2: ESTABLISHING EFFECTIVE TRAINING IN YOUR ORGANISATION

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

On completion of this chapter, you should be able to:

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A Training & Development Scenario

Read these two scenarios and provide your advice:

What issues would you consider when preparing an individual development plan for each employee?

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INTRODUCTION

We focus in this book on providing you with the knowledge that you require to make T&D work in your organisation. A significant proportion of this book focuses on your role in designing, delivering and evaluating T&D activities. This chapter focuses on a more macro issue: What factors do you need to consider when establishing T&D in your organisation? It is possible that the T&D function may be in an embryonic stage in your company. Alternatively, your organisation may undertake some T&D activity already or it may have a well-established T&D function. Even if the last is the case, you can still get ideas from this chapter on how to improve your overall approach.

We examine a number of internal and external factors that influence how T&D will operate in your organisation. External factors include competition, the regulatory and legal environment and external stakeholders. Internal factors include your organisation’s culture and structure, its strategic objectives and its product and service characteristics.

It is important to establish a strong foundation for an effective training function. This will involve support and buy-in from senior management, the formulation of a training vision and mission statements, training policies, plans and the acquisition of resources for training.

In the final sections, we focus on what you as a trainer need to do in order to enhance your credibility and professionalism. We explain the competencies that you should possess as well as some of the ethical dilemmas that you may encounter in performing your role.

T&D: AN INVESTMENT, NOT SIMPLY A COST

When you start to think about T&D in your organisation, you should think of all learning activities as an investment in capability. It is, however, sometimes problematic to calculate precisely the contribution that T&D can make to an organisation. Many variables combine to explain the long-term contribution of training to individual and organisational performance. Nonetheless, you can make the following points when asked to justify investment in training and development:

The benefits of training often occur some time after the initial financial outlay. This list of benefits may well convince an employer that investment in T&D is a worthwhile consideration.

If you are to make the argument that training is an investment, then you must be prepared to evaluate it. We will consider this topic in Chapter Ten. In this chapter, we will concentrate on the benefits of training. For example, the CIPD makes a distinction between “pay-back” and “pay-forward” in explaining the benefits of training. Pay-back is defined as “the financial return on an investment in training”. Did the monetary value of the results exceed the cost of training? Pay-forward describes benefits from investment in training that cannot easily be expressed in monetary terms, such as improved customer service levels, raised morale and greater workforce flexibility. Figure 2.1 presents a summary of the pay-back and pay-forward elements of investing in T&D.

These two lists provide evidence that training can make a difference. However, getting this message across is not easy. You are likely to encounter difficulties in persuading managers to invest in T&D. Typical barriers include the excuses that:

These reasons illustrate that many people are still not convinced. Therefore, the task you face is to identify benefits more robustly.

FIGURE 2.1: EXAMPLES OF PAY-BACK & PAY-FORWARD FOR T&D

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STRUCTURING T&D: SOME FACTORS TO CONSIDER

Training activities are influenced by factors outside of the organisation and by the characteristics of the organisation itself.

Factors in the external environment will impact directly or indirectly on your organisation’s strategies and policies and on how T&D responds to strategic changes.

External Factors

Some of the more important external factors that may directly or indirectly impact T&D include location, demography, political and legislative influences, the economic and social characteristics, all of which influence organisational actions and the influence of technology. Let’s look at each in turn:

Internal Factors

There are a number of internal factors that you need to be aware of when managing T&D activities. The most important factors are the organisation’s strategy, culture, structure, product and service characteristics, characteristics of its internal labour market and the influence of internal stakeholders. Let’s look at each in turn:

HOW TO ESTABLISH EFFECTIVE T&D IN YOUR ORGANISATION

The process of establishing an effective T&D function in your organisation – acquiring resources, enhancing your credibility and developing training systems and processes – takes time and expertise. Therefore, it will be worthwhile to start small and gradually justify your activities through demonstrating success and tangible outcomes. Here, we outline a number of issues that you will need to consider. We focus on some of the training processes that you should put in place, the type of resources you require and the different role approaches that you can adopt. We first consider the importance of gaining the support of top management.

