As much as training proves expensive and costly to most organizations, it is worth training employees to achieve greater success in the operations of an organization. It opens up an opportunity for the expansion of the knowledge of employees, which is critical in providing quality products and services to the customers. Most organizations have their training programs in the form of workshops and seminars, where a few employees are selected to attend (Blessing, 2010). These may run for a week or more. However, most employers feel that a lot of time is wasted during such training programs as most of them miss work time. This delays the completion of various projects in the organization. Despite such drawbacks, training still has some advantages in an organization (William, Robert, & Jack, 2010).
Importance of Training to an Organization and Employee
Legal Requirements
Different countries have different laws relating to various industries. There are certain laws and agency regulations that only apply to specific industries or employers. For instance, in the public sector, there are training requirements for the employees. This also applies to the occupations considered safety-sensitive (OSHA). There are also federal laws that require employee training in relations to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPA) as well as the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), which require contractors to train their employees regarding ethics awareness and compliance (Blessing, 2010).
There is also a need to train employees on the general topic of sexual harassment. In the U. S., the Supreme Court ruled that employers be responsible for any sexual harassment that occurs in their organizations if they do not take the required care to prevent and appropriately punish such harassing behavior in the workplace (Tarique, 2014). This shows the importance of sexual harassment training as it prevents and helps organizations address unlawful harassment through training. Effective sexual harassment training has to involve all the top managers, supervisors, and employees. Establishing an affirmative defense is another legal importance of training in an organization (Blessing, 2010). This applies to various employment-related laws. Although the federal laws of many countries do not require such training for private-sector employees, directives from the U.S. Supreme Court state the necessity of such training. From such training, the employees can establish an affirmative defense to liability or damages (Tarique, 2014).
Diversity
Diversity in a workplace refers to the differences between employees as well as acceptance of the employees to these differences. For that reason, training is critical in creating awareness and ensuring a cohesive work environment. It has been proved that a well-managed, diverse team outperforms homogeneous teams (Tarique, 2014). This is because they tend to be more creative and very effective at solving problems. For instance, the tourism industry where organizations are motivated to incorporate diversity management practices registers high performance.
It has enabled them to create an inclusive and harmonious working environment for the employees. This, in turn, has enhanced the industry's reputation and public image. With such a reputation, they can employ and retain the best talented employees (Blessing, 2010). They can also attract business from various cultural groups. It is obvious that employees, who feel included, valued, and rewarded are motivated as well as engaged towards achieving the goals of the organization. For that reason, engaging employees lowers their level of turnover in an organization (Tarique, 2014).
Additionally, training is the key to diversity management since it challenges ingrained biases among employers and employees. It also drives change in the culture of an institution. For that reason, an organization benefits from diversity training by having all the employees building healthy business relationships and reducing the level of discrimination in the organization. For diversity training to be successful, there must be inclusion and participation of all employees in the process (Tarique, 2014).
Employee Growth
Employees are the most valuable assets of an organization. The success of the organization relies on their knowledge, skills, and output. Training is the only way an organization can improve the performance of an employee. Most organizations have embarked on training their employees due to some benefits associated with coaching. This includes improved employee performance. Any employee who can access the necessary training is in a better position to perform his/ her job. He/ she become aware of safety measures to be taken in the organization and the required procedures for the basic tasks (William, Robert, & Jack, 2010).
The training of employees builds their confidence and self-esteem since they acquire a greater understanding of the organization or its processes. The confidence of workers makes them perform better and be encouraged to come up with new ideas, which may be better than the existing. Continuously trained employees become competent and aim at changing the standards of the organization so that it remains top in the current competitive business environment.
Components of a Training Plan
For an effective training program, an organization must come up with a training plan. The plan states who to deliver, when, and where the training takes place. Nonetheless, a training plan should be flexible or adjustable to meet all the needs of both the employer and the employees. Effective competency of the workers is as good as the training plan. The plan must state the required skills that all the employees must acquire at the end of the training program. It must also indicate the time allocated for the employees to achieve the competencies (Tarique, 2014). The allocated time must adequate for all the employees to acquire the required skills. It is also important that the training plan include delivery modes to be employed by the trainers during the program. All the delivery modes must favor all the trainees. Additionally, it must indicate who is responsible for the delivery and assessment of the employees after the training to determine whether the training was a success or otherwise (William, Robert, & Jack, 2010).
Training and Motivation
Training is of importance to both the organization and the employees. To the organization, there is improved employee performance since they acquire new skills and knowledge regarding their tasks. It improves the overall quality of services and products they offer to the company, thus improve the productivity of the organization. Additionally, the organization can reduce its operational costs (William, Robert, & Jack, 2010). This is because, through training, the employees can utilize the resources optimally. This reduces the wastage and costs incurred by the organization. Such benefits are likely to motivate the organization to train more of the employees since they can maximize their sales and profits (Tarique, 2014).
On the employees’ part, training improves employee satisfaction. They can acquire the necessary skills to perform perfectly their jobs and meet professional goals. Additionally, they feel appreciated and given adequate time to develop or nurture their skills. This is a source of motivation for workers, which can make them work hard towards the goals of the organization. The employees can achieve the need of self-actualization since they feel recognized and very important in the organization. This is another source of motivation for the employees (William, Robert, & Jack, 2010).
References
Blessing, A. (2010). Effect of Training on Employees’ Productivity in Public Service Organization. Germany: Grin Verlag.
Tarique, I. (2014). Seven Trends in Corporate Training and Development: Strategies to Align Goals with Employee needs. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.
William, M., Robert, J., & Jack, R. (2010). Business. Australia; Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning.
