be used to post examples and applications that keep participants engaged in the topic area.

Additionally, advances in mobile-device technology allow trainees to take all of these Web 2.0 tools, applications and more with them wherever they go.

Training executives must develop strategies for utilizing the available technology in ways that meet their business’ needs. Too often in the past, training executives have jumped on the latest technology bandwagon, only to find it wasn’t going where they wanted to go. The lessons learned from those early adopters provide a clear message of caution. However, the potential benefits of these technologies mean that a careful analysis needs to be made. The problem is the technologies keep morphing at such a rapid pace, it becomes very difficult to keep up.

Managing Talent Due to Changing Demographics

Major demographic shifts have occurred in North America that affect businesses now and will for the next 15 years. Principal among these demographic shifts are as follows:

· • Increased gender, ethnic, and age diversity in the North American workforce

· • Aging of the population (baby boomers)

DIVERSITY

Hispanics will soon become the largest minority group in the U.S. workforce. While all other minority groups are increasing in size, the percentage of Caucasians is expected to decrease. The number of women will increase to about 50 percent of the workforce. 8  Increased diversity brings both the opportunity for new ways of approaching business issues and the challenge of finding ways to integrate these differing perspectives. We will discuss the legal side of diversity in the “Legal Issues” section. Along with more diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity, and so forth, the workforce is becoming more diverse with respect to age. Four distinct generations are currently in the workforce. Each generation has a different set of values relating to the role of work in their life. The average age of the population is increasing with about 14 percent of the labor market aged 55 or older. By 2015, over 20 percent are expected to be in this range. As these people retire from their jobs, many will return to the workforce on a part-time basis because of the demand for knowledgeable workers and the insecurity of retirement income. However, these people will not be looking for traditional full-time jobs. Rather, they will be looking for jobs that allow them to enjoy significant periods of time away from job responsibilities. Younger workers want a more balanced work and nonwork life and are more conversant with technologies that allow them to work from anywhere. We are seeing more training focused on building bridges between the older managers and the younger subordinates and programs for team skills that focus on cooperation and problem solving. In general, there are increasing demands for these programs to be aligned with business goals rather than focusing on diversity for its own sake.

DEVELOPING THE RIGHT TALENT

Some have suggested that most companies, now or in the near future, will face a severe shortage of all types of labor. The worldwide economic recession that began in 2008 has certainly eliminated that concern, at least in the near term. Nonetheless, it is now and will continue to be important for most businesses to secure workers with the right skill sets. 9  Baby boomers with the highest knowledge and skill levels will be the ones most likely to leave the workforce, as they will have higher levels of retirement income. Because of changes in technology, job design, and the like, it is estimated that more than 75 percent of the workforce needs retraining just to keep up with the changes in their current jobs. It is projected that the forces identified earlier will combine by 2020 to create a shortage of 20 million workers, especially in jobs that require the most skill and provide the highest economic value. 10  A survey of senior executives in manufacturing firms indicates that replacing retiring skilled workers will cost their companies up to $20 million a year and will continue for at least five years. 11 ,  12  Where will the needed talent come from in the next few years? The traditional source of talent coming out of the colleges and technical schools will be fought over fiercely, because there won’t be enough to go around. To make up the shortage, many companies will create their own talent. For example, in 2005, Hewlett-Packard addressed this issue by increasing their training budget by 16 percent, bringing the total to $300 million. Raytheon Vision Systems realized that over 35 percent of their workforce would be eligible to retire by 2009. This not only would create a huge loss of people, but also would represent a critical loss of institutional knowledge. Many of those set to retire were the inventors of the knowledge. Raytheon set up a “Leave a Legacy” program, pairing vital-knowledge experts with high-potential subordinates in mentoring relationships. In addition to the shortage of new talent, existing employees will need training to keep up with the changes brought on by new technologies. Thus, in many organizations, you will find the training function focusing on the following types of initiatives:

· • Programs that focus on the recruiting and selection process (such as recruiter training, behavioral based interviewing, etc.)

· • Programs that improve retention of knowledge workers (e.g., orientation, performance review)

· • Programs that assess and track job requirements and employee competencies (HRIS systems)

· • Development of innovative knowledge delivery systems that increase the speed with which knowledge is obtained and provide an increased breadth of training opportunities is another way in which companies are creating more knowledgeable workers more quickly (computer-based and other electronic forms of training)

In addition to technological innovation, the competitive environment demands that organizations continuously upgrade the knowledge of their workforce. Consumer demands for higher-quality products and services and the fiercely competitive global economy require employees at every level who are more knowledgeable, more committed to quality, show better judgment, and demonstrate more competencies than ever before.

Tied to the increased level of knowledge expected of all workers is the speed with which knowledge is acquired. In today’s competitive business environment, most companies have minimized the time it takes to move a product from the idea stage to the marketplace. This, however, puts great strains on the ability of the employees to be up to speed on the new products and production processes. The smart companies are now making “time to knowledge” as important as “time to market.” By getting the training department involved early in the product development stage, companies are able to provide just-in-time training and increase the breadth of training opportunities.