Securing Top Management Support for T&D

One of the most important challenges you will face is securing top management support for T&D. It is very valuable where it is secured, since the most senior person in an organisation usually sets its agenda. Thus, the values and priorities of the chief executive or managing director need to be carefully observed. Where the chief executive has a personal belief in the value of T&D and is committed to supporting it, then this will represent an important asset. Table 2.2 outlines levels of top management support that may be available to you. You should however ensure that the support you receive is real support rather than that which is “politically correct”.

Some chief executives may actually sponsor specific learning events. This can give a training initiative a level of credibility that it would not otherwise have. Sometimes senior management or the CEO may be interventionist. The CEO may prescribe some of the training activities that you should carry out.

You can enhance the level of support you secure from senior management in a number of ways, including:

FIGURE 2.2: LEVELS OF SENIOR MANAGEMENT SUPPORT FOR T&D

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THE CONTRIBUTION OF T&D TO THE CORPORATE PLAN

You should be aware of some elements of your organisation’s “strategic” process, especially its organisational mission, its strategic objectives and its business plan.

The Organisational Mission

The organisational mission is a statement that covers the purpose of an organisation and expresses the aspirations and ambitions of its members. It gives the overall “reason for being” of the organisation, and describes what the organisation wants to become.

The most effective mission statements are short, clear, and identify how the organisation is unique. Mission statements provide a vision that employees can identify with.

Examples of mission statements include:

Mission statements have a range of purposes. They are helpful in explaining to customers, investors or stakeholders what the organisation is all about. They can be used to motivate employees. The strategic objectives of the organisation can be formulated from the mission to guide organisational activity.

Strategic Objectives

Strategic objectives are longer-term goals for the organisation, which result from a strategic planning process and which help to translate the mission statement into action. They need to be carefully worded to be as specific as possible, and indicating some relevant measure of performance. These objectives need to reflect the balance of priorities in an organisation and should focus on a limited number of critical issues. If too many objectives are written, covering too many issues, then the focus and direction of action becomes lost under pages of “nice to have’s”. Examples of strategic business objectives include:

A key feature of effective training is its capacity to align its activities with the strategic imperatives of the organisation. You will need to give this issue very particular consideration. There are a number of things that you can do to support the strategic imperatives of your organisation. We suggest that the following are worthy of consideration:

Figure 2.3 provides a summary of the questions that you should ask when analysing the strategic alignment of your T&D function with the strategic priorities of the organisation.

FIGURE 2.3: EVALUATING THE STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT OF YOUR T&D FUNCTION: KEY QUESTIONS

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Business Plans

Business plans focus on specific activities that the organisation intends to achieve within a specific time period. Although business plans can be short- or long-term and may take many different forms, they are designed to show how the organisation’s strategic objectives will be achieved.

Integrating T&D with the Organisation Mission

In some organisations, mission statements or objectives do not exist in written form. Where T&D activities are not driven by the organisational mission and objectives, then they will probably be determined by factors such as:

On the surface, your T&D may seem sensible, logical, problem-oriented and meeting real needs but, if T&D is not carried out in the context of a long-term organisational direction, it may cause the following problems:

As a result, T&D will not be seen as key to corporate success in the future. The bottom line for the organisation is that strategic initiatives and changes may fail because the necessary contribution from T&D was not identified and did not happen.

T&D activities can contribute to the organisation’s mission in one or more of four areas:

The critical question is how can the T&D contribution be linked with the mission and strategic objectives? This is easier in those organisations where the mission and objectives are clearly articulated, written and communicated to all employees.

Figure 2.4 provides a summary of the different levels of contribution that the T&D function can make.

