Training

A Short Study of the field of Training & Development

Sanjukta Mukherjee

M.A., M.Phil, B.Ed, DipNLP, Certified TESOL Instructor (British Council); A. Professor, Communication & English, Brainware Business School, Calcutta & Corporate Trainer

Abstract

With the current trends in post-Recession Business Practices, India vis-à-vis the international business scenario has changed radically. Training & Development, as a separate division, considered an inherent part of the HRD Process of any organization, which in the previous mind-frame was operationally considered a Cost Center as opposed to a Profit Center, has ceased to be so, and training per se is undergoing a notional vis-à-vis actual sea-change. One could consider this a renaissance, or simply recognition of organizational and resource development needs in the currently neo-volatile business scenario. The Training Providers, entities which were previously Sales and Communication Training Institutes, are re-establishing themselves  as emerging entities very much integrated with market demands and need. The growth of private education as an emergent industry in the Asia-Pacific block has also ensured and underscored that training as an industry is here to stay.  The present article attempts to communicate training as a live entity, integrated to the current industrial and educational needs and trends.

Training & Development

The term “training” refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of technology (also known as technical colleges or polytechnics). In addition to the basic training required for a trade, occupation or profession, observers of the labor-market recognize today the need to continue training beyond initial qualifications: to maintain, upgrade and update skills throughout working life. People within many professions and occupations may refer to this sort of training as professional development. Some commentators use a similar term for workplace learning to improve performance: training and development. One can generally categorize such training as on-the-job or off-the-job:

·         On-the-job training takes place in a normal working situation, using the actual tools, equipment, documents or materials that trainees will use when fully trained. On-the-job training has a general reputation as most effective for vocational work.

·         Off-the-job training takes place away from normal work situations — implying that the employee does not count as a directly productive worker while such training takes place. Off-the-job training has the advantage that it allows people to get away from work and concentrate more thoroughly on the training itself. This type of training has proven more effective[citation needed] in inculcating concepts and ideas.

Training differs from exercise in that people may dabble in exercise as an occasional activity for fun. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, and performance. In the field of human resource management, training and development is the field concerned with organizational activity aimed at bettering the performance of individuals and groups in organizational settings. It has been known by several names, including employee development, human resource development, and learning and development.

Harrison observes that the name was endlessly debated by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development during its review of professional standards in 1999/2000. "Employee Development" was seen as too evocative of the master-slave relationship between employer and employee for those who refer to their employees as "partners" or "associates" to be comfortable with. "Human Resource Development" was rejected by academics, who objected to the idea that people were "resources" — an idea that they felt to be demeaning to the individual. Eventually, the CIPD settled upon "Learning and Development", although that was itself not free from problems, "learning" being an overgeneral and ambiguous name. Moreover, the field is still widely known by the other names. Training and development encompasses three main activities: training, education, and development. Garavan, Costine, and Heraty, of the Irish Institute of Training and Development, note that these ideas are often considered to be synonymous. However, to practitioners, they encompass three separate, although interrelated, activities:

·         Training

This activity is both focused upon, and evaluated against, the job that an individual currently holds.

·         Education

This activity focuses upon the jobs that an individual may potentially hold in the future, and is evaluated against those jobs.

·         Development

This activity focuses upon the activities that the organization employing the individual, or that the individual is part of, may partake in the future, and is almost impossible to evaluate.

The "stakeholders" in training and development are categorized into several classes. The sponsors of training and development are senior managers. The clients of training and development are business planners. Line managers are responsible for coaching, resources, and performance. The participants are those who actually undergo the processes. The facilitators are Human Resource Management staff. And the providers are specialists in the field. Each of these groups has its own agenda and motivations, which sometimes conflict with the agendas and motivations of the others.

The conflicts are the best part of career consequences are those that take place between employees and their bosses. The number one reason people leave their jobs is conflict with their bosses. And yet, as author, workplace relationship authority, and executive coach, Dr. John Hoover points out, "Tempting as it is, nobody ever enhanced his or her career by making the boss look stupid."  Training an employee to get along well with authority and with people who entertain diverse points of view is one of the best guarantees of long-term success. Talent, knowledge, and skill alone won't compensate for a sour relationship with a superior, peer, or customer.

Training & Facilitation

Training facilitators

Training facilitators are used in adult education. These facilitators are not always subject experts, and attempt to draw on the existing knowledge of the participant, and to then facilitate access to training where gaps in knowledge are identified and agreed on. Training facilitators focus on the foundations of adult education: establish existing knowledge, build on it and keep it relevant. The role is different from a trainer with subject expertise. Such a person will take a more leading role and take a group through an agenda designed to transmit a body of knowledge or a set of skills to be acquired.

Skills of a facilitator

The basic skills of a facilitator are about following good meeting practices: timekeeping, following an agreed-upon agenda, and keeping a clear record. The higher-order skills involve watching the group and its individuals in light of group dynamics. In addition, facilitators also need a variety of listening skills including ability to paraphrase; stack a conversation; draw people out; balance participation; and make space for more reticent group members (Kaner, et al., 1996). It is critical to the facilitator's role to have the knowledge and skill to be able to intervene in a way that adds to the group's creativity rather than taking away from it. A successful facilitator embodies respect for others and a watchful awareness of the many layers of reality in a human group. In the event that a consensus cannot be reached then the facilitator would assist the group in understanding the differences that divide it.

    * "An individual who enables groups and organizations to work more effectively; to collaborate and achieve synergy. She or he is a 'content neutral' party who by not taking sides or expressing or advocating a point of view during the meeting, can advocate for fair, open, and inclusive procedures to accomplish the group's work" -

    * "One who contributes structure and process to interactions so groups are able to function effectively and make high-quality decisions. A helper and enabler whose goal is to support others as they achieve exceptional performance" -

    * "The facilitator's job is to support everyone to do their best thinking and practice. To do this, the facilitator encourages full participation, promotes mutual understanding and cultivates shared responsibility. By supporting everyone to do their best thinking, a facilitator enables group members to search for inclusive solutions and build sustainable agreements"

Types of Training

I.L.T.

Instructor-led training, or ILT, is the practice of training and learning material between an instructor and learners, either individuals or groups. Instructors can also be referred to as a facilitator, who may be knowledgeable and experienced in the learning material, but can also be used more for their facilitation skills and ability to deliver material to learners. ILT is an effective means of delivering information, as it allows for real-time feedback, questions and answers, manipulation and changeable delivery to suit the needs of learners in a real-time environment, and a learning environment can be created by the instructor's style. Instructors may deliver training in a lecture or classroom format, as an interactive workshop, as a demonstration with the opportunity for learners to practice, or even virtually, utilising video-conferencing tools; and the instructor may have facilitation and teaching skills, in which they can utilise different methods to engage learners and embrace different learning styles.

T-Group/Sensitivity Training

A T-group or training group (sometimes also referred to as 'sensitivity-training group', 'human relations training group' or 'encounter group') was pioneered in the mid 1940s by Kurt Lewin  and his colleagues in what became The National Training Laboratory (now known as NTL Institute www.ntl.org) as a method of learning about human behavior. First conceived as a research technique, the t-group later became a new type of pedagogy. According to its founders, in T-groups, participants themselves (typically, between 8 and 15 people) learn about themselves (and about small group processes in general) through their interaction with each other.

