Introduction
Employees in an organization learn new skills and knowledge for both personal and organizational benefits. Training and development provides the same outcome using different methods. Managers in the organization use development and training to improve on the employee’s performance through learning.
Differences between the concept of training and development
Training is a process used by organizations to improve employee performance and to help them learn new information. Trainings are organized and they usually cover specific topics as planned by the management. Workshops and seminars are some of the events used for group trainings.
Training enables people to improve on knowledge and skills and to learn new ideas that improve effectiveness in the workplace (Craig, 1996, p.996).
A good training provides useful information that contributes to the development of skills and knowledge used in the workplace. Ideas leant in training are useful in improvement of job performance. Through concept learning and presentation, training improves workplace behaviors and enhances skill development.
Development on the other hand is the process used by organizations to create and sustain change in the workplace. It is a systematic process because it seeks to improve on the already working employees. Example of employee development is when an experienced employee helps a new employee to go about a specific job. A manager may decide to coach new employees on the job s/he wants done.
Development in the workplace is evident when employees in an organization decide to rotate job responsibilities with the aim of learning more. It involves the process used by employees to gain more experience in the workplace.
The main difference between the concept of training and development is that development is a broad term, which includes training as a method of encouraging employees. The activities involved in development are different from the activities involved in training.
Both development and training give the same results using different methods. For example, if a manager wants to improve the employee’s ability to work with an accounting package, training is the appropriate thing to do. The manager may want the same employee to understand another job in a different department. To achieve this, the manager will apply development using job rotation.
Training and development use different periods because training focuses on current issues where employees learn new skills and abilities that help them to perform their jobs. Development on the other hand prepares employees in an organization for future responsibilities and it may take a longer period.
The process of a performance improvement plan
A performance improvement plan is a process used by the management and the supervisors to help individuals improve on their behavior in the workplace. Supervisors, through performance improvement plan, identify behavior and performance issues that need to be improved and then writes a plan to guide on the corrective and improvement actions.
Documentation of employee’s performance
Employee performance documentation opens the process where the supervisor usually does documentation and s/he identifies the areas that need improvement. Documentation provides examples and facts that clarify specific areas that need correction and improvement.
Action plan
The second step in the process of the process is for the supervisor to develop an action plan. The action plan gives improvement details and it includes specific objectives and goals. Smart goals are the objectives included in the action plan by the supervisors and such goals should be relevant and accurate.
Review on the performance improvement plan
Before meeting with employees, supervisors, after preparing the performance improvement plan, should meet with managers to review the document. The supervisor can either review the plan with the human resource professional or the manager. The manager or the human resource professional acts as a third party and s/he is supposed to ensure that the document is clear, reasonable and can be accomplished within the stipulated time.
Meeting with employee
The supervisor holds a meeting with the affected employees to discuss about the document. The work of a supervisor in this stage is to show employees areas that need improvement and to lay out the action plan. After discussion, the supervisor may modify the action plan based on the feedback given by the employee, before they both sign the form.
Progress
The supervisor and the employee should have follow up meetings, which may be held monthly or weekly depending on their agreement. During the meetings, the employee gets an opportunity to ask questions and they both document and discuss the progress towards the objectives. It is the duty of the supervisor to make sure that the necessary tools needed by the employee are available.
Conclusion
Conclusion of the performance improvement plan depends with the employee’s action. In case the employee refuses or is unable to improve, the employer closes the performance improvement plan and termites the employment. However, if the results are positive whereby an employee is in a position to achieve the specified goals, the employer concludes the improvement plan and the employee can go on with his/her work.
How the results of a performance improvement plan determine training needs for employees
Results of the performance improvement plan can be either positive or negative. Negative results show that the employee does not improve because he or she refuses to commit to the performance improvement plan. In such a scenario, the incrimination rests not on the organization but on the employee.
Other results may show that the employee has shown some improvement but has not been able to achieve some objectives in the action plan. The supervisor and the management then seek to know why the employee has not achieved the objectives within the timeline and determine how to help the employee to improve on the same.
The supervisor may decide to add more time for the employee to meet the objectives if the employee has tried his/her best but is unable to meet one or several objectives.
If the supervisor determines that the employee is trying the hardest but cannot be able to achieve the objectives because of lack of training, the management and the human resource professional concludes that the employee needs more training and that the cause of the poor performance is lack of training. If several employees are unable to achieve specific objectives, then it means that the employees need more training in specific areas.
Conclusion
Both training and development are important in organizations because they help employees to improve and learn. The use of performance improvement plan helps the management to determine the training needs for the employees. The results of performance improvement plan expose weakness of the employees, which guides an organization on what to do.
Reference
Craig, R. (1996). The ASTD Training and Development Handbook: A Guide to Human Resource Development. USA: McGraw-Hill.