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CHAPTER 8 Training the Workforce

CHALLENGES

After reading this chapter, you should be able to deal more effectively with the following challenges:

1 Have familiarity with key training issues.
2 Become aware of training versus development.
3 Recognize challenges in training.
4 Learn practices for managing the training process.
5 Become aware of a special case: orientation and socialization.

Jim was hired as a unit manager, and he was happy to be in his first management position. He also felt very fortunate to have a new administrative assistant, Suzy, who was very good at her job and a great asset to Jim. Suzy had been hired shortly after Jim arrived because the previous staff person had retired.

Jim was discussing some work issues with Suzy when she asked him a question he didn’t anticipate. Suzy wanted to know why Jim hadn’t recommended her for any of the recent training sessions being offered to staff. Jim didn’t see any problems with Suzy’s job performance and couldn’t understand why she thought she needed training. Nonetheless, he asked her what training session she might be interested in. Her response was vague, but she mentioned that maybe one of the sessions on teamwork or on interpersonal skills could be interesting. He told her he didn’t think she had issues in those areas. Suzy thanked him for the compliment but said that there was always room for improvement.

Source:© aleksandar kamasi/Fotolia.

Jim was confused over this exchange and informally checked with some other unit managers who had been in their management positions awhile. Jim learned that the staff was accustomed to being recommended for training as a reward for good performance. Going to a training session was a way for staff to spend a few hours, or maybe a half day, away from the office. The training was usually kept pretty fun and upbeat and included coffee and snacks. The staff had a chance to network at these training sessions, and Jim had noticed that staff members getting together to walk to the training locations was also part of the social function. Jim also learned from a long-time manager that the staff members kept informal track of who regularly attended training and made judgments about who was performing their jobs well according to who got to go to the most training.

Overall, what Jim found out was that training had become a reward and was an indicator of social status for the staff. By not sending Suzy to training, Jim had been inadvertently sending the message that he wasn’t too happy with Suzy’s performance. Of course, Suzy knew that wasn’t the case, but it looked like that to her fellow staff members. Suzy was getting uncomfortable with not being in attendance at any training sessions and with having her peers conclude that her boss didn’t think enough of her to let her be included in these sessions.

Jim made the commitment to himself to recommend Suzy for training at the next opportunity. He knew Suzy would be happy with his decision.

After Jim had recommended Suzy for a couple of training sessions, he opened up a message from the corporate office. The note indicated that HR would be conducting a survey on employee training that would include an assessment of staff training needs and would look at the return on investment in the current training program. Jim hoped that this assessment didn’t reflect badly on him as a manager; but the truth was that his staff person didn’t really need training, and he wondered how a positive return on investment could be found if training, by and large, wasn’t really addressing a performance problem.

The Managerial Perspective

The preceding illustration involving Jim recommending Suzy for training is based on the training program in a real organization. Rationally, training should be focused on improving performance by making sure everyone knows the correct way of doing their jobs. The reality, however, is that sometimes training serves other purposes. Training is not, however, cost-free. Training costs include, for example, the cost of developing the training; the cost of materials and delivery of the training; and, sometimes most important, the cost of employees being away from their jobs to attend training. If the training is done well and addresses a performance need in the organization, then these employee training costs won’t be an expense but rather an investment that should return improved performance. As a manager, you will want your staff to have the best skills and the broadest understanding of the organization and its customers. This chapter examines key training issues and the training process, identifies the major types of training available, and explores how to evaluate the effectiveness of training.

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Table of Contents for CHAPTER 8 Training the Workforce

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Table of Contents for
CHAPTER 8 Training the Workforce