Learning and development focus on the talent, knowledge, and performance of the workforce in an organization in an effort to meet the current and future needs of the organization. Developing, implementing, and evaluating activities and programs that address employee training and development, performance appraisal, and performance management is at the core of HR responsibility. The PHR exam carries a 10 percent weight on the exam.

Responsibilities

•   Provide consultation to managers and employees on professional growth and development opportunities

•   Implement and evaluate career development and training programs (for example, career pathing, management training, mentorship)

•   Contribute to succession planning discussions with management by providing relevant data

Knowledge Of

•   Applicable federal laws and regulations related to learning and development activities

•   Learning and development theories and applications

•   Training program facilitation, techniques, and delivery

•   Adult learning processes

•   Instructional design principles and processes (for example, needs analysis, process flow mapping)

•   Techniques to assess training program effectiveness including the use of applicable metrics

•   Organizational development (OD) methods, motivational methods, and problem-solving techniques

•   Task/process analysis

•   Coaching and mentoring techniques

•   Employee retention concepts and applications

•   Techniques to encourage creativity and innovation

Federal Laws That Apply to This Body of Knowledge

Now that you’ve reviewed the Learning and Development responsibilities and knowledge statements, we recommend you review the federal laws that apply to learning and development (see Figure 6-1). The federal laws fall into these two categories:

•   Laws that regulate content and intellectual property

•   Laws that protect the rights of employees

It would benefit you to refer to Chapter 2 on these specific laws prior to reading any further in this chapter.

Training and Development

Training and development (T&D) are core value functions of the HR department. The process of training provides skills and abilities, plus knowledge that is focused on a specific outcome. The intent is a short-term focus for the immediate application for on-the-job use by trainees.

On the other hand, with development activities, there is a longer-term focus that prepares intended trainees for future job skill or knowledge needs to increase their effectiveness for the organization.

In all T&D activities, it is imperative that the learning objectives and programs developed be aligned with the strategic goals and objectives of the organization, along with a strong level of support from line management.

A systematic process is used to determine the needs for training, develop the training, and evaluate the outcomes. One of the most widely used standard processes is known as the ADDIE model.

Figure 6-1 Federal laws that apply to human resource development

ADDIE represents the following:

•   Assessment   In this first phase, data is received and collected to identify where there may be lack of productivity or gaps in desired performance. Individually or within groups, this assessment will point the way to what specific knowledge, skills, and abilities are lacking and the need to be addressed for training and development objectives.

•   Design   The initial information from the assessment phase is decided upon for course content, delivery methods, and tactics for delivery. The result is an outline of what the training design will be and the order of presentation.

•   Development   The pencil meets the paper in this phase, and the actual training materials and coursework are created. Courses and training materials may already be available off the shelf, or a customized or modified creation may occur. For training that is highly specific and customized to the organization, a course may be developed from scratch to fit the specific objectives to reach the desired outcome, such as in a new product launch for a product that has never before existed. An example might be the new Apple Watch.

•   Implementation   In this phase, the training program is delivered to the trainees. A pilot training program might first occur to work out any kinks and revise certain material if needed. Participant selection and scheduling occur during this phase and the where, when, and whom to deliver occur in this phase, too.

•   Evaluation   Just as the label indicates, the end results and outcomes of the training require an evaluation—both from the participants trained and from the learning objectives measured. The evaluation phase will typically last some months after the training to measure the changes and performance indicators for sustained results.

Training Needs Assessment and Analysis

As the ADDIE approach suggests, the first phase in training is to conduct a needs assessment and analysis. The needs assessment is a process in which HR identifies the training needs and identifies the specific training designed to help the intended trainees meet the organization’s objectives. A thorough needs assessment will dive into the possible training needs on three levels: organizational, task, and individual.

When conducting a needs assessment, processes used in strategic planning are utilized. Processes such as environmental scanning and a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) are helpful. A needs assessment model that follows a problem-solving structure is helpful for HR’s role in strategic management. For some organizations, an outside vendor is utilized for the needs assessment phase.

Here are some steps to take when you are going to assess your training needs.¹

1.   Identify a clear business goal that the training supports.

2.   Determine the tasks workers need to perform so the company can reach that goal.

3.   Determine the training activities that will help workers learn to perform the tasks.

4.   Determine the learning characteristics of the workers that will make the training more effective.

Content Chunking

Content chunking is the technique of breaking up content into shorter, bite-size pieces that are more manageable and easier to remember.²

In 1956, Harvard professor George A. Miller said that short-term memory could hold only five to nine chunks of information at a time. Since then, scientists have argued about the exact number of knowledge chunks people can hold, but the concept of breaking training into chunks remains a concept created by Dr. Miller.

Chunking as a technique has been applied quite successfully to online training programs. Actually, any self-paced training program can benefit from the chunking design technique. Teaching materials in small chunks has been demonstrated to offer greater success with participants than a constant flow of information in one large stream.

Process Flow Mapping

Process flow mapping is a visual way to understand how things work. You start at the beginning and then determine what must be done next. Then, you determine what action comes after that and so forth. Eventually, you will have a chartable list of action steps that will result in a fully functional training program (see Figure 6-2).

This same process can be used to chart the action steps for any project, not just training. Consider using it for new employee orientation, benefits program open enrollment, or an employee complaint investigation. Mapping a process can make clear all of the steps that are necessary parts for project completion.

Figure 6-2 Process flow mapping

Establishing Training Objectives

Determine what training objectives are necessary for measuring the outcome of the training. Objectives relate to the results that the participants will be able to do in the training or perform at the end of the program. They focus on design. Objectives provide a guide for training participants on what they are intended to know by the end of the training. The objectives assist in ensuring that there is the intended knowledge/skill transfer. Objectives provide a means to measure what was learned. When designing training objectives, much like the design of an individual’s performance goal objectives, employing the use of the SMART outline is helpful. (SMART stands for specific, measurable, action-oriented and achievable, realistic/relevant, and timed.) Composing objectives with the SMART outline and the use of action verbs such as identify, describe, and define will guide the objective of the learning. An example of an objective might be something like this: “With the knowledge and techniques taught in this three-day training course on operating the new widget processor, the participant will be able to operate the widget processor at a 100 percent production capacity.”

When writing training objectives, keep in mind that action is needed. Saying that an objective is for participants in a training program “to understand . . .” is not an action statement. How will you know if they understand? It is better to say something like, “demonstrate,” “explain,” “answer 80 percent of the test questions correctly,” or “teach someone else to successfully….”

Instructional and Delivery Methods

There is no one perfect teaching method for every situation. As a matter of fact, the method that should be used will depend upon the training circumstances and the material being covered. There are teacher-centered instructional methods and learner-centered instructional methods.³ Instructional methods are the manner in which materials are presented to students.

Adult Learning Processes and Principles

Adult learning principles have a single-track focus, trainability.⁴ Trainability is concerned with the readiness to learn and its associated motivation. Andragogy is the study of how adults learn, and it is based on five assumptions about learning in adults as compared to children. As people mature, they shift to the following:

•   Self-concept   Their concept of self moves toward self-direction and self-sufficiency.

•   Experience   They accumulate more experience that can be tucked away and accessed in learning situations.

•   Readiness to learn   They adjust to a readiness state for learning because of the developmental requirements associated with developmental needs that correlate to the stage of life and the social roles they live (for example, parent, homeowner).