FIGURE 2.4: USING T&D TO ACHIEVE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

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A number of different plans within the organisation are likely to require an input from T&D, including are human resource and equal opportunity plans:

FORMULATING T&D POLICY STATEMENTS

Skill in formulating T&D policy statements is an important building block necessary in order to establish an effective T&D function. We define a T&D policy as a written statement of intent, a set of guidelines that says something meaningful about how the organisation views T&D.

Reasons for Formulating T&D Policy Statements

The most fundamental reason for formulating a T&D policy statement is to demonstrate how T&D contributes to the goals of the organisation. Written policies on training and development perform a number of important functions:

How to Write a T&D Policy Statement

Writing a policy takes skill and a degree of understanding of the organisation, its future direction and the contribution that people can make to its success. You should be clear about the reasons for the introduction of such a policy and what objectives it is designed to achieve. The policy should state which categories of people will be affected – the overall presentation style should be positive and unambiguous.

A T&D policy should specify the organisation’s intentions or expectations in the areas listed below.

FIGURE 2.5: EXAMPLES OF T&D POLICY STATEMENTS

Resources: We will strive to spend 5% of salary and wages on formal and on-the-job T&D for the forthcoming year.

Responsibilities for Training: It will be the responsibility of the general manager and a designated assistant manager to ensure the T&D needs of our employees are constantly reviewed. The designated manager will formally oversee an assessment of the T&D needs of operational employees on a quarterly basis. It will be the duty of the general manger to review and assess the development of managerial employees on a quarterly basis.

Diversity / Equality: We will strive to provide an environment in which equality and diversity are not only encouraged, but also embedded in our culture and ethos. We will introduce a diversity-training workshop to be conducted annually in order to communicate a heightened awareness of the challenges and benefits of working in a diverse environment. We are an equal opportunities employer and will not discriminate on any of the nine grounds outlined in the Employment Equality Act 1998 in relation to the provision of T&D.

Induction Training: Our commitment to our newest team members is that they will receive induction training within the first month of joining the company. They will receive an introduction to their roles, our policies and procedure, training on health and safety, information on our employee support structures and an understanding of our culture. The goal of this training is to facilitate an easy integration to the company and develop and promote a high performance organisation.

Managers and Leaders: We will provide developmental direction on leadership and supervisory skills on an on-going basis to our team leaders to ensure that we utilise and develop their skills in a fast-changing and competitive environment. The training provided will be driven by the feedback we receive from supervisors and subordinates. The goal is to develop managers who understand and take responsibility for the development of each staff member and to foster positive attitudes towards a progressive training policy.

Craft and Apprenticeship: All craft employees will be given time and financial support to pursue courses and training that are job-related and that will enhance their skills within the organisation. The extent of the support will be determined on a case-by-case basis and will be influenced by the relevance to their roles. We will also endeavour to facilitate non-crafted employees to take craft and apprenticeship positions within the company when they become available. Our goal is to have our craft employees perceive our organisation as one where their skills and crafts are respected and utilised, and that they have the opportunity and support to keep their skills updated.

Gaining Commitment to the T&D Policy

Realistically, the development of a T&D policy statement will require input and involvement from several levels of management, each taking on a different level of responsibility:

The policy must be communicated widely throughout the organisation, so that all employees have the opportunity to understand:

Note that, once an organisation has committed itself to a course of action and has ensured the commitment of its employees through a process of consultation, failure to meet employee expectations of the policy can lead to resentment, disillusionment and lack of motivation and organisational aims and objectives will not be achieved.

Reviewing T&D Policy Statements

Once a T&D policy is formalised and implementation has commenced, it will be necessary to monitor the results, content and relevance of the policy on an ongoing basis.

External factors that may influence the achievement of objectives include the health of the economy, new technologies and legislation. The organisation may have to review its T&D policy to deal with the effects of these factors.

