Adventure Street Co.’s Training Evaluation Process Report

Abstract

Problem

Though being comparatively successful and taking a unique niche in the contemporary realm of global economy, Adventure Street, Co. has been experiencing a significant drop in performance due to the problems related to the increased staff turnover and the lack of a coherent system for employee training and evaluation.

Purpose

The paper is aimed at designing the tool that will allow for evaluating the proficiency of the candidates for becoming a part of the company’s team. Additionally, the method of training, which will allow the staff members to both perform their duties in a timely manner and provide the new recruits with the required training will have to be designed.

Materials

To attain the goals mentioned above, one will have to use the tools such as the Likert scale for developing the assessment tool that will allow for a fair evaluation of the training outcomes. Additionally, the instruments such as IT tools for training and evaluation should be incorporated into the design of the training sessions.

Expected Outcomes

It is expected that the application of the specified techniques will allow for a significant increase in the company’s productivity and the overall performance rates of the new staff members. Moreover, it is anticipated that the program will help address some of the organizational behavior issues that the organization is currently facing by suggesting a new behavioral model for the staff members to comply with.

Types of Outcomes for Evaluating the Training Process

It is assumed that three typical outcomes of the training session can be expected. First and most obvious, the positive results of the training need to be viewed as the expected outcome. It is considered that the candidate’s acquisition of the necessary skills and knowledge is the standard outcome of the training.

Another possible result that the training sessions may end in can be described as the development of an undertrained employee. Though admittedly undesirable due to its obvious disadvantages, such as a low competency level, the need to work on the employee’s skills, etc., the above-mentioned effect of training can be viewed as possible. While presupposing that the manager and the staff members in charge of the training will have to work on the candidate’s skills and abilities during the first several weeks of the actual work, it still involves the possibility of recruiting a skillful employee.

Finally, the threat of the training process failing and the candidate being unable to develop the required skills should be mentioned. The given type of an outcome is clearly the most negative and the least anticipated. Nevertheless, even the given outcome can be viewed as a source of positive knowledge, as its further analysis will help identify the mistakes made in the process and the issues that will have to be addressed (Wilkinson, 2013).

Evaluation Design: Time Series as the Best Choice

The evaluation will be based on the time series principle. According to the existing definition, the specified concept allows for “an intervention and then multiple measures of the dependent variable at various time intervals” (Mertens & Wilson, 2012, p. 325). In other words, the time series framework as the basis for developing an evaluation will help trace the progress of the new staff members as they develop the required skills and acquire the knowledge that will allow them to build experience and become proficient in the production process (Francis, O’Connor, & Curran, 2012).

When it comes to discussing the advantages of the strategy in question, one must admit that the graphic evidence regarding the success of candidates retrieve when comparing the past and he current performance results is what makes the specified design especially favorable. Unfortunately, the tool in question also has its problems, the impressive amount of time that it takes being the most obvious one (Carlsen et al., 2014). Nevertheless, seeing that the company aims at not only training certain skills in its new recruits but also the development of specific qualities that will allow redesigning the organizational behavior patterns and introduce the employees to a new and improved set of corporate values and ethics (Clarke & Bassel, 2013), the design mentioned above is clearly very helpful. It creates the environment, in which a transfer from on model of behavior to another becomes a possibility (Redmon, Mahwinney, & Johnson, 2013). Therefore, it meets the needs of Adventure Street, Co., which needs a reconsideration of its leadership approach, organizational behavior and staff motivation strategies.

Evaluation Process: A Step-by-Step Instruction

In order to access the progress that the new recruits of the organization have made, one will have to consider the evaluation tools such as the training manual, which the results of the tests will be compared to. To be more exact, the manual will describe the characteristics, qualities and skills that the staff will have to possess. Additionally, the level of proficiency in the specified skills will be identified. For instance, it is crucial that the new recruits should be able to acquire the skill of painting toys in mini-series manually comparatively soon and that they could paint five toys per hour. Seeing that the toys in the specified series are composed of a range of elements that need to be painted separately, it will be crucial to teach the staff to use the corresponding tools in a manner as efficient and expeditious as possible (Caputo, 2015).

The evaluation process, therefore, will presuppose that the development of the required qualities or the lack thereof should be identified in the staff and applicants. The test should be viewed as the means of not only pinpointing the current stage of the employee’s development but also the means of assessing tthe progress that the staff member in question has mad.

