Investing in human capital has become an essential investment in many organizations today. Training is directed towards maintaining and improving current job performance while development programs seek to develop skills for future jobs. Both managers and non-managers may receive help from training and development programs but the mix of experience is likely to vary.
“Training may be defined as a systematic attempt by the management in the organization’s development process (ODP) to enable employees to perform their job effectively”
There are two main types of training which include induction and job training. induction training enables newly recruited employees to get acquainted with the organization such as the history and growth of the organization, rules and regulation, etcJob training is for the development of the employees knowledge on what is required in their positions; this might cover all aspects of management development.
EMPLOYEES TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT
This aspect goes to supplement the workers academic positions and enable them to undertake their different jobs or tasks in a much higher grade. Before any training program is organized, there must be a need for training, the areas where efficiency is needed must be identified, there must be recognition for employees’ motivation and basic skills to master what will be added to their knowledge. The Human Resource Department will have to make sure the environment is conducive enough for learning and the training methods (such as presentations and hand-on notes) are effective enough. Training organized must be in line with the organization’s objective and the training programs outcome must be evaluated to ensure it will bring solutions to the initial need of the organization. Implementation of what is learned during training must be monitored to ensure that, there is a change and positive reinforcement – a value added to the organization.
In a nutshell, Training brings fourth the optimum utilization of human resource – efficiency and effectiveness that will lead to the development of employees’ skills, abilities, knowledge for higher quality service, etc
Development methods and their benefits used by organizations
We must have understood that organization’s development is the training designed to improve the overall effectiveness of employees in their present positions and to prepare them for greater responsibilities or make them more efficiency when they are promoted or faced with more challenges. There are two main types of employees’ development used by most organizations, which include; on-the-job and off-the-job methods.
EMPLOYEES TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT
On-the-job methods are usually preferred in management development programs. This training is usually carried out when the employees are on seats for their duties. They are four main formal on-the-job development methods that include;
- Coaching is the training of a subordinate by his or her immediate superior. This method is by far the most effective management development technique. It can be regarded as a peer work (by two people- the coach and the employee) because it motivates, develops the employee’s skills, reinforces the employee abilities and provides feedback to the management of the organization on their advancement. The coach can easily identify the employee’s weakness and develop strategies to quickly amend the situation.
- Mentoring is the process of professional developing where by, the mentor assists the employee in developing his skills, abilities, understanding and knowledge on a particular course. The advantage here is that, there is a mutual participation by both parties in the development process. There is a whole lot of career support such as coaching, psychological support such; as a friendly and moral model, positive regards and an acceptance in creating a conducive atmosphere to share anxieties and fear. In fact, the employees gain from the mentor’s expertise while the mentor gain from the employees background, history and stories or experience that can be used in the mentor’s profession and personal development.
- Job Rotation involves shifting employees from position to position so that they may broaden their experience and familiarize themselves with various aspects of the organization’s operations. This gives the employees a clue on how challenging are various positions in the organization. With a good knowledge of various positions in the organization, the employees are able to perfectly understand the functioning and realities of the organization.
- Temporary assignments are divided into externships and sabbatical leave. The externship makes it possible for the employees to take full-time positions with other organizations. In this situation, the employees are able to compare two organizations. Their scopes are broadened and deepen on different spheres of their tasks. Sabbatical leave permits the employees to take a leave in order to renew or develop their skills. The employees are able to focus on their skills development without interrupting their learning or studying process with other jobs activities. The employees are full-time engaged in both theory and practical aspects of skills development.
Off-the-job development model include in-house classroom instructions and management development programs sponsored by universities and other organizations. For effective management development programs in an organization, there must be support of top management and the trainee supervisors. The organizations are able to serve costs on human capital investment when such programs are sponsored.
Analyzing the relationship between employee development and organizational development
A call for organizational development entails employee development. Organization’s development (OD) can simply be defined as an art of increasing the organization’s efficiency and effectiveness based on the effort of the top management right down to the employees.
Organization’s development is not confined only to training. It is worth noting that, training is just a part of organization’s development. Organization’s development also entails change management and it is more concerned with making training programs successful through management support, job clarification, process design etcThis means a need and an assessment for organization’s development may require employees development or a change management for the organization. So employees’ development is considered as an essential tool for the overall development of the organization. This is because the employees are encouraged to increase their basic skills and obtain additional career development training. These developments are purposely to increase job satisfaction and employees retention. For every employee development need and assessment, it is the top management responsibility to ensure that the objectives of such development is in line with the overall organization’s goal because it purpose is to bring core competence and retain the organization’s place in its competitive market. A successful employee development will mean a successful organization’s development and a value added to the stakeholders’ satisfaction.
The role of human resource management in career development
Human resource management (HRM) is the management function that deals with the planning, recruiting, placement, training and development of organization members. The Human resource department is one of the most essential departments in a company. Career development is one of the most important functions of this department. Career development can be defined as finding suitable candidates that the management thinks can be groomed to handle feature management positions. The fact that these candidates are groomed does not imply they may be able to handle feature positions. Career development only gives us a clear picture of which candidates can successful manage feature management positions in cases of new developments.
The human resource department gives us information on the availability of human resources for any cases of growth, expansion such as construction of new plant, opening of new branch, launching a new product, etc In smaller organizations, the human resource departments perform other duties not directly related to the management of human capital whereas in large organizations, the human resource department is concerned with the management of human resources only. A typical human resource management has five major functions in career development;
- The human resource planning is designed to ensure that the personnel need of the organization will be constantly and appropriately met. This planning is accomplished through analysis of internal factors (such as vacancies, feature jobs and departmental expansion) and external factors (such as the labor market). The human resource planning usually covers six to five years.
- Recruitment and selection is based on the human resource management discretion for a particular position or feature positions within an organization. Sources of getting candidates for current or feature positions may include newspapers, journals, etc After which these candidates are evaluated, and the candidate which the human resource management think are best to be groomed for a career are chosen.
- Training and development aims at increasing the abilities of the selected candidates to contribute to the organizational effectiveness. It is a means of grooming the pool of successful candidates for feature positions.
- Compensation and benefits refers to the pay package of employees such as salaries, wages or incentives. Most often compensations are guided by labor code. In addition to this, the organization normally offers benefits such as vacation, insurance and retirement.
- Personal management and employee relation entails keeping track records of all employees; their post of responsibilities (who does what), relations with colleagues, and the organization external environment.
Personal career development
I have always dreamt a career as a Management Analyst with the aim of working with one of the biggest oil companies like Chevron or shell. My long-term career goal will depend on where the prospective organization I will work for will take me. However, my plan is to move in a position where I will lead a team.
After a self-assessment, I will have to set my personal objective of developing my skills because my prospective organization cannot do it alone (meaning, I must make an effort to learn as well). With an understanding of career awareness, my prospective organization will have to sponsor me for any additional programs, workshops, seminars or professional school I will likely attend. My prospective organization will have to coach and advise me on every move I will make, provide me with referral agents (resources and people to contact for any technical skills- Mentor) and will have to often make an evaluation and appraisal on my performance.
As an organization drive for effective staff in other to provide a value added service to the community, I believe they will groom while providing me with all opportunities in order to give me the best I may need.
Sources
Berkeley HR, n.d, University of California-Berkeley, [online], available at <http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/guides/managing-hr/managing-successfully/development/career> [Accessed on 7 March 2014]
Palgrave, n.d, The Nature of Contemporary Human Resource Management, [online], available at < http://www.palgrave.com/business/bratton5/about/samples/Lecturenotes-chapter1.pdf> [Accessed on 08 March 2014]
