Training Versus Development
Although training is often used in conjunction with development, the terms are not synonymous. Training typically focuses on providing employees with specific skills or helping them correct deficiencies in their performance.1 For example, new equipment may require workers to learn new ways of doing the job or a worker may have a deficient understanding of a work process. In both cases, training can be used to correct the skill deficit. In contrast, development (the subject of Chapter 9) is an effort to provide employees with the abilities the organization will need in the future.
Figure 8.1 summarizes the differences between training and development. In training, the focus is solely on the current job; in development, the focus is on both the current job and jobs that employees will hold in the future. The scope of training is on individual employees, whereas the scope of development is on the entire work group or organization. That is, training is job specific and addresses particular performance deficits or problems. In contrast, development is concerned with the workforce’s skills and versatility.2 Training tends to focus on immediate organizational needs and development tends to focus on long-term requirements. The goal of training is a fairly quick improvement in workers’ performance, whereas the goal of development is the overall enrichment of the organization’s human resources. Training strongly influences present performance levels, whereas development pays off in terms of more capable and flexible human resources in the long run.
Training Development Focus Current job Current and future jobs Scope Individual employees Work group or organization Time Frame Immediate Long term Goal Fix current skill deficit Prepare for future work demands
FIGURE 8.1 Training Versus Development
Keep in mind one other distinction between training and development: Training can have a negative connotation. Although being sent to training can be a reward, as in the training program described in the opening of this chapter, when training is focused on removing performance deficiencies, being selected for training can be a negative. Who, after all, wants to be considered deficient? People might appreciate an opportunity for development but resent being scheduled for training.3 Employees may view their selection for training as a negative and embarrassing message rather than an improvement opportunity.
Changing negative perceptions of training can be difficult. To help engender more positive attitudes toward training, a company can focus on the improvement potential offered through training rather than on correction of skill deficits. In other words, the “training” is portrayed as development. Although this tactic muddies the distinction between training and development, the two terms are often used interchangeably in practice. Given the rapid rate of change in many workplaces, training is becoming a necessity. Some organizations are turning to technology as a means to deliver needed training and are changing the nature of training from removing deficiencies to providing support. This approach can provide training in a timely fashion and holds promise for improving any negative attitudes toward training. This evolving approach to training is discussed in the Manager’s Notebook, “From Removing Deficiencies to Improving Capability: The Changing Nature of Training.”
Source:Orada Jusatayanond/Alamy.
MANAGER’S NOTEBOOK From Removing Deficiencies to Improving Capability: The Changing Nature of Training
Technology/Social Media
Many of today’s organizations face unprecedented change. Changes in competition, customer preferences, machinery, and software can translate into workers having to confront new processes in their jobs. Learning new ways to perform a job requires training, and the dynamic nature of many of today’s workplaces means that there is a great need for training.
The traditional approach to a change in a work process would be to deliver training on the new procedure. The company could avoid performance problems by making sure that the steps for the new way of performing the task were clearly covered in the training. Performance deficiencies could be avoided by delivering training to everyone who would be affected by the change in the work process. This traditional approach would typically consist of structured sessions, either offered in face-to-face classes or electronically delivered. The traditional approach assumes that workers repeatedly perform certain tasks and that the best way of carrying out these tasks can be specified. If that is the case, then it makes sense to take the traditional approach and roll out the necessary training so that people have the knowledge they need to perform the new or changed task. But what if changes are coming so fast that you can’t reasonably keep up using the typical structured training approach? Or what if it is difficult to anticipate just what situations workers might encounter in the future? These practical realities are leading some companies to explore the use of technology as means to deliver training in a different way.
Social media provides a means for people to learn “on-the-fly” what they need to use in order to solve issues and perform adequately. Instructional videos that can be found on YouTube can provide a means for employees to learn a process or to refresh their memory for how a task should be performed. Social media, such as Facebook or Twitter, or internally developed software, can be used by employees to improve performance. For example, Sabre Holdings, the company that owns Travelocity, created a system called SabreTowna that is a virtual community for its thousands of employees. Sabre employees create a profile that reflects their skills and job experience. Questions that an employee might ask about a problem or job situation are directed by the software to fellow employees who have relevant knowledge and experience.
The use of social media connects people so that they can solve work-related issues. This use of technology can also change the focus of training from removing deficits to assisting employees in their jobs. The social media approach means that this help can happen any time it is needed by an employee. In dynamic work situations where training needs may be difficult to specify, social media can be an effective training tool.