What is Training and development in an organization

It is being one of the oldest debates in the corporate world, does invest in training and development payoff? (Tsui et. al., 1997). There are many different approaches to this fundamental question and perhaps Richard Benson’s, the founder of the Virgin Group, famous quote may give an answer, “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough, so they don’t want to” (Larry , McDonald & Taboada, 2018, p. 85).  This will answer two, not one fundamental question and concerns in Human Resource Management, the importance of training and the importance of retaining staff. Further, training and development will enhance the one of the main intangible assets of an organization, Human Capital, which will increase the competitiveness of the organization (Neo , 2010)

Training and development is an opportunity given to the employees by expecting a continuous development throughout their work scope. A well trained workforce is an asset to an organization (Jacobs, 2003). Training leads to the company’s performances and goals. Further provides a better working environment for the employees. According to the Armstrong (2001), “Training is systematic development of the knowledge, skills and attitudes required by an individual to perform adequately a given task or job”.

 The term ‘Training’ indicates the process involved in improving the aptitudes, skills and abilities of the employees to perform specific jobs. Training helps in updating old talents and developing new ones. Neo et. al (2016) defined Training as consists of an organization’s planned efforts to help employees acquire job-related knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors, with the goal of applying these on the job (Neo et. al ., 2016, p. 201). The main objective of training is to make sure the work force of the organization to be skilled in every other way. In addition to that there are four other objectives as well. Those are Individual , Organizational, Functional and social objectives (Janev, et.al 2018).

 Individual Objectives – These objectives help the employees to achieve their personal goals, which will increase the contribution towards the organization.

• Organizational  Objectives- These objectives contributes the origination with its primary objective by bringing individual effectiveness.
• Functional Objectives – Functional objectives are maintaining the departmental level contribution at a given time which contributes the organization needs.
• Social Objectives – These ensures that the organization is ethically and socially responsible for meeting the needs and of the society.

 Employee development is going hand in hand with the training. Employee development is the combination of formal education, job experiences, relationships, and assessment of personality and abilities to help employees prepare for the future of their careers (Neo et. al., 2016, p. 237). Employee development often has its roots in the company’s mission, goals, and values and is related to important business outcomes such as employee retention and the creation of an agile and talented management team and work force (Neo, 2010)

 The definition of development indicates that it is future oriented. Development implies learning that is not necessarily related to the employee’s current job. Instead, it prepares employees for other jobs or positions in the organization and increases their ability to move into jobs that may not yet exist. Development also may help employees prepare for changes in responsibilities and requirements in their current jobs, such as changes resulting from new technology, work designs, or customers (Neo et. al 2016).

Following video clip will help to understand more on Training and Development ;

Video 01:Introduction to Employee Training and Development

                                                                       Source : Gregg Learning (2016)

 

Reference

Armstrong, M. (2001) A Handbook Of Human Resource Management Practice, Kogan Page, London

Gregg Learning (2016) Introduction to Employee Training and Development. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLm-UaRAwtE (accessed on 03112019).

Jacobs, R & Washington, C. (2003) Employee development and organizational performance: a review of literature and directions for future research, Human Resource Development International, 6(3), pp.343-354 [online] < https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13678860110096211> [Accessed on 15th October 2018].

Janev, I, Hadzi-Vasileva, G, Sofijanova, E. (2018) Benefits of Training and Development for Individuals, Teams and Organizations. Journal of Economics,  3( 1), pp. 12-18 [online]< http://www.hermanaguinis.com/Annual09.pdf> [Accessed on 15th October 2018].

Neo, R, A, Hollenbeck, J,R, Gerhart, B , Wright , P, M. (2016) fundamentals of human resource management, The McGraw-Hill Company, New York

 

Tsui, A, S,  Pearce, J, L, Porter, L, W and  Tripoli, A, M.(1997) Alternative Approaches to the Employee-Organization Relationship: Does Investment in Employees Pay off?. The Academy of Management Journal,  40 ( 5) ,pp. 1089-1121 [Online] available at < https://www.jstor.org/stable/256928?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents> [Accessed on 15th November 2018].