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After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Explain the process of onboarding and why it is important
List the key components of an employee orientation program
Describe the importance of training as part of the long-range strategy of an organization.
Explain the key steps in the training process
Define strategic human resource development. (HRD)
Explain the principles of learning and how this knowledge impacts the choice of training programs
List the developmental strategies that impact employee development
Describe how human resource departments encourage and assist career planning as well as support the learning management framework
Canadian Human Resource Management includes a complete set of Microsoft PowerPoint® files for each chapter. (Please contact your McGraw-Hill Ryerson representative to find out how instructors can receive these files.) In the lecture outline that follows, a reference to the relevant PowerPoint slide for this chapter is placed beside the corresponding lecture material. The slide number helps you to see your location in the slide show sequence and to skip slides that you don’t want to show to the class. (To jump ahead or back to a particular slide, just type the slide number and hit the Enter or Return key.)
Orientation, Training and Development, and Career Planning Slide 1
Onboarding Slide 2
Onboarding is the process of integrating and acculturating new employees into the organization and providing them with the tools, resources and knowledge to become successful and productive. It includes orientation, socialization, training and development activities
It encompasses year -long activities that serve to integrate the new hire into the organization.
The outcomes of a successful program are greater retention, faster time to productivity, increased motivation and employee engagement.
See figure 7-1 Onboarding Model
Orientation Slide 3
Orientation introduces to the new employee to the organization.
These programs familiarize new employees with their roles, the organization, its policies, other employees and HR related information
The components of an orientation program are:
Organizational Issues
Examples include history of employer, names and titles of key executives, overview of products/production process, policies, safety procedures
Employee handbook explaining key benefits, policies, and general information about the employer may be provided
Employee Benefits
-- Examples include pay scales and paydays, vacations and holidays, rest breaks, training and education benefits, employer-provided services, counselling, etc.
Introductions
To supervisor, co-workers, trainers, employee counsellor
Job Duties
Examples include job location, overview of the job, job safety requirements, job tasks, job objectives, and relationship to other jobs
Orientation Slide 4
Orientation can serve several purposes:
• Reduce employee turnover
-- New employees may quit if they experience a difference between what they expect to find and what they actually find, i.e., cognitive dissonance
Slide 5
Reduce errors and save time
Well-oriented employees knows what is expected and is likely to make fewer mistakes
Develop clear job and organizational expectations
Improve job performance
Employees who establish good relationships tend to be more productive
Attain acceptable job performance levels faster
Defining job performance standards eliminates uncertainty
Increase organizational stability
By communicating policies and regulations to new employees
• Reduce employee anxiety
Reduce grievances
Grievances often result from ambiguous job expectations and unclear responsibilities
Result in fewer instances of corrective discipline
Clarifies the rights and duties of employees, outlines disciplinary requirements and consequences
• Socialization is the continuing process by which an employee begins to understand and accept the values, norms, and beliefs held by others in the organization for recruitment usually belongs to the human resource department
Involves turning outsiders into insiders
May have taken place even before employees join organizations, e.g., summer job, formal education etc.
Slide 7
HRD refers to a part of HRM that integrates the use of training and employee and career development efforts to improve individual, group and organizational effectiveness.
The goal is to establish applicable learning interventions that will enable individuals to optimally perform current and future jobs.
Training is a planned effort by an organization to make possible the learning of job-related behaviour, i.e., to do their present jobs
Development involves preparing employees for future job responsibilities, i.e., prepare for future jobs
Training has a greater focus on short term skill enhancement and on the current job. Development is more long term and the focus is on the competencies and skills needed for future roles.
See figure 7-3 “differentiating training and development” on page 267
Canadian companies have to compete in a global economy in a fastchanging business environment
Global competition has forced many Canadian companies to flatten structures and reduce employees. As a result, multi-skilled (or crosstrained employees are required to perform diverse tasks
The organizational environment needs to foster life-long learning in order to attract and retain multi-skilled employees
Due to high immigration levels training is required to ensure supervisors and employees work effectively with diverse employees with varying cultural values
Developments in information technologies, computer applications, multi-media training methods, etc., require new skills and training strategies
The Training System
The Training System
Slide 8
Sequence of events include needs assessment, objectives, content, learning principles, implementation of actual program, and evaluation
Employee benefits include skill improvement, self-development, strong self-confidence, sense of growth etc.
