Training and Development and Performance Management

4/29/2020 Print Preview

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?eISBN=9781285872643&id=30222986&snapshotId=116383&dockAppUid=101&nbId=116383& 1/11

LO 4

What training methods have you personally experienced? Which were most effective in your opinion, and why?

Chapter 7: Training and Development: 7.4 Phase 3: Implementing the Training Program—Training Delivery Methods Book Title: Managing Human Resources Printed By: Cedric Turner ([email protected]) © 2016 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

7.4 Phase 3: Implementing the Training Program—Training Delivery Methods

Have you ever sat through a less-than- great training session and thought to yourself, “There has got to be a better way to get this material across.” Perhaps what was lacking was the right training method. Training methods are where “the rubber meets the road” in implementing a training program. Choosing the right one is done by determining which ones are appropriate for the KSAos to be learned. To organize our discussion of various training methods, we have placed them along the learning continuum shown in Figure 7.5—from learning that is very reactive and passive to learning that is very active. For example, if the material is mostly factual or designed to create a shift in employee attitudes, methods such as lecture, classroom, or online instruction may be fine. However, if the training involves a large behavioral or skill component, more hands-on methods such as on-the-job training or a special job assignment are likely to work better. In other words, the method should be matched to the learning outcome you are trying to achieve.

Figure 7.5

Learning Outcomes Differ by Training Method

© Cengage Learning

4/29/2020 Print Preview

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?eISBN=9781285872643&id=30222986&snapshotId=116383&dockAppUid=101&nbId=116383& 2/11

Keep in mind that many of the methods are used to train both nonmanagers and managers, although some are more used predominantly for one group than the other. In addition, multiple training methods are often used in conjunction with different types of learners. Using multiple methods is referred to as blended learning. As Figure 7.6 shows, traditional classroom instruction delivered by lecturers continues to be the number one training delivery method for formally training employees. However, blended learning, which we will discuss shortly, is the second-most commonly used method.

Figure 7.6

Training Delivery Methods

Source: Adapted from “2013 Training Industry Report” Training (November–December 2013): 22–35.

On-the-Job Training

By far the most common informal method used for training employees is on-the-job training (OJT) (A method by which employees are given hands-on experience with instructions from their supervisor or other trainer) . By some estimates, 80–90 percent of employee learning occurs via OJT. OJT has the advantage of providing hands-on experience under normal working conditions and an opportunity for the trainer—a manager or senior employee—to build good relationships with new employees. OJT is viewed by some to be potentially the most effective means of facilitating learning in the workplace.

Although it is used by all types of organizations, OJT is sometimes poorly implemented by training methods because of its informal nature. To overcome these problems, training experts suggest firms develop realistic goals and measures for the training as well as plan a specific training schedule for each trainee. Conducting periodic evaluations after the training is completed can helps ensure employees have not forgotten what they have learned.

Figure 7.7 shows the basic steps of an OJT program. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines uses OJT to train its flight attendants. The airline started a program that places trainees in the classroom for a certain period and then gives them additional training during an evaluation flight. On these flights, experienced flight attendants provide OJT based on a list of identified job tasks. Some tasks, such as serving meals and snacks, are demonstrated during the actual

4/29/2020 Print Preview

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?eISBN=9781285872643&id=30222986&snapshotId=116383&dockAppUid=101&nbId=116383& 3/11

delivery of services to passengers. Other tasks are presented to trainees, away from passengers, between meal service.

Figure 7.7

The PROPER Way to Do On-the-Job Training

Source: Scott Snell, University of Virginia.

An extension of OJT is apprenticeship training (A system of training in which a worker entering the skilled trades is given thorough instruction and experience, both on and off the job, in the practical and theoretical aspects of the work) . With this method, individuals entering an industry, particularly in the skilled trades such as machinist, laboratory technician, and electrician, are given thorough instruction and experience, both on and off the job. For example, Bonneville Power Administration and GP Strategies Corporation developed an apprenticeship program to give employees both a strong technical foundation in the fundamentals of electricity and a hands-on ability to operate equipment within power substations. The program was also designed to help future electrical operators respond to emergencies. Generally, an apprentice is paid 50 percent of a skilled journey worker’s wage to start with, but the wage increases at regular intervals as the apprentice’s job skills increase. When the apprentice successfully completes the apprenticeship, he or she becomes a certified journey-level worker earning full pay.