You may need to review your training and development policy for any one or more of the following reasons:

The following are some of the issues that you will need to consider when reviewing your organisation’s T&D policy statement:

A T&D policy should be not just modified to meet the demands of change but, in addition, to correct any underlying inadequacies. Those who initiate policy, however, are sometimes reluctant to change it, since this may imply shortcomings in their original formulation. Modifying and reviewing policy also requires even more consultation than the original policy development. Expectations raised by the original intent of the policy may now have changed, so everyone affected by the potential effects of review must be consulted. Negotiating such a review of policy is often harder than introducing it initially.

FORMULATING T&D PLANS

The next issue you must consider is the formulation of T&D plans. You need to consider three levels of planning:

We will spend the remainder of this section considering the components of these three planning outputs.

Strategic Organisational T&D Plan

The aim of the strategic T&D plan is to set out the general direction that T&D will take within the organisation over the foreseeable future, which in most cases is a time span of three to five years. It is a process, therefore, that deliberately takes a long-term view to create a vision of the future.

Strategic training plans are most likely to be linked to the mission and strategic objectives of the organisation, and will primarily address organisational and functional/departmental training needs, and, occasionally, occupational needs. They may be drawn up as an integral part of the corporate planning process but, more usually, they follow on from corporate planning processes, and are a response to the T&D issues arising from the overall plan. If the plan is developed by the T&D function, it will often represent many days of work analysing the direction of the organisation, and the role that T&D needs to play in supporting that. It will contain such items as:

Strategic T&D plans serve three main purposes:

Figure 2.6 gives an example of a strategic or organisational T&D plan, while Figure 2.7 recommends a process to follow.

FIGURE 2.6: EXAMPLE OF A STRATEGIC T&D PLAN

Training & Development Strategic Plan

1. Vision / Mission

Business Mission

Training Mission

2. Strategic Business Issues

3. Training & Development Strategic Issues

4. Training Objectives

5. Resource and Volume Implications

Adapted from Moorby (1991).

FIGURE 2.7: RECOMMENDED PROCESS FOR DEVELOPING A STRATEGIC/ORGANISATIONAL T&D PLAN

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Operational T&D Plans

A T&D operational plan (often referred to as the training plan) is concerned with existing operations and the immediate issues and problems surrounding them. It is short-term, often coinciding with the organisation’s annual budgeting cycle. In general, T&D operational planning assumes a fairly constant environment and can be specific about the sorts of activity that will be carried out in support of business operations – for example, programmes of on- and off-the-job training, timetables, reviews, activities, etc.

Operational plans are normally intended to specify T&D activity over the coming year, and need to be written in such a way that performance over the year can be assessed against the plan. The annual operational plan is a step towards achieving the strategic plan and therefore also needs to be constructed with the strategic objectives clearly in mind. Where the organisation does not construct a strategic T&D plan, an operational plan is still useful to clarify T&D activity over the year, and to share this across the organisation. The resulting plan, however, will lack a long-term perspective and direction.

The operational plan is likely to contain the following:

Examples of operational objectives include:

Operational T&D plans may have a range of purposes. As a result, and given the wide diversity of organisations using them, we can expect to find a considerable variety of plans. Some will be large and comprehensive, others will be highly focused, perhaps on the needs of a particular key group of employees, or in relation to a specific project.

It is likely that you will have to produce one of three types of operational plan:

Individual T&D Plans / Personal Development Plans

Personal development plans are a statement of the intended development of that individual over a specified period. They rest on an assessment of development needs, usually identified jointly by the individual and his/her manager. In circumstances where the needs and plan are imposed by the manager, the plans are unlikely to be effective or to have commitment from the individual. Although managers may have responsibility for making sure development planning takes place with each member of their staff, the plan needs to be owned by the individuals, as does their individual development.

Some development planning will result from the output of assessment and development centres and, in these cases, a variety of people may be helping the individual to achieve their development goals.

