STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT

ASSIGNMENT: TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

SUBMITTED BY:
IVANI KATAL
27-MBA-15

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

In simple terms, training and development refers to the imparting of specific skills, abilities and
knowledge to an employee. A formal definition of training & development is: it is any attempt to
improve current or future employee performance by increasing an employees ability to perform
through learning, usually by changing the employees attitude or increasing his or her skills and
knowledge. The need for training & development is determined by the employees
performance deficiency, computed as follows:
Training & Development need = Standard performance Actual performance.
We can make a distinction among training, education and development. Such distinction enables
us to acquire a better perspective about the meaning of the terms. Training, as was stated earlier,
refers to the process of imparting specific skills. Education, on the other hand, is confined to
theoretical learning in classrooms.
Development refers to those learning opportunities designed to help employees grow.Developme
nt is not primarily skill-oriented. Instead, it provides general knowledge andattitudes which will
be helpful to employees in higher positions. Efforts towards development often depend on
personal drive and ambition. Development activities, such as those supplied by management
developmental programmes, are generally voluntary.
To bring the distinction among training, education and development into sharp focus, it may be
stated that training is offered to operatives, whereas developmental programmes are
meant for employees in higher positions.

AIMS/OBJECTIVES OF TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

The fundamental aim of training is to help the organization achieve its purpose by adding value
to its key resource the people it employs. Training means investing in the people to enable
them to perform better and to empower them to make the best use of their natural abilities. The
particular objectives of training are to:

Develop the competences of employees and improve their performance;

Help people to grow within the organization in order that, as far as possible, its future

needs for human resource can be met from within;

Reduce the learning time for employees starting in new jobs on appointment, transfers
or promotion, and ensure that they become fully competent as quickly and economically
as possible.

1) Types of training
a) Refresher Training
The Refresher Training or Retraining is a training programme designed for the old or existing
employees of an organization, with a purpose to acquaint them with the new skills, methods, and
processes required to improve their performance on the jobs.
The Refresher training is based on the assumption that the skills with the existing employees
become obsolete or outdated because of the advancement in the technology and due to the
human tendency of forgetting things. Thus, the retraining is conducted to keep these employees
updated with the latest inventions.
The need for the retraining arises when there is a continuous fall in the performance of a worker
and the attitudinal conflict arises.
Importance of Refresher Training
The Retraining is essential because of the following reasons:
1. To get the best out of the employees
2. Retain the employees
3. Increases the self-confidence and morale of the employees
4. Keeping the staff updated with the latest trends
5. Bridging the gap between the old and new skills
6. Increasing the pool of talent for an organization
7. Saving the cost incurred in hiring a new talent

It is recommended to have these training periodically, through which the employee efficiency
gets improved that ultimately increases the efficiency of the organization. Not only this, the selfconfidence and morale of the employees get boosted up with these training.

b) Skills training
This type of training is most common in organizations. The process here is fairly simple. The
need for training in basic skills (such as reading, writing, computing, speaking, listening,
problem solving, managing oneself, knowing how to learn, working as part of a team, leading
others) is identified through assessment. Specific training objectives are set and training content
is developed to meet those objectives. Several methods are available for imparting these basic
skills in modern organizations. Before employing these methods, managers should:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Explain how the training will help the trainees in their jobs.
Relate the training to the trainees goals.
Respect and consider participant responses and use these as a resource.
Encourage trainees to learn by doing.
Give feedback on progress toward meeting learning objectives.

c) Cross-functional training
A companys success is based on its performance, which is a factor of the kind of effort put in by
its employees. It is a well-known fact that employee attrition or a poor quality workforce can
prove to be a major undoing for a companys efforts and could cost it a lot of money, time and
other resources and also be the prime reasons for poor customer service and sub-standard
products. In order to avoid these detrimental consequences it is important for a company to train
its staff and cross-functional training proves indispensable. Not only does cross-functional
training increase efficiency in employees it also encourages professional development, team
performance and overall cohesion in the workplace. At times, cross-functional training proves to
be a more effective tool to enhance the companys productivity than any other method.
While each employee is in their current role because they possess a particular skill set, crossfunctional training provides them with additional skills and proficiency in roles that are outside
of their core responsibilities and skill sets. From a customer service perspective, for example, it
would be required for the agents to also have product knowledge and some amount of trouble4

