Strategic Training

Introduction: Business Strategy

A plan that integrates the companys goals, policies, and actions
The strategy influences how the company uses:
physical capital (plants, technology, and equipment)
financial capital (assets and cash reserves)
human capital (employees)
The business strategy helps direct the companys activities to reach specific goals
Strategy impacts training with a strong influence on determining:
The amount of training devoted to current or future job skills
The extent to which training is customized for:
the particular needs of an employee,
or developed based on the needs of a team, unit, or division
Whether training is restricted to specific groups of employees or open to all
employees
Whether training is:
planned and systematically administered, or
provided only when problems occur, or
spontaneously as a reaction to what competitors are doing
The importance placed on training compared to other human resource management
practices such as selection and compensation




Evolution of Trainings Role

Evolution of Trainings Role: Learning
The acquisition of knowledge by individuals, employees, or groups of employees
Willing to apply that knowledge in their jobs in making decisions and accomplishing
tasks for the company
Evolution of Trainings Role: Knowledge
Human and Social Knowledge:
What individuals or teams of employees know or know how to do
Structured Knowledge:
Company rules, processes, tools, and routines
Explicit Knowledge:
Knowledge that can be formalized, codified, and communicated
Tacit Knowledge:
Personal knowledge based on individual experience
Difficult to explain to others




Intellectual Capital

The Strategic Training and Development Process:

Decisions a company must make about how to compete to reach its goals:
1. Where to compete?
In what markets, industries, products will we compete?
2. How to compete?
On what outcome or differentiating characteristic will we compete?
3. With what will we compete?
What resources will allow us to beat the competition?
How will we acquire, develop, and deploy those resources to compete?
Strategic Training and Development
Initiatives and their Implications




Example: SunUs Analysis to Align Training with Business Strategy (1 of 3)
Customers
Who are our customers and how do we work for them?
Organization
What is the nature of practices required to complete our mission?
Products and Services
How do we ensure that our products and services meet strategic
requirements?
Example: SunUs Analysis to Align Training with Business Strategy (2 of 3)
Research and Development
How do we stay current in the training and learning fields and use our
knowledge in these areas?
Business Systems
What are the processes, products, tools, and procedures required to achieve
our goals?
Continuous Learning
How do we recognize that learning at Sun Microsystems is continuous, is
conscious, and comes from many sources?
Results
How do we obtain results according to our customers standards?
Metrics and Training: Balanced Scorecard
Measurements that look at performance from the perspective of:
internal customers
external customers
employees
shareholders
Four different perspectives are considered:
Customer
(time, quality, performance, services, cost)
Internal
(processes that influence customer satisfaction)
Innovation and Learning
(operating efficiency, employee satisfaction, continuous
improvement)
Financial
(profitability, growth, shareholder value)
Organizational Characteristics That Influence Training
Roles of Employees and Managers
Top Management Support
Integration of Business Units
Global Presence
Business Conditions
Other HRM Practices
Extent of Unionization
Staff Involvement in Training and Development
The Roles and Duties of Managers in Companies That Use High-Performance Work
Practices
Managing Alignment
Clarify team goals and company goals
Help employees manage their objectives
Scan organization environment for useful information for the team
Encouraging Continuous Learning
Help team identify training needs
Help team become effective at on-the-job training
Create environment that encourages learning
Coordinating Activities
Ensure that team is meeting internal and external customer needs
Ensure that team meets its quantity and quality objectives
Help team resolve problems with other teams
Ensure uniformity in interpretation of policies and procedures
Facilitating Decision-Making Process
Facilitate team decision making
Help team use effective decision-making processes
Creating and Maintaining Trust
Ensure that each team member is responsible for his or her work load and
customers
Treat all team members with respect
Listen and respond honestly to team ideas
Other HRM Practices
The type of training and resources devoted to training are influenced by the strategy
adopted for two HRM practices:
Staffing
Human Resource Planning
Staffing Strategy Influence on Training
Two aspects of a companys staffing strategy influence training:
The criteria used to make promotion and assignment decisions (assignment
flow)
The places where the company prefers to obtain human resources to fill
open positions (supply flow)
HR Planning Influence on Training
HR planning allows the company to anticipate the movement of human resources in
the company
HR plans can help identify where employees with certain types of skills are needed
in the company
Training can be used to prepare employees for:
increased responsibilities in their current job
promotions, lateral moves, transfers
downward job opportunities that are predicted by the human resource plan
Implications of Business Strategy for Training





Models of Organizing the Training Department

The Faculty Model

The Customer Model

The Matrix Model

The Corporate University Model

Virtual Model
(Virtual Training Organizations)
Virtual training organizations operate according to three principles:
Employees (not the company) have primary responsibility for learning
The most effective learning takes place on the job, not in the classroom
For training to translate into improved job performance, the manager-
employee relationship (not employee-trainer relationship) is critical
Characteristics of Virtual Training Organizations:
A virtual training organization is customer focused
Takes more responsibility for learning and evaluating training effectiveness
Provides customized training solutions based on customer needs
Determines when and how to deliver training based on customer needs
Leverages resources from many areas
Involves line managers in direction and content
Tactics to Market the Training Function
Involve the target audience in developing the training or learning effort
Demonstrate how a training and development program can be used to solve specific
needs
Showcase an example of how training has been used within the company to solve
specific business needs
Identify a champion who actively supports training
Listen and act on feedback received from clients, managers, and employees
Advertise on e-mail, on company websites, in employee break areas
Designate someone in the training function as an account representative between
the training designer and internal customer