Information Abstract
Staff development and training, remains a major strategy used in enhancing the effectiveness of employees in various companies and organizations around the world.
This is usually spearheaded by the HR department to motivate employees and enhance their production. While this is the case, very few business owners invest in developing their employees in different departments. Among other reasons, staff development and training is essential in sharpening and retaining of skills in employees. It also allows the introduction and development of new skills, based on the changing labor needs and market trends.
This can be achieved by engaging the services of firms, which specialize in employee training and development. Companies that do not develop and train their employees are more disadvantaged and cannot achieve quality performance in a competitive business environment.
Introduction
Definition, Description and Background
Most expert concur that training is a primary aspect of promoting employees’ productivity in any given organization through social, physical, and intellectual wholesomeness. On the other hand, knowledge denotes the relevant skills, information, and ability, which is needed by staff members to ensure that they perform their roles effectively, thus promoting high productivity (Carsen, 2005).
Training and development of employees is based on the fact that human resources are considered to be the most effective assets in a given business organization, and have to be equipped and shaped towards the needs of the organization in order to realize pinnacle performance.
While staff training and development may not be given the attention it deserves by most organizations, it is important to note that the success of any firm solely relies on the effectiveness of people within the organization, in connection with how they perform their roles.
It therefore follows that employees can only perform as expected by a company when they have the relevant skills and knowledge (Carsen, 2005). By aligning the needs of a firm with the skills of the staff, an organization may find it easier to realize its goals without straining and with minimum spending of its resources. It is therefore the role of the human resource manager to identify the needs of employees for establishing a training and development program for professional empowerment.
Importantly, an evaluation of the program is highly recommended for the purpose of establishing the effectiveness of the approach in meeting the training needs of the staff at any given moment. This can be achieved through surveys conducted among staff members as a way of establishing their perception towards the exercise and its relevance in their various positions at work.
Principally, training is viewed as the pillar of human resource development. On the other hand, human development is perceived in the context of expanding the choices of the staff, which are essential in accomplishing their roles in different positions. Moreover, the roles assigned to employees can be infinite and bound to change from time to time (Adegoke, 2011). In this context, the scope of employee development goes beyond the expansion of a company’s income and wealth.
Purpose of the Report, and Intended Audience
This analytical report will focus on the need for developing and training the staff of Excel Communication Co. To achieve this, the paper will give a detailed synthesis of the sales proposal, which targeted the training and development of Excel Communication employees.
The report will be divided into various segments, addressing the objectives of the proposal from different points of view. For instance, the report will cover the methods of inquiry, which were employed during the training and development program at Excel Communication Company. Moreover, the report will give an overview of the limitations of the study, with regards to ways in which the program could not help the company in the training and development of its employees.
Besides these elements, the report will seek to identify and explain some of the working definitions, which may have been used during the exercise, for the purpose of making it successful. The scope of the inquiry will outline the limits within which the survey was conducted in order to gather relevant data and information concerning training and development. These will include the methods used to collect the information and reasons why a given section of the company was targeted.
The analysis will also make conclusions, regarding the inquiries, which were made during the training program. Apart from these segments, the analytical report will cover two topics of investigation, which will mainly address the need and benefits of carrying out a training and development program for a company. Under these topics, the report will cover definitions, findings, and interpretation of findings.
With regard to the intended audience, the report targets the entire management of Excel Communication Company, its employees, and other stakeholders involved in the management of the firm. The management and stakeholders will have to be informed about the benefits of training and development of employees.
This knowledge will ensure that the management supports such programs, since they have cost implications, which have to be met by the company. Informed management ensures that a company adopts programs, which allow continuous improvement of the knowledge and skills of employees at any given moment of the year. On the other hand, the report will target employees of Excel Communication Co. for them to appreciate the role of such programs in sharpening their skills for improved efficiency while working in different positions.
Methods of Inquiry
During the implementation of the training and development exercise, various methods of inquiry were used in finding relevant information and data among employees and the management. For instance, 360 Degrees Career Developers held successful interviews with the management and representatives of employees in order to address the needs of the company.
Through these interactive sessions, it was possible for 360 Degrees Career Developers to understand the perception of the company towards equipping its workers with better skills and knowledge. Additionally, questionnaires were used, where specific questions were posed to employees and the management, based on various issues related to employee training and development.