A T-group meeting does not have an explicit agenda, structure or express goal. Under the guidance of a facilitator, the participants are encouraged to share with the group their emotional reactions (such as, for example, anger, fear, warmth or envy) which arise in response to their fellow participants' actions and statements. The emphasis is on sharing emotions, as opposed to judgments or conclusions. In this way, T-group participants can learn how their words and actions trigger emotional responses in the people they communicate with. Many varieties of T-groups have existed, from the initial T-groups focused on small group dynamics to those which aim more explicitly to develop self-understanding and interpersonal communication. T-groups were also of wide use in industry, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, and in many ways were predecessors of current team building and corporate culture initiatives.

Carl Rogers has reportedly described the T-group as "the most significant social invention of the century". A number of experimental studies have been undertaken with the aim of determining what effects, if any, participating in a T-group has on the participants. For example, a 1975 article by Nancy E. Adler and Daniel Goleman concluded that "students who had participated in a T Group showed significantly more change toward their selected goal than those who had not".

Sensitivity Training is a form of training that claims to make people more aware of their own prejudices, and more sensitive to others. According to its critics, it involves the use of psychological techniques with groups that its critics, e.g. G. Edward Griffin, claim are often identical to brainwashing tactics. Critics believe these techniques are unethical.

According to his biographer, Alfred J Marrow, Kurt Lewin laid the foundations for sensitivity training in a series of workshops he organised in 1946 to carry out a 'change' experiment, in response to a request from the Director of the Connecticut State Interracial Commission. This led to the founding of the National Training Laboratories in Bethel, Maine in 1947. Kurt Lewin, who met Eric Trist in 1933, influenced the work of the London Tavistock Clinic, both in its work with soldiers during the second world war and in its later work with the Journal Human Relations jointly founded by a partnership of the Tavistock Institute and Lewin's group at MIT.

The nature of modern Sensitivity Training appears to be in some dispute. Its modern critics portray its origins and function in negative terms. Others view the approach as benignly beneficial in many of its historical and contemporary implementations. During World War II, Psychologists like Carl Rogers in the USA and William Sargant, John Rawlings Rees, and Eric Trist in Britain were used by the military to help soldiers deal with traumatic stress disorders (then known as Shell Shock). This work, which required service to large numbers of patients by a small number of therapists and necessarily emphasized rapidity and effectiveness helped spur the development of group therapy as a treatment technique. Rogers and others evolved their work into new forms including encounter groups designed for persons who were not diagnosably ill but who were recognized to suffer from widespread problems associated with isolation from others common in American society. Other leaders in the development of Encounter Groups, including Will Schutz, centered their work at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.

Meanwhile, Training Groups or T-Groups were being developed at the National Training Labs, now part of the National Education Association. Over time the techniques of T-Groups and Encounter Groups have merged and divided and splintered into specialized topics, seeking to promote sensitivity to others perceived as different and seemingly losing some of their original focus on self-exploration as a means to understanding and improving relations with others in a more general sense.

Simulation

Simulation is often used in the training of civilian and military personnel. This usually occurs when it is prohibitively expensive or simply too dangerous to allow trainees to use the real equipment in the real world. In such situations they will spend time learning valuable lessons in a "safe" virtual environment. Often the convenience is to permit mistakes during training for a safety-critical system. For example, in simulations,  School teachers practice classroom management and teaching techniques on simulated students, which avoids "learning on the job" that can damage real students. There is a distinction, though, between simulations used for training and Instructional simulation.

Training simulations typically come in one of three categories:

•             "live" simulation (where real people use simulated (or "dummy") equipment in the real world);

•             "virtual" simulation (where real people use simulated equipment in a simulated world, or virtual environment), or

•             "constructive" simulation (where simulated people use simulated equipment in a simulated environment). Constructive simulation is often referred to as "wargaming" since it bears some resemblance to table-top war games in which players command armies of soldiers and equipment that move around a board.

In standardized tests, "live" simulations are sometimes called "high-fidelity", producing "samples of likely performance", as opposed to "low-fidelity", "pencil-and-paper" simulations producing only "signs of possible performance", but the distinction between high, moderate and low fidelity remains relative, depending on the context of a particular comparison.

Simulations in education are somewhat like training simulations. They focus on specific tasks. The term 'microworld' is used to refer to educational simulations which model some abstract concept rather than simulating a realistic object or environment, or in some cases model a real world environment in a simplistic way so as to help a learner develop an understanding of the key concepts. Normally, a user can create some sort of construction within the microworld that will behave in a way consistent with the concepts being modeled. Seymour Papert was one of the first to advocate the value of microworlds, and the Logo (programming language) programming environment developed by Papert is one of the most famous microworlds. As another example, the Global Challenge Award online STEM learning web site uses microworld simulations to teach science concepts related to global warming and the future of energy. Other projects for simulations in educations are Open Source Physics and its EJS environment.

Management games (or business simulations) have been finding favour in business education in recent years. Business simulations that incorporate a dynamic model enable experimentation with business strategies in a risk free environment and provide a useful extension to case study discussions.

Social simulations may be used in social science classrooms to illustrate social and political processes in anthropology, economics, history, political science, or sociology courses, typically at the high school or university level. These may, for example, take the form of civics simulations, in which participants assume roles in a simulated society, or international relations simulations in which participants engage in negotiations, alliance formation, trade, diplomacy, and the use of force. Such simulations might be based on fictitious political systems, or be based on current or historical events. An example of the latter would be Barnard College's "Reacting to the Past" series of educational simulations. The "Reacting to the Past" series also includes simulation games that address science education.

In recent years, there has been increasing use of social simulations for staff training in aid and development agencies. The Carana simulation, for example, was first developed by the United Nations Development Programme, and is now used in a very revised form by the World Bank for training staff to deal with fragile and conflict-affected countries

Team Based Learning

Team-Based Learning was jointly developed by Duke Corporate Education and PricewaterhouseCoopers. In 2005, Judy Rosenblum, then President of Duke Corporate Education, and Tom Evans, Chief Learning Officer of PricewaterhouseCoopers, began to explore the learning environment in teaching hospitals and its possible transferability to corporate environments. They studied several teaching hospitals, principally Johns Hopkins Hospital. Teaching hospitals develop doctors (interns and residents) in the course of providing health care to patients. This is not classroom education. Rather it is teaching the practice of medicine while treating real patients with real diseases. The learning is embedded in the work.