Organizational benefits include improved profitability through higher productivity, improved morale, lower costs, better corporate image
Employee Training –Needs assessment
Slide 9
• Diagnoses present problems and future challenges that can be met
Employee training–
Training Objectives
Slide 10
Needs to consider each person
Need may be determined by the human resource department, supervisors, or self-nomination
Sources of information may include production records, grievances, safety reports, absenteeism and turnover statistics, performance appraisal, etc.
• Desired behaviour
Conditions under which it is to occur
Acceptable performance criteria
Training techniques
Slide 12
Learning cannot be observed; only its results can be measured. Learning principles are guidelines in the ways in which people learn most effectively
• Participation
Learning is usually quicker and more long-laster when the learner can participate actively, e.g., driving a car
• Repetition
Etches a pattern into our memory, e.g., learning the alphabet
• Relevance
-- Learning is helped when the material to be learned is meaningful, e.g., trainers explain the overall purpose of a job before explaining explicit tasks
Transference
Application of training to actual job situations, e.g., pilots being trained using flight simulators
Feedback
Gives learners information on their progress in order to adjust behaviour
In selecting a training technique, tradeoffs occurs between costeffectiveness, desired program content, appropriateness of the facilities, trainee and trainer preferences and capabilities, and learning principles
On-the-Job Training received directly on the job and is used primarily to teach workers how to do their present job e.g. Job rotation, apprenticeships, coaching
Off-the-Job Training e.g., lecture and video presentations, role playing, case study, simulation exercises laboratory training, computer-based training (CBT), virtual Reality (VR), Internet or Webbased Training is also known as “virtual education,” or “eLearning,”
Web based training
Slide 13
Web /computer – the program is loaded on the hard drive and the user interact with only one specific program
Web/electronic performance support – through a web connection, workers have access to databases, on line tools and discussion forums
Web/virtual synchronous- employers and trainers meet at a predetermined time.
Web/virtual asynchronous- this is a classroom on the internet. It is accessible anytime
Web based tools
Slide 14
A variety of methods have been developed: Blogs (Web Log) are web sites with a text and graphics
-- RSS (Rich Site Summary) delivers regularly changing news Podcasts consist of audio or video clips
-- Wikis are Web pages accessible to everyone, allowing changes Social networking websites
Intranet training uses an intra-organizational computer network to deliver training, e.g., Royal Bank’s “Personal Learning Network” Video-conferencing is widely used for long-distance education, e.g., Queen’s Executive MBA program
Strategic HRD
Slide 15
The identification of essential job skills and the management of employees’ learning for the long-range future in relation to explicit corporate and business strategies
Benchmarking
-- Comparing one’s own quality and production standards with those of industry leaders or competitor
Slide 16
o
Employee Development
– Process of enhancing an employee’s future value to the organization through careful career planning
Cognitive
Concerned with altering thoughts and ideas i.e. knowledge, new processes
Tends to increase the knowledge and expertise of individuals
-- Probably the least effective strategy in employee development
Includes relatively passive methods, e.g., lectures, seminars, academic education
Behavioural
Attempts to change behaviour, e.g., management style
Aims to make individuals more competent in interacting with their environment, i.e., colleagues, subordinates, customers
Includes role-playing, behaviour modelling, team building, coaching, mentoring, etc.
Environmental
Concerned with providing the organizational setting in which employees can thrive and develop
Although the most promising developmental strategy it is the most difficult to implement
Includes job rotation, organizational development, the learning
Career Planning and development
Slide 18
organization concept, temporary assignments, project teams, etc.
EVALUATION OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
The lack of evaluation is the most serious flaw in most training efforts. There are several ways in which to evaluate the effectiveness of a program:
Reaction
-- Also known as the happiness or smile sheet
Most widely used criterion in training evaluation
Usual question is “How satisfied are you with the program?”
Knowledge
Very popular in learning institutions, i.e., use of exams
-- Can be reliably assessed only if before and after tests are used
Behaviour
Self-reports and observations by others are used to measure behaviour change, e.g., neutral observers, supervisors, customers etc.
Organizational results
-- Would be ideal measurement except for the difficulty in determining the cause-effect relationship of training to organizational results
Cost benefit analysis see Figure 7-9: training costs and benefits
Career planning is closely linked to employee development. In order to achieve a career plan, action must be taken to achieve goal goals.