shooting skills as well. They would be adept at marketing and selling also. The purpose of crossfunctional training in this case would ensure that the customer service agents are able to be more
efficient when interacting with customers and be able to resolve the maximum number of queries
at this level, thereby saving time and effort for the customer, raising their satisfaction and
happiness levels and encouraging them to provide repeat business to the company.
Cross-functional training significantly reduces recruitment costs and saves the company valuable
time. If such training has been provided, any absences or vacancies can be immediately taken
care of without worrying about productivity. Cross-functional training proves extremely useful in
succession planning too there would always be staff members ready and willing to take on new
assignments and move into critical roles as soon as the need comes up. Of course, it does not
imply that external hiring would never happen however, the need would not be as much and as
often. The existing employees would see the available opportunities within the company and be
more willing to learn new skills and gain better and higher positions than leave to find other
opportunities. Cross-functional training is also a major tool to attract some of the best talent
present in the market as it provides a path for an individuals career growth.
Cross-functional training promotes team work. When a team member is learning the
complexities of anothers role the person teaching becomes a mentor, guide and coach. This sort
of support promotes self-esteem and the overall quality of the jobs being performed. When
employees join a company and stay with it for a long time, they not only expect monetary
recognition but non-monetary appreciation which is a great motivator. Cross-functional
training and other kinds of training programs are great motivators it lends a sense of security
and faith for employees that their employer genuinely cares for them.
Cross-functional training like all other training programs must have the required return on
investment. There are definite costs for training programs and these costs must be offset by the
results and benefits for each employee and the company as a whole. Cross-functional training
also requires time and commitment and hence a company must weave it into the business plan,
daily operations and overall culture of the company. As part of the strategy the company must
also put in place incentive programs to encourage employees to take on new assignments and
roles and also have a robust reward and recognition program for consistent and on-going efforts
towards personal and professional development.
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d) Team training
Do you know the exercise in which a person is asked to close his or her eyes and fall back, and
then supposedly the team members will catch that person? As a team-building exercise (and a
scary one at that), this is an example of team training. The goal of team training is to develop
cohesiveness among team members, allowing them to get to know each other and facilitate
relationship building. We can define team training as a process that empowers teams to improve
decision making, problem solving, and team-development skills to achieve business results.
Often this type of training can occur after an organization has been restructured and new people
are working together or perhaps after a merger or acquisition. Some reasons for team training
include the following:

Improving communication

Making the workplace more enjoyable

Motivating a team

Getting to know each other

Getting everyone onto the same page, including goal setting

Teaching the team self-regulation strategies

Helping participants to learn more about themselves (strengths and weaknesses)

Identifying and utilizing the strengths of team members

Improving team productivity

Practicing effective collaboration with team members

Team training can be administered either in-house or externally. Ironically, through the use of
technology, team training no longer requires people to even be in the same room.

e) Creativity training
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Companies like Mudra Communications, Titan Industries, Wipro encourage their employees to
think unconventionally, break the rules, take risks, go out of the box and devise unexpected
solutions.
In creativity training, trainers often work on three things:
a) Breaking away: in order to break away from restrictions, the trainee is expected to (i)
identify the dominant ideas influencing his own thinking (ii) define the boundaries within
which he is working (iii) bring the assumptions out into the open and challenge
everything.
b) Generate new ideas: to generate new ideas, the trainee should open up his mind; look at
the problem from all possible angles and list as many alternative approaches as possible.
The trainee should allow his mind to wander over alternatives freely, expose himself to
new influences, switch over from one perspective to another, arrange cross fertilization of
ideas with other people and use analogies to spark off ideas.
c) Delaying judgment: to promote creative thinking, the trainee should not try to kill off
ideas too quickly; they should be held back until he is able to generate as many ideas as
possible. He should allow ideas to grow a little. Brainstorming often helps in generating
as many ideas as possible without pausing to evaluate them. It helps in releasing ideas,
overcoming inhibitions, cross fertilizing ideas and getting away from patterned thinking.

f) Diversity training
Diversity training is an ongoing process to educate employees on the proper way to treat people
of different backgrounds. The main goal of a successful diversity training program is to create a
positive work environment.
The purpose of diversity training is to increase participants' cultural awareness, knowledge, and
communication. Diversity training can benefit an organization by helping to prevent civil rights
violations, increasing the inclusion of different identity groups, and promoting better teamwork.
The main goal of a successful diversity training program is to create a positive work environment
by helping employees recognize and be tolerant of differences among co-workers.
Diversity training represents the opportunity for employers to educate employees about diversity.
Although diversity training cannot completely change an individual's beliefs, it does have the
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ability to increase awareness, impart knowledge, and educate employees on how to accept
differences among fellow employees. Organizations use diversity training to bring out the best in
their employees. Organizations also want to break down the barriers that separate different types
of employees, such as ethnic, social, and political barriers, so they can work together and be
productive as a team.