In academics

The main features of the team-based learning approach are the following:

(A) Permanent (term-long) and instructor-assigned groups of 4-7 students with diverse skill sets and backgrounds

(B) Individual accountability for out-of-class work such as reading and preliminary homework being done prior to the first class meeting of each course segment - a division of the course generally based on a theme and lasting from one to three weeks. This accountability is ensured by what is called the Readiness Assurance Process (RAP) in which students

 (i) take a short (5-15 multiple choice question) individual readiness assurance test (iRAT)

(ii) immediately afterward take the same test again with members of their team working on a single answer sheet (tRAT)

(iii) students, who have already received their individual and team RAT scores make written appeals on any questions that the team missed on the tRAT, should they find statements in their assigned reading that supports their view

(iv) the instructor takes questions from the class on any of the questions or themes brought up by them

(C) Incentive for working effectively together as a team by giving significant credit (course points) for team activities (such as the tRAT), the subsequent in-class activities (application exercises) that are the hallmark of team-based learning, longer term team projects, and team-member given points for "team maintenance", essentially points given to recognize contributions made to team efforts and withheld when a team member is acting as a freeloader or in some other way not pulling his or her weight.

(D) In class application exercises that are

 (i) significant (correlated to important course objectives, meaningful to the future work that the course might prepare a student for

 (ii) the same for all teams in the course

 (iii) about making a decision – providing a simple answer – based on complex analysis of data or application of course principles

(iv) simultaneously reported to the whole class and evaluated then and there by the instructor.

Team-based learning according to Larry Michelson improves student attendance and engagement, helps students learn the course material in a deeper and longer-lasting way, and works to build professional/life skills such as effective collaboration and negotiation. Students often express higher satisfaction with team-based learning course, particularly after they've overcome their initial suspicions.

 In the Workplace

A later developed usage of the term describes a process for teaching and developing people in the workplace. It is a set of developmental principles and routines embedded into the day-to-day processes of a work team such that team members continuously learn and develop. The developmental activities are not new, e.g., coaching, stretch assignments, review of lessons learned. However, such developmental activities are typically conducted in an irregular and inconsistent way. The benefit of Team-Based Learning is that everyone on the team participates in the developmental activities on a consistent basis, because the activities provide other benefits that motivate the team to use them. That is, the team not only develops its people but also functions better.

Application to Business Teams

Rosenblum, Evans and their associates spent two years understanding how teaching hospitals work and exploring how those processes could be applied to business teams. They identified four principles and five routines to carry over to the business world.

Principles

·         Problem-based learning - Use problems encountered in the course of work as the context for learning

·         Point of the Wedge - Push responsibility combined with support to the most junior person possible

·         Teach, Don't Tell - Use inquiry (Socratic Method) to teach rather than just give the answer or solve the issue

·         Owning the Client or Project – Individuals have a heightened sense of accountability and motivation because they have their own client or project with support from more experienced team members

Routines

·         Rounds - Meeting where a less-experienced team member presents an issue or challenge and recommends a course of action

·         Team Workshops - A team member leads a developmental event for other members focusing on a specific technical or service topic

·         Shadowing – Less-experienced team member accompanies a more-experienced member to a meeting he or she would not normally attend

·         Observation & Feedback - A specific activity is observed, and using the Socratic Method, coaching is given

·         Lessons Learned Forums - Thorough review and discussion using mistakes and successes as a situation to learn from. This is similar to an After Action Review.

The mission of teaching hospitals is to develop doctors. While businesses earnestly espouse a desire to develop their people, such activities are too often seen as separate from work and something that interferes with getting work done. Businesses are not as motivated as teaching hospitals to develop people on the job. For that reason the transfer of teaching hospital based approaches to a business context might have failed if not for the fact that the new processes create side benefits that motivate the business team members to do them.

Senior team members need to spend extra time mentoring junior team members, however that time is more than made up by the increased productivity of the team derived from successfully driving tasks to lower levels. Such delegation frees up senior people’s time. Junior people enjoy taking ownership of projects (with support) and are more motivated in their jobs. The net result is that the team gets more work done, junior people are developed more quickly, and team morale is higher.

I.C.T.

Information and communication technologies in education deal with the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) within educational technology. The main purpose of ICT in Education means implementing of ICT Equipments and Tools in Teaching-Learning process as a media and methodology. The purpose of ICT in education is generally to familiarise students with the use and workings of computers, and related social and ethical issues. ICT has also enabled learning through multiple intelligence as ICT has introduced learning through simulation games; this enables active learning through all senses.ICT in education can be broadly categorized in the following ways as

·         ICT as a subject (i.e., computer studies)

·         ICT as a tool to support traditional subjects (i.e., computer-based learning,     presentation, research)

·         ICT as an administrative tool (i.e., education management information systems/EMIS)

Blended learning

Blended Learning refers to a mixing of different learning environments. The phrase has many specific meanings based upon the context in which it is used. Blended learning gives learners and teachers a potential environment to learn and teach more effectively

Mixing synchronous and asynchronous instruction

A blended learning approach can combine face-to-face instruction with computer-mediated instruction. It also applies science or IT activities with the assistance of educational technologies using computer, cellular or Smartphones, Satellite television channels, videoconferencing and other emerging electronic media. Learners and teachers work together to improve the quality of learning and teaching, the ultimate aim of blended learning being to provide realistic practical opportunities for learners and teachers to make learning independent, useful, sustainable and ever growing.

Considerations in blended learning

Whether a course should be proposed as a face-to-face interaction, an online course or a blended course depends on the analysis of the competences at stake, the nature and location of the audience, and the resources available. Depending on the cross-analysis of these 3 parameters, the course designer will opt for one of the 3 options. In his course scenario he/she will then have to decide which parts are online, which parts are offline. A basic example of this is a course of English as a second language where the instructor reaches the conclusion that all audio-based activities (listening comprehension, oral expression) will take place in the classroom where all text-based activities will take place online (reading comprehension, essays writing). Blended learning increases the options for greater quality and quantity of human interaction in a learning environment. Blended learning offers learners the opportunity “to be both together and apart.” A community of learners can interact at anytime and anywhere because of the benefits that computer-mediated educational tools provide. Blended learning provides a ‘good’ mix of technologies and interactions, resulting in a socially supported, constructive, learning experience; this is especially significant given the profound effect that it could have on distance learning.

Role of the instructor

The instructor can combine two or more methods of teaching method. A typical example of blended learning methodology would be a combination of technology-based materials and face-to-face sessions to present content. An instructor can begin a course with a well-structured introductory lesson in the classroom, and then proceed with follow-up materials online. Blended learning can also be applied to the integration of e-learning with a Learning Management System using computers in a physical classroom, along with face-to-face instruction[4]. Guidance is suggested early in the process, to be used more sparingly as learners gain expertise. The role of the instructor is critical as this requires a transformation process to that of learning facilitator. Quite often, with the increase of baby boomers going back to school and pursuing higher education the skills required for technology use are limited. Instructors then find themselves more in the role of assisting students with computer skills and applications, helping them access the internet, and encouraging them to be independent learners. Blended learning takes time for both the instructor and learner to adapt to this relatively new instructional concept.