Training in Action 1-2  describes how the United Farm Workers union was able to work with farm owners and managers to create more knowledgeable farm workers. This is especially interesting since many unions have resisted increased knowledge requirements for the jobs they represent.

Quality and Continuous Improvement

Training must be seen as an integral part of the organization’s performance improvement system. If not, it will continue to be seen as a cost center, providing less valued contributions to the organization. Training was a critical part of Domtar’s change process. It helped educate employees regarding the mission, strategy, and objectives of the organization and how these objectives translated to each employee’s job behaviors. Experienced trainers know that effective training is structured as a continuous performance improvement process that is integrated with other systems and business strategies, just as at Domtar. While several models exist for continuous improvement, common to them all are the following:

· • Identification of performance improvement opportunities and analysis of what caused the opportunity to exist (gap analysis)

· • Identification of alternative solutions to the opportunity and selection of the most beneficial solution. A training program is one of many possible performance improvement solutions

· • Design and implementation of the solution (training if it is one of the selected solutions)

· • Evaluation of results to determine what, if any, further action should be taken

1-2 Training in Action FIELD Partners with Growers 13

A more knowledgeable workforce is a double-edged sword for unions. On the one hand, union leadership demands that employers provide training for the rank and file to keep them up to date with modern operating methods. On the other hand, union leadership also understands that more knowledgeable workers improve the efficiency of the company, resulting in reductions in the size of the bargaining unit. A major challenge for the future is finding a way for both the company and the union to prosper under intensely competitive conditions, where a knowledgeable workforce is a competitive advantage. Some progress in this area is evident from the development of partnerships between unions and employers to create education and training programs that develop less skilled employees and increase productivity. Even at the lowest levels of the agriculture industry, more knowledgeable workers can improve the bottom line. The Farmworker Institute for Education and Leadership Development (FIELD) serves as an intermediary between management and community organizations and provides direct training to both current employees and potential employees. FIELD was founded by the United Farm Workers (UFW) union to foster the economic and social prosperity of the low-income and low-skill farm workers and their families. Working in partnership with agricultural owners and managers, FIELD provides classroom training, educational literacy programs, and cross training to prepare workers for jobs in agriculture. It also provides training for those already employed, on the basis of employer needs. These programs include upgrading job skills, communication, quality management, leadership development, and conflict resolution. For example, FIELD trained over 900 workers at seven companies in health and safety. FIELD also provides customized training, as it did for Monterey Mushrooms, a California-based distributor of fresh and processed mushrooms with a UFW workforce. The training developed by FIELD reinforced the company’s “be the best” principles and encouraged collaboration and conflict resolution. The company has benefited from the training with higher productivity and fewer accidents.

Each of these steps matches well when placed against the Training Process Model. That is because effective training is a continuous performance improvement process. Training does not stop and start with each program. The training function in organizations continuously searches for performance improvement opportunities, develops and implements solutions, and evaluates the effectiveness of the solutions.

Quality improvement is a key component of most continuous improvement processes. High-quality products and services are necessary to stay in business in today’s competitive markets and thus have high priority for most businesses. This is especially true for businesses that provide products or services directly to other businesses. Typically, these companies must demonstrate the quality of their products through quality systems developed by the purchasing company or by some globally accepted agency. For example, the major automobile manufacturers impose their quality systems on suppliers. The  International Organization for Standardization (ISO) , located in Geneva, Switzerland, developed a set of worldwide standards to ensure  consistency in product quality by all companies that become certified. In general, there are five stages in the certification process:

· 1. Preaudit: assessing how you are doing now

· 2. Process mapping: documenting the way things are done

· 3. Change: developing processes to improve the way things are done to reach a desired level of quality

· 4. Training: training in the new processes

· 5. Postaudit: assessing how well you are doing after the changes and continuing the improvement process

Once certified, there are continuing audits to ensure company compliance with the standards. Thus, training is an important part of attaining ISO certification and is required on a continuous basis to maintain certification. The certification process also helps improve training. A research study showed improvements in TNA, design, delivery methods, and evaluation following certification. 14  This study also found that these companies provided more hours and more types of training and had a larger training budget following certification.

In addition to improved training processes, companies with ISO certification also find the following advantages:15

· • Improved efficiency

· • Higher productivity

· • Better internal communication

· • Improved quality image and market competitiveness

· • Increased customer preference

· • Increased awareness of opportunities for process and quality improvements

· • Reduced costs and improved ability to document quality control processes to their customers

Glen Black, president of the Process Quality Association in Canada, compared ISO-certified companies with those not certified. He found that certified companies are six times less likely to experience bankruptcy, average 76 percent lower warranty costs in customer-discovered defects, and allow 36 percent less bureaucracy within their company structure. 16  A cost comes with achieving these benefits, however. Once the company makes the decision to seek certification, it must be prepared to engage in a substantial amount of training that can be costly. Furthermore, training is only one part of the overall cost, so each business must determine whether the costs of ISO certification are justified by the benefits.