•   Orientation to learning   They shift from subject-focused to problem-focused learning that has immediate applicability.

•   Motivation to learn   Motivation for learning comes from an internal source within rather than external.

As training programs are being designed and delivered, these needs of adult learners should be incorporated. Real-world examples and an emphasis on how the training is going to be immediately applied are helpful.

Learning Styles

All adults have a particular learning style that best suits their ability to learn. Understanding these learning styles will assist you in the creation of a learning environment within your organization, allowing you to accommodate each style with the delivery of training.

Additionally, as a presenter or trainer, knowing your own learning style will enhance your ability to adjust your preference of delivery methods so you won’t fall into the comfort of just your style and can better shift your delivery to meet the needs of all participants. Also, knowing your own learning style will assist you in your career with problem-solving, managing conflict, negotiations, teamwork, and career planning.

There are three learning styles: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic.

•   Auditory learners tend to benefit most from a lecture style. Present information by talking so they can listen. Auditory learners succeed when directions are read aloud or information is presented and requested verbally because they interpret the underlying meanings of speech through listening to tone of voice, pitch, speed, and other nuances.

•   Visual learners rely upon a “seeing” presentation style: “Show me and I’ll understand.” These learners do best when seeing facial expressions and body language. It helps them understand the content of what is being taught because they think in pictures, diagrams, charts, videos, computer training, and written directions. These students will value to-do lists, flip charts, and written notes. They need and want to take detailed notes to absorb the information.

•   Kinesthetic learners are also called tactile learners. They learn via a hands-on approach and prefer to explore the physical aspects of learning. Sitting for long periods of time is difficult for these learners, for they need activity to learn. Kinesthetic learners are most successful when totally engaged with the learning activity such as in role playing, practicing, and with topics that can use the sense of feeling and imagining.

Learning Curves   Besides having different learning preference styles, adults also learn at different rates. This is referred to as learning curves. A learning curve is a graphical representation of the increase of learning (vertical axis) with experience (horizontal axis). The following are the factors that determine how quickly an adult will learn:

•   The person’s motivation for learning

•   The person’s prior knowledge or experience

•   The specific knowledge or task that is to be learned

•   The person’s aptitude and attitude about the knowledge or skill to learn

The following are the four most common learning curves:

•   Increasing returns   This is the pattern that comes into play when a person is learning something new. The start of the curve is slow while the basics are being learned. The learning increases and takes off as knowledge or skills are acquired. This curve assumes that the individual will continue to learn as time progresses. An example would be when an IT programmer needs to learn a new coding language. Learning will be slow at first until they grasp the new coding protocol, and after mastering the basics, the learning becomes easier and/or quicker as they learn more about the particular language.

•   Decreasing returns   This pattern is when the amount of learning increases rapidly in the beginning and then the rate of learning slows down. The assumption with this learning curve is that once the learning is achieved, the learning then stops. This occurs with routine tasks learning and is the most common type of learning curve. An example is when a data entry clerk learns how to enter a sales order—the learning is complete.

•   S-shaped   This learning curve is a blend of the increasing and decreasing returns curves. The assumption with this learning curve is that the person is learning something difficult, such as problem-solving or critical thinking. Learning may be slow at the beginning until the person learning becomes familiar with the learning material, and at that point, learning takes off. The cycle continues with a slow to faster progression as new material is presented. An example of this is when a production lead is trained on new equipment, yet this equipment has not been utilized in the production of the product before. There might be a trial and error for adjustments until the new production equipment is working as expected and is adjusted to the new product. Then when another product is introduced, the equipment and process needs adjusting again until everything works smoothly.

•   Plateau curve   Just as the name suggests, learning on this curve is quick in the beginning and then flattens or plateaus. The assumption is that the plateau is not permanent and that with additional coaching, training, and support the person learning can ramp up again. With this curve, it can be frustrating for the learner if they are not getting the support and additional training needed to master the task. An example of the plateau curve is a salesperson who has met quotas in the past, and when a new line of equipment is introduced into the product line, the salesperson is provided a minimal level of training/knowledge about it but not enough training to answer all the questions of the prospective customers. The anticipation of additional sales with the new product is not being achieved because the salesperson requires more training in order to pitch the new product and convince the customer to purchase it.

Figure 6-3 illustrates the four most common learning curves.

Figure 6-3 Learning curves

Learning Levels   Knowing the styles of learning and learning curves is essential, yet understanding the levels of adult learning is critical to being able to meet adult learning objectives. According to the principles of classification known as Bloom’s taxonomy, training objectives are divided into three domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor (which is loosely described as “knowing/head,” “feeling/heart,” and “doing/hands”). Within the domains, there are six levels of cognitive learning.⁵

•   Knowledge   This level of cognitive learning is where the learner recalls specific facts and instruction.

•   Comprehension   This level of learning allows the learner to interpret information.

•   Application   This is the ability to use the learned information in new experiences and situations.

•   Analysis   This cognitive learning is the understanding of information and being able to apply it and see how it connects and fits together with other information.

•   Synthesis   This level is where the learner is able to respond to new experiences and dissect problems, considering appropriate tactics for solutions.

•   Evaluation   This is the highest level of cognitive learning wherein the learner will make judgments.

Motivation Concepts

Three underlying principles of human behavior are directly linked to motivation.

•   All human behavior is caused. This means people have a reason for doing what they do.

•   All behavior is focused on achieving an end result, or goal. People do things to attain something, tangible or intangible. Their behavior is not random, though it could be unconscious.

•   Every person has a unique fingerprint and is unique in that no one has the exact experience, heredity, or environmental/relationship influences.

Understanding these principles of human behavior will assist you as an HR professional with motivational pursuits, not just in the learning process, but in all matters related to the work and employment relationship, especially engagement.

There are several other long-standing motivational theories that we will briefly review to refresh your memory about what you most likely learned in your secondary educational endeavors.

Maslow’s Hierarchy Needs   In Maslow’s theory, there are five basic human needs arranged in a pyramid, necessitating that the first level (bottom of the pyramid) must be met first before moving up the pyramid. Figure 6-4 shows Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Lower-level needs on the pyramid will always have some influence on behavior.⁶

You can fulfill these needs in the workplace through the following:

•   Safety and security   Employment security such as an employment contract, pay and benefits, working conditions

•   Belonging and love   Teams, good leadership, participation in groups, employee associations, customer base assignments

•   Esteem   Training, recognition, awards, special assignments

•   Self-actualization   Job growth opportunities, project team participation, becoming a mentor

Figure 6-4 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory   This theory asserts that employees have two different categories of needs and that they are essentially independent of each other, but they affect behavior in differing ways: hygiene factors, which are considered extrinsic, and motivational factors, which are considered intrinsic (see Table 6-1). The latter is associated with recognition, achievement, and personal growth–related events in the job, whereas hygiene factors are associated with job security, pay, working conditions, supervision, and co-worker relations that can quickly lead to job dissatisfaction.

Table 6-1 Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Factors

Hygiene factors are motivators for short periods of time, but their impact fades rather quickly. Motivation from the second group of factors lasts longer and often has a greater initial impact as well.

Much of Herzberg’s research was done in automobile manufacturing plants. He would observe workers doing their job and then ask them questions about what they liked and didn’t like about the work they did. He would explore what kept them motivated to continue doing their job. It has been said that one assembly line worker was tightening a single bolt on a car chassis as they passed his work station. Herzberg saw him using his right hand to twist the bolt each time. When Herzberg asked the worker what he would like to do differently, he said, “I’d like to use my left hand once in a while.”