In many organisations, there is no formal process of individual development planning, and plans will only exist for individuals with identified potential or for the staff of “development-minded” managers. Some individuals may have an agreed development plan with their manager, but nothing is even written down. Other individuals may find themselves in a position where there is no managerial support for their development, and their only chance of a development plan is to write their own and to solicit support from any likely sources. Although this can be effective and says a lot for the individuals involved, it is not usually as powerful as manager-supported development.

The key items to be included in a development plan are:

Figure 2.8 presents an example of a personal development plan. We will provide more detail on the personal development planning process in Chapter 10.

FIGURE 2.8: EXAMPLE OF A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

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Summary

These three components of the T&D planning process have a number of common features, which it is important for you to understand:

SECURING RESOURCES FOR T&D

Financial Resources

Securing a training budget is an important issue. Exactly how the budget is prepared will depend upon the following key factors:

Whether the budget consists only of amounts earmarked for special purposes is likely to depend on the organisation’s accounting norms: most “active” training budgets now contain contingency sums that are not so earmarked and which can therefore fund unanticipated costs. Where such contingency sums are included, there may be a temptation to create or “find” ways of spending them; in some organisational cultures, unspent budgets may be thought to promote future budget reductions.

Although budgets vary from one organisation to another, you will need appropriate systems for forecasting the financial resources required and for controlling those allocated. In order to implement a budgetary system for training, you will need to have the following in place:

Securing Financial Resources for Training

Securing financial resources for training is often very political and is usually subject to your organisation’s accounting rules. There are basically four options available to you, as outlined in Figure 2.9:

The latter approaches are perhaps more problematic and require considerable negotiation skills. Whatever model you decide on, it is important that you have freedom to buy-in external resources.

FIGURE 2.9: FUNDING MECHANISMS FOR T&D IN ORGANISATIONS

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Pricing T&D Activities

This is a very relevant issue if your T&D function is expected to make an internal profit. The general consensus is that this approach is not effective, because it imposes a major burden on the training function. However, there is evidence that training functions are increasingly required to cost out their training activities. Figure 2.10 outlines a number of pricing options that you can use.

FIGURE 2.10: PRICING OPTIONS FOR T&D IN ORGANISATIONS

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You should view training resources as the input required to enable a training plan to be implemented. The range of resources that can be drawn upon includes people (the trainer him/herself), and facilities (the self-learning package, a walk-in open access resource centre, a training room) and money (the training budget). However, it is often not so much the resources themselves that achieve results but the skill with which they are managed.

Credibility and influence are enhanced when the training specialist is accepted as the focal point in the organisation for advice and information about training activities (both internal and external):

It is through contacts with top managers that you benefit from key resources of political support for your activities.

The recognition that successful training does not have to take place in a training centre is powerfully reinforced by the application to T&D of new technologies, which have three main effects:

All training resources ultimately cost money, and you are responsible for advising on the best use of the available resources to facilitate learning. To do this, requires up-to-date knowledge of the resources on which to draw and how they can best be employed.

Physical Resources

You may be fortunate to have customised internal training facilities, and/or you may be able to avail of external training facilities:

People Resources

You have a number of options here:

Outsourcing T&D Activities / Using Consultants

A major issue is whether you should contract or outsource training and development activities. There is strong evidence that T&D departments outsource some or all of their activities. However, there is evidence that this approach can produce mixed results. There are a number of arguments for, and against, it as a strategy.

For

Against
  • Reduced direct overhead cost
  • Reduced management attention
  • Ability to control against strict performance criteria
  • Availability of wider range of skills
  • Lack of commitment to organisational goals
  • Lack of long-term ownership
  • Degrees of freedom in controlling performance
  • Risks in lack of continuity of key skills

Whether you decide to outsource depends on the general philosophy of the organisation. Some organisations take the view that all T&D activities should be conducted in-house; others consider it a more cost-effective option to outsource.