Legal Issues

Equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, sexual harassment, and related legislation have placed legal requirements on businesses regarding specific types of training. You will learn in detail the training issues related to sexual harassment and equity (specifically related to females in nontraditional jobs, the glass ceiling, and the disabled) in  Chapter 10 . In addition, trainers need to be aware of liability issues, copyright infringement, and other legal concerns. The discussion of these issues is not intended to provide technical legal information, but rather to provide a general (and understandable) description of the important legal issues related to training activities.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/EQUITY

In North America, federal, state, or provincial law and associated court rulings provide the complex legal framework within which businesses must develop their HR policies and practices. Even though legislation initially focused on the selection of people into the organization, there are many areas related to training that also require attention. This is especially true as the legal battlegrounds have shifted from employment to career opportunities over the last decade. Since this is not a text on training liability issues, we will address the topic only in a general way. Those wishing a more in-depth coverage might want to read “Avoiding Legal Liability: For Adult Educators, Human Resource Developers, and Instructional Designers.” 17

United States federal law makes it illegal to exclude people from training on the basis of gender, race, age (employees aged 40 or older), and disabilities. Generally, these categories are referred to as “protected,” as they belong to a “protected group.” Employers must make sure that criteria for selecting people into training programs are based on bona fide job requirements (not race, gender, age, etc.). Employees targeted for promotion generally receive training and developmental experiences to prepare them for the new position. The legal issue here is that those in protected classes may claim that they did not receive the training needed to be promoted. In general, the law says that those in protected groups must be given equal opportunity for promotions. If members of a protected group can demonstrate that they have been adversely affected (e.g., fewer promotions, lower pay) because they did not receive training that was provided to those who received those benefits (e.g., promotions), the burden of proof falls on the employer to demonstrate that its practices are job-related and consistent with business necessity. In the case of promotions, a company can avoid such claims by providing equal access to training for all employees in a job classification. Once it is determined that someone in the classification will be promoted, that person can receive additional training to prepare for the new position. The legal issue of equal opportunity then focuses on the selection process rather than the training opportunities.

For employees with disabilities (physical or mental), the employer must not only ensure equal opportunity for training, but also make reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation means making training facilities and materials readily accessible and useable to those with a disability. Depending on the disability, this could include instructional media and/or providing readers. If the training is considered to be related to essential job functions and the disability prevents the person from participating in the training, then, unless undue hardship can be demonstrated, the employer is obligated to provide alternative training that develops the same set of competencies.

Not only do protected groups need equal access to training, they must receive equal treatment while participating in training. This means that the training must provide equal opportunities for learning, practice, and feedback.

REQUIRED TRAINING

Some training is required by law. Failure to provide this training will subject the company to sanctions from the courts or federal and state regulators. For example, the Occupational Safety and Health Act requires employers to provide periodic training on the handling of hazardous materials and the use of safety equipment. Flight crews on passenger airlines must complete a set of mandated training courses. In other cases, courts have ordered companies to provide specific types of training to redress problems identified in court proceedings. Companies that have lost employment discrimination cases have been ordered to provide diversity training, and those losing sexual harassment cases have been ordered to provide sexual harassment training.

In other cases, even though training is not legally required, it makes good legal sense to provide the training. In a 1999 ruling, Kolstad v. American Dental Association, the Supreme Court recognized the good-faith effort of employers to implement and enforce measures to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace. 18 Essentially, the court found that even though an individual might behave in a manner that violated the federally protected rights of another employee, no damages would be awarded if the company was shown to have made a good-faith effort to prevent the activity. One component of such a good-faith effort is to provide training aimed at preventing the illegal behavior. Another component is the implementation of policy and procedure for addressing the behavior, should it occur, and finally, the application of sanctions to individuals found to have engaged in the behavior. We discuss how this is done and provide examples in  Chapter 10 . The number of sexual harassment claims has decreased over the last few years, but the number of discrimination claims of all types has remained steady.

In designing training programs to deal with discrimination and harassment, trainers need to avoid training that itself is discriminating or harassing. For example, in the early 1990s, it was documented that women aircraft controllers who had to walk down long aisles populated by their mostly male colleagues would find themselves subject to jeers and/or sexual comments, and, on occasion, would have their dresses pulled up. After repeated complaints about such behavior, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) arranged for training to be provided to its 8,000 employees. A part of the training involved men walking down a gauntlet of women coworkers, who now did the jeering, sexual commentary, and groping. It was intended that the men get a firsthand understanding of what the women had experienced. One of the male participants was outraged by the experience. He stated that he did not treat others in this manner and did not expect to be treated that way himself. In the program he was accused, as a white male, of being in sexist denial. He complained to his supervisors in the FAA but little was done. Shortly thereafter, he filed a $300,000 lawsuit for sexual harassment. He won, and the FAA’s director of training was fired. 19