Apprenticeship programs originated in Europe centuries ago as part of its guild system and are still used extensively there. Germany alone has hundreds of accredited apprenticeships. College students in Germany generally become apprentices too, dividing their time between studying and gaining on-the-job experience. Typically, the programs involve cooperation between organizations and their labor unions, between industry and government, or between organizations and local school systems.

In the United States, tens of thousands of organizations have registered their programs with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeships and state agencies. There are

4/29/2020 Print Preview

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?eISBN=9781285872643&id=30222986&snapshotId=116383&dockAppUid=101&nbId=116383& 4/11

apprenticeships available in a wide range of industries, including construction and manufacturing and the telecommunications, arts, and health fields.

Special Assignments

Special job assignments (discussed in Chapter 5) involve assigning trainees, who are often but not always on managerial tracks, to different jobs in different areas of a firm, often in different regions and countries. In some cases, they are groomed by other managers in understudy assignments to do important job functions. Job rotation and lateral transfers also provide trainees with a variety of hands-on work experiences. Special projects and junior boards give trainees an opportunity to study an organization’s challenges, make decisions about them, discuss what aspects of the projects went right and wrong, and plan and work on new initiatives.

Cooperative Training, Internships, and Governmental Training

Similar to apprenticeships, cooperative training (A training program that combines practical on-the-job experience with formal educational classes) programs combine practical on-the-job experience with formal classes. For example, a student might alternate work at an organization for one semester (for pay) and then go to school the next semester. Many organizations, including Fannie Mae, General Motors Burger King, Champion International, Cray, Inc., and the insurance company UNUM, have invested millions of dollars in educational cooperative training programs in conjunction with high schools and colleges.

Apprenticeships are a good way to recruit and train employees.

4/29/2020 Print Preview

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?eISBN=9781285872643&id=30222986&snapshotId=116383&dockAppUid=101&nbId=116383& 5/11

© runzelkorn/ Shutterstock.com

Internship programs, which we discussed in Chapter 5, are jointly sponsored by colleges, universities, and a variety of organizations. The programs offer students the chance to get real-world experience while finding out how they will perform in work organizations. Organizations benefit by getting student-employees with new ideas, energy, and eagerness to accomplish their assignments. Some universities and community colleges allow students to earn college credits for successfully completing internships.

The federal government and various state governments work together with private employers to sponsor training programs for new and current employees at career centers nationwide that take place at One Stop career centers (sometimes called “Job Service” or “Workforce Development” centers). The One Stop centers were modeled on Minnesota’s successful program to help workers find jobs, help employers find qualified workers, and provide job training and other employment services all under one roof (hence the name One Stop). 3M, Northwest Airlines, Honeywell, and General Mills are just a few of the companies involved in the One Stop program.

Simulations

Sometimes it is either impractical or unwise to train employees on the actual equipment used on the job. An obvious example is training employees to operate aircraft, spacecraft,

4/29/2020 Print Preview

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?eISBN=9781285872643&id=30222986&snapshotId=116383&dockAppUid=101&nbId=116383& 6/11

and other highly technical and expensive equipment. The simulation method emphasizes realism in equipment and its operation at minimum cost and maximum safety.

Southwest Airlines has 10 full-motion 737 flight simulators at its training center adjacent to Southwest’s headquarters at Dallas’s Love Field. During each four-hour training situation in a simulator, a flight crew faces more abnormal flight situations than it would in a lifetime. The Federal Aviation Administration developed a sophisticated simulator to dramatically speed up the training of air traffic controllers, a process that used to take as long as five years. Variables such as wind speed, precipitation, and the number of airplanes to be guided can be adjusted on the simulator to test the ability of trainees. Simulators that represent human patients are being used for medical training.