There is evidence that organisations use consultants and there is a move towards more long-term relationships in their use. Consultants can help in a number of areas such as:

Choosing consultants is often a difficult task. Trying out new consultants is a risk, therefore it is prudent to opt for a piloting arrangement.

YOUR PROFESSIONAL APPROACH AS A TRAINING SPECIALIST

We conclude this chapter with some discussion and advice on how you can enhance your credibility as a trainer within your organisation and profession. We consider four issues that you should take proactive steps to enhance:

Your Personal Credibility

Your personal credibility is an important asset that opens doors to opportunities and will give you an important source of influence within the organisation. Your personal credibility is very much dependent on your perceived expertise and track record within and outside of the organisation. Figure 2.11 presents a list of tasks that influence your credibility.

We will discuss some of the factors that enhance some of these elements of your credibility.

FIGURE 2.11: THE BALANCE SHEET OF CREDIBILITY FOR AN EFFECTIVE TRAINER

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Your Professionalism

The professionalism with which you carry out your T&D will considerably impact your credibility as a trainer. Training involves situations where you may encounter potential conflicts of interest. You may also be asked to undertake activities that are considered unethical and against good professional practice as a trainer. You are expected to show respect for your learners, to be open in the purposes of your training activities and be objective and impartial in the assessments you make of learners. Figure 2.12 provides a summary of the ethical issues you need to consider.

FIGURE 2.12: ETHICAL ISSUES FACING A TRAINING SPECIALIST

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Your Competencies as a Trainer

Throughout this book, we emphasise the importance of your competencies and capabilities. You need to be an expert in understanding learning and the training design process, but you also need to have a good knowledge of the business. You are expected to be familiar with the core business values. There are, however, specific competencies and capabilities that you should also posses. Figure 2.13 provides a summary of these.

FIGURE 2.13: COMPETENCIES & CAPABILITIES OF TRAINING SPECIALISTS

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These competencies you will develop through specific learning activities, formal courses and the experience of designing and delivering training in organisations. We consider some of these competencies in more detail in Chapter Eight.

Enhancing your Networking Skills

Networking is an important dimension of your work as a training specialist. There is strong evidence indicating that effective training specialists are skilled in networking with key stakeholders, internal to and external to the organisation.

You can enhance your networking (“building social capital”) in a number of ways:

We know from the research that the way in which you behave during your networking activities is as important as the extent of your network. We can identify a number of rules that you should follow:

Your networking skills do not develop by accident. They demand you to be focused and systematic in your skills development. Some of the skills you can develop are:

BEST PRACTICE INDICATORS

Some of the best practice issues that you should consider related to the contents of this chapter are:

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Reflections on the Training & Development Scenario

These two scenarios reveal some of the issues that you should consider when preparing individual development plans.

Scenario one is concerned with preparing an employee for promotion and advancement within the organisation. Liam has many positive personality characteristics and, in particular, he possesses strong emotional resilience. He has skill development needs in two key areas: decision-making and managerial style. He also has a relatively limited range of experience. The planning time frame is three years. Your target is to develop Liam to be an effective area manager. You could incorporate a number of elements into his individual plan.

Scenario two is concerned with an employee whose career has plateaued. Ted reveals many of the characteristics of an employee who is dissatisfied and demotivated. Nonetheless, you have a strong belief in the potential contribution that Ted can make. Therefore, you need to approach this planning process with sensitivity.

One of the first issues that you need to establish is the reason for the decline in performance and behaviour. This may involve some form of counselling intervention designed to explore collaboratively key issues inhibiting motivation. You will also need to explore Ted’s expectations and how he views his career with the organisation.

You may need to discuss the possibility of a job transfer, a new project or some form of secondment outside of the organisation to give a new impetus and enhance his motivation. It is more likely that you will be concerned to have a shorter planning period with clearly defined review periods. These are necessary to monitor progress and take further corrective action if necessary.