LIABILITY FOR INJURY OR ILLNESS

Some types of training programs have the potential to cause physical or psychological injury or illness to participants. For example, some simulations that require trainees to use tools or equipment might cause injury if they are used incorrectly. Training in other instances might involve the use of chemicals that can cause illness if inhaled. In many states, the employer is responsible for financial damages resulting from injuries or illness caused by participation in training. This is true even if the training is provided by an outside vendor. Trainees need to be warned of any dangers associated with training, be trained in methods of preventing the dangers from occurring, and be provided with safety equipment. Employers are also liable for injuries to nonemployees resulting from a poorly or incorrectly trained employee.

CONFIDENTIALITY

An employee’s performance during and at the conclusion of training is confidential in the same manner as other employee information. Thus, if performance in training is to be used in promotion or salary decisions, the employee must be informed that it will be used in that way. Unless permission has been granted, or the trainee is informed prior to training that such discussions would occur, trainers must also avoid discussion of the trainee’s performance with other employees.

COPYRIGHTED MATERIALS

The use of any copyrighted material without the permission of the owner is illegal. If your training vendors infringe on the copyrighted material of others while providing your company with services, your company could be liable for damages. Thus, as the training manager, you would want to make sure that your contract with the vendor required the legal use of any copyrighted materials.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN TRAINING

In 2011, there were a little less than twelve training staff per 1000 employees for midsized companies. 20  To understand the types of career paths training offers, it is necessary to understand how the training unit fits in the organization. This can vary considerably across organizations. For example, large companies typically separate management training and development from the training of the nonmanagement employees. Each of these areas might be further divided into more specialized activities. For example, the employee development area might contain separate units focused on training in customer service, employee orientation, health and safety, and each of the organization’s major operation areas (sales, manufacturing, etc.). If the company is very large, it might also have specialists working in evaluation and research, program design, materials development, and needs analysis. The person in charge of customer service training, for example, would work with specialists in these areas to do the following:

· • Determine the customer service training needs in the organization.

· • Develop training programs to meet those needs.

· • Develop materials to support the instructional methods to be used in the programs.

· • Evaluate the effectiveness of the programs.

FIGURE 1-4 Career Path in HRD

Entry-level positions in a large company’s HRD department are usually at the specialist level. Thus, a new hire with little experience but a good education in the training area could start out as a materials designer or a stand-up trainer, depending on her KSAs. In a large organization, a career path might look like the one shown in  Figure 1-4 . The early rotation through the various specialist positions provides the novice trainer with firsthand experience in all aspects of the training system. When a person has a solid grasp of the system (i.e., how it is “supposed” to work and how it “actually” works), she is able to supervise or coordinate one of the specialist areas. Some large companies also require their HRD personnel to spend time in a line position, to better understand the needs of line personnel. Thus, at some point in the career ladder pictured in  Figure 1-4 , the training practitioner could find himself supervising or working in a line operation for a period of 6 to 12 months, although this requirement is still fairly unusual. Supervisors will often also rotate across specialist areas before moving into a manager’s role, such as manager of employee development. After sufficient experience and success as a manager, the trainer may be asked to assume responsibility for all training and development activity in the organization—the training executive position.

The smaller the organization, the greater the breadth of responsibility each person in the training unit will have. In a medium-sized company, with around 1,000 employees, the HRD activities of employee and management training may not be separated into separate units, but carried out by the same small group of people under the guidance of an HRD manager. Each individual is expected to perform all (or most) aspects of each of the activities. Smaller companies (100–300 employees) may not have an HRD or training department at all. Instead, a single individual may be responsible for all training activities. In even smaller businesses, many of the HR responsibilities, including training, are decentralized out to the line managers. HR departments may consist of only one or two people who handle the core HR activities and act as consultants and facilitators for the line managers in carrying out their HR responsibilities, such as training.

Another career path for a training and development professional is as a member of a training or consulting firm. Requirements here vary greatly. There are a large number of one- or two-person consulting businesses that do training. These people market some core set of knowledge they have acquired through their work experience, education, or both. There are also some very large training or consulting firms that operate on a national or global basis. These firms hire specialists in certain areas such as instructional design, materials development, and evaluation. However, these firms also prefer employees to have several years of experience as well as advanced degrees. Generally, they are able to recruit a sufficient number of applicants who meet the experience and education requirements, because their compensation package is typically much better than that of the smaller firms, although compensation levels vary considerably from firm to firm.

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS AND MEANINGS

The literature in training and development, as in other professional disciplines, is continually evolving. As such, you will often find different meanings attached to the same terms. Thus, it is important for us to be clear about the terms and concepts we are using. It is also useful for you, the reader, to have a good understanding of how terms are commonly used in the field and how they will be used throughout the text.

The basic terms and concepts used throughout the book are defined in the glossary at the end of the book. However, the following terms are the foundation for all that follows, and we need to be clear about meanings at the outset.