It was Herzberg who suggested employers could use three methods to increase the motivational factors for their employees.

•   Job enlargement   More of the same type of work. Eliminate the boredom of slack times. Fill up the day so time will pass more quickly.

•   Job rotation   Give people a chance to learn more than one job. A repair technician might be cross-trained on repair of washing machines as well as dishwashers.

•   Job enrichment   Providing greater levels of responsibility for the job. Rather than just assemble parts, expand the job so quality control is included in the work.

McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y   McGregor’s theory offers two approaches to motivating employees: Theory X, which suggests an authoritative management style because it assumes that employees inherently do not like to work and must be controlled and closely monitored; and Theory Y, which suggests a participative style of management, under the belief that employees dislike controls and inherently want to do their best (see Table 6-2). Arguments have abounded for decades about the value of these theories in modern management. Both suggest that motivation comes from the supervisor, external to the employee. McGregor said that how the supervisor deals with employees will determine how they respond to the motivating techniques. In actuality, each theory is represented by its own scale, rather than as commonly thought, being two ends of the same scale. The scale can explain the amount of the behavior exhibited by the supervisor.

McGregor suggests that these two management approaches to employees will result in quite different organizational behaviors. Each of these approaches has advantages and limitations.⁷ As part of the history of industrial psychology, McGregor’s theories offer some insights to the early studies conducted in workplaces. Theory X managers are thought to have more concern for tasks than for people. If managers focus on tasks, the people will take care of themselves because they need strong direction. Theory Y managers are thought to have more concern for relationships than for tasks. If you focus on people and relationships, the task accomplishments will take care of themselves because people really do care about their jobs and the work they produce.

Table 6-2 McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

Teacher-Centered Approaches

Elements of a teacher-centered approach include the following:

•   Demonstration   Showing participants how something is done.

•   Direct instruction   Conveying concepts and skills.

•   Lecture   Passive participants, reception of instruction.

•   Lecture-discussions   Questions added to lecture.

Learner-Centered Approaches

The following are elements of a learner-centered approach:

•   Case studies   Require application of knowledge to respond to a “real” problem.

•   Cooperative learning   Small group working on solving a problem or completing a task.

•   Discussion   Classroom or online interaction among participants and with the teacher.

•   Discovery   Using prior knowledge and experience to discover new things.

•   Graphic organizers   Diagrams, maps, and webs as illustrations of material.

•   Journals/blogs   Recordings of reflections and ideas.

•   K-W-L   Structured table showing columns with what participants know (K), what they want to know (W), and what they learned in the end (L).

•   Learning centers   Independent or small group work aimed at completing a task.

•   Role-play   Solving problems through action or performance.

•   Scaffolding   Teacher modeling skills and thinking for participants, allowing participants to take over those expressions based on the initial structure provided by the teacher.

•   Problem-based learning (inquiry learning)   The teacher provides a problem where inquiry must be utilized to reach a solution.

•   Simulations   Situations designed to be as realistic as possible without the risk of a real-life circumstance.

•   Storytelling   Use of multimedia technology (for example, PowerPoint) to present interactive opportunities involving any subject.

HR’s Role in Organizational Development

First, let’s define what organizational development (OD) is. The following is a long-standing definition created by Richard Beckhard in his 1969 book Organization Development: Strategies and Models:⁸

Organization Development is an effort (1) planned, (2) organization-wide, and (3) managed from the top, to (4) increase organization effectiveness and health through (5) planned interventions in the organization’s “processes,” using behavioral-science knowledge.

The best way to describe HR’s role in organizational development is as a masterful change agent because planning and managing change are the cornerstones in OD. Helping the workforce adapt to change, embrace the changes, and see the potential possibilities for the organization’s benefit is the responsibility of HR professionals.

Of all the many competencies required for the HR professional, being a masterful change agent is probably the most important because HR professionals not only serve as the catalyst in communicating the change but will also be charged with the evaluation of the change and with design or implementation interventions for the change. They will have their hands in diagnosing the environment to determine the readiness of the workgroup that is impacted and needing to accept the change. Then HR professionals move into developing an action plan that determines the strategies to be used to implement the plan. Lastly, they are responsible for evaluating the change to measure the planned effectiveness and behavioral results against what was intended.

Learning Organization

A learning organization is a place “where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together.” It is a systems-level concept in which the organization is characterized by its capacity to adapt to changes in its environment. The organization responds quickly to situations by altering the organizational behavior. A good example is when social media became more than just staying in touch with friends and family. Businesses quickly learned how much power they had to influence customers, and thus businesses began creating their own customer fan pages to communicate with customers and provide time-sensitive offers.

The importance of aligning HR initiatives and activities with the overall strategic plan of the organization will require the application of concepts of both a learning organization and organizational learning.

In a learning organization a systems-thinking approach is used, change is embraced, risk is tolerated, and failures are lessons learned. Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline outlines the five disciplines that interface and support one another with this systems-thinking concept.

•   Personal mastery   Connects personal and organizational learning, merging an individual’s personal vision with their current reality. Commitments happen between the organization and the individual.

•   Mental models   Ingrained assumptions that influence how individuals understand their reality and what actions they take.

•   Building shared vision   Develops a projection of the future that is shared and creates a genuine commitment on all individuals involved.

•   Team learning   Aligns the shared vision of a group and develops their capacities to produce the results the team desires.

•   Systems thinking   A framework for seeing patterns and how things interrelate and how to change things.

When the five disciplines are in use in an organization, learning is matched to employees’ learning preferences, leaders become stewards and teachers, people take responsibility for their own development and learning, and there is an understanding on how to learn, not a sole focus on what needs to be learned. The learning is easily tied to business objectives, and it creates a performance-based culture where solving problems and learning new ways not previously used are rewarded. Basically, a learning organization focuses on employees who want to learn to develop new capabilities and reacts to adapt to its environment.⁹

Organizational Learning

Organizational learning describes the particular activities or processes that occur in an organization with both individuals and teams. An example would be a new payroll cloud-based processing software that all payroll clerks are required to learn to use. In organizational learning, individual learning takes place through self-study, instruction, and observation. Group learning occurs through increasing knowledge, skills, and group instruction.

The following are the characteristics of a culture that supports organizational learning:

•   Recognition of continuous learning in the work environment being as important as the day-to-day work itself

•   Quality improvements driving organizational initiatives

•   Well-defined core competencies in job descriptions

•   Performance rewards based on individual and group learning achievements

•   Employees having access to important information such as strategic plans

•   A focus on creativity exists

Figure 6-5 Change process theory

The distinction between organizational learning and a learning organization is that organizational learning exists in every organization.

Change Process Theory

OD and change process theory go hand in hand. Just as there is a predictable series of emotions that occurs with significant emotional events in organizational change, social psychologist Kurt Lewin¹⁰ identified three stages of the change process in organizations, as depicted in Figure 6-5. The first stage is called unfreezing and involves shifting and dismantling the existing mind-set or paradigms. The second stage, labeled moving, is the moment change occurs. It is generally a phase of confusion marked by not knowing what’s next and difficulty in letting go of old ways. The final and third stage is called freezing. This is when the new paradigm is taking shape and a tipping point of comfort with the new change is taking hold.