Training Schedule: Essential Stages

The first assessment of the trainees’ skills will be carried out in three working days; thus, the employees will be able to take turns and the key operational processes will not be disrupted. The first stage of the assessment will involve the evaluation of the staff’s professional skills; particularly, the speed of assembling and painting toys, the average number of mistakes that the employees make, etc. will have to be tested (Mandahawia, Fouad, & Obeidat, 2012). The remaining two days will be spent on evaluating the results that the staff members will have delivered. The next stage of the evaluation will involve the assessment of the processes related to communication. To be more exact, the staff will be tested on the use of the appropriate communication techniques and tools. The given stage will take approximately three working days. The results of the test will be processed in the remaining two days. Finally, the leadership skills of the managers along with the staff’s understanding of the key principles of subordination will be assessed.

The training itself will take roughly three months. Every month the staff members will be provided with lectures and practical assignments on a corresponding topic. During the first month of their training, the staff will learn about the ways of improving their professional skills and acquiring new and essential ones that will help them excel in their performance. On the second month of training, the leaders of the program will shed some light on the communication issues, particularly, the means of addressing the conflicts that occur in the workplace, the tools for solving them, etc. Moreover, the staff will be introduced to the new values and ethical principles of the organization. The staff members will be provided with specific ethical dilemmas that they will have to find an adequate solution to based on the company’s principles. Finally, the leadership issues and the problems regarding the distribution of roles and responsibilities will be addressed.

The training will end with an assessment similar to the one that will have been carried out prior to the start of the training. The same Likert-type scale will be used to evaluate the staff’s idea of the corporate values, their ability to perform the tasks according to the new standards adopted by the organization and base their decisions on the ethics, and their understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

Evaluation Outcomes: The Desired Results

It is expected that the training process will allow for recruiting new staff members and helping them become competent in their job. In other words, the training process should be viewed as an investment in the human resources of the organization. It is assumed that the training will provide the organization members with not only the ability to improve their professional skills but also the incentive for further self-directed learning (Holt et al., 2013).

In addition, it is assumed that the training process will help the staff rearrange their priorities as far as their professional duties are concerned, and accept new ethical values along with the new principles of organizational behavior promoted by the company leader. The staff is supposed to realize in the course of training that, to be a part of the Adventure Street’s team, they will have to accept the values and ethical standards that the organization views as the foundation for its operations. Moreover, the employees will have to use the specified standards and values as the foundation for the company-related decision-making processes:

Contemporary professionalism might need to be underpinned by a professional identity that is about knowing what one stands for and, closely linked to this, is professionalism which is taking responsibility for one’s action. Professional identity formation means becoming aware of what matters most in practice, what values and interests shape decision making. (Trede, 2012, p. 163)

In other words, it is essential that the staff members should recognize themselves as valuable and competent people, who are able to move forward by acquiring new knowledge and skills. Thus, they will be able to grow personally and professionally. Consequently, they will learn to acquire new knowledge and train new skills not for the sake of the company but for themselves and their further progress.

Moreover, it is believed that the aforementioned training program will improve the quality and efficacy of the communication process. First and most obvious, a significant drop in production defects caused by misunderstanding will presumably occur as the staff members finish their training. The number of workplace conflicts will also presumably drop as a result of teaching staff the basics of communication and the means of avoiding misunderstanding and confrontation. Therefore, the overall productivity of the staff is also expected to grow as a result of the training to be carried out.

Sample Reaction Measure: Locating Possible Issues

Apart from the evaluation of the progress that the employees will have made in terms of their professional skills and competencies, the staff’s overall reaction and impressions will be measured with the help of a Likert-type questionnaire. The questions will include the evaluation of the staff’s attitude towards the process of training, i.e., their impressions. The employees will have to explain whether they perceive the training process as positive, negative or having no significant effects on their professional life. The questionnaire under analysis will also include the questions concerning the information that the staff members consider the most valuable.

1. The training sessions have provided me with the information that I had no idea about before.
2. I feel more knowledgeable and enthusiastic after the training sessions are over.
3. The training has helped me feel more certain about my value as a professional.
4. I have reconsidered my values after the training an am going to adopt my new set of values in the workplace.
5. I will aim at not avoiding conflicts in the workplace, but solving them productively.
6. After the training course I feel that I will be able to advance the process of information transfer froma different angle.
7. I will use specific techniques learned during the course to improve the information management process.
8. The materials that I was supplied with during the course helped me define my further strategy in the workplace.
9. Owing to the course, I am capable of understanding what my past mistakes and poor choices were, as well as defining the right course of actions in a specific situation at present.
10. After the course, I have a clearer idea of what my roles and responsibilities are.
11. I believe that the newly acquired information will help me meet the obligations that I have as a member of the company and play the roles that I am assigned within the company.

Reference List

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