Learning

Definitions for learning found in the literature vary according to the theoretical background of the authors. Unless otherwise indicated, the term  learning  in this text means a relatively permanent change in cognition (i.e., understanding and thinking) that results from experience and that directly influences behavior. This definition, of course, reflects our own theoretical assumptions. We will discuss this definition and others at length in  Chapter 3 .

Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes

What is learned can be separated into different categories. Again, how these categories are defined differs according to the source. Historically, organizational psychologists used the acronym KSAs to stand for the terms knowledge, skills, and abilities—the different types of learning outcomes. However, the term attitudes is increasingly being substituted for the term abilities. As it turns out, the definitions given to skills and knowledge, taken together, are not that different from the definition of abilities. Thus, the term abilities is redundant with knowledge and skills. Abilities, for example, are defined as “general capacities related to performing a set of tasks that are developed over time as a result of heredity and experience.” 21 Skills are defined as “general capacities to perform a set of tasks developed as a result of training and experience.” 22  The only difference seems to be whether heredity is involved. The existing scientific evidence suggests that skills are influenced by heredity as well as by experience. Some authors make a distinction by categorizing skills as being psychomotor (behavioral) in nature, whereas abilities are categorized as cognitive. In this case, abilities do not differ from how knowledge is defined. The most commonly accepted definition of knowledge covers both the facts that people learn and the strategies that they learn for using those facts. These are cognitive in nature. Although some would argue that abilities are still distinguishable from knowledge and skills, we believe the distinction to be of minimal value. On the other hand, attitudes are relatively easy to distinguish from knowledge or skills. In addition, it is scientifically well established that attitudes influence behavior, and they are learned. 23  Thus, to our way of thinking, attitudes must be part of any holistic attempt to describe learning/training outcomes.

In this book, the acronym  KSAs  refers to the learning outcomes,  knowledge , skills,and  attitudes . These three outcomes of learning are depicted in  Figure 1-5 . The ways in which the three types of learning occur are interrelated but quite different. We will discuss these in depth in  Chapter 3 . The definitions for the three types of learning outcomes are as follows.

KNOWLEDGE

Knowledge is an organized body of facts, principles, procedures, and information acquired over time. 24  Thus, learning refers to: 25

· • the information we acquire and place into memory (declarative);

· • how information is organized for use, into what we already know (procedural); and

· • our understanding of how, when, and why information is used and is useful (strategic).

Declarative knowledge  is a person’s store of factual information about a subject. Facts are verifiable blocks of information such as the legal requirements for hiring, safety rules, and the like. Evidence of factual learning exists when the learner can recall or recognize specific blocks of information.

FIGURE 1-5 Learning Outcomes

At a higher level is the person’s understanding about how and when to apply the facts that have been learned. This is referred to as  procedural knowledge . It assumes some degree of factual knowledge, because some information must be known about an object or activity before rules for its use can be developed. For example, one could not know when to apply the steps in an employment interviewing process (procedural knowledge) if one does not know the steps (declarative knowledge). Procedural knowledge allows trainees to understand the underlying rationale and relationships surrounding potential courses of action so they can apply their factual knowledge appropriately.

The highest level of knowledge is  strategic knowledge . This is used for planning, monitoring, and revising goal-directed activity. It requires acquisition of the two lower levels of knowledge (facts and procedures). Strategic knowledge consists of a person’s awareness of what he knows and the internal rules he has learned for accessing the relevant facts and procedures to be applied toward achieving some goal. When this type of knowledge is the focus of training or education, it is often called a “learning how to learn” program. For example, Bill has the task of ensuring that the hiring process for his company is both legal and effective at identifying the best candidate for the job. He would have to review and evaluate the various employment procedures to determine which, if applied correctly, would result in the selection of the best candidate and would fit within the law. He would have to have previously acquired procedural and declarative knowledge related to employment law and to effective hiring procedures. He would be using his strategic knowledge to access and evaluate the procedural and declarative knowledge to achieve his goal of a legal and effective hiring process.

SKILLS

Knowledge is a prerequisite for learning skills. A person must know “what” to do and “when” to do it. However, a gap separates knowing those things from actually being able to “do” them. A skill is a proficiency at being able to do something rather than just knowing how to do it. By skills, we mean the capacities needed to perform a set of tasks. These capacities are developed as a result of training and experience. 26 A person’s skill level is demonstrated by how well she is able to carry out specific actions, such as operating a piece of equipment, communicating effectively, or implementing a business strategy.