g) Literacy training
Inability to write, speak and work well with others could often come in the way of discharging
duties, especially at the lower levels. Workers, in such situations, may fail to understand safety
messages, appreciate the importance of sticking to rules, and commit avoidable mistakes.
Functional illiteracy may be a serious impediment to a firms productivity and competitiveness.
Functional literacy programmes focus on the basic skills required to perform a job adequately
and capitalize on most workers motivation to get help in a particular area. Tutorial programmes,
home assignments, reading and writing exercises, simple mathematical tests, etc., are generally
used in all company in-house programmes meant to improve the literacy levels of employees
with weak reading, writing or arithmetic skills.

h) Orientation training
In orientation training, new hires get a first hand view of what the company stands for, how the
work is carried out and how to get along with colleagues. In short, they learn the ropes, the
specific ways of doing things in a proper manner. When a new employee is from a different
country and culture, this initial training is especially important in helping new employees adjust
in the company.

2) Training methods
a) On the job training methods
Under these methods new or inexperienced employees learn through observing peers or
managers performing the job and trying to imitate their behaviour. These methods do not cost
much and are less disruptive as employees are always on the job, training is given on the same

machines and experience would be on already approved standards, and above all the trainee is
learning while earning. Some of the commonly used methods are:

i) Job instruction training (JIT)

Job instruction training or JIT is a form of simple on the job training where a new employee is
trained step by step by a supervisor or an assigned coworker. This kind of training usually exists
for jobs requiring manual skills such as factory workers. The jobs require relatively low skills
and hence can be taught in a simple step by step procedure. Job instruction training can be
provided on a one on one basis as well as one to many. JIT is also used to train existing workers
about new technology.
The benefit of JIT is that the training is real time and based on the real workplace. Hence the
trainee not only observes the trainer perform the job but also gains hands on experience in
performing the job under supervision.
Another overall advantage is the reduction in wastage and accidents due to proper training.
One drawback is that productivity slows down during training as the workers are trained at the
actual workplace. Furthermore the risk of accidents is higher as the workers are new and may not
have enough knowledge about the equipment they are working on apart from what the instructor
has told them.

ii) Job Mentoring

Job mentoring involves providing an employee with an experienced coach to oversee his or her
learning experience. The mentor or coach provides advice and instruction, but is not performing
the job with the employee as in on-the-job training. The trainee employee learns the job firsthand
and may consult the mentor or coach at any time for assistance.
Cookie uses this method for high-level positions, like management trainee programs. This
method works well for employees who have already acclimated to the company and have been
moved up or promoted through the ranks.

When Coco, the marketing manager, notified Cookie that she would be moving out of state in a
month, Cookie assigned Coco to begin mentoring Ruth, the current marketing coordinator, for
Coco's position. This meant that Ruth would shadow or watch Coco as she performed her job.
Ruth would take on some of Coco's responsibilities during the transition. Eventually, Ruth would
perform all tasks of the job. Coco would be on hand to offer advice as needed.

iii) Job Rotation

Job rotation teaches current employees how to do various jobs over time. The employee will
rotate around to different jobs within the organization, performing various different tasks
unrelated to his original job.
Cookie uses job rotation for tasks that require a specific skill set, like chocolate mixing. By
learning different facets of the candy making process, the employees develop more skills. This
method is useful when employees call out sick or take vacations.
Cookie temporarily moved Melvin, an experienced candy cutter, over to the mixing department
to learn how to mix chocolate. Melvin worked alongside an experienced chocolate mixer to learn
the job. With Melvin well trained in mixology, Cookie knew that if necessary, she could quickly
and easily move him from candy cutting to chocolate mixing without disrupting the factory's
output.
The advantages of this method are:

Reduces employee boredom

Increases skills

Opens new opportunities to employees

Hones in on employee interests

The disadvantages of this method are:

Employee may not be satisfied with the new rotation

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Employee morale may decrease if employee is moved for a long period of time

Can disrupt the workflow as employee learns new task or job

iv) Coaching
Coaching is a one-to-one training. It helps in quickly identifying the weak areas and tries to
focus on them. It also offers the benefit of transferring theory learning to practice. The biggest
problem is that it perpetrates the existing practices and styles. In India most of the scooter
mechanics are trained only through this method.