Lastly, 360 Degrees Career Developers held open forums with all the concerned parties, as a way of understanding the impact of training programs, their frequency, and future planning. The following questions were asked:
- How important is employee training?
- Have you been trained before?
- Is employee performance related to training?
The results, which were obtained, will be analyzed in other segments of this analytical report.
Limitations of the Study
While this training program was essential in promoting effective company performance, it is worth noting that it was limited in certain areas. For instance, it lacked the capacity to prevent employees who had already made up their mind to move to other organizations. In other words, some employees went through the program but decided to resign from their positions to work in different companies.
This was a big disadvantage to Excel Communication Co. because it will have to hire other employees to take up the positions, which were left as a result of such departures.
Besides hiring, the company will also take them through a training program to equip them with knowledge and skills to enable them fit in the positions and perform the tasks productively. The errors in the data collected from employees also limited the effectiveness of the program since some respondents did not give accurate information during interviews and answering of questionnaires.
Additionally, the program was limited by the culture of Excel Communication Company. Despite the fact that, 360 Degrees Career Developer specializes in empowering employees, it does not affect the culture of a firm. As a result, the program did not alter traditions of the company, which may have been an obstacle towards effective performance.
Working Definitions
There were no working definitions during the training and development program of Excel Communication employees. In other words, 360 Degrees Careers Developers used a simple e and universal language to accommodate every employee of the company. This was necessary in explaining ideas and imparting employees and the management with relevant skills and knowledge that would make them more effective in performing their tasks.
Scope of the Inquiry
The inquiry mainly involved all the employees of Excel Communication Co. in order to equip them with relevant skills and knowledge to propel them to higher levels of performance. By focusing on the employees, 360 Degrees Careers Developers ensured that the workers are well-trained in handling the emerging issues in the business market.
Moreover, the inquiries also targeted managers of the company, for them to appreciate the importance of having regular training and development programs for workers. To make this inquiry effective, 360 Degrees Careers Developers worked closely with the human resource department, which played a major role in presenting the needs of workers.
Conclusion of the Inquiry
From the inquiry, which was done, it was clear that Excel Communication employees needed training and development empowerment and make them relevant to the company. The inquiry was successful in establishing the needs of employees before launching the training program.
The inquiries were also paramount in assessing the cost of the training by determining the required facilities and resources, which were needed in order to achieve the set targets of the program. The inquiry also helped in setting goals that would be vital in future employee training and development programs.
Collected Data
It is important to note that data was collected to ascertain the needs of employees of Excel Communication Company. The data mainly focused on how employees view training and development of their skills. More than 80% percent of employees believed in continuous training programs as a way of sharpening their skills. However, about 20% argued that they needed minimal training since they had professional skills and knowledge, required to perform assigned duties by the company management.
The data also revealed that the company had organized training programs before, even though they had not delivered quantifiable results. The data also included the company’s training program and its view towards nurturing talents through employee-training, as illustrated below:
With regards to perforamce, 80% of the employees agreed that their output was directly related to training as shown below:
First topic for investigation
During the investigation, two topics were considered. This segment analyzes the first topic, which was based on the need for staff training and development. This topic was important in establishing reasons why companies like Excel Communication require training programs for their employees. According to the investigation, training was essential in augmenting the efficiency of workers through different various spheres of wholesomeness, including, social, intellectual and physical.
Knowledge refers to important ability, skills and, and information that is required by employees of a given company to allow them to perform their roles effectively, with the aim of promoting the overall performance of the firm (Adegoke, 2011). While this is the case, it was also found that training and development was crucial, since employees played a major role in determining the company’s performance.
On the other hand, employee development ensures that current skills are refined as new ones are also acquired for the purpose of promoting the productivity of a company. This is also accompanied with proper planning activities, which are career-oriented. Moreover, employees need mastery skills in order to attend to assigned duties successfully without difficulty or errors. Whilst these skills are important, workers also need professional development skills, which do not necessarily fall within the job description of an employee.
These skills are important because they play a role in improving the efficiency of an individual, even though the impact may not directly be related to a person’s career, but may enhance the improvement of acquired skills for better results. Importantly, companies ought to underscore the fact that career development is a continuous process, which can only be well-implemented through managerial support and the realignment of performance goals and activities.
This is based on the fact that managers are usually better placed to offer guidance derived from observations and feedback obtained through performance analysis (Adegoke, 2011). As a result, formal training is paramount in imparting employees with new information for the sake of improving the performance of a company.