There are two levels of skill acquisition:  compilation  (lower level) and  automaticity (higher level). These reflect differences in the degree to which a skill has become routine or automatic. When a person is learning a particular skill or has only recently learned it, he is in the compilation stage. Here he needs to think about what he is doing while performing the skill. After a person has mastered the skill and used it often, she has reached the automaticity stage. Here the person is able to perform the skill without really thinking about what she is doing. In fact, thinking about it may actually slow her down. Learning how to play tennis is a good example of the different stages of skill development. When you are first learning to play, you must constantly think about each aspect of hitting the ball, such as where to stand on the court, and so on. Gradually, changes in how you grip the racket and your movement on the court become automatic, and thinking about them actually might reduce your effectiveness. One of the values of “practicing” as a learning technique is that through practice the behavior becomes more automatic.

ATTITUDES

Attitudes are employee beliefs and opinions that support or inhibit behavior. 27  In a training context, you are concerned about employees’ attitudes in relation to their learning the training material and their job performance. The beliefs and opinions the person holds about objects or events (such as management, union, empowerment, and training) create positive or negative feelings about those objects and events. Thus, changing a person’s beliefs or opinions can change the desirability of the object or event. For example, if an employee has positive feelings about a supervisor, those positive feelings are likely to become associated with the employee’s job. If the employee learns from a coworker that the supervisor said negative things about her, job satisfaction is likely to be reduced, even though nothing about the job itself actually changed. What changed is the employee’s belief about the supervisor’s opinion of her.

Attitudes are important to training because they affect motivation.  Motivation  is reflected in the goals people choose to pursue and the effort they use in achieving those goals. Goals and effort are influenced by how a person feels about things related to the goal (i.e., attitudes). Because a person’s attitude influences behavior, attitudes that motivate employees to perform or learn more effectively need to be addressed through training. Do you think Domtar employees immediately embraced the new way of doing business? Were they eager to get involved in making the company more profitable before the training and other changes were implemented? It’s highly unlikely. That is why it is important to address attitudes as well as skills in a training program.

Consider the situation Lockheed Corporation faced about a decade ago. Concerned about the security of their products and product development processes, Lockheed realized that it needed either to significantly increase the current security force (which was costly) or include security in the job descriptions of all employees. Lockheed chose the latter approach, implementing security awareness training and annual security refresher training. The sessions were designed to change employees’ attitudes about their jobs. Employees saw workplace security as part of their individual responsibility rather than the responsibility of only the security department. Five years after the program started, the number of reports of “suspicious incidents” increased by 700 percent. 28   Training in Action 1-3  illustrates the importance of examining not only knowledge and skills, but also attitudes when designing training programs.

Competencies

A  competency  is a set of KSAs that enables a person to be successful at a number of similar tasks. In the broadest sense, a job is broken down into a set of tasks, and the competencies required to perform the job are determined through an analysis of the tasks. A competency is more than just KSAs; it is the ability to integrate and use the KSAs to perform a task successfully. A carpenter, for example, has knowledge about different types of wood, tools and their uses, and types of finishes that can be applied to wood. This knowledge alone will not make that person a good carpenter. The carpenter also might possess a set of skills such as cutting, shaping, joining, and finishing. These skills alone will not make a good carpenter. The carpenter might love working with wood, place a high value on quality, and find great satisfaction working on the details of planning a project. These factors alone will not make a good carpenter. It is the combination of these KSAs and others such as hand–eye coordination, visual acuity, patience, and judgment that allow the carpenter to become proficient. To be successful at carpentry, or at any other occupation, a person must acquire multiple competencies. A trainer can identify the key KSAs that make a master performer successful at a given job and then group these KSAs into appropriate clusters. This provides a broad set of competencies  required for the job. Linking these competencies to a set of behaviors that allow trainers to “know it when they see it” provides a valuable tool for hiring, training, and determining pay rates for the job. We spend a great deal of time discussing KSAs because they are the foundation of competencies. Competencies are useful for understanding how the KSAs combine to influence job performance. The KSAs determine what types of training will improve competencies and, thus, lead to improved job performance.

1-3 Training in Action Training Needs in the Student Registration Office

The offices of the president and provost at a large university were receiving many complaints about the registration office being unresponsive to student problems during registration for classes. The director of registration felt that, because of the high turnover in customer service representatives (CSRs) who handled student problems, most CSRs did not know the proper procedure. The director wanted to initiate training in registration procedures immediately and called in a consultant to help develop and conduct the training.

After listening to the director’s description of what was wanted, the consultant said, “You’re probably right. Of course, we could conduct a training needs analysis to clarify the exact nature of the performance problem.” The director was concerned about the time required for a needs analysis and wanted to get training started right away. However, in agreeing that the needs analysis would determine specific problem areas, the director said, “Okay, do the analysis, but let’s get started on training right away. I want them to know exactly what they are supposed to do.”

The needs analysis revealed the steps and procedures that an effective CSR was required to complete in dealing with an unhappy customer. For example, one of the first steps for the CSR was to identify and clarify the customer’s problem and to acknowledge the feelings the customer was displaying (e.g., anger or frustration) in a friendly and empathetic manner. Once these feelings had been acknowledged, the CSR was to determine the exact nature of the customer’s problem through nonevaluative questioning (i.e., determining the facts without placing blame for outcomes).