Like all good planning methods, with organizational changes, communication must be crystal clear on the long-term goals for the change, along with actions steps on how the change will take place.

Talent Management

Talent management involves all the HR strategies and processes that are involved in attracting, developing, engaging, and retaining the skills/knowledge/abilities of the workforce to meet the organization’s needs. Talent management goals are simple: manage the human resources initiatives that directly result in employee productivity and that address current and future business needs.

Employee Development Programs

Employee development programs are an important aspect of talent management, providing employees with opportunities to learn new knowledge and skills, preparing them for future responsibilities and job changes, and increasing their capacity to perform in their current jobs. Job rotation, enlargement, and enrichment form one avenue for employee development. Another could be an apprenticeship program that relates to skills training.

Higher education tuition reimbursement programs are also offered by many organizations as part of their employee development program. The pursuit of education is normally restricted to an employee’s current occupation or an occupation that exists within the organization.

Other employee development programs that are increasingly on the rise within organizations are those associated with wellness training, stress management, and work-life balance.

Skills Training

Skills training generally encompasses specific skill sets associated with jobs as identified in job descriptions. Skill development is a constantly moving target because of the nature of changing workplace requirements. With the added complexity of technology and rules/regulations, most jobs will have changing skill set requirements throughout their existence in the organization. Categories of skills training will normally include the following:

•   Sales training

•   Technology training

•   Technical skills

•   Quality training

•   Communication skills training

•   Emotional intelligence

•   Basic on-the-job training

Other skills training may be specifically targeted to supervisory-level positions such as leadership/supervisory skills training, discrimination/harassment prevention training, or diversity and ethics training.

Instructor Evaluation

Instructor jobs are among those that some people say can’t be evaluated. They depend entirely on soft skills that can’t be measured but can be recognized when seen. Besides being incorrect, that position is a slap in the face to really effective instructors and a “free pass” for incompetent instructors.

According to Bob Powers in the book Instructor Excellence,¹² there are 17 critical instructor skills that can be measured and should be used in screening candidates for instructor jobs.

•   Verbal skills   The ability to speak effectively

•   Interpersonal skills   The ability to work effectively with others

•   Leadership skills   The ability to get others to accomplish objectives without creating hostility

•   Reading skills   The ability to read and comprehend course materials

•   Organizing and planning   The ability to establish priorities and structures and develop and carry out plans, designs, and so on

•   Platform skills   The ability to establish and hold eye contact, speak with a variety of inflections, move naturally, and gesture with ease

•   Decision-making skills   The ability to make sound decisions, given the information available

•   Flexibility   The ability to change plans to meet objectives

•   Analytical skills   The ability to comprehend and interpret information

•   Problem-solving skills   The ability to constructively handle unexpected problems

•   Acceptance of feedback   The ability to provide and receive motivational and developmental feedback

•   Questioning skills   The ability to ask questions in a way that produces a response

•   Participation   The ability to get people to participate

•   Initiative   The ability to initiate action

•   Managing diverse groups   The ability to successfully manage a mix or variety of people

•   Risk taking   The willingness to take unplanned action to accomplish objectives

•   Writing skills   The ability to write clearly and concisely to accomplish an objective

A rating scale can be created for each of these skills. Measurements can be made based on comparison with successful instructors in the type of training programs this job will be part of. The “standard” comes from answering the question, “What do I see a completely successful instructor doing in this type of program?” Then the job candidate or incumbent can be rated in relation to that mark along each scale. Figure 6-6 shows an example of how to rate the amount of behavior seen in one of these skills.

Figure 6-6 Platform skill rating

Using this approach, each of these instructor skills can be measured/evaluated. It is helpful to work with the incumbents to develop the amount of behavior that can be observed in a successful instructor. That way, their comparison along the evaluation scale will be better understood and accepted.

How do you observe behavior in a job interview? You ask the candidate to demonstrate the skill given a specific training outline and audience. Making it job specific can be easy if you extract a segment of the program the instructor will be teaching after being hired. Observing incumbents can be done by sitting in on a class as an observer, rating each of the skills, and making notes to identify what behaviors were being demonstrated. Immediate feedback is appropriate at the end of the class. The accumulation of these observations over a quarter or a year can constitute a performance evaluation. They should be frequent, and any improvement needs should be revisited at the following observation to note improvements.

Training Platforms

There are multiple methods for delivering training, known as training platforms. Some newer approaches are overtaking traditional approaches in popularity. Here are a few to consider:

•   Classroom   Involves an instructor and a group of students/participants gathered together in a single room. Delivery methods can include lecture, interactive discussion, individual exercises, small group exercises, or large group exercises.

•   Online group   Involves an instructor-led group that uses Internet-based audio/visual tools to help move the group through the class material outline. Participants can be located anywhere on the globe (or above it as in the International Space Station).

•   Online self-paced individual package   Participant is an individual without any other people for interaction. There is no instructor. Materials move the participant along at the individual’s pace, so materials can be absorbed at a rate acceptable to the participant.

•   Self-study book   Participant reads and absorbs knowledge from a book designed to provide the information necessary to accomplish the training objectives. The pace of progress is controlled by the individual participant.

Training Program Evaluation

Evaluating training programs can be done in several ways. Here are some of the possible metrics you can use:

•   End of program participant survey   Request feedback from program participants about the program content, the instructor, and the value of the content to their job performance

•   Specific job transfer measurement   Periodic measurement of the impact the training program had on participant’s job performance.

•   Instructor evaluation of the program and its participants   A thoughtful analysis by the instructor of the class group and its reaction to the program contents

•   Participant demonstration of skills or knowledge   In-class demonstration of mastery over skills and knowledge that can be transferred to on-the-job application

•   Cost per person   How much expense is involved in having one person participate in the training?

•   Instructor preparation cost   What time is required for instructors to “get up to speed” and able to teach the program?

•   Training development cost   What expense is involved in researching, designing, writing, and publishing the training program?

Teams

Bringing together a group of people who can address a given set of issues or problems is the process of team creation. How effective the group will be depends on many things, such as the team leadership and the experience of each member. Teams permit the focus of talent on specific organizational goals.

Employee development strategies could include team participation, involvement on committees, and work teams to expose a group to decision-making and collaborative processes. Team assignments can enrich an employee’s experience and perspective, assisting with an employee’s career planning initiatives.

For a team to be effective, all participants need to be clear on the goals they are working toward and what expectations they are to meet and fulfill.

Project Teams

Project teams are formed when specific projects must be completed. People with a specific talent or experience are recruited into the group to contribute their knowledge and skills to resolving the problem or accomplishing some other goal. There is often a team leader who can be an organizational superior or peer of other team members.

Self-Directed Teams

Self-directed teams are groups of people who are given general direction by assignment to resolve an issue or solve a problem. The group selects its own leadership, identifies its own direction, and holds itself accountable for accomplishments.

Task Forces

A cousin of teams, task forces are groups of people assembled to research and address major organizational issues. They are composed of individuals with specific experience or knowledge and are expected to “fix” problems that could have significant impact on the organization. Task forces are sometimes used to address system failures (for example, computer or software) or to handle crises (for example, natural disaster or sudden inability to transport goods through a region due to a new local ordinance). Once the solution is found or issue resolved, the task force disbands.

