Importance of training the Human Assets in an organization
Employees in any organization’s structure are mandated to accomplish the organization’s goals through the formulation of policies and also working towards achieving objectives of the set policies. This aspect has changed the perspective of observing employees as part of the workforce. They are being regarded as the most important asset of an organization.
The importance of employee participation in achieving organization objectives cannot be overemphasized. In recent times, human resource management in an organization has been mandated with the task of hiring, adopting, allocating, and maintaining employees in their respective roles within an organization. Chidambaram and Ramachandran (2012, p.276) outline that to cope with constant challenges facing organizations, it is necessary to equip the workforce with the necessary skills and knowledge. This can be achieved through regular and organized training programs. Also, Chidambaram and Ramachandran (2012, p. 276) indicate that to ensure effective training, two considerations must be put in place. First, trainers must have a full mandate in training. They should also bear the blame if employees fail to show desirable results. Secondly, effective training is dependent on the atmosphere and the prevalent culture in HRM areas where these organizations operate.
Chidambaram and Ramachandran (2012, p.278) observe that effective training constitutes four aspects as described below.
Pre-training arrangement process
To determine the importance of pre-training arrangements, such preparations should be systematic and well organized in a sequential manner. A proper pre-training arrangement constitutes several important aspects which include an assessment of the need to conduct training. Besides, organizing and preparing training participants is equally necessary. Besides, the environment where training is to be carried out should also be put into consideration.
Training method
The training method is encompassed in various aspects. Some of the considerations to make when determining the training method to use include the medium to use in training. Trainers should select the most suitable program and medium that give the best results so that the human workforce is effectively trained.
Impact of training on self-need assessment
This aspect shows the levels of commitment among employees and how they are motivated to undertake their various duties at places of work.
Impact of training on group needs and group changes
In any organization, effective teams produce better results than individuals. In this aspect, effective training assists in boosting groups’ achievements. It also takes into consideration how individuals influence the group and in turn how they get influenced by the group.
National culture as a determinant of investment in training
The term national culture refers to the prevailing norms in HRM in companies that operate within the same geographical or administrative region. One of the purposes of training is to equip employees with the necessary skills that are needed to undertake duties more effectively. Therefore, an organization ensures that employees’ productivity is increased. As a result, the financial gains are also improved (Coget 2011, p.85)
Despite the consensus that training enhances productivity, there seems to be an influence on the amount of money that companies invest in training their employees. The study has established that national culture influences the number of money companies invest in the training of employees. Hilla Perets and Zehava Rosenblatt conducted a study to establish the influence of national culture on the number of money companies invest in training employees. They established four aspects of national culture that influence investment. These include:
- Power distance culture refers to the degree to which distribution of power is expected within a group of employees. It was shown that organizations that have lower power distance tend to invest more in the training of employees than those with high power distance.
- Future orientation culture refers to the degree to which individuals engage in future planning and investments. The studies showed that organizations that are located in nations that embrace future orientation culture invest more than those in nations that don’t.
- Uncertainty avoidance implies the degree to which society expects social norms to be undertaken. For instance, arrangements may be applied to reduce the effects of the unpredictability of future events. It was showed that organizations in nations that invest in future uncertainty avoidance invest more in the training of employees compared to the rest (Coget 2011, p.86).
On the same note, Peretz and Rosenblatt showed how the size and technological advancement of an organization influence the level of investment in the training of employees. Coget (2011, p.86) notes that large companies and those that are technologically advanced invest more in employees training than smaller and low tech organizations.
Incorporating line Managers in employee training
Effects of Involvement of line managers in employee training is two-tier. Initially, training and development of employees was viewed as a role of specialists and not for line managers. Recent studies have tried to find the role of line managers in the development of employees. Gibb (2003, p.285) shows that there are several advantages of incorporating line managers in the training of employees. He outlines several advantages of incorporating them. These include a chance to offer regular training, opportunities for a better quality of training since line managers work more directly with subordinates, the transformation of the line managers to be part of learning and development team, and lastly, incorporating them would contribute towards an extended organizational change of relationships between employees.
On the other side, incorporating line managers may also be disadvantageous to learning and development of employees in the following ways; one of the disadvantages of incorporating them includes a possibility of reduced development training which is likely to be neglected in place of continuous working. Secondly, line managers are not experts in training, unlike teaching specialists who have the sole responsibility of training therefore there is a risk of poor quality of training. Also since line managers are bosses to subordinates there is a need to have more neutral people to conduct training.