Current usage of the term

With today's prevalence of high technology in many countries, blended learning often refers specifically to the provision or use of resources which combine e-learning (electronic) or m-learning (mobile) with other educational resources, also called hybrid courses. Some would claim that key blended-learning arrangements can also involve e-mentoring or e-tutoring. These arrangements tend to combine an electronic learning component with some form of human interaction, although the involvement of an e-mentor or e-tutor does not necessarily need to be in the context of e-learning. E-mentoring or e-tutoring can also be provided as part of a "stand alone" ("un-blended") e-tutoring or e-mentoring arrangement. Heinze and Procter have developed the following definition for blended learning in higher education:

Blended learning is learning that is facilitated by the effective combination of different modes of delivery, models of teaching and styles of learning, and is based on transparent communication amongst all parties involved with a course. Some of the advantages of blended learning include; cost effectiveness for both the accrediting learning institution and the learner, accessibility to a post secondary education, and flexibility in scheduling and timetabling of course work. Some of the disadvantages may include; computer and internet access, limited knowledge in the use of technology, study skills, problems which are similar to those who would be entering a physical learning institution. It should also be noted that some authors talk about "hybrid learning" (this seems to be more common in Northern American sources) or "mixed learning". However, all of these concepts broadly refer to the integration (the "blending") of e-learning tools and techniques.

Blended learning systems and projects

The European Union's Socrates programme has funded the development of blended learning courses in nine less widely spoken European languages. The development projects, Tool for Online and Offline Language Learning TOOL are coordinated by the EuroEd Foundation, Iasi, Romania and Autonomous Language Learning ALL coordinated by CNAI, Pamplona, Spain. Each project has developed blended learning programmes at A2 'Waystage' level in accordance with the competence descriptors defined in the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). ALL: Romanian, Turkish, Lithuanian, Bulgarian. TOOL: Slovene, Dutch, Hungarian, Estonian, Maltese.

The development is large in terms of size and scope and these may well be the first blended learning courses available in these languages, representing a development for the application of modern communicative language learning techniques in these languages. The course developments were undertaken by development teams, consisting of several partner institutions, from each country. These institutions include publicly and privately funded universities, and private language learning providers, as well as consulting specialists. Outside the academic sector, blended learning is being used in private companies, possibly because of the cost benefits over traditional training, though no studies are available which show clear cost savings. One of the earliest commercial offerings in the sector came from Virtual College, which produced a blended learning NVQ system in 1995.

Large Group Awareness Training

The term Large Group Awareness Training (LGAT) refers to "training" offered by certain groups sometimes linked with the human potential movement. By using LGAT techniques, these providers claim to (among other things) increase self-awareness and bring about preferred personal changes in individuals' lives. Michael Langone has referred to Large Group Awareness Training as new age trainings and Philip Cushman referred to them as mass marathon trainings. Large Group Awareness Training programs may involve several hundred people at a time. Though early definitions cited LGATs as featuring unusually long durations, more recent texts describe the trainings as lasting from a few hours to a few days. In 2004, DuMerton, citing "Langone (1989)", estimated that "perhaps a million Americans have attended LGATs". Forsyth and Corazzini cite Lieberman (1994) as suggesting "that at least 1.3 million Americans have taken part in LGAT sessions".

What is  LGAT

An unrelated conference hall filled with clapping people. Large Group Awareness Training often takes place in conference-halls or hotels.

DuMerton described Large Group Awareness Training as "teaching simple, but often overlooked wisdom, which takes place over the period of a few days, in which individuals receive intense, emotionally-focused instruction."  Rubinstein compared Large Group Awareness Training to certain principles of cognitive therapy, such as the idea that people can change their lives by interpreting the way they view external circumstances. And in Consumer Research: Postcards from the edge, when discussing behavioral and economic studies, the authors contrasted the "enclosed locations" used with Large Group Awareness Trainings with the "relatively open" environment of a "variety store". The Handbook of Group Psychotherapy described Large Group Awareness Training as focusing on "philosophical, psychological and ethical issues", as related to a desire to increase personal effectiveness in people's lives. Psychologist Dennis Coon's textbook, Psychology: A Journey, defined the term "LGAT" as referring to: "programs that claim to increase self-awareness and facilitate constructive personal change." Coon further defines Large Group Awareness Training in his book Introduction to Psychology.

The evolution of LGAT-providers

Lou Kilzer, in The Rocky Mountain News, identified Leadership Dynamics as the first of the genre of what psychologists termed "Large Group Awareness Training".

In their self-published book, Navarro and Navarro identify Mind Dynamics as the major forerunner of large group awareness trainings. They write that, although Mind Dynamics itself existed only briefly, it sparked an industry of similar trainings.

Groups and trainings such as Lifespring, Erhard Seminars Training, The Forum, Newfield Consulting, Seres Naturales and Landmark Education claimed to have worked to improve people's overall level of satisfaction and interpersonal relations through group interaction.

Studies

"Large Group Awareness Training", a 1982 peer-reviewed article published in Annual Review of Psychology, sought to summarize literature on the subject of LGATs and to examine their efficacy and their relationship with more standard psychology. This academic article describes and analyzes large group awareness training from a psychological perspective. Influenced by the work of humanistic psychologists such as Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow and Rollo May and sometimes associated with the human potential movement,LGATs as commercial trainings took many techniques from encounter groups.[citation needed] They existed alongside but "outside the domains of academic psychology or psychiatry. Their measure of performance was consumer satisfaction and formal research was seldom pursued."

The article describes est training, and discusses the literature on the testimony of est graduates. It notes minor changes on psychological tests after the training and mentions anecdotal reports of psychiatric casualties among est trainees. The article considers how est compares to more standard psychotherapy techniques such as behavior therapy, group and existential psychotherapy before concluding with a call for "objective and rigorous research" and stating that unknown variables might have accounted for some of the positive accounts. Psychologists advised borderline or psychotic patients not to participate.

Psychological factors cited by academics include emotional "flooding", catharsis, universality (identification with others), the instillation of hope, identification and what Sartre called "uncontested authorship".

In 1989 researchers from the University of Connecticut received the "National Consultants to Management Award" from the American Psychological Association for their study: Evaluating a Large Group Awareness Training. The study concluded that participation in the LGAT studied (the Forum) had very little impact on participants. Psychologist Chris Mathe has written in the interests of consumer-protection, encouraging potential attendees of LGATs to discuss such trainings with any current therapist or counselor, to examine the principles underlying the program, and to determine pre-screening methods, the training of facilitators, the full cost of the training and of any suggested follow-up care.

LGAT techniques

Finkelstein's 1982 article provides a detailed description of the structure and techniques of an Erhard Seminars Training event, noting an authoritarian demeanor of the trainer, physical strains on the participants from a long schedule, and the similarity of many techniques to those used in some group therapy and encounter groups. The academic textbook, Handbook of Group Psychotherapy regards Large Group Awareness Training organisations as "less open to leader differences", because they follow a "detailed written plan" that does not vary from one training to the next.

Specific techniques used in Large Group Awareness Trainings may include:

1.       meditation

2.       biofeedback

3.       self-hypnosis

4.       relaxation techniques

5.       visualization

6.       neuro-linguistic programming

7.       yoga

LGATs utilize such techniques during long sessions, sometimes called a "marathon" session. Paglia describes "EST's Large Group Awareness Training": "Marathon, eight-hour sessions, in which [participants] were confined and harassed, supposedly led to the breakdown of conventional ego, after which they were in effect born again."

