Staff training is very important to all businesses, including IKEA because:

On-the-job training and off-the-job training

Training can be on-the-job or off-the-job. On-the-job training takes place within the organisation. On-the-job training is often referred to as informal training.

The most common methods of on the job training include:

• Demonstration / instruction; this involve showing the trainee how to do the job
• Coaching – this is a more intensive method of training that involves a close working relationship between an experienced employee and the trainee
• Job rotation – this is where the trainee is given several jobs in succession, to gain experience of a wide range of activities
• Projects – this involve employees joining in a project team - which provides them experience to other parts of the business and allow them to take part in new activities.

On-the-job training takes place in in-house training. In-house training involves an organisation employing its own trainers and arranging its own staff development and training programmes in the business.  

Advantages of on-the-job training include:

• Generally more cost effective
• Less disruptive to the business- i.e. employees are not away from work
• Employees may find that they have more confidence if they are supervised and guided as they feel they are doing the job correct
• Employees may feel more at ease being taught or supervised y people they know rather than complete strangers at an external training course
• Managers or supervisors can access improvement and progress over a period of time and this makes it easier to identify a problem intervene and resolve problems quickly
• On-the-job training is also productive, as the employee is still working as they are learning
• Training “on the job” provides an opportunity to get know staff they might not normally talk to

Disadvantages of on-the-job training include:

• Coaching is a specialist skill itself; unless the trainer as the skills and knowledge to train, this would mean that the training will not be done to a sufficient standard
• The trainer may not be given the time to spend with the employee to teach them properly, which would mean substandard training has been achieved and learning has only been half done
• The trainer may posses bad habits and passes these on the trainee

Off-the-job training takes place away from the organisation. Off-the-job training is often referred to as formal training.

The most common methods of off-the-job training courses include:

• Day release- this is where the employee takes time out from normal working hours to attend a local college or training centre
• Distance learning / evening classes
• Revision courses (e.g. in the accountancy profession)
• Block release courses – this involve several weeks at a local college
• Sandwich courses – this is where the employee spends a longer period of time at college (e.g. six months) before returning to work
• Sponsored courses in higher education
• Self-study, computer-based training

Off-the-job training can take place in both in-house training and external training. In-house training involves an organisation employing its own trainers and arranging its own staff development and training programmes in the business. External training involves sending employees on specialist one-day or residential courses outside the organisation.

Advantages of off-the-job training include:

• Use of specialist trainers and accommodation
• Employees can focus on the training and not be distracted by work
• Opportunity to mix with employee from other businesses

Disadvantages of off-the-job training include:

• Employee needs to be motivated to learn
• May not be directly relevant to the employee’s job
• Costs- e.g. transport, examination fees, accommodation

Skills training

Training is designed to develop new skills for employees. These skills can either be transferable or job specific (non-transferable).

1. Transferable skills- Once these skills are learnt, they can be applied to many different situations. Examples of transferable skills include: key skills of Communication, Information Technology and Ability to Work with Others
2. Non-transferable skills- these are narrow skills which are only applied to a particular situation. For example, how to complete invoices and how to file them.

Investors in People

Investors in People is a national quality standard which is supported by the government. The purpose of Investors in People is to award businesses for effective investment in the training and development of people (employees), in order to achieve business goals. The national quality standard, which was introduced in the 1990s, provides a framework for ‘improving business performance and competitiveness’.

The Standard is based on four principles. These four principles are:

1. Commitment- to develop people (employees) in order to achieve aims and objectives
2. Planning- to be clear about the aims and objectives, and what people need to do to achieve them
3. Action- to develop people effectively in order to improve performance
4. Evaluation- to understand the impact of investment in people on performance

Once an organisation has achieved the Standard, it must maintain these principles and is reviewed to ensure that it is succeeding. If this is not done, then the Standard will be withdrawn. During these reviews, both managers and staff will be interviewed and employees have to confirm that any claims made by the company are true.