The distinction between simulators like Southwest Airlines’ cockpits that move and jostle flight crews about and computer-based simulation has blurred. To train its forklift operators, the aluminum company Alcoa uses a computer simulation called Safedock. In the simulation, trainees perform common tasks such as moving loads from one end of a loading area to the other. If a trainee makes a wrong move, he or she instantly sees the consequences: the forklift might end up driving off the dock or crashing into another forklift.

These types of technologies are making it easier to offer training in new and different ways.

Simulations can also be used to help employees and managers make tactical decisions. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has used simulations to help managers better respond to crises. In one computer simulation a chemical cloud engulfs a city, and managers attempt to respond dynamically to the various problems it creates. At Marriott International, a computer program called Business Acumen has been used to train its non- U.S. property-level managers on the finer points of hotel operation. The program simulates hotel operations scenarios such as budgetary decisions.

Simulations do not always require a computer, however. Motorola developed a noncomputer-based managerial simulation called “Equal Employment Opportunity: It’s Your Job” to teach the basic principles of equal employment opportunity. Trainees get caught up in the competitive spirit of a game and at the same time absorb and remember government regulations. They also become aware of how their own daily decisions affect their employer’s compliance with these regulations.

E-Learning

The training methods we just discussed are evolving into what trainers today refer to as e- learning. E-learning (Learning that takes place via electronic media) covers a wide variety of applications such as web and computer-based training (CBT), and social networks. It includes the delivery of content via the Internet, intranets and extranets, mobile devices, DVDs, CD-ROMs, MP3 players, and even “virtual classrooms” found in the gaming platform Second Life.

4/29/2020 Print Preview

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?eISBN=9781285872643&id=30222986&snapshotId=116383&dockAppUid=101&nbId=116383& 7/11

Increasingly, e-learning involves the use of a learning management system (LMS) (Online system that provides a variety of assessment, communication, teaching, and learning opportunities) , which combines a company’s e-learning, employee assessment tools, and other training functions into one electronic tool, often custom built for the firm by software vendors. Using the software, managers can assess the skills of employees, register them for courses, deliver interactive learning modules directly to employees’ desktops when they need or want them, evaluate and track their progress, and determine when they are ready to be promoted.

Purchasing a learning management system does not alleviate HR personnel and the firm’s managers’ responsibility for conducting a thorough needs assessment, however—especially because the systems are costly. After conducting a thorough needs analysis, managers have to then research vendors, ask them to conduct demonstrations, get bids from them, and ultimately choose the type of systems that will work best.

E-learning transforms the learning process in several ways. First, as we have said, it allows the firm to bring the training to employees rather than vice versa, which is generally more efficient and cost-effective. The nuclear power plant industry is a case in point: Nuclear power plant training is frequent and time-consuming. For workers just to remove their protective gear and commute to a separate training venue can take an hour or more. One nuclear power company that switched to e-learning reported that it saved nearly $1 million and 10,000 employee hours in just one year by doing so.

E-learning also allows companies to offer individual training components to employees when and where they need them. Offering employees training when and where they need it is referred to as just-in-time training (Training delivered to trainees when and where they need it to do their jobs, usually via computer or the Internet) . It helps alleviate the boredom trainees experience during full-blown training courses, and employees are more likely to retain the information when they can immediately put it to use. Microsoft’s product experts have created hundreds of short audio and video clips the company’s sales professionals can download onto their mobile devices as they need them. Long training courses pulled people away from making sales, and with so many products continually being launched, it was difficult for them to keep up to date if they had to take frequent training sessions. Also, employees didn’t remember the training if they could not put it to use immediately.

Communities of practice is a type of grassroots training that allows people to share knowledge and collaborate with one another via social networking tools. Blogs and wikis— sites where people can post information as they can on Wikipedia—are examples of the tools used to facilitate learning via the communities of practice method. The U.S. Army has a communities-of-practice site. When soldiers were having problems using a grenade launcher, a unit commander posted a question on the site. Shortly thereafter, someone who had experienced a similar problem posted a simple solution. The Cheesecake Factory restaurant chain trains employees by letting them upload and share video snippets on job- related topics, including how to prepare certain foods and provide good customer service.

4/29/2020 Print Preview

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?eISBN=9781285872643&id=30222986&snapshotId=116383&dockAppUid=101&nbId=116383& 8/11

The consulting firm Accenture has a communities-of-practice site that allows employees to vote for the best answers.