In his book “Life 102”, LGAT participant and former trainer Peter McWilliams describes the basic technique of marathon trainings as pressure/release and asserts that advertising uses pressure/release "all the time", as do "good cop/bad cop" police-interrogations and revival meetings. By spending approximately half the time making a person feel bad and then suddenly reversing the feeling through effusive praise, the programs cause participants to experience a stress-reaction and an "endorphin high". McWilliams gives examples of various LGAT activities called processes with names such as "love bomb," "lifeboat", "cocktail party" and "cradling" which take place over many hours and days, physically exhausting the participants to make them more susceptible to the trainer's message, whether in the participants' best interests or not.

Although extremely critical of some LGATs, McWilliams found positive value in others, asserting that they varied not in technique but in the application of technique.

Evaluations of LGATs

Finkelstein noted the many difficulties in evaluating LGATs, from proponents' explicit rejection of certain study models to difficulty in establishing a rigorous control group. In some cases, organizations under study have partially funded research into themselves.

Not all professional researchers view LGATs favorably. Researchers such as psychologist Philip Cushman, for example, found that the program he studied "consists of a pre-meditated attack on the self". A 1983 study on Lifespring found that "although participants often experience a heightened sense of well-being as a consequence of the training, the phenomenon is essentially pathological", meaning that, in the program studied, "the training systematically undermines ego functioning and promotes regression to the extent that reality testing is significantly impaired". Lieberman's 1987 study, funded partially by Lifespring, noted that 5 out of a sample of 289 participants experienced "stress reactions" including one "transitory psychotic episode". He commented: "Whether [these five] would have experienced such stress under other conditions cannot be answered. The clinical evidence, however, is that the reactions were directly attributable to the large group awareness training."

In Coon's psychology textbook (Introduction to Psychology) the author references many other studies, which postulate that many of the "claimed benefits" of Large Group Awareness Training actually take the form of "a kind of therapy placebo effect". DuMerton writes that "... there is a lack of scientific evidence to quantify the longer-term positive outcomes and changes objectively ..." Jarvis described Large Group Awareness Training as "educationally dubious" in the 2002 book The Theory & Practice of Teaching. Tapper mentions that "some  large group-awareness training and psychotherapy groups" exemplify non-religious "cults". Benjamin criticizes LGAT groups for their high prices and spiritual subtleties. In an academic research-paper on "Choices", a type of LGAT, researchers credited LGAT programs with having had perhaps a million American attendees, many of whom gave positive testimonials of "healing effects" and "positive outcomes in their lives".

Coaching

Coaching refers to the activity of a coach in developing the abilities of coachees or clients. Coaching tends to focus on the achievement by coachees of a goal or specific skill. Methodologies for coaching are positioned away from the directive or the facilitative, and rest on accompanying clients within a dialogue that will allow emerging patterns and solutions to surface. Coaching lies out of the scale between mentoring and training on one end, and psychotherapy and counseling at the other.

There are many applications of coaching ranging from sport, to business, to niches such as divorce or motivational speaking. Sessions may be one-on-one either or in a group setting, in-person or over the telephone, or by mail, or via IRC. It may include supervised practice such as in shadow coaching, and often in team or organizational coaching. Team coaching also applies to structured systems in organizations much like in sports.

Today, coaching is a recognized discipline used by many professionals engaged in human development focused on achieving results. However, as a distinct profession, it is relatively new (since 1990) and self-regulating (except for international professional associations). No independent supervisory board evaluates most practicing coaches and most are privately owned businesses. Some associations accredit various coaching schools as well as individual coaches, except the IAC and ECI which only certify individuals. According to coach credentialing expert, Dr. Rey Carr, in North America the term accreditation only applies to organizations, and certification applies to individuals; whereas in European countries "accreditation" can mean either organizations or individuals. The first use of the term coaching to mean an instructor or trainer arose around 1830 in Oxford University slang for a tutor who "carries" a student through an exam. The first use of the term in relation to sports came in 1831 .

Historically the evolution of coaching has been influenced by and enhanced through by many other fields of study including those of personal development, adult education, psychology (sports, clinical, developmental, organizational, social and industrial) and other organizational or leadership theories and practices. Since the mid 1990's, coaching has developed into a more independent discipline and professional associations such as the International Coach Federation have helped develop a set of training standards (Davidson & Gasiorowski, 2006).

Applications

Instructing, coaching and mentoring differ. Instructors disseminate knowledge. Coaches help clients build skills. Mentors shape mentee attitudes. Alternately, instructors train to immediate tasks, coaches accompany achievements, and mentors provide whole-life shaping. There are many definitions of coaching, mentoring and various styles of line management and training. The position is complicated by the perceived overlapping between many of these activities. A more succinct definition positions coaching as follows:

·         Managing is making sure people do what they know how to do.

·         Training is teaching people to do what they don’t know how to do.

·         Mentoring is showing people how the people who are really good at doing something do it.

Coaching is none of these – it is helping to identify the skills and capabilities that are within the person, and enabling them to use them to the best of their ability – and by that increasing the independence within the individual, and reducing reliance”.

Coaching rests on the professional use of a specific range of linguistic skills such as targeted restatements and the limited and judicious use of powerful questions with the aim to help clients shift their perspectives on an issue or ambition, and thereby discover different solutions and options, in order to achieve their goals. These linguistic skills are indifferently used when coaching clients in any field. In this sense, coaching is a form of meta-profession that can apply to accompanying clients in any human endeavor, ranging from their concerns in sports and personal, professional, social, family, political, spiritual dimensions, etc.

Life coaching

Life coaching is a future-focused practice with the aim of helping clients determine and achieve personal goals. Life coaches select from among several methods to help clients set and reach goals. Coaches are neither therapists nor consultants; psychological intervention and business analysis are outside the scope of their tasking, Life coaching has its roots in executive coaching, which itself drew on techniques developed in management consulting and leadership training. Life coaching also draws inspiration from disciplines including sociology, psychology, positive adult development, career counseling, mentoring and other types of counseling. Contemporary life coaching can also be traced to teachings of Benjamin Karter, a college football coach turned motivational speaker of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The coach may apply mentoring, values assessment, behavior modification, behavior modeling, goal-setting and other techniques in helping their clients. Multiple coach-training schools and programs are available, allowing for many options (and sometimes causing confusion) when an individual decides to gain "certification" or a "credential" as they apply to the coaching industry. Multiple certificates and credential designations are available within the industry.

Government bodies have not found it necessary to provide a regulatory standard for coaching, nor does any state body govern the education or training standard for the coaching industry; the title of "coach" can be used by any service provider. Critics assert that life coaching is akin to psychotherapy without restrictions, oversight or regulation. The State legislature of Colorado, after holding a hearing on such concerns, disagreed, asserting that coaching is unlike therapy because it does not focus on examining nor diagnosing the past. Instead coaching focuses on effecting change in a client's current and future behavior. Additionally, life coaching does not delve into diagnosing mental illness or dysfunction.