Career planning is the process through which someone becomes more aware of their interests and needs and motivations
Career management is a series of formal and less formal activities designed and managed by the org to influence the development f one or more employees
Career development is a long term process; a series of activities undertaken by individuals in pursuit of their careers
Employees want career equity, supervisory support, awareness of opportunities
Employees measure career success in several ways: Advancement, learning e.g., the acquisition of new skills, depth and breath
-- Employability and psychological factors – recognition, engagement
Factors affecting individual career choice
Slide 19
Generational differences
Individual values and abilities and attitudes
Personality – job fit
See Figure 7-11 the RIASEC model
Encourages Management commitment and support
Devise communication plans through HR tool to raise awareness of career options
Workshops, seminars, career paths, job posting, career counseling
Aligns HR processes to facilitate career planning
There are several HR processes that contribute to employee development
Succession planning, human resource planning, training and development and performance management
Use technology to support career planning efforts
-- Many organizations use the intranet for career counseling purposes
Organizations use robust enterprise wide applications that have a career planning module. This application can display career paths and help design individual plans for employees
Podcasts
Develops promotable employees, i.e., helps to develop internal talent
Lowers turnover, i.e., increased attention and concern for employees increases organizational loyalty
Taps employee potential, i.e., encourages employees to tap their potential abilities to realize specific career goals
Furthers growth, i.e., motivates employees to develop
Reduces hoarding, i.e., managers, and others in the organization become aware of employee qualifications
Satisfies employee needs, i.e., improved opportunities satisfies individual needs for recognition and accomplishment
Assists organizations meet legal requirement such as employment equity plans
Taps and optimizes employee potential
1. "If employees are properly selected, there should be no need for an orientation program or training." Do you agree or disagree? Why?
Disagree. Regardless of how experienced or knowledgeable an employee may be, that worker and the organization can benefit from an orientation that introduces the people, place, policies, and procedures of the organization. Even then, the employee may lack specific skills needed to perform satisfactorily.
2. What are the organizational and employee benefits that result form a comprehensive onboarding process?
The employee benefits from having a comprehensive onboarding process are increased engagement, motivation and organizational commitment. Employees experience a lower level of anxiety about the new job,, they are able to feel an enhanced sense of confidence to perform their job effectively. In addition the company creates a more favorable image among new hires and turnover is reduced significantly.
3. For each of the following occupations, which training techniques do you recommend? Why?
(a) cashier in a grocery store
(b) welder
(c) assembly line worker
(d) inexperienced supervisor
Cashier. Training probably would begin with vestibule training on a cash register until the employee became proficient. Then training would continue on an on-thejob basis.
Welder. A welder probably would go through an apprenticeship program to learn the basics of the trade. (At the same time, of course, the welder would receive job instruction training in how to perform specific welds.)
Assembly worker. Most assembly line workers are given job instruction training.
Inexperienced supervisor. Once a person has made supervisor, a superior should provide coaching.
4. Assume you were hired to manage a research and development department. After a few weeks, you noticed some researchers were more effective than others, and the less effective ones received little recognition from their more productive counterparts. What forms of training would you consider for both groups?
Role-playing exercises may allow each side to learn how each group sees the other. Following this training, the better researchers might be enlisted to coach the less effective members to upgrade their performance.
5. What is the purpose of a cost-benefit analysis?
A cost-benefit analysis is supposed to demonstrate that a planned capital investment, in this case in training, is justified by the benefits expected, e.g., higher profits, reduced waste, lower repair costs, etc.
6. Discuss why it is so important that there be a linkage between an organization's human resource development needs and its mission and strategy.
An organization's strategy involves large-scale, futureoriented, integrated plans to achieve organizational objectives (Chapter 1). To make such plans work, future human resource needs have to be taken into account. Whatever a strategic plan wants to accomplish, it has to make sure future managers and employees have the necessary skills and competencies to achieve the company's objectives.
7. Explain the differences between the cognitive, behavioural, and environmental approaches to strategic management development.
Cognitive management development is concerned with changing a manager's way of thinking. It implies constant learning and upgrading one's expertise.
Behavioural management development attempts to change a manager's behaviour, i.e., management style. It aims to make individuals more competent in interacting
with their environment, e.g., with colleagues, subordinates, or customers.