Advantages of training include:

• It improves the competitiveness of an organisation, as well as improving its productivity and service to customers
• It creates the ‘right attitudes’ in employees and ‘attitudes’ are often just as important as knowledge and skills
• Less supervision- lower supervision and management costs, if employees can get on with their jobs. This might improve motivation through empowerment
• It is seen as adding motivation and enjoyment to employee’s work
• More successful recruitment and employee retention- businesses with good reputation for training, are likely to find it easier to attract good quality staff and then keep them

Training is seen as a solution to many but not all business problems. However, there are some things that training can rarely solve. These include:

• poor management
• poor job design
• recruitment

Training is also seen as an ideal investment for all businesses. However there are some businesses that tend to spend so little in it because:

• they fear that employees will be poached by competitors (who will then benefit from the training)
• a desire to minimise short-term costs
• they cannot make a justifiable investment case

It is important for IKEA to have a trained workforce, if it is to remain competitive in a world, where customers demand ever higher standards of goods and services.

Wednesbury Training and Development

The training and development function of IKEA consists of five parts:

1. S.D.P. Skills Development Programme

• IKEA Wednesbury specific training
• Available to all co-workers and complete within current roles
• Provides basic knowledge necessary for career progression:

HISTORY AND CULTURE

TIME MANAGEMENT AND DELEGATION

HR IKEA

MEETING THE CUSTOMERS

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

GROUP SKILLS

GROUP PROJECT

• Four 1 day training course
• 1 study day per month for research and complete course work
• Monthly progress review with Line Manager, supported by a Personal Development Plan
• Apply via your Line Manager

2. Supervisor/Specialist Training Programme

• IKEA Wednesbury specific training
• Crew Management skills programme for Supervisors/Specialist
• 12 month programme incorporating:

TIME MANAGEMENT AND DELEGATION

COMMUNICATION AND TEAM BRIEFING

COACHING

INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES

MANAGING PERFORMANCE

ASSERTIVENESS

BUSINESS CONTROL

PROJECT WORK

PRESENTATION SKILLS

• 1 day training course gain teamwork
• 1 study day per month for research and course work
• Monthly progress review with Line Manager, supported by a Personal Development Plan

• Apply via your Functional Manager

3. BASICS Workbook

• UK driven will learning workbooks
• Provides basic knowledge necessary and specific to Business Area
• Completed in job roles
• Regular progress review with Line Manager
• Certificate awarded as completion

4. P.D.P. Personal Development Plan

• Individual to each co-worker
• Agreed objectives resulting from Annual Review with your Line Manager
• Living document reviewed as tertial    
• Co-worker driven

5. M.I.T. Manager in Training

• IKEA Wednesbury specific training
• Available to co-workers who posses basic management skills and demonstrate the potential to become a Manager
• Nominated by Functional Manager
• Operate in management role with ‘on the job’ Training and Development
• Usually 12 month programme to appoint to management role
• Driven by Personal Development Plan
• Training course when necessary

It is very important to IKEA that, all five parts of the training and development function should work together, effectively. If these parts work together effectively, IKEA will have quality staff; that will be willing to help the organisation to achieve its aims and objectives.

The HR function of IKEA follows the Personnel Training and Development Policy. The Personnel Training and Development Policy states that the HR staff need to provide constant training and development to all employees. The policy also states, that employees should be given the opportunity to acquire and increase their knowledge and understanding of the IKEA Business Idea, business culture and core values. A copy of the Personnel Training and Development Policy is in the Appendix section.

The HR function of IKEA also follows the Training Policy, when deciding to hire new staff both within and outside the business. The Training Policy is to offer training and development for all co-workers, to ensure they are completely trained to achieve maximum job performance and satisfaction. The Training Policy is displayed on the co-workers notice board, and is available in the HR Department. See Appendix, for further information about the company’s Training Policy.