Work Teams

When formed to facilitate production or performance, the group is sometimes referred to as a work team. These are people from the same type of work, usually of the same or similar job class, who are working together to generate the production for their segment of the organization. Types of work teams include the following:

•   Functional work teams   These are groups of people from the same function working together to generate production. On an assembly line or in the accounts receivable department, groups handle the work load as a unit rather than as individuals.

•   Cross-functional work teams   These are groups of people from different functions working together to generate production. On the assembly line or in the engineering department, individuals with different talents work together to create a unified output. (For example, an engineer works with drafters and technicians to create work drawings for a project. The group may include electricians, construction supervisors, and other interior designers. All functions work together to create one unified result.)

•   Virtual work teams   With virtual work teams, members are not located in the same facility and, in fact, may work in different parts of the globe. They come together via technology such as Internet FaceTime meetings to accomplish team assignments that could fall within the scope of work teams.

Career Development

Career development is the lifelong individual process that involves planning, managing, learning, and transitions at all ages and stages in work life. In organizations, it is an organized approach used to match employee goals with the business’s current and future needs. An individual’s work-related preferences and needs continuously evolve throughout life’s phases. At the same time, organizations are also continuously adapting to economic, political, and societal changes.

Career Development Processes

There are two processes in career development: career planning and career management. With career planning, the focus is on the individual. Career management has a focus on the organization.

In career planning, assessing an individual’s skills, talents, experiences, and potential abilities occurs to give direction to a person’s career. HR professionals typically assist with these activities, but many self-assessment instruments are available online for individuals to use.

With career management, this involves implementing and monitoring employee career paths at an organizational level. The individual employee is actively involved; however, the organization is typically providing the development programs and opportunities associated with internal career progression opportunities and succession planning. The intention with career management from the organizational perspective is to assist with aligning existing workforce talent with new business objectives, create an atmosphere of positive morale, and for employee retention of needed talent.

Roles in Managing Career Development

It is not just the individual employee and HR involved in career development. The direct line of management and the organization’s leaders have a role to play, too.

Individuals bear the primary responsibility for their own career. Today, individuals are required to be proactive in planning their career progression and not rely on an organization to direct their career path. Being keenly aware of current assessed traits and skills, along with needs for increased knowledge, skill, and experience associated with the individual’s career ambitions, is largely the responsibility of an individual employee. Figure 6-7 illustrates the stages of an individual’s career development.

The direct line of management normally serves as support in helping an individual assess his or her current effectiveness and potential and provides a broader view of the organization’s career paths. The direct supervisory management will wear many hats, including coach, appraiser, guidance counselor, and resource referral in the employee’s career development planning.

The HR professionals are involved in the development of career pathing, personal development programs, and skill development training to enable employees to achieve their career aspirations and goals. Creating a skill inventory database along with work and educational experience of the current workforce is needed in helping the organization assess its current workforce talent. Additionally, HR professionals monitor training and development needs and create programs to meet those needs, along with the communication of job progression opportunities.

The organizational leader’s role in career development includes the communication of the organization’s mission and vision to the workforce to link the organization’s initiatives and changes with the anticipated talent needs. Fostering a culture of support and internal opportunity for career development is another important function of the organizational leader’s role.

Figure 6-7 Individual career development

Career Development Programs

Many large organizations create full-fledged career development programs. Some will be self-paced and opt-in by individual employees, and some are created with particular objectives in mind, such as management development programs, where high-potential employees are invited to participate. A typical model for a career development program will include stages of the following:

•   Occupational preparation   This stage is where occupations are assessed, an occupation is decided upon, and necessary education and skill levels are pursued.

•   Organizational entry   This is the stage where a person obtains and decides on job offers from organizations they want to work for, or they learn of internal changes within the company they work in and they decide on whether they want to go for that.

•   Early career establishment   In this phase, an employee learns a new job, along with organizational norms and rules for fitting into the job, company, or industry. An employee gains work experience and career skills.

•   Mid-career   In this phase, an employee evaluates his or her career objectives, with an understanding of his or her current life situation, and may choose to shift career direction.

•   Late career   In this last phase, employees focus on retirement planning and, again, choices associated with life considerations as to the hours they want to work and the extra effort that may cause additional mental stress. Climbing career progression ladders is not normally in their career plans at this phase, yet mentoring of employees in early career phases would be.

Dual-Ladder Program

Dual-ladder career development programs allow mobility for employees without requiring that they be placed into the managerial enclave. Mostly associated with technical, medical, engineering, and scientific occupations, this type of program is a way to advance employees who are not interested in pursuing a management track. These individuals exhibit one or more of the following characteristics:

•   Have substantial technical or professional expertise beyond the basic levels

•   Have licensure or required credentials

•   Are known for innovation

•   May or may not be well suited for management or leadership roles

An objective within a dual-ladder development program is to increase complexity and value to the organization, enabling the organization to increase employee salaries to improve employee retention and satisfaction. Lateral movement may occur within a dual-ladder program such as team membership, internal consultative roles, mentorships, or larger facility rotation. Figure 6-8 shows an example of a dual-ladder career path.

Coaching and Mentoring

More organizations are realizing the advantages of having coaching and mentoring programs as part of their overall career management strategy. These programs are advantageous for HR because of their effectiveness in working one-on-one with individuals, allowing HR the ability to maintain an unbiased position.

Figure 6-8 Dual-ladder career path

Coaching involves one-on-one discussions between the employee and a “coach.” The coach can be internal or external. An internal coach could be a member of the HR team or a line manager. Coaching can involve ongoing activities with a direct supervisor or HR professional that provide discussions focused on the career objectives of an employee, including perspective assessments such as poor job fit or potential growth tracks. External coaches are professionals hired at the organization’s expense who typically work on the development of an employee in a particular area—for example, presentation or communication—or to hone and shift leadership skills. This type of coaching is focused solely on the employee and is confidential and private. At the level of executive coaching, which is more prevalent in organizations of all sizes, a third-party vendor-certified executive coach is utilized to allow executives the freedom to discuss aspects of career-life balance with a high level of trust and nondisclosure.

Mentoring is an action-oriented relationship between two people within the organization, usually a senior and junior colleague. It involves advising, providing opinion and perspective, role modeling, and sharing contacts and networks, along with support. The mentee receives career support and learns the ropes in the organization, and the mentor has the opportunity to share his or her knowledge and perhaps pass the baton of the job responsibilities on to afford the mentee a chance to move out of a current role. Mentorships can occur at all levels in an organization. They can be formally designed by HR, such as part of the onboarding orientation process, or they can be part of a succession planning program.

Employee Retention

According to the SHRM’s Future of the U.S. Labor Pool Survey Report,¹³ three out of ten employees in the workforce are retiring each year for the next 12 years. That creates a large knowledge gap and an emphasis on passing institutional knowledge on to employees via replacement/succession planning. Yet a plan is only going to work as designed if the identified candidates remain employed with the organization. Retention is the ability to keep talented employees. The importance of retention has moved to the top of the priority list in today’s global competitive marketplace because of the following factors:

•   An improved economy rebounding from the recession causing the job market to improve

•   Retirement of the Baby Boomers and a likely shortage in skills/knowledge-based labor

•   The increase of global competition

•   Economic factors resulting in cost of living substantially increasing

•   Technological advancements

•   Generational motivation differences

How can you improve your employee retention results? Here are some key elements of a good retention program:

•   On-boarding and employee orientation programs   From the beginning of day one, make the new employee feel comfortable and welcome. There should be smiles in the workplace.

