Employee development refers to a course of action designed to enable the individual to realise his or her potential for growth in the organisation; in other words we are not training employees for now, but for the future. For example, recently I promoted some employees in an internal recruitment scheme; these employees had undergone sufficient training for their prospective jobs over the last period of years they had served this company thus making them eligible for the new job positions.
In order to develop an effective training program, it is vital for the human resource planner to draw up a need analysis, that is, what aims and objectives the organisation is trying to achieve from these programs, and what specific knowledge, skills and attitudes employees need to acquire in order to achieve these objectives, which skills are hot in the marketplace and identify which training route would be the best to achieve these objectives. For example, if I would like a staff member to develop his painting skills, I am not going to send him off for an IT course, I must choose a suitable training course like airless and conventional spray painting and decorative training.
There are various types of training, which are broadly categorised into two; off the job training and on the job training.
Off the job training is the kind of training where employees attain external courses. Members of staff are sent off elsewhere to receive training for days or even months. These could be commercial training courses or seminars. In Venture Interiors, we try to limit external courses to the staff members with the most potential because they are usually very expensive. Depending on the course, the overall cost could prove quite expensive for example; many courses may require an overnight stay at a hotel if the course is outside the area or the course itself may prove to be expensive due to the level of expertise or equipment needed to deliver the course. Sending employees to a training programme for one, two or even more days sometimes leads to shortage of labour, especially in the peak seasons causing loss of production within the company. On the other hand, off the job training is beneficial to the company in that external courses are sources of the latest information, current trends, skills and techniques for example current computer software or computerised technologies, decorative and photography skills, innovative administrative procedures etc. These new skills are brought back and utilised within the company. Employees sent to a course feel more valued as they realize that they are receiving quality training thus motivating them.
‘On the job’ training is the kind of training whereby members of staff acquire internal courses at their places of work. Employees are trained by experienced members of staff or external trainers; some companies such as ours, have even gone ahead to hire professional trainers. We decided on hiring professional trainers because we believe teaching or training is a specialisation in itself, so unless the person training has the skills and knowledge to train, this would mean that the training would not be done to a sufficient standard. According to the annual report by the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) in England, as much as 60% of on the job training available is inadequate. We interviewed our trainees and one of the profound reasons turned out to be that some employees are distracted by the pressures at work making it difficult for them to focus on their training. However, on the job training has turned out to be cost effective and productive, as the employees are still working as they are learning; the company also does not have to cover costs such as accommodation in hotels. As training progresses, employees begin to feel more confident, this confidence allows them to work at higher standards and be more productive. Induction is an example of on the job training whereby employers try to make new staff feel welcome, ensuring that they understand the work and the vision of the organisation, where and who they will be working with and for, and the various operations of the organisation. In the course of their employment, staff members are exposed to various kinds of training and development in order to update their skills and develop their potential. These forms of training and development include seminars, workshops, job rotation and enrichment, coaching, encouraging employees to go for advanced qualifications and so on and so forth.
As a company, we need to evaluate the effectiveness of these training programs to ensure that these programs have been beneficial not only to the employees but to Venture Interiors as a company. This is quite a task because training courses do not have a system of assessment or standardisation, which can guarantee learning, has been achieved to a specific standard. However, right from the beginning we had specific aims we were trying to achieve, for example some staff members needed painting and decorating skills, have these skills been improved, how has it affected their job performance, has it affected their attitudes positively, has it given them more self confidence and motivation, what do they think about the training they received, do they think they have benefited from it? Usage of tests could also be very helpful in the evaluation. The information acquired from this evaluation is very useful to the human resource manager as it could be of help in providing ideas of how to increase the effectiveness of current or later training and development activities.
Nowadays it is also essential to carryout appraisals regularly in the company. Before I go any further, what are appraisals? Appraisals are sessions held between the employers and the employees to ensure they are on the right track at work and are clear on what they need to do going forward. In Venture Interiors, appraisals are carried out every four months. The employees are appraised by their fellow colleagues, supervisors, managers and clients. The appraiser sits down with the appraisee, and exchange their opinions. The appraiser makes sure they highlight the successes as well as the areas of improvement, praise the employee where it is necessary, where there is need for training and development propose something. Appraisals are not only beneficial to the company but to the employee too. The employee maybe motivated and this will benefit the company in the long run.
Motivation is a very important aspect. Job satisfaction is often a strong motivator in work performance, as satisfied employees will go the extra mile and this is what our company needs. Rewards such as salaries apart, there are other ways of helping employees feel satisfied by their jobs. Venture Interiors is an interior designing company, therefore we are employing designers and artists, artists love creativity, and in order to motivate them, we encourage our employees to be creative in their work and prevent boredom, rotate tasks so that their work is challenging, appreciate ideas and suggestions the employees and even reward them for the initiatives. This way we have been able to motivate our staff and this has not only benefited them but venture Interiors as a company.