Nevertheless, old employees equally need new skills even though they may possess competitive knowledge and skills in performing their tasks. Based on this understanding, it is the role of the human resource management to implement training and development programs, and support them in order to realize pinnacle performance.
From the investigation, most companies carry out training and development of their employees because of various reasons. For instance, employee training occurs when new workers have been employed to join the labor force of a given company (Carsen, 2005). Besides this, continuous development of employees occurs even when employees have professional skills to perform their tasks.
These approaches play a crucial role in equipping employees with relevant skills and in sharpening existing ones in order to promote excellent performance. It therefore follows that every company may adopt a unique training process, depending on the needs of its labor force at a given time.
When new employees are hired, it is essential to train them, regardless of their professional qualifications and abilities. This usually takes different formats, depending on the structures and procedures followed by an individual company. Training at this point allows new workers to witness how certain tasks are done in a different environment (Olaniyan & Ojo, 2008).
On the other hand, development of old employees is highly recommended even when the required skills have been mastered and perfected by employees. This is based on the fact that most employees lose up to forty percent of the knowledge, which is acquired during initial stages of training, thus creating the need of continuous refinement of these skills.
Even though Excel Communication believes in employee training and development, previous programs had not yielded encouraging results. This was largely based on the fact that the company had not established the needs of its employees before carrying out the exercise. As a result, most of the areas covered were irrelevant in improving the performance of workers.
Additionally, previous trainers did not have enough experience in the market and failed to handle various issues, which were essential in employee training and development. It was easy for 360 Degrees Career Developers to achieve its objectives because of its reputable experience in the field of training and its prior research in determining the needs of Excel Communication Company. This played a major role in winning the trust and the confidence of the management and the trainees during the entire exercise.
Second topic for investigation
Benefits of employee Training and development
Employee training and development has a wide-range of benefits to employees and the company. Most of these benefits usually range from cost effectiveness to efficiency in the performance of various tasks. For example, dealing with employees who are unskilled exposes a company to extra costs (Olaniyan & Ojo, 2008).
This is because of the inefficiency and low morale, which is commonly associated with untrained workers. While this is the case, it was found that the success of most leading companies heavily depended on skilled and trained employees. Unlike untrained workers, employees who have relevant knowledge and skills may require minimal supervision, thus lowering the cost of production.
From the investigation, it was further revealed that training and development played a major role in helping workers to realize their professional potential. This aspect is essential in not only promoting the efficiency of workers but also augmenting high productivity of a company (Saks & Haccoun, 2011). The human resource department revealed that the company had registered tremendous performance whenever it had a successful training and development program for its employees in the past.
Additionally, our investigation revealed that employee training and development gave employees the morale of working for a company for a longer time. Due to poor training programs, Excel Communication had registered a low employee retention percentage. In other words, employees were not comfortable working for the company because of poor morale.
Additionally, it was noted that trained employees belonged to the company more than unskilled ones. As a result, the former group of employees was more willing to work for the company effectively and for a longer time as compared to untrained workers.
Apart from these factors, employees at Excel Communication affirmed that training was necessary in order to equip them with advanced technological skills due to ever-changing innovations. It is doubtless that technology has become vital in determining the performance of companies (Saks & Haccoun, 2011). However, this largely depends on how employees are trained in applying technological skills.
Summary of Findings and Recommendations
In general, training and development is important in promoting the performance of a company through improved efficiency in performing various tasks. Moreover, trained and untrained employed have to go through these programs even though professional employees require minimal training.
It was also found that poor training and development of employees of Excel Communication had largely contributed towards its poor performance in the business world. In order for a company to remain relevant in the market, training and development of employees is paramount. This program has to be continuous in order to equip employees with relevant skills. Additionally, it is the role of the human resource to carry out surveys in order to establish the needs of employees.
References
Adegoke, B. (2011). Effect of Training on Employees’ Productivity in Public Service Organization. Santa Cruz: GRIN Verlag.
Carsen, J. (2005). Mr. How-To: Employee Retention. Illinois: CCH Incorporated.
Olaniyan, A., & Ojo, L. (2008). Staff Training and Development: A Vital Tool for Organizational Effectiveness. European Journal of Scientific Research, 24(3), 326-331.
Saks, A., & Haccoun, R. (2011). Managing Performance Through Training and Development. Connecticut: Cengage Learning.