•   Mentorship programs   These provide linkages between experienced, more senior people who are willing to give advice and council to a new employee. They fill the “big brother” or “big sister” role in a long-term relationship.

•   Employee compensation   There should be competitive pay rates at all levels. Money may not be a long-term motivator, but it can help reduce turnover.

•   Recognition and rewards systems   Operate with the belief that everyone likes to be recognized for their contributions. Build systems that can encourage supervisors and managers to say “Thank you” when things go well, and offer extra incentives for going the extra mile. It could involve gift cards, a day off with pay, acknowledgment in the company newsletter, or some other form of spotlight on the accomplishments.

•   Training and development   If people have an opportunity to attend training programs that will expand or enhance their skills, that alone can sometimes offer incentive for remaining with the employer.

Retention means you have made your organization a highly desirable place to work. It can be thought of as a destination for job candidates. When “everybody wants to work here,” you will be able to say you have a low employee turnover.

Employee Suggestion Systems

Having an employee suggestion system is an employee engagement and involvement strategy that goes hand in hand with employee retention. When employees feel their opinion counts or their perspective is “heard,” they are more likely to turn away from third-party representation.

Employee suggestion systems, anonymous or not, can provide management with a way to “hear” the workforce for both positive ideas and negative issues or perceptions. Many improvements are discovered through employee suggestion systems that are considered at upper management levels in an organization. Often, HR is the gatekeeper responsible for screening or compiling the employee suggestions. It’s important that employee suggestions are acknowledged and given serious consideration and that responses are provided in a timely manner.

Employee Focus Groups

When a large cross-section of employee opinions or perspectives is needed, an employee focus group from various units, functions, and facilities in an organization is used. Surveys can solicit the input from the entire employee population, and there are survey instruments that can compile this input for HR, but a focus group offers the opportunity to have two-way dialogue for clarity and probing purposes. The employees, however, must feel safe providing candid and honest feedback, which is a reason why either HR or an outside consultant will conduct employee focus groups.

When an organization is bleeding from key and high performers exiting, a focus group of existing employees might be in order to learn what the root cause of the exodus is.

Challenges in Talent Management

Organizations may not always realize why they are losing talent. There exist special challenges in talent management, even though the organization may have a plethora of training and development programs in place. Not all careers will take an upward or positive direction for every employee. In fact, some long-term employees may hit a wall and go nowhere.

Plateaued Careers

How do you maintain the productivity, loyalty, and commitment of an employee who is not considered promotable? They have been good performers in the past, and they may be years away from retirement, though suddenly their performance growth hits a mile-long plateau. The challenge is in seeking ways to expand skills, create new levels of motivation and interest, keep the employee engaged in the organization’s vision, and work them into a process where their knowledge and talents due to lengthy experience can benefit the organization. Some employees see this as a pigeon-hole, and yet their high salary expense can become an issue as their cost of employment becomes inequitable to their productivity.

Glass Ceilings

Glass ceiling is another talent management issue as well as a federal legal issue. The federal government found it to be such a big issue that the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission was created in 1991, and its mandate was to identify the glass ceiling barriers that have blocked the advancement of minorities and women. The commission also studies the successful practices and policies of organizations that have led to breaking glass ceilings and advancing minorities and women into decision-making power positions. Organizations are recognizing that glass ceilings are not healthy for business because of shifts in labor force demographics, changes in their marketplace, and, of course, the globalization of their industries.

Boards of directors and senior management are creating glass-ceiling initiatives to help all employees, regardless of gender and ethnicity, reach their full employment potential. There is bottom-line value and economic advantages to the business, and then there is the practicality of keeping the EEOC from issuing an audit notice.

Creativity and Innovation

Business Insider tells us, “The main difference between creativity and innovation is the focus. Creativity is about unleashing the potential of the mind to conceive new ideas. Those concepts could manifest themselves in any number of ways, but most often, they become something we can see, hear, smell, touch, or taste.

“Innovation, on the other hand, is completely measurable. Innovation is about introducing change into relatively stable systems. It’s also concerned with the work required to make an idea viable. By identifying an unrecognized and unmet need, an organization can use innovation to apply its creative resources to design an appropriate solution and reap a return on its investment.”

Organizations often chase creativity, but what they really need to pursue is innovation. Theodore Levitt puts it best: “What is often lacking is not creativity in the idea-creating sense but innovation in the action-producing sense, i.e., putting ideas to work.”¹⁴

HR professionals have responsibility for helping leaders in the enterprise understand and act on the resources available for creative and innovative contributions to the strategic plan.

Performance Management

Performance management is a systematic process that helps improve organizational effectiveness by providing feedback to employees on their performance results and improvement needs. It is employee accomplishments and contributions that drive the business results of an organization, so a regular feedback system discussing individual performance is at the core of a good performance management system. It ensures that employees are on course for the completion of tasks and goals that are aligned with the organization’s goals and that the resources and support are provided for the employee to perform such functions.

Employee performance management systems include the following:

•   Delegating and planning work

•   Setting expectations for performance results

•   Continually monitoring performance

•   Developing a capacity to perform to new levels for personal and professional growth

•   Periodically rating performance in a summary fashion

•   Providing recognition and rewarding good performance

As discussed in Chapter 4, creating and communicating the organization’s vision, mission, strategies, specific goals, and values form the foundation that is needed for the performance management system. Then performance standards are agreed upon by both the line management and the employee on what the job requires and what will be measured. At this stage, it is essential that employees clearly understand the standards, including expected behavior standards set forth for their jobs. Feedback is the next stage and can be both informal and formal. Formal feedback would entail a written performance appraisal.

Performance Standards

Employees need to know and understand what specific performance is expected of them in performing their jobs and the acceptable behavior. This communication begins with the first discussion in a job interview and certainly with the job offer and new hire onboarding orientation. The discussion continues on a consistent basis both with the reinforcement of organizational standards that are outlined in employee handbooks and other written material and with performance appraisal review sessions. The clearer the expectations set for employees, the greater the success in having expectations met.

Performance Appraisal Methods

Performance appraisals satisfy three purposes:

•   Providing feedback and coaching

•   Justifying the allocation of rewards and career opportunities

•   Helping with employee career planning and development plans

For the organization, performance appraisals can foster commitment and align people to contribute to initiatives with their upcoming performance contributions. The most common performance appraisal method involves just two people: the employee and his or her direct supervisor. In some companies, others are asked to be involved in the appraisals such as peers, another level of management, and sometimes colleagues in the organization whose job function interacts with the employee. These are known as 360-degree appraisals.

Methods for rating the performance can be completely narrative, management by objectives (MBO) discussed in Chapter 11, behaviorally anchored ratings (BARS), category rating, and comparative ratings with others in like functions.

The least complex of the methods is the category rating where the reviewer simply checks a level of rating on a form. Three types of rating formulas are typically used in category ratings:

•   Graphic scale   The most common type, where the appraiser checks a place on the scale for the categories of tasks and behaviors that are listed. A typical scale is 5 points, where 1 means not meeting expectations or low and 5 means exceeding expectations or high. These types of performance appraisals normally have a comments section that the appraiser completes that provides justification for the rating.

•   Checklist   Another common appraisal rating in which the appraiser is provided with a set list of statements/words to describe performance. The appraiser selects the one word or statement that best describes the performance—for example, “Employee consistently meets all deadlines” or “Employee consistently misses deadlines.”