E-learning systems need not be overly expensive. Many e-learning training programs use existing applications employees are familiar with such as PowerPoint, Word, Adobe Acrobat, and audio and video files that can be easily uploaded and viewed or listened to online using computers and mobile devices. Eventually, massive open online courses (MOOCs) could make training even less-expensive for firms. An MOOC is an online course anyone can take. The courses allow people to learn at their own pace, get automatic feedback on how they are doing, and get automatically graded.

Although they have been used primarily in academia, MOOCs are likely to shift how businesses train people—from identifying new recruits to helping their current employees master competencies required for jobs. The global steel manufacturer Tenaris has adopted a MOOC platform to deliver training programs to its tens of thousands of employees worldwide. To help its client companies find web developers with HTML experience, the recruiting company Aquent launched a MOOC. Thousands of people signed up for an HTML course Aquent hosted. A couple of hundred went on to get jobs.

Like other types of online learning, the lack of contact with other people can be a problem for some learners. Some MOOCs allow students to have classroom discussions virtually with other people. Others allow instructors to record audio comments or videos about what’s going on in the course each week.

Behavior Modeling

One technique that combines several different training methods, and therefore multiple principles of learning, is the behavior modeling technique. Behavior modeling (An approach that demonstrates desired behavior and gives trainees the chance to practice and role-play those behaviors and receive feedback) consists of four basic components:

1. Learning points. For example, the learning points might describe the recommended steps for managers to give employees feedback.

2. Modeling. Participants view videos in which a model manager is portrayed dealing with an employee in an effort to improve his or her performance. The model shows specifically how to deal with the situation and demonstrates the learning points.

3. Practice. Trainees then practice the behaviors demonstrated by the models.

4. Feedback and reinforcement. The trainer and other trainees reinforce the behavior with praise, approval, encouragement, and attention. Digitally recording the sessions can also be very instructive.

Behavior modeling seems to work, according to various studies. Military training is a classic example of how behavior modeling can work. Drill sergeants model the behavior expected

4/29/2020 Print Preview

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?eISBN=9781285872643&id=30222986&snapshotId=116383&dockAppUid=101&nbId=116383& 9/11

of new recruits, who, in turn, by emulating them, develop discipline and confidence.

Role-Playing

Role-playing consists of playing the roles of others, often a supervisor and a subordinate who are facing a particular problem, such as a disagreement or a performance problem. Role-playing is used not only for managers, but also to train salespeople to question customers to understand their needs for goods and services. Health care professionals also engage in role-playing to learn to question patients and be empathetic and sensitive to their concerns. Virgin America uses role-playing exercises to help employees lean how to deal with irate or unruly passengers.

Planned and implemented correctly, role-playing can bring realism and insight into dilemmas and experiences that otherwise might not be shared. Computer programs that simulate role- playing have also been developed. Virtual Leader, a product by SimuLearn, is one such program: Management trainees interact with animated “employees”—some of whom are more cooperative than others. The trainees are then given feedback as to how well they applied their managerial skills to each situation.

Coaching

Coaching consists of a continuing flow of instructions, comments, and suggestions from the manager to a subordinate. By contrast, a mentor is usually not an employee’s direct report. Coaching is more than just a flow of instruction though. It is a flow of encouragement and support meant to help people not just do their jobs right and get ahead but become leaders.

Part of coaching involves talking to one’s employees about what their goals are and being excited about their achieving those goals, even if it means good employees will ultimately leave your department and you will have to replace them with new ones and begin the process anew. Once a manager understands the employee’s goals, the manager can design ways to help them grow their skills by taking on new leadership responsibilities, training and mentoring other employees, spearheading projects, and then providing the individual with feedback on how well he or she did.

One way to coach employees being groomed as managers is to allow them to participate in managerial staff meetings. This can help them become more familiar with the problems and events occurring outside their immediate areas and how they are handled by exposing them to the ideas and thinking of other managers. Note, however, that coaching is important for all employees to receive—not just employees who are on managerial tracks. Many top managers as well as rank-and-file employees say that without coaching they would never have accomplished for their organizations what they might have.

