The effectiveness of training is enhanced up front by employee attitude surveys given to assess needs, attitudes and problems relative to management and subordinates. It is also necessary to maintain an up-to-date employee handbook that clearly states what is expected of both employees and the company. Having a handbook also implies the need for consistent, firm and fair enforcement of company expectations.
From experience as a manager, trainer and as a consultant, I believe that many companies fall short in training employees for one or more of the following reasons:
1. They don’t recognize the need for training.
2. They don’t recognize the payoff of good training.
3. They don’t recognize the need for refresher training.
4. They fail to let employees know of company expectations via an employee handbook and regular reinforcement of these expectations.
5. They don’t want to spend time on training because of their perception of its cost, while ignoring benefits.
6. They don’t make the best use of supervisors to ensure that the results of training are monitored and reinforced by supervisors as necessary.
7. Their supervisors are not adequately trained to effectively carry out number 6. above.
8. They don’t have people who are qualified to train others and they may not know how to select a qualified trainer.
9. They believe that training consists primarily of just feeding information to employees, who will thereafter “automatically” perform better, which is not likely to be true.
10. They give little or no consideration to proper and adequate motivation, good communications(communications = shared understanding) and setting up a system to measure the results of training.
Factors affecting training needs & content
The training shortcomings stated above are compounded by the following phenomena, some of which also go unrecognized by CEOs, administrators, HR Directors and managers:
1. As the general age of the work force increases, with older, long-time employees leaving , there will be fewer and fewer workers to serve as “models” for the younger workers.
2. The above will require more training and motivation to make up for this loss.
3. In general, more and more training oriented toward motivating employees will be needed(and especially for the “I want it all now” crowd).
4. Number 3. above is also necessary because more and more new workers are coming from one-parent families, where the probability of good modeling(especially for males) and other training and discipline is low or non-existent.
5. Number 4. is somewhat the result of and is affected by decreasing family values, combined with decreasing quality in the education system.
6. The increasing desire for instant gratification in all areas will have to be tempered by some very good training techniques to help orient workers toward long-term company goals.
7. The mix of the work force will have to be given greater and greater consideration, which will require sensitivity to different value systems. It will also require some effort to meld these together somehow to attain a harmonious work group.
8. With credit problems and bankruptcies increasing rapidly in our society, more “non-work” training is likely to be required to help employees get their financial situations under control. Workers who can come to work knowing that they are making progress in financial management will be able to concentrate more on the job; they will be more productive; they will be more accident-free; absenteeism and tardiness should be reduced; less-stressed workers will also have better vertical and horizontal relationships; and the bottom line will be improved.
Obviously, the foregoing lists are just skeletal bodies of considerations that will require substantial “meat” and exercise to produce successful training programs. These programs are further affected by the education requirements of the job and the complexity of the tasks to be performed.
How to make training more successful
The effectiveness of training is enhanced up front by employee attitude surveys given to assess needs, attitudes and problems relative to management and subordinates. It is also necessary to maintain an up-to-date employee handbook that clearly states what is expected of both employees and the company. Having a handbook also implies the need for consistent, firm and fair enforcement of company expectations.
Without a determination of employee attitudes and problems through a survey, unfound and unresolved problems will continue to fester. The best trainer, training program and presentation will not be able to overcome these problems that can prevent employees from concentrating on the training concepts and learning them.
Furthermore, even if most of the employees grasp the essence of most of the training, they will have little or no motivation to implement what they have learned if they are still upset about unresolved problems in the work place. They may also see the survey as an attempt by management to placate them temporarily if management has been slow to respond to problems or if management has responded poorly in various respects.
If this is the case, attitudes of resentment, antagonism and perhaps indifference toward top management will color the honesty of the responses – especially if an attitude of “what’s the use in responding” is prevalent among those familiar with management inattention to problems in the past.
If the above is a probability, the most prudent action may be to start with an attitude survey conducted by an independent firm, to which employees may be more likely to respond honestly. Secondly, independent surveys provide a double-check on current programs, policies, procedures and practices of management and the human relations department.
If top management believes that training “doesn’t help much,” it may well be because management has left other problems unresolved, which renders its training efforts futile.