•   Forced choice   A variation of the checklist approach, but in the checklist method, the appraiser is required to check two of four statements. One check is for the statement that is most like the employee’s performance, and the other check is for the statement that is least like the employee’s performance—a combination of positive and negative statements. This method can be difficult to convey to employees and understand from an employee’s perspective.

With comparative methods, employee performance is compared directly with others in the same job. The appraiser will rank the employees in a group from highest to lowest in performance. This causes a forced distribution known as a bell curve. Ten percent will fall in the highest and lowest of the rating scale, another 20 percent will fall on either side, and then 40 percent will meet job standards and expectations. An obvious fault with this type of system is suggesting that a percentage of employees will fall below expectations. Figure 6-9 displays a bell curve distribution.

Figure 6-9 Bell curve distribution

Narrative evaluations are time consuming for an appraiser to complete, yet they can be the most meaningful to the employee being evaluated. There are three methods that are the most common for the narrative appraisal:

•   Essay format   The appraiser writes an essay type of narrative describing each category of performance.

•   Critical incident   The appraiser is logging dates and details of both good and not-so-good performance incidents. This method requires the appraiser to be keeping good, detailed notes on a routine basis during the appraisal period and not relying solely on an employee’s most recent performance.

•   Behaviorally anchored rating methods   Referred to as BARS, this appraisal method describes desirable behavior and undesirable behavior. Examples are then compared with a scale of performance level for the rating. BARS works well in circumstances in which several employees perform the same function. A BARS appraisal system requires extensive time to develop and maintain to keep the performance dimensions up-to-date as the job functions change. However, the BARS methods offer a more accurate gauge of performance measurement, provide clearer standards to employees, and have more consistency in rating.

Self-Assessment

Coupled with the direct supervisory management evaluation, many employees are asked to self-assess their performance. This approach assists with creating a truly two-way dialogue in the evaluation interview and offers an opportunity for the employee to provide his own perception of his performance. Additionally, it engages employees in a proactive means of creating goals and objectives, along with triggering a discussion about career development. Figure 6-10 provides an example of a self-assessment—both a category rating and open-ended questions to elicit a narrative commentary.

Figure 6-10 Self-assessment performance appraisalPART

Shortcomings of Performance Appraisals

As with any subjective system, performance appraisals are subjective because they are based on people’s perceptions and opinions, so there can be shortcomings. Here are the most common errors made on the part of appraisers:

•   Halo   This occurs when the employee is doing well in one area and is therefore rated high in all areas.

•   Horn   This occurs when an employee is demonstrating a strong weakness and is thus rated low in all other areas.

•   Bias   This happens when the evaluator’s bias (consciously or unconsciously) influences and distorts his or her perspective.

•   Recency   A recency error occurs when more emphasis is placed on a recent occurrence and all earlier performances during the review period are discounted.

•   Primacy   The opposite of recency. The evaluator gives more weight and emphasis to earlier performances, discounting more recent performance.

•   Strictness   An evaluator is reluctant to give high ratings, and his or her standards are higher than other evaluators.

•   Leniency   The evaluator does not provide low scores and instead gives all employees a high rating on their appraisals.

•   Central   An evaluator rates all of his or her employees in the same range and does not consider differences of actual performance among the group rated.

•   Contrast   The evaluator is providing an employee rating based solely on a comparison to that of another employee and not to objective standards.

Chapter Review

Learning and development are the integrated use of training, organizational development, and career development efforts to improve individual, group, and organizational effectiveness. This HRCI functional area focuses on the behavior, skills, and competencies for employees to further the organization’s goals. Learning and development activities need to align and support the organization’s strategic goals and objectives, and it is the HR professional’s responsibility to develop, evaluate, and measure the direct effectiveness to ensure that they are in alignment. By providing input in the development and fully understanding the organization’s strategic plan, the HR professional can then develop, select, and implement learning and development programs and activities that provide the organization’s workforce with the necessary skills and competencies to meet the current and future organizational job demands.

Learning and development play a strong role in helping employees acquire skills and knowledge and in assisting with the changes and outside influences through the development of training and development programs, change management, performance management, employee career planning, and job enhancement.

Questions

1.   When conducting a needs assessment, which processes are used in strategic planning? (Choose two.)

A.   Environmental scanning

B.   Healthcare scanning

C.   Opinions from local supervisors and managers

D.   SWOT analysis

2.   A good training objective should begin with “The participant will be able to:”

A.   Understand

B.   Perform

C.   Expect

D.   Absorb

3.   According to Maslow’s hierarchy, which needs must be met first?

A.   Social needs

B.   Security/safety needs

C.   Self-actualization needs

D.   Belonging/loving needs

4.   Leslie has moved into a new supervisory position in the creative services department. She intends to set a good example for her subordinates. She recognizes that there are already strong creative partnerships within the department, so she tries to foster even more cooperation. What style of leadership is Leslie practicing?

A.   Authoritarian leadership

B.   Team style

C.   Democratic leadership

D.   Collaborative leadership

5.   ADDIE is an instructional design tool. What is not part of ADDIE?

A.   Delivery

B.   Implementation

C.   Design

D.   Development

6.   Trainability is concerned with the ________ ____ _______ and its associated motivation.

7.   The Tasty Good corporation downsized because of intense global competition and modified its strategic business plan for the year. The most important task that the HR department’s training and development function needs to do to support the change is to:

A.   Cost-justify training

B.   Work with employees on accepting the change

C.   Evaluate the effectiveness of all training programs

D.   Link training and development to the new strategic plan

8.   Adult learners in comparison to child learners have which of the following characteristics?

A.   Resistance to change

B.   Inflexibility

C.   Focus on real-world issues

D.   Directed by others

9.   One of the most important competencies of an HR professional is:

A.   Skilled project manager

B.   Skilled masterful change agent

C.   Excellent time management skills modeler

D.   Listening modeler

10.   When an HR intervention has a focus on emotional intelligence (EQ), the goal is to:

A.   Heighten emotions

B.   Always improve co-worker relationships

C.   Cause EQ rating to align with IQ rating

D.   Improve or increase an individual’s interactions and behaviors

11.   Training and development manager Joey received a request from the operations director to develop a team-building program that would focus on blending the values of Gen X with the Baby Boomers. Joey does not possess the knowledge of generational issues for team building. Which of the following is a justification Joey can use to sell his boss on purchasing an already existing team-building training program from a third-party consultant?

A.   Outside expertise will generate higher credibility from the Gen X participants because Joey is from the Baby Boomer generation.

B.   The time required to develop a training program in-house by Joey would take too long.

C.   There are many vendors that offer this kind of specific training.

D.   A Gen X training facilitator would be better to deliver this type of training program.

12.   What performance evaluation method increases employee engagement and dialogue the most?

A.   Self-assessment evaluation

B.   Behaviorally anchored rating scale method (BARS)

C.   A forced-choice method

D.   Paired comparison method

13.   Providing motivation by increasing job responsibility is known as:

A.   Job enlargement

B.   Job rotation

C.   Job enrichment

D.   Job training

14.   In managing career development, it is which of the following who has primary responsibility?

A.   Supervising managers

B.   Individuals

C.   HR managers

D.   Training managers

15.   A large technology company has identified a group of key managers in various departments who were hired with employment contracts that included large equity options. The company went public two years ago and continues to see a steady increase in stock value. There is a realization that many of these managers may retire when they are eligible to exercise their stock options in three more years. What OD activity should HR be focused on related to this circumstance?