Business coaching

In organizations today, coaching refers to a method of personal development or human resource development (HRD). This field of coaching is becoming a distinct area of practice for individuals and in organizations. Although the role of coach has changed over time, some examples of research papers on business coaching show that between the late 1930s and the late 1960s, some forms of internal coaching in organizations were already informally present; i.e. managers (or supervisors) also acted as coaches to their staff (cf. Zeus & Skiffington, 2002; Grant, 2003a; 2006). Gorby (1937) specified how older employees were trained to coach new employees regarding methods of waste reduction. A casual business practice of coaching is the act of providing positive support and positive feedback while offering occasional advice to an individual or group in order to help them recognize ways in which they can improve the effectiveness of their business. Coaching is an excellent way to attain a certain work behavior that will improve leadership, employee accountability, teamwork, sales, communication, goal setting, strategic planning and more. It can be provided in a number of ways, including one-on-one, group coaching sessions and large scale organizational work. Not to be confused with seminars. Many corporations are instilling the practice of 360 degree consulting before providing coaching, which permits employees to utilize their own life or professional experiences in a positive way to create team participation attitudes even with superiors. Professional Business Coaches are too often called in when a business is perceived to be performing badly when many healthier businesses recognize the benefits of business coaching even when the organization is successful. Business coaches often specialize in different practice areas such as executive coaching, corporate coaching and leadership coaching.

At least three organizations, the International Coach Federation (ICF), the International Coaching Council (ICC) and the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC) provide a membership-based association for professionals involved in business coaching. The ICF, ICC and WABC also provide accrediting systems for business coach training programs. The ICF currently has over 15 000 members worldwide, ICC currently has over 1,500 members from over 50 countries. The ICC, ICF and WABC have created international accreditation programs for business coach training providers and international certification programs for business coaches that are designed exclusively for business coach trainers and coaches, built around business coaching competencies and conferred by a business coach association.

Business coaching is not the same as mentoring. Mentoring involves a developmental relationship between a more experienced "mentor" and a less experienced partner, and typically involves sharing of advice. A business coach can act as a mentor given that he or she has adequate expertise and experience. However, mentoring is not a form of business coaching. A good business coach need not have specific business expertise and experience in the same field as the person receiving the coaching in order to provide quality business coaching services. Business coaching needs to be more structured and formal than mentoring. Business coaches often help businesses grow by creating and following a structured, strategic plan to achieve agreed upon goals. Multiple organizations train professionals to offer business coaching to business owners who may not be able to afford large coaching firm prices.

Coaching is not a practice restricted to external experts or providers. Many organizations expect their senior leaders and middle managers to coach their team members toward higher levels of performance, increased job satisfaction, personal growth, and career development. Those that do back up their expectations with training in coaching skills, access to feedback tools, and/or specific coaching behaviors described in their leadership competency models. Few link coaching activities to compensation, however, resulting in less coaching by managers.

Executive coaching

Executive coaching can be grouped separately from business coaching, as there is a common understanding that business coaching can be the equivalent of business planning, or consulting, but the coach takes the lead in running the business process. Executive coaching is the one-to-one relationship between a coach and a client, based around the intrapersonal goals of the client within the organisational context.

Personal coaching

Personal coaching is a process which is designed and defined in a relationship agreement between a client and a coach. It is based on the client's expressed interests, goals and objectives.

A professional coach may use inquiry, reflection, requests and discussion to help clients identify personal and/or business and/or relationship goals, develop strategies, relationships and action plans intended to achieve those goals. A coach provides a place for clients to be held accountable to themselves by monitoring the clients' progress towards implementation of their action plans. Together they evolve and modify the plan to best suit the client's needs and environmental relationships. Coaches often act as human mirrors for clients by sharing outside and unbiased perspectives. Coaches may teach specific insights and skills to empower the client toward their goals.

Clients are responsible for their own achievements and success. The client takes action, and the coach may assist, but never leads or does more than the client. Therefore, a coach cannot and does not promise that a client will take any specific action or attain specific goals. Professional coaching is not counseling, therapy or consulting. These different skill sets and approaches to change may be adjunct skills and professions.

MENTORING

Mentorship refers to a personal developmental  relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The receiver of mentorship was traditionally referred to as a protégé, or apprentice but with the institutionalization of mentoring the more neutral word "mentee" was invented and is widely used today. There are several definitions of mentoring in the literature. Foremost, mentoring involves communication and is relationship based. In the organizational setting, mentoring can take many forms. One definition of the many that has been proposed, is "Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital, and the psychosocial support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career, or professional development; mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived to have less (the protégé)" (Bozeman, Feeney, 2007).

Mentoring techniques

Since the focus of mentoring is to develop the whole person, the techniques are broad and require wisdom in order to be used appropriately. A study of mentoring techniques most commonly used in business was published in 1995 under the title Working Wisdom. In the study, five major techniques or "wisdom tactics" were found to be used most commonly by mentors. These are:

1. Accompanying: This means making a commitment in a caring way. Accompanying involves taking part in the learning process by taking the path with the learner.

2. Sowing: Mentors are often confronted with the difficulty of preparing the learner before he or she is ready to change. Sowing is necessary when you know that what you say may not be understood or even acceptable to learners at first but will make sense and have value to the mentee when the situation requires it.

3. Catalyzing: When change reaches a critical level of pressure, learning can jump. Here the mentor chooses to plunge the learner right into change, provoking a different way of thinking, a change in identity or a re-ordering of values.

4. Showing: this is making something understandable, or using your own example to demonstrate a skill or activity. You show what you are talking about, you show by your own behavior.

5. Harvesting: Here the mentor focuses on "picking the ripe fruit": it is usually learned to create awareness of what was learned by experience and to draw conclusions. The key questions here are: "What have you learned?" "How useful is it?"

Different techniques may be used by mentors according to the situation and the psychological mindset of the mentee. The authors underline that the techniques used in modern organizations can be found in ancient education systems, from the Socratic technique of harvesting to the accompaniment method of learning used in the apprenticeship of itinerant cathedral builders during the Middle Ages. Leadership authors Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner advise mentors to look for "teachable moments" in order to "expand or realize the potentialities of the people in the organizations they lead" and underline that personal credibility is as essential to quality mentoring as skill.

New-hire mentorship

For example, in some programs, newcomers to the organization (protégés) are paired with more experienced people (mentors) in order to obtain information, good examples, and advice as they advance. These programs are structured features designed to help train these less experienced individuals. It is considered that new employees who are paired with a mentor are twice as likely to remain in their job than those who do not receive mentorship. There are many benefits of these mentorships. One is that networking occurs more easily and is a possible reason that those mentored tend to do well in organizations. As Pompper and Adams (2006) state, "joining a mentor's network and developing one's own is central to advancement." These mentoring relationships provide much substance for career growth, and benefits both the mentor and the mentee. For example, the mentor gets to show leadership by giving back and perhaps being refreshed about their own work. The person being mentored networks, becomes integrated easier in an organization, gets experience and advice along the way. The actual organization receives an employee that is being gradually introduced and shaped by the organization's culture and operation because they have been under the mentorship of an experienced member (Pompper, Adams, 2006). As mentioned earlier, in the organizational setting mentoring usually "requires unequal knowledge"(Bozeman, Feeney, 2007). The process of mentorship can differ. However, Bullis (1989) describes the mentoring process in the forms of phase models. Initially, the "mentee proves himself or herself worthy of the mentor's time and energy." Then cultivation occurs which includes the actual "coaching...a strong interpersonal bond between mentor and mentee develops." Next, under the phase of separation " the mentee experiences more autonomy." Ultimately, there is more of equality in the relationship termed by Bullis as Redefinition (1989).