Case Studies

A particularly useful method used in classroom learning situations is the case study. The FBI’s Integrated Case Scenario method is used as part of a 16-week training program for all new FBI agents. Using documented examples, case-study participants learn how to analyze

4/29/2020 Print Preview

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?eISBN=9781285872643&id=30222986&snapshotId=116383&dockAppUid=101&nbId=116383& 10/11

(take apart) and synthesize (put together) facts, become conscious of the many variables on which management decisions are based, and, in general, improve their decision-making skills. Figure 7.8 provides a set of guidelines for when and how to conduct case studies.

Figure 7.8

Case Studies

When Using Case Studies …

Decide which goals can best be achieved by using case studies.

Identify available cases that might work or consider writing your own.

Set up the activity—including the case material, the room or place, and the schedule.

Give all participants a chance to take part in the discussions and activities and try to keep the groups small.

Bridge the gap between the theories presented in case studies and how they can actually be put into practice in your organization.

Source: Adapted from Albert A. Einsiedel, Jr., “Case Studies: Indispensable Tools for Trainers,” Training

and Development (August 1995): 50–53

Seminars and Conferences

Seminars and conferences, like classroom instruction, are useful for bringing groups of people together for training and development. In terms of developing managers, seminars and conferences can be used to communicate ideas, policies, or procedures, but they are also good for raising points of debate or discussing issues (usually with the help of a qualified leader) that have no set answers or resolutions. For this reason, seminars and conferences are often used when change is a goal.

Outside seminars and conferences are often conducted jointly with universities and consulting firms. Associations and third-party organizations, such as the American Management Association, the Conference Board, and the Center for Creative Leadership, also offer many different types of management seminars. The construction and mining equipment manufacturer Caterpillar is one company that, in conjunction with an outside consulting firm, has developed a training program to groom new managers so it would have enough of them to effectively run the company by 2020. Caterpillar began with a series of high-level meetings and strategy sessions. Out of those meetings 11 characteristics were identified that the company seeks in its managers and leaders.

4/29/2020 Print Preview

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?eISBN=9781285872643&id=30222986&snapshotId=116383&dockAppUid=101&nbId=116383& 11/11

Blended Learning

Blended learning (The use of multiple training methods to achieve optimal learning on the part of trainees) is a method whereby lectures are combined with other computer and online instruction and the use of audiovisual materials such a slideshows. Video recordings can be used to illustrate the steps in a procedure such as assembling electronic equipment or working with a problem employee. To instruct flight crew trainees, airlines play actual cockpit audio recorded on airplanes involved in accidents. After listening to the recordings, the trainees discuss the behavior of the crew during the crisis. Recordings of trainees themselves can also be used. Golf and tennis coaches frequently record their students to let them see their mistakes.

Frequently, a self-paced learning component (discussed next) is part of blended learning as well. Blended learning is effective because different people learn better in different ways, and it breaks up the tedium of lectures. Figure 7.6 shows blended learning is the second most common way firms deliver training to their employees.

Classroom (Lecture) Instruction

Last, but perhaps not least, is classroom instruction. Why do firms bother to use classroom training in this day and age, you may be wondering? Some of the advantages of classroom instruction relate to motivation and attendance. Have you ever taken a self-paced course that lacked a classroom setting? If so, you might have had a hard time completing it. As one professor put it, “When it comes to learning, just getting to class is half the battle.” In addition, if a trainee experiences problems, a live instructor is generally in the best position to help the trainee.

Classroom training need not necessarily take place in a classroom per se. Electronic Data Systems uses videoconferencing to train its employees wherever they are in the world rather than having them travel to one location. The company conducted a “coaching skills for leaders” program that was disseminated to 1,500 managers in 41 countries via videoconferencing.

Chapter 7: Training and Development: 7.4 Phase 3: Implementing the Training Program—Training Delivery Methods Book Title: Managing Human Resources Printed By: Cedric Turner ([email protected]) © 2016 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

© 2020 Cengage Learning Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may by reproduced or used in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, or in any other manner - without the written permission of the copyright holder.