A.   Review the organization’s retirement plan and begin counseling discussions

B.   Expand the vacation policy for this group of managers

C.   Design a succession plan and identify high-potential employees

D.   Hire executive coaches to help this group of management with work-life balance

16.   Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory is based on which two categories of needs?

A.   Psychological and basic needs

B.   Motivational and security needs

C.   Extrinsic and intrinsic needs

D.   Safety and self-esteem needs

17.   What type of team involves a group that is given general direction to resolve an issue or solve a problem?

A.   Self-directed team

B.   Task force

C.   Project team

D.   Work team

18.   Kiara has been working at her company for close to 18 years out of her 25 years as a programmer. What stage would probably best describe Kiara’s career development?

A.   Late-career

B.   Mid-career crisis

C.   Occupational preparation

D.   Mid-career

19.   Mark and Gwen are co-workers whose cubicles are located in a 12-by-10 enclosed room. Their manager is unable to resolve a conflict that they are having related to the temperature in the room, and the matter has escalated to HR. Which would be the best tactic to use in resolving their conflict?

A.   Use the seniority system; the person with the most seniority gets to decide on the temperature.

B.   Provide a portable fan for the cubicle and desk of the person who is too warm.

C.   Facilitate a conversation with the two of them in the same room to try to find common agreements.

D.   Create a schedule of telecommuting so that they are not in the same office at the same time.

20.   Which is not one of the leadership practices that Kouzes and Posner identify for effective leadership?

A.   Enable

B.   Persuade

C.   Model

D.   Encourage

21.   In a low-context culture, which is true?

A.   Tasks must be spelled out explicitly.

B.   Behaviors must be spelled out explicitly.

C.   People know how to behave.

D.   People have connections over long periods of time.

22.   ________________ is an action-oriented relationship between two people within the organization, usually a senior and junior colleague.

23.   You have observed that your employee Matthew consistently has a notebook in hand and is taking notes in the training sessions. Which learning style is Matthew exhibiting?

A.   Visual

B.   Auditory

C.   Kinesthetic

D.   Tactile

24.   Which learning curve is the most common?

A.   Increasing returns

B.   S-shaped curve

C.   Decreasing returns

D.   Plateau curve

25.   When a large cross-section of employee opinions or perspectives is needed, what is the method that should be used?

A.   An employee suggestion system

B.   A general employee meeting with the CEO

C.   A call for written recommendations from employees for specific problems

D.   An employee focus group(s)

26.   Performance standards are a good tool to use because:

A.   They offer specific descriptions of the minimum job performance requirements

B.   They offer a best-case, hoped-for expectation of job performance

C.   They offer management a reason for having job descriptions

D.   They offer employees stretch-objectives for their job growth program

Answers

1.   A, D. Environmental scanning and SWOT analysis are valuable components of needs assessment and strategic planning.

2.   B. Performing includes demonstrating, showing, selecting, listing, citing, and any number of other activities that can prove the participant actually learned from the training experience.

3.   B. Safety and security needs must be met first before moving up the pyramid of hierarchal needs according to Maslow’s theory.

4.   B. The team style of leadership encourages teamwork and commitment among employees.

5.   A. ADDIE is an instructional design model that follows phases of assessment, design, development, implementation, and evaluation.

6.   Readiness to learn

7.   D. Linking training and development activities to the new strategic plan is the first step to ensure that activities and resources are aligned with the organization’s new initiatives.

8.   C. As people mature, they shift in their motivation for learning. Real-world examples and emphasis on how the training is going to be immediately applied is most helpful.

9.   B. Although all those skills listed are important to the profession, being a masterful change agent is most important because change agents serve as a catalyst in helping others work through and accept change, along with implementing processes and programs that align with the change.

10.   D. Emotional intelligence (EQ) interventions involve skill and coaching or mentoring to cause a person’s interactions to improve by changing an ineffective behavior.

11.   B. Sometimes it is more cost and time effective to utilize an already developed training program that is available from a third-party vendor.

12.   A. More organizations are having their employees complete a self-assessment on their performance and submit it prior to their evaluation interview meeting. This affords an opportunity for the employee to be more engaged with setting their job goals for the next review period and focuses discussions on their career development in the organization.

13.   C. Job enrichment expands the amount of responsibility the job is given.

14.   B. Individuals bear the primary responsibility for their own career, including development if that is what the individual wants.

15.   C. A succession plan is a key component for business success and should be part of every organization’s learning and development program to be sure that there is no gap in knowledge that cripples an organization because of the departure of key human capital.

16.   C. Hygiene factors are considered extrinsic and associated with job security, pay, working conditions, and relationships, whereas motivational factors are considered intrinsic, associated with recognition, achievement, and personal growth–related events in the job.

17.   A. Self-directed teams as a group select their own leadership and identify their own direction, holding themselves accountable for the intended accomplishments.

18.   D. Mid-career is a phase when evaluation of career objectives occurs. It is too soon for retirement but a time of life when work-life family issues are more of a factor and can shift a person’s motivations about work.

19.   C. Any and all small agreements assist with the stages of conflict resolution. Agreeing on the problem and on some small changes gives a feeling of compromise to both parties so you can begin the process of looking at all possible acceptable solutions.

20.   B. The five leadership practices Kouzes and Posner identify in The Leadership Challenge are challenge, inspire, enable, model, and encourage.

21.   B. Behaviors must be clearly identified.

22.   Mentoring

23.   A. Matthew is a visual learner. Writing things down gives him that visual reference.

24.   C. Most often, decreasing returns is the type of learning curve adults experience.

25.   D. A focus group offers the opportunity to have two-way dialogue for clarity and probing purposes.

26.   A. Performance standards offer employees clear descriptions of the minimum requirements expected of them.

Endnotes

1.   https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/how-to-create-an-effective-training-program-8-steps-to-success

2.   https://elearningindustry.com/4-tips-for-content-chunking-in-e-learning

3.   https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/which-is-best-teacher-centered-or-student-centered-education/

4.   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4005174/

5.   Benjamin Bloom, Engelhart, M. D. Furst, E. J. Hill, W. H. Krathwohl, D. R. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals. Handbook I: Cognitive Domain (New York: David McKay Company, 1956)

6.   Abraham Maslow, “A Theory of Human Motivation,” Psychological Review, 50, 370–96, 1943

7.   https://www.managementstudyguide.com/theory-x-y-motivation.htm

8.   Richard Beckhard, Organization Development: Strategies and Models (Addison-Wesley, 1969)

9.   Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline, Revised and Updated edition (New York: Doubleday, 2006)

10.   Kurt Lewin, “Frontiers in Group Dynamics: Concept, Method and Reality in Social Science; Social Equilibria and Social Change,” Human Relations Journal (June 1947), http://hum.sagepub.com/content/1/1/5

11.   https://www.dol.gov/apprenticeship/

12.   Powers, Bob and William J. Rothwell, Instructor Excellence: Mastering the Delivery of Training, 2nd Edition, Pfeiffer, John Wiley and Sons, 2007

13.   SHRM, Talent Management Future of the U.S. Labor Pool Survey Report, 2013, www.shrm.org/india/hr-topics-and-strategy/strategic-hrm/talent-development-strategy

14.   https://www.businessinsider.com/difference-between-creativity-and-innovation-2013-4