Interviews with the CSRs established that they all knew the correct procedure and most could quote it word for word. However, observation of the CSRs at work showed marked differences in how the procedure was carried out. Further analysis of each CSR’s skills in performing these tasks revealed that the primary causes of unsatisfactory performance were low skill levels and inappropriate attitudes. Even though nearly everyone “knew” what to do, some were not good at doing it. Others did not believe that it was important to follow every step. One CSR said, “Hey, if they get their problem solved, what do they care if I acknowledged their feelings?”

Certainly training was required in this case, but not the “knowledge” training the registration director thought was necessary. For those CSRs who lacked the behavioral skill to carry out the procedures, demonstrations and practice sessions with immediate feedback were provided. For those CSRs who had the skill but did not understand the importance of all the procedures, training sessions were conducted in which the CSRs reevaluated their attitudes through various educational and experiential activities.

Training, Development, and Education

The terms training, development, and education are used in different ways by various authors. Here, the terms training and development refer to distinct, but related, aspects of learning. Training is a set of activities, whereas development is the desired outcome of those activities.  Training  is the systematic process of providing an opportunity to learn KSAs for current or future jobs;  development refers to the learning of KSAs. In other words, training provides the opportunity for learning, and development is the result of learning. “Training departments” are now called Human Resource Development departments, and “management training” is called management development. These changes in terminology reflect the change from a focus on the process (training) to a focus on the outcome (development).

Education  is typically differentiated from training and development by the types of KSAs developed, which are more general in nature. While training is typically focused on job-specific KSAs, education focuses on more general KSAs related, but not specifically tailored, to a person’s career or job.

FOCUS ON SMALL BUSINESS

Most business texts, especially those covering human resource management (HRM), focus on medium- to large-sized businesses for a number of reasons, including the following:

· • Research typically requires a larger sample size.

· • Larger firms have the budgets to support research.

· • Policies and procedures are more formalized, thus easier to track.

· • Techniques described in HR texts usually require a formal HR function containing multiple areas of specialization, such as compensation, HRD, selection, and so on.

When small businesses are overlooked, a major component of the economic engine that runs North America is ignored. Small- to medium-sized business firms account for more than 60 percent of the private sector’s contribution to the economy. Most of the workforce is employed at companies employing fewer than 100 people. Almost all businesses (98 percent) employ fewer than 100 employees, and 93 percent employ fewer than 20. No size criterion is universally accepted in the literature for categorizing a business as large or small. We generally use the term  small business to refer to organizations with fewer than 100 employees, but on occasion, we use examples with about 150 employees. Larger companies that employ between 150 and 500 people are usually considered to be medium-sized.

The model of the training process that we present is applicable to both large and small businesses, but the ways in which it is implemented can differ dramatically with the size of the company. One difference is the number of employees that need to be trained. Because larger companies train greater numbers of employees, they must use a more systematic and controlled method of determining what training needs exist. In smaller companies, the owner or president can have a close working knowledge of each employee and his training needs. Another difference is in developing training programs. The smaller business can easily determine what types of training are more or less important to the company’s objectives and can design training accordingly. In larger companies, again, a more systematic and formal approach is needed because the firm’s strategies and objectives are more complex. In larger companies, economies of scale can be obtained if common training needs across the workforce are identified, thus reducing the per-person cost of training. However, a more rigorous approach to identifying needs is required because more employees are involved.

Another difference between large and small companies is that small companies can use less costly and formalized methods for evaluating training because the results are more easily observed. Throughout the following chapters, where applicable, we will have a “Focus on Small Business” section. Here, we will identify strategies and practices that might be more appropriate for the smaller business. Where research results are applicable, we highlight their implications. When research is not available, we offer logic and applied examples.

Summary

Training was described in terms of an open system in which it receives inputs from other parts of the organization and the external environment. That input is transformed by processes in effective training units into output that meets the organization’s needs. Effective training occurs as a set of phases. In each phase, input is acquired, a set of processes are engaged, and output needed for subsequent phases is produced. The training process model provides a visual understanding of how the phases relate to each other. Although the model shows the phases occurring as sequential steps (needs analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation), in fact these phases occur in a dynamic  fashion with feedback from one phase leading to the next phase and recycling through some aspects of the previous phase.

Training faces increasing demands to demonstrate results in terms of return on investment. With these demands come increased opportunities for the training function to influence the direction and operations of the company. In higher-performing organizations, training activities are aligned with the organization’s strategies. The challenge for training units is to align its resources with activities that provide the best match with strategic objectives.

Changing demographics, steadily increasing market competitiveness, high demand for and short supply of knowledge workers, and customer demands for high-quality products and services all challenge companies and their training departments. Companies are becoming more concerned with creating their own talent, as significant losses to the workforce will occur from retirements over the next ten years. Successful companies build their training units to serve as a continuous improvement system and problem-solving tool. Evidence is accumulating that those companies that spend more on training are achieving better financial results. Improved operating methods (such as ISO and increased employee competencies are also resulting in declining union membership. This trend places the leadership of unions in the dilemma of demanding increased training for their membership to ensure job security, while at the same time recognizing that higher-skilled employees allow the company to do more with fewer people.