v) Apprenticeship training
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. This method of
training is in vogue in those trades, crafts and technical fields in which a long period is required
for gaining proficiency. The trainees serve as apprentices to experts for long periods. They have
to work in direct association with and also under the direct supervision of their masters.
The object of such training is to make the trainees all-round craftsmen. It is an expensive method
of training. Also, there is no guarantee that the trained worker will continue to work in the same
organization after securing training. The apprentices are paid remuneration according the
apprenticeship agreements.

b) Off-the-job training methods

Off-the-job training methods are conducted in separate from the job environment, study material
is supplied, there is full concentration on learning rather than performing, and there is freedom of
expressions. Important methods include:

i) Lectures and Conferences

Lectures and conferences are the traditional and direct method of instruction. Every training
programme starts with lecture and conference. Its a verbal presentation for a large audience.
However, the lectures have to be motivating and creating interest among trainees. The speaker

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must have considerable depth in the subject. In the colleges and universities, lectures and
seminars are the most common methods used for training.

ii) Vestibule Training

Vestibule Training is a term for near-the-job training, as it offers access to something new
(learning). In vestibule training, the workers are trained in a prototype environment on specific
jobs in a special part of the plant.
An attempt is made to create working condition similar to the actual workshop conditions. After
training workers in such condition, the trained workers may be put on similar jobs in the actual
workshop.
This enables the workers to secure training in the best methods to work and to get rid of initial
nervousness. During the Second World War II, this method was used to train a large number of
workers in a short period of time. It may also be used as a preliminary to on-the job training.
Duration ranges from few days to few weeks. It prevents trainees to commit costly mistakes on
the actual machines.

iii) Simulation Exercises

Simulation is any artificial environment exactly similar to the actual situation. There are four
basic simulation techniques used for imparting training: management games, case study, role
playing, and in-basket training.

(a) Management Games:

Properly designed games help to ingrain thinking habits, analytical, logical and reasoning
capabilities, importance of team work, time management, to make decisions lacking complete
information, communication and leadership capabilities. Use of management games can
encourage novel, innovative mechanisms for coping with stress.
Management games orient a candidate with practical applicability of the subject. These games
help to appreciate management concepts in a practical way. Different games are used for training

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general managers and the middle management and functional heads executive Games and
functional heads.

(b) Case Study:

Case studies are complex examples which give an insight into the context of a problem as well as
illustrating the main point. Case Studies are trainee centered activities based on topics that
demonstrate theoretical concepts in an applied setting.
A case study allows the application of theoretical concepts to be demonstrated, thus bridging the
gap between theory and practice, encourage active learning, provides an opportunity for the
development of key skills such as communication, group working and problem solving, and
increases the trainees enjoyment of the topic and hence their desire to learn.

(c) Role Playing:

Each trainee takes the role of a person affected by an issue and studies the impacts of the issues
on human life and/or the effects of human activities on the world around us from the perspective
of that person.
It emphasizes the real-world side of science and challenges students to deal with complex
problems with no single right answer and to use a variety of skills beyond those employed in a
typical research project.
In particular, role-playing presents the student a valuable opportunity to learn not just the course
content, but other perspectives on it. The steps involved in role playing include defining
objectives, choose context & roles, introducing the exercise, trainee preparation/research, the
role-play, concluding discussion, and assessment. Types of role play may be multiple role play,
single role play, role rotation, and spontaneous role play.

d) In basket:
In-basket exercise, also known as in-tray training, consists of a set of business papers which may
include e-mail SMSs, reports, memos, and other items. Now the trainer is asked to prioritize the
decisions to be made immediately and the ones that can be delayed.
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On the negative side, the method is somewhat academic and removed from real life situations.
The participants, knowing full well that they are handling an imaginary situation, may not be too
excited about the whole exercise and may not fully commit themselves to the task.

iv) Sensitivity Training

Sensitivity training involves such groupings as- T groups (T for training), encounter
groups, laboratory training groups, and human awareness groups are all names usually associated
with what is known as sensitivity training.
Sensitivity training is about making people understand about themselves and others reasonably,
which is done by developing in them social sensitivity and behavioral flexibility.

Social sensitivity in one word is empathy. It is ability of an individual to sense what

others feel and think from their own point of view.

Behavioral flexibility is ability to behave suitably in light of understanding.

Procedure of Sensitivity Training

Sensitivity Training Program requires three steps:
1. Unfreezing the old values -It requires that the trainees become aware of the inadequacy of the
old values. This can be done when the trainee faces dilemma in which his old values is not able
to provide proper guidance. The first step consists of a small procedure:

An unstructured group of 10-15 people is formed.