Environmental management development tries to change a manager's attitudes and values. Creating a job environment that continuously reinforces desirable behaviour will eventually change the frame of reference of managers and ensure that changes (new approaches) become permanent.
8. In what way does a "learning" organization differ from a "traditional" organization?
In a learning organization employees "continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together" (Senge).
9. Why should a human resource department be concerned about career planning, especially since employee plans may conflict with the organization's objectives? What advantages does a human resource department expect to receive from assisting in career planning?
Through career planning employees may feel they have a career, not just a job, with the employer. The HR department can benefit from having a higher quality pool of internal applicants from which to draw in order to meet staffing needs. Moreover, problems of employee/organizational adjustment to sociotechnological change, obsolescence, and employee turnover may be reduced.
10. Suppose you are in a management training position after completing university. Your career goal is not very clear, but you would like to become a top manager in your firm. What types of information would you seek from the human resource department to help you develop your career plan?
Information about short- and long-run human resources needs would give some insight into preparations needed to attain future promotions. Having knowledge of career paths taken by present executives might indicate which functional or product areas are most likely to lead to top management positions.
11. Why is employee feedback an important element of any organization's attempt to encourage career development?
Without feedback, employees have no way of evaluating how successful their career planning efforts have been. In time, the lack of feedback may cause employees to believe career planning is a useless expenditure of their time.
12. Suppose a hard-working and loyal employee is passed over for promotion. What would you tell this person?
Assurance of the value of the employee should be communicated as well as consideration for future promotions. The reasons why this person was passed over should be explained. Finally, specific career development actions should be discussed that will increase the employee's likelihood of being promoted in the future. Of course, the employee should be told these actions do not guarantee promotion, but they will increase the likelihood of future career success.
1. Before you entered your college or university you had certain ideas about what your values and expectations would be as a student. How did the institution's socialization process change these values and expectations?
Clearly, the answer will vary from one student to the next. Students should be encouraged to focus on their values and expectations relating to a number of items including:
work load
expectations of having a “fun time” in the institution
attitude toward students belonging to opposite sex, older students, students of other backgrounds, etc.
work-play relationship
role of instructions
care shown by others (students, professors, administrators, support staff)
career goals
ethical standards/values
2. Your company is desperately looking for a system analyst. You know that your competitor invested heavily in training and has a highly competent system analyst, who indicated to you privately that she would switch if you pay her $10,000 more. Your boss thinks that this is a bargain and tells you: “Get her!” It surely would hurt the competitor. What issues does this raise?
Organizations are increasingly dependent on highly skilled and knowledgeable employees. Ultimately, an employee retains ownership of their intellectual capital and is able to utilize their specialized knowledge, skills, and experience to negotiate favourable employment terms.
If your company is willing to pay this system analyst $10,000 more than she is currently earning she appears to be willing to resign her current position. Your competitor has invested in the development of this employee and the loss may be incalculable because of the knowledge and skills the employee will take with her. However, ultimately the human resource department of your competitor has responsibility to
retain employees by meeting their needs. In addition, your competitor is responsible for utilizing succession planning to ensure sufficient candidates exist for key positions.
3. You are the Training and Development manager. Your president calls you in and tells you that the management development budget has to be cut because of the company's financial situation. What arguments can you use to persuade your boss that development money is well spent?
The best argument is that without well-trained and upto-date skilled employees the company will always be a runner-up to companies who train continuously. Welltrained staff is also more flexible in terms of possible assignments (especially if they are cross-trained), tend to be better motivated and have better morale, have less turnover, and have less absenteeism. Also, the quality of their output tends to be higher.
There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. They are for class discussion purposes.
These exercises have been designed for students to demonstrate their computer and Internet skills to research the required information. Answers will vary
1. You are Russ. Describe the steps you would recommend to Reynolds to go through before actually designing the contents of the training.
Ideally, before a training program begins, it is useful to assess the qualifications of the present employees. Performance appraisals are excellent sources of information on whether the employee performs at the expected level or, if not, whether it is the lack of jobrelated skills that is causing the low performance. Supervisors then would indicate what type of training would benefit the employee. As the text suggests, the human resource department has to verify these suggestions to determine whether requested training is really needed. A look at the job description and job specification may also be helpful since these documents outline the job responsibilities and skill requirements for fulfilling these responsibilities.