The legal environment places requirements on the training system in terms of providing mandatory training and ensuring equitable treatment of employees. Training units also have responsibilities for making sure that training is safe for trainees and that the training is consistent with protecting the safety of those with whom trainees come into contact after training. The increased use of outside training vendors requires due diligence to prevent copyright violations.

In large organizations, the training unit is divided into specializations. The most typical entry point into a training career is in a large company as a specialist in one part of the training process (e.g., needs assessment, instructional design). From there, the progression is much like any other functional area with rotation through the different specializations before moving into a managerial position. In smaller organizations, a few people will handle all training responsibilities, while in very small businesses, all HR functions are usually divided among the few people in management-level positions.

Important concepts and terms in the field of training were defined and discussed, including competencies, learning, knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The rationale for substituting attitudes for the “abilities” concept was provided. Though differing opinions exist in the field of training about what constitutes training versus development and education, training in this text will be considered to be the experiences provided to people that enable them to learn job-related KSAs. Education will be considered to be the experiences that enable people to learn more general KSAs that are related to, but not specifically tailored to, a person’s job. Development will be considered to be the learning that occurs as a result of training or education.

Key Terms

· • Actual organizational performance (AOP)

· • ADDIE

· • Analysis phase

· • Attitudes

· • Automaticity

· • Competency

· • Compilation

· • Declarative knowledge

· • Design phase

· • Development

· • Development phase

· • Education

· • Evaluation phase

· • Expected organizational performance (EOP)

· • Implementation phase

· • Instructional Strategy

· • International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

· • Knowledge

· • Knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs)

· • Learning

· • Motivation

· • Open systems model

· • Organizational performance gap (OPD)

· • Outcome evaluation

· • Procedural knowledge

· • Process evaluation

· • Skills

· • Small business

· • Strategic knowledge

· • Training

· • Training needs analysis (TNA)

· • Training objectives

· • Triggering event

Case Questions

1.

How did Domtar’s strategies align with its mission? Explain your answer.

2.

Given the difficulty of organizational change, what factors contributed to the success at Domtar? How did Domtar’s management at all levels contribute to reducing resistance to change? What else might they have done?

3.

What were the major HRD challenges associated with Domtar’s acquisitions and joint partnerships? How were these challenges addressed, and what were the risks associated with these approaches?

4.

Take the critical facts in the Domtar case and place them into the appropriate phases of the training model presented in the chapter. Begin with the triggering event and provide a rationale for why each fact belongs in the phase in which you have placed it.

Exercises

1.

Review the material in  Training in Action 1-3 . Assume that you were hired to develop a training program for these CSRs. Write down what you believe are the four most important KSAs your training must address and your reasoning for selecting these. If done as a group exercise, allow each member of the group to share the KSAs she identified and her reasoning. Then reach a group consensus as to the four most important KSAs and your rationale for including each KSA. Each group will then report to the rest of the class.

2.

In small groups, discuss the training responsibilities of supervisors and managers who are not part of the HRD department. Prepare a list of what those responsibilities might be and a rationale for your choices.

3.

Identify two organizations with different environments and core technologies. Describe what these differences are. Indicate how the HRD strategies of these companies might be similar or different. Provide a rationale for your conclusions based on concepts in the chapter.

4.

Conduct an interview with a small business owner or manager. Get a good understanding of how the company approaches training. What differences do you see between how this company approaches training and what was described in this chapter? What are the reasons for this difference?

Questions for Review

1.

Describe the relationship between the HR and the HRD functions in a large organization. How might a small organization handle the responsibilities of these two areas?

2.

Consider the following problem-solving model. On the basis of the discussion in this chapter, describe how the training process model is or is not consistent with this model.

Problem-Solving Process

· •Define and understand the problem.

· •Determine the cause of the problem.

· •Identify potential solutions to the problem.

· •Select the solution that provides the most benefits for the least cost.

· •Develop an action plan for putting the solution in place.

· •Implement the solution.

· •Evaluate and, if necessary, modify the solution.

3.

What are the significant legal issues that the training unit must take into consideration when conducting training activities? Describe how these issues might create challenges for HRD.

4.

Describe ways in which training units can go about meeting the challenges they face, which were described in this chapter. Provide a rationale for your answers.

5.

Define and provide an example that was not used in the text for each of the following:

· a.Each of the three types of knowledge

· b.Each of the two levels of skills

· c.An attitude

Web Research

Each year a number of companies are identified as the “Best Companies to Work For.” Conduct a Web search to find a company that has recently made the list. See if there is information about the company’s training. Conduct a second search to find any articles that have been written about this company’s training. Write a one-page report summarizing your findings. Include a separate page with your references.