Unstructured group without any objective looks to the trainer for its guidance

But the trainer refuses to provide guidance and assume leadership

Soon, the trainees are motivated to resolve the uncertainty

Then, they try to form some hierarchy. Some try assume leadership role which may not
be liked by other trainees

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Then, they started realizing that what they desire to do and realize the alternative ways of
dealing with the situation

2. Development of new values - With the trainer's support, trainees begin to examine their
interpersonal behavior and giving each other feedback. The reasoning of the feedbacks are
discussed which motivates trainees to experiment with range of new behaviors and values. This
process constitutes the second step in the change process of the development of these values.
3. Refreezing the new ones - This step depends upon how much opportunity the trainees get to
practice their new behaviors and values at their work place.
In one way sensitivity training is the process of developing emotional intelligence, which means
"the mental ability an individual possesses enabling him or her to be sensitive and understanding
to the emotions of others as well as being able to manage their own emotions and impulses".
Emotional intelligence, according to Merriam Webster, "describes the ability, capacity, skill or, in
the case of the trait, to identify, assess and manage the emotions of one's self, of others, and of
groups." Emotional intelligence enables employees to act according to the situation in the
organization faced by him. It develops the ability to understand others feeling and their mental
status and interact accordingly. Conflicts and misunderstandings are mostly raised because of
lack of emotional intelligence possessed by the person who leads to breakup in perception and
relationship they main since long time in organization and affects the productivity of the
organization.

Methods/techniques of Management Development Programmes

Management Development Programmes help in acquiring and developing different types of
managerial skills and knowledge. Different types of techniques are used to acquire and develop
various types of managerial skills and knowledge.

1) Decision making skills

The main job of a manager is to make both strategic and routine decisions. His ability to take
effective decisions can be enhanced by developing decision-making skills through various
techniques such as in basket, business games and case study.
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2) Interpersonal skills
A manager can achieve results only when he is able to put individuals on the right track. He must
interact with people actively and make them work unitedly. Managerial skills in the area of interpersonal relations can be enhanced through various techniques viz., role play and sensitivity
training.

3) Organizational knowledge
Managers should possess knowledge of various jobs, products, markets, finances creditors of the
organization, etc. the techniques of imparting organizational knowledge are job rotation and
multiple management.

a) Job rotation
The transferring of executives from job to job and from department to department in a systematic
manner is called job rotation. The idea behind this is to give them the required diversified skills
and a broader outlook, which are very important at upper management levels. The management
should provide a variety of job experiences for those judged to have the potential for higher
ranks before they are promoted. Job rotation increases the inter-departmental cooperation and
reduces the monotony of the work.

b) Multiple management
Multiple management is a system in which permanent advisory committees of managers study
problems of the company and makes recommendations to higher management. It is also called a
Junior-board of executives. These committees discuss the actual problems and different
alternative solutions after which the decisions are taken. Multiple management technique offers
several advantages: it helps board members to gain firsthand experience in various important
aspects of business; it becomes easy to spot people with talent; juniors get a chance to improve
their problem solving skills; and more importantly it is an inexpensive way of training a good
number of executives to do things on their own and develop fast.

4) General knowledge
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In addition to job knowledge and organizational knowledge, managers should possess general
knowledge, as the external environment interacts with and influences the business. The general
knowledge includes the knowledge about the economic conditions of the country and the world
in general, in respect of major areas such as prices, GNP per capita income, various other
industries, other sectors of the economy, political conditions, social factors, etc. General
knowledge can be acquired through special courses, special meetings and specific readings.

Special courses: like the workshops or executive development programmes organized by

the institutes, universities and colleges- help the trainees to acquire general knowledge.
Special meetings: organized in Consumers forums, voluntary Organizations, etc., help

the trainees develop their general knowledge.

Specific readings: Specific articles published by various journals, specific portions of
important books are provided to the trainees to improve their general knowledge.

5) Specific Individual Needs

Some trainees may be weak in some areas. Such trainees are provided with special facilities for
development. These facilities include special projects and committee assignments.

Special projects: in this method, a trainee is put on a project closely related to the
objectives of his department, For example, a new recruit in a property evaluation firm
may be asked to do a small project reviewing the prospects of selling commercial space
in satellite townships near Delhi. The project will give a firsthand experience of the

problems and prospects in space selling to the new recruit.

Committee assignment: in this method, an ad hoc committee is appointed to discuss,
evaluate and offer suggestions relating to an important aspect of business. For example, a
group of experts may be asked to look into the feasibility of developing a Software
Technology Park in an upcoming area by the Delhi Development Authority.

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