MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES

MBA 331

CIA – 3

A report submitted on the process of training in an organization based on an

interview with a Training & Development Head

Submitted by,

Mario D’Vaz – 1827719

Anish Vidiyala – 1827732
Madhuri Sistla - 1827745
Neha Sathya Kethineedi – 1827748
Shubhada Deshpande – 1827756

MBA J

Under the Guidance of

Dr. Rekha Aranha

Institute of Management
CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), Bengaluru

MARCH, 2019

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sl No. Topic Page No.

1. Introduction 3
2. Objective 3
3. About the interviewee 3
4. Analysis of the report section wise:
Section I – What truly drives the trainer 4
5. Section II – Training within corporate 4
structure
6. Section III – Approaches to training 5
7. Section IV – Training Methods 6
8. Section V – Training evaluation, tell us how 6
9. Section VI – Understanding the world of 7
training
10. Conclusion 8
11. Work Division 9
12. Appendix 10

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Introduction
“The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat.”

The whole process of training and development is in itself a completely different domain in HR.
There are several aspects to the development of a training module that may seem minute in the
bigger picture, but have a larger part to play in the grand scheme of things. Understanding the
audience, i.e., who needs the training is the first step to developing a training module. Gauging
who the employees are, what department they belong to, their background and the organization’s
current needs, one is able to assess the “who” portion of the training module. The “what” portion
of the module consists of understanding the context in which the training has to take place. Post
this, preparing the module, implementing and evaluating it are the common steps that are generally
followed. Another aspect that should be kept in mind whilst developing a training module is the
recency of an employee’s term in the organization. It must be kept in mind that a new employee
must be treated with patience and shouldn’t be coerced out of his comfort zone too early on, lest
he won’t be able to train in the manner required of him. This is a fact that most organizations fail
to keep in mind while developing their programs. Keeping in mind all of these factors, a trainer
must develop a training module suitable for the needs of the department also taking into
consideration the organization’s goals and vision.

Objective
Training, as widely known to all, is a cost to the organization. It the trainer’s duty to ensure that
the training is most effective by making it a success. The objective of this report is to find out
how the process of training works from its birth until the last trainee walks out of the hall once
the training has been completed from a trainer’s perspective.

About the contact

Name: Lavneet Kaur Lamba
Organization: PowerSchool Group LLC
Designation: Regional Corporate Trainer- Talent Development
Experience in Current Organization (in months): 11 months.
Overall Experience (in months): 88 months total; 62 months in L&D.

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Analysis of the training processes

The analysis of this organization’s training processes have been divided into six sections with
each section specifically dealing with a different aspect of training.

Section I - What Truly Drives the Regional Corporate Trainer

Lavneet Kaur Lamba who’s a Regional Corporate Trainer - Talent Development in PowerSchool
GroupLLC, truly believes in designing learning solutions with applying innovative approaches
and technologies that are best suited for the multi-generations at the workplace.
According to her, one rule for fostering learning at a workplace is to design training sessions that
create a feeling of excitement to learn and practice. In this way, one can definitely utilize the
learning-delivery methods more effectively.
In the process of answering a question about whether training is an acquired passion or one that a
person is born with, she said that effective training needs tremendous patience and a thorough
understanding of various gaps in employee learning processes. She had a strong passion for
training since the beginning along with also having a chance to experience different roles, across
diverse industries and had various opportunities to build on her capabilities for performing the
role, giving her the ability to work across multi-cultural global teams.

Section II - Training within the Corporate Structure

In the organization in which she works, learning strategies for the millennials no longer resonate
with those that worked for the older generations.
In her company, they take these important aspects into consideration while designing a training
program:-
 Ensure that learning is relevant.
 Know your learner.
 Compact Learning Nuggets (small learning sessions of 15-20 minutes like TED
talks) that make the sessions less boring.

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  Collaborative learning through social networking.
 Making learning a game (Offering rewards and badges).
There is a difference in the training methods followed in her organization and the other
organizations. Many organizations use standard training techniques providing learning strategies
that worked for older generations, whereas they recommend how to effectively engage the
millennial learner.
Further talking about her role as a trainer and whom she trained, she has mentioned that she is an
L&D professional with experience in executing numerous projects in the domains of leadership
development, talent management employee engagement and organization development. Also, she
focuses more on training specifically for new millennials.
Her organization trains the trainer before he or she train the employees. Lavneet Kaur Lamba has
been on both ends of that spectrum. She said that one needs to learn that facilitating learning is the
art of guiding but not leading.
The process of learning is often mistaken for lecturing. It is all about practicing the art of engaging
employees and motivating them to learn effectively.

Section III – Approaches to Training

The standard training procedures adopted for new hires in PowerSchool Group LLC include
 Listing tasks that new employees need to learn.
 Making the tasks clear to them
 Listing supplies, workspace and equipment necessary for learning on each task
 Immediate assignments and taking performance feedbacks
 Periodically review employee competence with each task
 Based on the above, review and improve the training procedure.

This resembles the OJT processes which include preparing the learner, presenting the
operation, doing a try out and follow up.
Though this is a costly and time effective approach, it can lead to poor trainee performance
due to diversified training areas, like in case of job rotation.

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This is countered by periodically assessing the training requirements of the employee and
offering training on demand. Even use of social media has been a resourceful training tool
in this aspect. Apart from these, analyzing the poor performers and developing an effective
action plan is found to be helpful.