Trainers may also look at production costs, quality control reports, grievances, safety reports, absenteeism and turnover statistics, and exit interviews. A well done needs assessment would also determine the training objectives in behavioural terms, the conditions under which the behaviour is to occur, and the criteria for the evaluation of the training program.
To summarize the steps:
(a) conduct a performance appraisal
(b) allow supervisors to suggest the training needed
(c) look at the other potential data listed above
(d) determine training objectives based on the above data
2. What training methods would you suggest to be used to train production workers? (First you may ask: What determines the methods?)
Methods are determined by developing behaviour based training objectives, which describe in detail what the trainee should be able to accomplish, under what conditions, and any limitations (e.g. time). If the objective describes production type behaviours, a
logical training method may be on-the-job training. Other methods could be apprenticeship (a longer term affair), coaching, simulation, or virtual training.
3. How would you evaluate the training program to determine how effective it was? (What criteria would you use?)
Figure 7-8, p. 291, describes the steps in the evaluation process. Ideally, a pre-test/post-test approach is used to determine the effectiveness of a training program. Since the evaluation criteria have been chosen through the training needs analysis and setting of training objectives, all that is needed is the application of the criteria. A reaction measure would indicate the degree of general satisfaction with the set-up and organization of the program. A written exam may be used to test improved knowledge. Changes in attitudes can be measured through attitude surveys. Improved jobrelated behaviour (skills) can be observed by superiors and colleagues (although this would have to be done on the job and some time after the completion of the training program). Finally, organizational results could be monitored to assess the long-range impact of the training program. Care would have to be taken to make sure that it was the training program that caused observed changes.
4. Do you think the first-line supervisors are the appropriate people to design the training program? Who else would you add, if anyone, to this group?
It probably would be a good idea to include one or more job incumbents, since they would know best what is required to do the job effectively. Even if the supervisors came through the ranks and did the job themselves, chances are that a number of changes have taken place since they did the work themselves, and they may no longer know the details.
1. Develop a career plan for Bernadine. What would she have to do to move up the ladder to the comptroller position, the chief financial officer of the company?
It is advisable for Bernadine to enroll as soon as possible at the local university for a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in Accounting. Since she does not have the money to be a full-time student it will have to be on a part-time basis, which means that she can get her degree in three (if she uses summer sessions) or four years.
If she works out her career plan with her supervisor and the human resource manager, she may be able to get some support from the company, especially if she consults with her supervisor about special courses she could take, which may be of special interest to the company, e.g., taxation, international accounting, or auditing.
After obtaining her Bachelor's degree she has the choice of going for an MBA degree, which would be useful if she had interest in a broader management position. If she still feels comfortable staying in the accounting field, she may want to consider choosing an accounting designation, CA, CMA, or CGA. After five or six years she would be ready to be considered for an Assistant Comptroller position, preparing herself to take over when the current comptroller retires.
1. You are Mary Keddy. Develop a proposal that Mr. Bennett could present to the board. Consider also the practicality of the plan.
A proposal to evaluate the training should include assessing employee reactions, knowledge, attitudes, behaviour and impact on the organization. A number of subjective and objective methods can be used in combination. Evaluation should also include a costbenefit analysis using the basic formula: revenue – cost = profit.
2. As a rule of thumb, five to ten percent of the cost of a training program should be used for the program’s evaluation, depending on the complexity of the assessment. Please develop a “cheap” and an “expensive” proposal. A brief description of your approach and reasons will suffice (why would one method be cheaper or more expensive than the other?).
An inexpensive approach includes assessing employee reactions and attitudes immediately following their training. An expensive program would involve correlating training scores with job performance several months after the training. For the less expensive approach, the primary aim is to gauge how employees feel about the program but without drawing any conclusions about the impact on performance. For the more expensive approach, performance indicators can
be quantified into productivity gain, which would allow CPIB to estimate the dollar return of the training (utility).
3. If you wanted to recommend a “foolproof” evaluation, e.g., rule out other causes of success than the training program itself, what approach would you suggest?
To construct a “foolproof” evaluation method, an experiment with appropriate control group(s) should be put in place. If the trainees are randomly assigned to condition, then the post-test only design should be:
If the trainees are not randomly assigned to condition, a pre test, post-test should be used. O T O (training group) O O (control group)
Because trainees may learn from the pre test independently of training, the design should be modified to include the groups where no pre test is given. O T O (pre-test, post-test training) O