Relating Employees Attitude, Organization Performance, and Training
The conceptual research framework incorporates the nature of training, management involvement in training, and management motivation as the three key fundamentals that result in effective training and overall good performance of an organization. (Shiryan, Shee & Stewart 2012, p.45) Of greatest importance in this article is the importance of involving managers in employee training. It outlines that management should have a thorough attachment with training programs and the expected results. Their involvement comes in form of effective planning, funding, and general assessment of the results compared to expected outcomes.
Effect of Employees Income Levels on Training
On the question of whether an employee’s level of income influences in-job training a study revealed that there is more likelihood of organizations offering on-job training to employees who are highly paid as compared to low-paid employees. Also, it was established that the level of income and the size of the company also influence the availability of training programs. It established that for a small organization, well-paid employees have a more likelihood of getting in-job training. A study carried in Canada clearly shows that employees in managerial positions have higher chances of going through on-job training (Zeutinoglu et al. 2008, p.20).
Effective Transfer of Training and HRM practices
In today’s competitive world, organizations must constantly make adjustments to their policies, especially regarding human resources to sustain their competitive advantage. Effective training of the employees is of paramount importance and forms a point of focus in this regard. Grossman and Salas (2011, p.1360) have come up with a model framework of what is required for an effective transfer of training in an organization. For effective transfer of training, the model gives three important requirements. They include; training inputs, training outputs, and conditions of transfer. The requirements are clearly outlined below;
Training inputs
These are composed of three major aspects which include; trainee characteristics, training design, and work environment. It is indicated that trainee characteristics involve aspects like cognitive ability, efficacy, and motivation. On the other side, training design incorporates behavioral modeling, error management, and realistic training while the work environment depicts aspects like transfer climate, support, follow-ups among others.
- Training output-This constitutes the learning and retention of the most qualified employees.
- Condition of transfer This involves generalization and maintenance.
HR Practices that I intend to use to drive personal and organizational performance
The human resource managers in organizations embark on different activities to enhance the value of the human workforce needed to create a reliable workforce that is capable of pushing the organization’s goals to fruition. In this view, as a human resource manager, I need to develop and carry out practices that will enable employees to drive their personal and organizational performance to the expectation of the organization. Some of the practices that I will carry out include:
Training and knowledge sharing
To create a sustainable competitive advantage, knowledge sharing and training of employees is of great importance. Due to the changing business environment, organizations need to be competent in particular areas to sustain a competitive advantage. I believe that it is important as a human resource manager to dedicate a lot of resources and finances to enhance training and knowledge sharing in an organization. In my view, this forms the backbone of skillful and competitive people who will work hard towards achieving the organization’s goals.
Creating and fostering a safe, healthy, and happy workplace
This is an important part that plays a significant role in employee retention. It minimizes employee turnover and enhances employee productivity. When employees work in a safe environment and are satisfied, they are likely to discover solutions to challenges that will read to overall improved productivity. To make sure that employees are happy, they need to feel that the workplace is the place where their needs are met and that policies in the HR department are aimed at assisting workers to progress on their levels and more so to improve their living standards. This can be achieved through better salaries, regular bonuses, provision of effective healthcare, and insurance.
Performance Rewards
Achievement of employees should be rewarded. This is the way through which an employee feels valued in any organization. They are likely to stay dedicated to continuous improvement in their areas of operation. Proper and efficient rewarding schemes should be put in place. These entail incentives and performance-based bonuses.
References
Chidambaram, V. & Ramachandran, A 2012, “A study on efficacy of employee training: review of literature.” Business Theory & Practice vol. 13 no. 3, pp. 275-282.
Coget, J 2011, “Does National Culture Affect Firm Investment in Training and Development?” Academy of Management Perspectives vol. 25 no. 4, pp. 85-87.
Grossman, R, Salas, E 2011, “The transfer of training: what really matters.” International Journal of Training and Development vol. 15 no. 2, pp. 1360-3736.
Gibb, S 2003, “Line manager involvement in learning and development: Small beer or big deal?” Employee Relations vol. 25 no. 3 pp. 281-293.
Shiryan, S., Shee, H. & Stewart, D 2012, “Employee training effectiveness in Saudi Arabia SME performance.” International Journal of Business and Social Science. Vol. 3 no. 14, pp. 46-52.
Zeutinoglu, I. U. et al. 2008, “Low-Paid Workers and On-the-Job Training in Canada.” Industrial Relations vol. 63 no. 1, pp. 5-29.