Abstract
Many organizations have often used on-the-job training to equip their recruits with the required competencies, skills, and knowledge for the job. On-the-job training involves the use of skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced employees to train new employees or employees with inadequate skills, knowledge, and experiences in certain aspects of the job.
Managers and supervisors may perform on-the-job training in an informal manner. Generally, studies have shown that effective approaches to on-the-job training could equip employees with the required skills, attitude, and knowledge. In addition, it could help new employees to acquire organizational culture and good work habits.
Introduction
On-the-job training (OJT) refers to teaching skills, knowledge, and competencies to new employees to allow them to perform their jobs at the workplace effectively. In most cases, OJT has relied on regular and available workplace tools and techniques, such as, employees, knowledge, skills, documents, and other relevant resources in order to allow employees to learn and perform their roles well at the workplace.
This paper explores tools and techniques, which are necessary for effective OJT as an alternative form of employee training at the workplace.
Tools and Techniques for On-the-Job Training
Several studies have demonstrated that OJT is a critical part of workplace learning, which has not received the required attention (Walter, 2000; Klink and Streumer, 2002). Effective use of tools and techniques for OJT can enhance performance and competence in employees (Khan, Khan and Khan, 2011). Employees can gain core aspects of a workplace like actual work methods and social aspects of the workplace.
While research on OJT has not gained prominence, previous works have indicated that there were both structured and unstructured OJT. It is the structure of OJT that can describe many forms OJT can assume in an organization. Hence, there are clear differences between structured and unstructured OJT approaches.
Structured and effective OJT has proved to be the most effective form of teaching employees because they acquire practical experiences with specific tools used in an organization on a daily basis (Rothwell and Kazanas, 1990).
As a result, OJT has been widely used in both small and large organizations, particularly in the manufacturing sector. The trainee may follow the experienced manager or worker for several days as he or she learns skills required for the job. The approach is usually one-on-one, but the trainee has the opportunity to learn several different aspects of the job as possible.
Usually, OJT involves learning that takes place by observing and imitating what others do. The supervisor may provide feedback, but there are few instances in which the trainer may refer to training manuals or organizational documents. Usually, OJT involves orientation of new recruits, but firms may also use it to meet certain goals. First, employees can use OJT to advance their skills in cases of new technologies and work techniques.
Second, OJT has been effective on cross-training workers within the same units of the organization. Third, organizations have used OJT to orientate employees from other departments. Other firms have used it as way of transferring and managing knowledge resources.
Past studies indicate that planned OJTs have been effective, but these are usually Job Instruction Training (JIT). This form of OJT had significant impacts on productivity upon its introduction. The process requires analysis of gaps in every task, and then the supervisor guides the trainee through all the required stages. These stages may include seven areas:
- Demonstrating to a trainee how to perform a certain task
- Providing explanations through specific work points
- The trainee watches the supervisor as he or she performs the task
- The trainee takes part in performing simple aspects of the task
- The supervisor assists the trainee to perform the entire task
- The trainee takes turn to perform the entire task on his or her own (the supervisor should provide praise and note areas of improvement, and provide required feedback)
- The trainee works independently on the task
Organizations have used OJT to meet basic skills requirement at workplaces. In addition, they have also used OJT to develop aspects of organizational cultures and performance required from newly recruited employees. Still, firms have used OJT to provide onboard information to new employees.
A study by Klink and Streumer showed that the OJT programs were “only partially successful in realizing training goals” (Klink and Streumer, 2002).
They noted that OJT training effectiveness required factors like “self-efficacy, prior experience with tasks, managerial support, and workload” (Klink and Streumer, 2002) because these were the most powerful indicators of its effectiveness. Overall, these researchers noted that OJT was not an effective method of training employees, but they cautioned that further studies were necessary to ascertain their findings.
One major challenge of OJT is that it consumes much time when not planned properly. This also happens because the knowledgeable trainer must take time out from his or her normal schedules and engage in training. This has been a challenge in situations where employees must meet strict deadlines. Structured OJT would also require time for planning and evaluating feedback.
In most cases, supervisors or managers may not be the right person to offer on-the-job training programs. Skills and knowledge required may be technical, but the trainer may not possess competencies for such training. The use of jargons by experienced trainers may hinder effective transfer of knowledge. Still, the trainer must be cautious in order to avert possible acquisition of unwanted work habits or transfer unrelated contexts to the new employee during training.