 High-potential mentorship

In other cases, mentoring is used to groom up-and-coming employees deemed to have the potential to move up into leadership roles. Here the employee (protégé) is paired with a senior level leader (or leaders) for a series of career-coaching interactions. A similar method of high-potential mentoring is to place the employee in a series of jobs in disparate areas of an organization, all for small periods of time, in anticipation of learning the organization's structure, culture, and methods. A mentor does not have to be a manager or supervisor to facilitate the process.

Mentorship in education

In many secondary and post-secondary schools, mentorship programs are offered to support students in program completion, confidence building and transitioning to further education or the workforce. There are also many mentoring programs designed specifically to bring under-represented populations into science and engineering.

Blended mentoring

The blended mentoring is a mix of on-site and online events, projected to give to career counselling and development services the opportunity to adopt mentoring in their ordinary practice. The use of this mentoring is the core objective of the EMPIRE project. In fact, Career guidance services have the potential to contribute significantly to the development of human capital. Nonetheless researches and policy reports (Career Guidance in Europe's Public Employment Services, commissioned in 2005 by European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities) have expressed concern that occupational information alone and traditional matching of people and jobs are not enough. Advances in the use of technology (cyber-counselling) and the introduction of new methodologies like mentoring could enrich the career counselling profession's contributions to individual development and expand access to a broader range of customers. EMPIRE is building up strong ties (network) between those actors who provide career development work and enterprises and their associations. Through the analysis derived from a series of focus groups, the partners will lay down the base for the piloting of tailored blended-mentoring schemes to be run with different target-groups. A mentoring kit will be prepared and used for the preparation of mentors. The final piloting phase (partly based on an on-line support service) with mentees (i.e. the customers of career counselling services) will produce several Career/professional plan and a reflection journal collecting the daily impressions of mentees and mentors. The experience as a whole will produce a set of guidelines/recommendations for career development agencies. EMPIRE will introduce new methodologies in career exploration and planning, and will promote technological developments especially through cyber-counselling for career planning. A contribute to meet the Lisbon Strategy through an enhanced quality of career guidance services on a cost/effective level, better levels of employability and an increased adaptability of workers.

Reverse mentoring

In the reverse mentoring situation, the mentee has more overall experience (typically as a result of age) than the mentor (who is typically younger), but the mentor has more knowledge in a particular area, and as such, reverses the typical constellation. Examples are when young internet or mobile savvy Millennial Generation teens train executives in using their high end Smart Phones. They in turn sometimes offer insight in business processes.

Business mentoring

The concept of mentoring has entered the business domain as well. This is different from being a apprentice, a business mentor provides guidance to a business owner or an entrepreneur on the entrepreneur's business. An apprentice learns a trade by working on the job with the "employer". The experience of the mentor can help the mentee overcome hurdles in business easily, given that the mentor has faced similar situations in business himself. Business professionals with a lot of experience and successful entrepreneurs are lending their time to help others in business.[weasel words] The word mentoring is being often used by organizations such as TiE, which help entrepreneurs start new ventures. Several venture capitalists also claim that they provide mentoring along with capital.

Peer mentoring

Peer Mentoring is a form of mentoring  that takes place in learning environments such as schools, usually between an older more experienced student and a new student(s). Peer Mentors should not be confused with prefects. Peer mentoring is a good way of practicing social skills for the mentor and help on adapting and settling in for the mentees. Most peer mentors are picked for their sensibility, confidence, social skills and reliability. Peer mentors appear mainly in secondary schools where students moving up from Junior/Primary schools may need assistance in settling in at the whole new schedule and lifestyle of secondary school life. Peer mentors benefit from, usually, excellent recommendations from the school they mentored in and it aids admission into university.

The amount of time that peer mentors and mentees meet varies according to the particular mentoring program. Some pairs may make contact once a month, while others may meet 3-4 times per month or more. It is usually advised that mentors and mentees meet more often in the beginning of the relationship, in order to establish a good foundation. Mentors and mentees may maintain contact through email, telephone or in person meetings. Peer mentoring organizations may also set up social events for those participating in the program. These events provide good opportunities for increased social interaction between mentors and mentees. The compatibility of mentor and mentee is a factor that should be taken into consideration when choosing pairs. Mentors and mentees may benefit from having similar backgrounds, interests and life experiences. The objectives of a peer mentoring program should be well defined and measurable. The effectiveness of the program should be monitored to ensure that the objectives are being met. One way to monitor the effectiveness of a program is to administer evaluations to the mentors and mentees.

Mentoring is usually done on a volunteer basis, although some institutions pay mentors and offer other benefits. Mentors often undergo training that will help guide them in the mentoring process.

CREATING TRAINING AWARENESS

Creating Awareness

Creating awareness is the first step in promoting the Training Program (TP).  This phase involves educating the organization about the existence of the TP and its benefits.  Your awareness activities begin to sketch an image of the TP and give people a taste for how it can benefit them.  In addition, creating awareness is the first part of the change process–the unfreeze stage. In order to create change, you must make people aware of what transitions are possible and set new expectations.  To be effective in your awareness campaign, you must:

¨       Create a positive impression.  How many times have you heard the saying “the first impression is the most important?”  Ninety percent of first impressions are decided within the first 90 seconds of contact!  Your awareness campaign must be professional, informative, interesting, and upbeat.

¨       Target the appropriate audience.  Depending on your strategy, you may choose to target the entire organization, top level management, the Training or Human Resources Department, managers, work groups who share and require certain skills, and/or individual employees.

¨       Tailor your message for various audiences.  People have different priorities, learning styles, and interests.  Therefore, to reach a broad audience, use a variety of promotional techniques to deliver different messages about the TP.  For example, a humorous poster of someone trying to advance within their company may appeal to some employees, while a flyer reporting the cost benefits of a TP in another company may peak the interest of upper-level management.  The chart on the following page lists some messages that may be appropriate to communicate to your targeted audiences.

 


 

 

 

AUDIENCE
    

 

POTENTIAL MESSAGE

    

Entire organization
    

The TP will help create a company with a competitive advantage, keep the company up to date with new industry trends and technology, and develop a responsive, proactive culture.

 

Top level management
    

The TP will help achieve identified business objectives and improve the efficiency of the organization.

 

Training department/HRD
    

The TP will improve efficiency of training and help integrate training into the organizational culture.