Another important aspect of training is dealing with different types of trainees, PowerSchool
Group LLC handles this situation effectively by gamification of training process as even the
reluctant and resistant trainees get motivated by points and a sense of accomplishment and
as far as high performers are considered providing them with training when they really need
it would be enough.

Section IV - Training Methods

Lavneet Kaur Lamba, personally prefers on the job training but gives it her own twist by
bringing in a simulation experience or by incorporating management games. Planned reading
and case studies are the other methods that have worked for her in her 62 months tenure as a
L&D trainer. She believes that employees tend to learn more in an interactive environment
while they are motivated rather than challenged and thus all her processes are spontaneous
and gamified than seminars and lectures.
She pointed out that technology based learning and behavioural training programmes require
frequent repetition as it needs to be aligned with the current market requirements and trends.
They however also require a very customised approach as it differs for every department and
individual. Hence coaching or mentoring technique is adopted here as it gives the employees
a chance to receive training one on one from an experienced professional.

Section V - Training Evaluation, please tell us how

When asked about the assessment of a training program in order to understand the general
basis on which a training program in itself is evaluated, Lavneet speaks specifically about 4

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broad categories. On originally discussing the intricacies in evaluation introspection, she
admits that the process of evaluation isn’t as easy as it should be. Analysing the points she
mentioned, we see them listed as the following:-
- Satisfying the Learning Objectives: Herein she states the achievement of the pre-
determined purpose of the training. Each training is structured in its own way with a
goal in sight and the training models are expected to achieve this basic objective
- Effectiveness of the Trainer: Training is a result of subjective human abilities which
is also dependent on the trainer’s skills in regard to motivation and session
facilitation. This is an aspect which is consciously evaluated post training
- Feedback from Employees: Lavneet mentioned the importance of collection of
feedback from employees who have just undergone a training in order to receive a
fresh and honest take on the session conducted for them
- Overall Employee Growth and Satisfaction: The employee is observed on whether
or not he/ she makes significant progressive changes to the way he/ she works and
is also tested on levels of satisfaction with the training

Section VI - Help Us Understand the World of Training

Lavneet’s advanced levels of experience in this field have given her a considerably
comprehensive take on the world of training. Notably, on asking these questions, our aim
was to understand aspects of training which we haven’t as yet. Her answers were relatively
straightforward and to the point in this section as she refrained from really diving in.
When asked about the preference on the size of the team she trains, she naturally inclined
to a smaller team in a more intimate setting which allows for closer and more effective
interactions. Given the disadvantages of a larger team is the tendency to lose focus. A
smaller team allows for a more act and react setting.
Lavneet utilises in-house trainers at a low cost while also leveraging the new age art of
video training modules displayed online. In-house trainers are a long term investment as
Lavneet sees it and she encourages the art of facilitation.

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Trainings are done based on a recognized gap in the functioning of the employee
workforce and structured in a way that aims at bridging that gap. It is also done with the
release of a new trend or program and do not follow a uniform or respectively frequent
cadence. There is no minimum amount of time that an employee is required to clock-in,
however, these trainings are encouraged and promoted.
The company looks to proactively avoid negative feedback and aims to handle it with grace
when received. Feedback is approached in a constructive manner at all times.

Conclusion

Each organization functions differently based on its needs and goals. Large companies would
perhaps have bigger goals to achieve in terms of revenue, whereas a smaller firm would still
be concentrating on expanding its base. It is the trainer’s job to comprehend what the
organization needs and to what extent in order to develop a training module. Taking into
consideration all the surrounding factors such as time, cost, complexity of subject matter, the
trainer begins to develop modules for his trainees. It is safe to say that training requires too
many details to take into account that one could easily make a slip that could result in a
complete disaster. Hence, it is of utmost care that one must train his/her employees to
guarantee that the organization always has people ready to serve in all the essential roles.

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Work Division

 Questionnaire Formulation - Mario, Shubhada, Neha

 Contact Scouting - Anish, Madhuri
 Interviewer - Anish
 Report Writing - Anish, Mario, Madhuri, Shubhada, Neha

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 APPENDIX

Questionnaire

Section I
Help us understand what truly drives you
1. What about training truly intrigues you?
2. Would you call training an acquired passion or one that you
are born with?

Section II

Training within the corporate structure

1. Are there any specific training methods followed by your organization?
2. How do you see these differing from the other organizations which you
have been a part of?
3. What is your role as a trainer? Who do you train?
4. Does your organization train you before you train them?

Section III

Approaches to training which you or your organization usually adopt

1. What are the standard training procedures for new hires?
2. How do you assess when and in what particular field an employee needs training?
3. How do you handle trainees who are resistant and reluctant towards training?
4. How do ensure that a high performer is constantly doing well?

Section IV

Tell us about your training methods

1. Given your experience, which method do you personally prefer while conducting a
training?
2. Have you noticed any general patterns showcased by different employees on how
they best learn? If yes, how do you normally adapt to their need?
3. Are there specific training which require frequent repetition?
4. Are there specific training modules in which you customise the approach as per
audience? If yes, could you give us an example?

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Section V

Training Evaluation, please tell us how

1. On what basis is the effectiveness of a program assessed?

Section VI

Help us understand the world of training

1. As a trainer, would you prefer small or large groups of people to train?

2. Since training is a cost, how do you, as a trainer ensure that training is most
effective?
3. Are there any minimum number of hours required for an employee to be trained in
a year, in your organization specifically?
4. How do you deal with negative feedback?
5. What are some of the challenges that you face as a trainer when you realise that
the new hires do not meet the industry expectation?

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