On this note, structured OJT with the necessary tools and techniques could be an effective method of training employees. However, this approach should take into account unique aspects of a given organization. In this regard, firms must develop a training plan, training objectives, time required, and evaluation methods of OJT effectiveness.
The approach could be uniform in a given department. Moreover, trainers must have the required experiences and expertise in order to guide employees who possess different levels of expertise and skills in their areas.
While firms may adopt unstructured OJT, they may later change to a structured OJT approach as the job demands. Generally, HR trainers have recommended the use of structured OJT. This ensures that trainees get the required skills in an elaborate, clear, and a fair manner. In addition, structured OJT can indicate how effective the approach has been on the trainee. This can facilitate changes whenever there is a need to do so.
Diane Walter observes that some specialized industries like the aviation industry requires structured OJT training programs (Walter, 2000). Trainers in these fields have developed team-driven structured OJT. These models aim to offer to thorough and highly structured training programs that can apply in any maintenance environment. Moreover, it can enhance teamwork, coordination, morale, and attitude of trainers and trainees.
Effective tools and techniques for OJT must inculcate some human factors during training. These include communication, decision-making, conflict management, and teamwork. Structured OJT helps to develop confidence, high opinion, self-esteem, and facilitate sharing of knowledge and responsive behaviors among employees. This shows that a structured OJT can be effective when it accounts for human factors and task requirements.
Tools and techniques for OJT should identify needs of the trainee, job targets, and verification of training approaches, evaluation methods, and qualification of the trainer, evaluators, and auditing systems. There are four major techniques, which organizations could use to enhance effectiveness of OJT.
First, coaching has been an effective corrective approach to training and developing inadequate skills among employees. The trainer must define what the trainee requires in order to improve performance. The method involves understanding trainees’ skills, knowledge, attitudes, and resources needed to achieve the desired outcomes.
The process of determining trainee’s needs is mutual and is usually convenient for both the trainer and the trainee. It is imperative to observe and offer feedback to the new employee after training. Several sessions with the new employee would result in performance improvement. In some cases, firms may hire outside coaches, but a personalized approach is effective for tackling specific needs of the trainee.
Second, mentoring relationships between managers and their juniors can offer the required guidance and serve as an approach to OJT. New employees can understand the vision of the firm from their mentors. Mentors must develop their protégés’ attitudes and incorporate one-on-one interaction for effective skill development.
Third, Job Rotation Technique can be an effective form of OJT within a department. The aim of a job rotation is to expose other employees to understand how different units operate. A job rotation would allow trainees to broaden their knowledge and skills in different areas because of working in several departments and geographical areas.
It is effective for mapping skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed in a given department. In addition, organizations have used job rotations to identify skill gaps in different departments and assess trainees or employees who can fill such gaps.
Finally, Job Instruction Technique (JIT) focuses on the development of trainees’ skills, knowledge, and attitude. JIT requires a clear plan with all detailed training requirements, which both the trainer and trainee must understand as necessary. The plan ensures that the trainer captures all the required points through a critical need analysis.
JIT requires a comfortable training environment, which may include the required training materials, orientation, and adequate time to understand training contents. The trainer also presents different aspects of the job to the trainee while the trainee learns how to perform various aspects of the job. Trainees must provide explanations as they demonstrate and highlight key points of the job.
After the presentation, JIT also has a trial process for the trainee. The trainee must engage in the actual work and gets immediate feedback from the trainer. The trainer may also use this process to improve on the method of presentation. The final stage of JIT involves follow-up for skills improvement and feedback.
Conclusion
On-the-job training is a rampant form of training in organizations. However, past studies indicate that tools and techniques used in OJT have not been effective due to unstructured methods used by trainers. Conversely, structured OJT can be effective form of training in organizations.
References
Khan, R., Khan, F., and Khan, M. (2011). Impact of Training and Development on Organizational Performance. Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 11(7), 1-7.
Klink, M., and Streumer, J. (2002). Effectiveness of on-the-job training. Journal of European Industrial Training, 26(2-4), 196-199.
Rothwell, W., and Kazanas, H. C. (1990). Planned OJT is Productive OJT. Training & Development Journal, 44(10).
Walter, D. (2000). Competency-based on-the-job training for aviation maintenance and inspection – a human factors approach. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 26(2), 249–259.