 

Managers
    

The TP will save time and money in training and produce a qualified and effective work force.

 

Work Groups
    

The TP will improve certain skill sets so teams and departments can work together more effectively.

 

Individuals
    

The TP will provide an opportunity to learn new skills that will promote professional growth and advancement.

 

 

 

Once you have identified your audience and messages, develop a creative, fun, and well-planned awareness campaign integrated to your Training Program and calendar.  Your goal is to develop and deliver a constant stream of informational materials to all levels of the organization.  Use a variety  of techniques to create curiosity, anticipation, and excitement about the TP.  Below are some suggested mechanisms for creating awareness.

 

MECHANISMS FOR CREATING AWARENESS
    

 

PURPOSE

 

Poster campaigns
    

Grabs attention; slogans can prompt the potential user to ask “What’s in it for me?”

 

Pamphlets/flyers
    

Enables you to prepare different types of materials for different groups.

 

Pay check stuffers

 
    

Enables you to reach the entire organization at the same time.

 

E-mail/Voice-mail messages
    

Allows you to reach the entire organization or a targeted group; you can introduce a “tease” element into the messages by using riddles or puzzles.

 

Signs to the TP

 
    

Demonstrates that the TP is a real place and that it is important.

 

Sponsor a contest to create a name for the TP

 
    

Prompts people to find out more about the TP.

Develop a logo or have a contest to create one

 
    

Creates a memorable image of the TP; a contest prompts people to find out more about the TP.

Provide educational information by publishing a training newsletter or obtaining a column in an existing newsletter

 
    

Enables you to provide updates on the progress of the TP and to discuss the benefits of multimedia training.

 

 

CALCULATING TRAINING ROI

First, let us state  that there is considerable discussion about how to calculate ROI and there are several schools of thought with little consensus. Thus, this is not an integrated theory or proposition but some points based on industry-speak and  standards.

   1. Is the training a remedy to a specific problem; for example, dropped calls, lost sales, accounting errors, legal compliance? If so, the odds are good that someone has quantified the loss as a dollar figure and that is why it has surfaced as a priority. Thus, training ROI corresponds to the quantifiable loss, although some of the problem may be process or management related rather than skills or training.
   2. Is the training related to a change event like a system implementation or acquisition? Figures are available from multiple sources that generally agree that most system implementation failures (80%) are due to a lack of training. If an organization spends $2M on an ERP, CRM or proprietary system then there is the potential for a $2M loss if users fail to adopt the system. If the change event is not related to technology but something like an acquisition or merger, the loss may be recognized in terms of error rates, customer confusion and dissatisfaction and work duplication. ROI corresponds to loss prevention and the overall ROI for the business arguments for purchasing the system or acquiring the company in these instances.
   3. Is the training related to compliance with government regulations? Then the ROI is directly related to the penalties for non-compliance.
   4. The more difficult ROI to calculate is the unknown improvement potential because of customer service, sales or management training. Quite honestly that is a guess and a business risk that depends on the decision-makers experience and basis for median expectations of employee performance. In other words, if the manager has empirical data or past experiential reasons to expect an individual or team to produce $X million more then there is an argument that sales training can yield an $X million return. That varies by job function, of course.
   5. If the training is purely professional development that focuses more on individual preferences rather than business needs, the question becomes, What is the value of this employee? What is employee retention worth to our organization? IT professionals seem to have especially high requirements for new skill development to maintain certifications and cutting edge technology skills. In these cases, sometimes the organization is investing in the person, not the technology. Just keeping the CIO or Training Director may depend on offering training.

If  any X number of trainers are asked , we will get  distinct answers on how to calculate training ROI. However, the points stated above can help start evaluating  the training project’s value to the company.

CONCLUSION

Training and development views have changed drastically over the past years. Gone are the days when the issue was regarded as matter exclusive to the human resource department. Additionally, some strategic issues can be linked to training and development management. The reasons behind training and development cannot be overemphasized. From our discussions so far, one can easily deduce some reasons behind firms engaging in training and developing their staff. We will summarize some of the reasons:

Ø  When needs arise as a result of findings from the outcome of performance appraisal.

Ø  As part of professional development plan.

Ø  As part of succession planning to help an employee be eligible for a planned change in  role in the organization.

Ø  To imbibe and inculcate a new technology in the system.

Ø  Because of the dynamic nature of the business world and changing technologies.

If  we wish to view solely from an industry perspective we are to evaluate and list the benefits of employee training and development, these would roughly be as follows:

v  Better inter personal relationship and customer satisfaction.

v  Increased employee motivation.

v  Increased job satisfaction and morale among employees.

v  Increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in improved financial gain.

v  Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods.

v  Increased innovation in strategies and products.

v  Reduced employee turnover.

v  Better Risk management and staff safety consciousness.

v  Increase in productivity.

Employers should enable employees to pursue training and development in a direction that they choose and are interested in, not just in company-assigned directions. Companies should support learning, in general, and not just in support of knowledge needed for the employee's current or next anticipated job. It should be noted that the key factor is keeping the employee interested, attending, engaged, motivated and retained.  All employees want to be valuable and remain competitive in the labour market at all times. This can only be achieved through employee training and development. Employees will always want to develop career-enhancing skills, which will always lead to employee motivation and retention. There is no doubt that a well trained and developed staff will be a valuable asset to the company and thereby increasing the chances of his efficiency in discharging his or her duties. All employees want to be valuable and remain competitive in the labour market at all times. This can only be achieved through employee training and development. Employees will always want to develop career-enhancing skills, which will always lead to employee motivation and retention. There is no doubt that a well trained and developed staff will be a valuable asset to the company and thereby increasing the chances of his efficiency in discharging his or her duties. Whatever be the focus of training, it is very essential for all staff and helps in building career positioning and preparing staff for greater challenges. Employers of labour should enable employees to pursue training and development in a direction that they choose and are interested in, not just in company-assigned directions. Companies should support learning, in general, and not just in support of knowledge needed for the employee’s current or next anticipated job. It should be noted that the key factor is keeping the employee interested, attending, engaged, motivated and retained. For every employee to perform well especially Supervisors and Managers, there is need for constant training and development. The right employee training, development and education provides big payoffs for the employer in increased productivity, knowledge, loyalty, and contribution to general growth of the firm. The meeting will give them the chance to compare issues and find out what is obtainable in each other’s environment. This for sure will introduce positive changes where necessary.

References  & Bibliography:

·         Teaching and Training Methods for Management Development by Manu Dev Manual, 1994 Edition from Sterling Publishers Private Limited.

·         Training to Meet the Technology Challenge by Trevor Bentley, 1992 Edition The McGraw-Hill Training Series.

·         Training for Development by Rolf P Lynton & Udai Pareek, 1995 Edition Sage Publications India Private Limited.

·         The ASTD Training and Development Handbook: A Guide to Human Resource Development  by Robert L. Craig, 1996 Edition .

·         Training Instruments in Human Resources Development and Organization Development by Udai Pareek, 2002 Edition from Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited

·         www.sagelearning.com/papers/Successful_Implem_Strategies.doc