Training is very important in organization’s development. Before an organization engages in any development strategy, the first consideration is whether it has the required skills. Essentially, an organization needs to have all the key skills for efficient management (Cummings & Worley, 2008). It’s only through training that the skills can be developed and performance improved. Technological advances and professional developments also necessitate training.
Training is beneficial to both the organization and the employees. It enhances and sharpens the level of skills of the employees, provides a sense of motivation and satisfaction, and increases both the employer and employee commitment to their jobs and the organization. This promotes organization’s development. It improves the employees’ job knowledge and skills and expands their intellect and personality (Cummings & Worley, 2008). With the improved skills, the overall costs of operations are reduced. Training helps in developing and maximizing the utilization of human resources. This helps the employees achieve their goals as well as the organizational goals. Training provides an opportunity for the development of technical and behavioral skills which is essential for both employee and organizational development.
Training enhances productivity and team spirit. This helps in achieving the organizational goals. It also helps in developing and improving organizational culture, which is critical in organizational development. Through training, an organization is able to make more effective decisions and solve problems with much ease (Cummings & Worley, 2008). It further helps in the understanding and undertaking of the organization’s policies. Besides, training helps in developing the leadership skills, loyalty, and motivation. For sure, the roles of training in an organization’s development are beyond measure.
Different employee development methods and their benefits
Employee development is beneficial to both the employees and the organization. A well-developed employee with proper training, skills, and professional goals, always performs better than a colleague with little development. Organization’s success directly depends on the performance of the employees. Also, the performance of an employee depends on the goals. Discussed hereunder are the employee development methods and their benefits. They include personal development, mentor development, core training, and leadership training, among others (Esen & Collison, 2005).
Fundamental training
Fundamental (core) training is the basis of employee development. It includes teaching the employees the basic requirements of their jobs, such as the tasks, how to carry out the tasks, the company’s expectations, and the overall goals. Fundamental training is mostly essential for all the new hires (recruits). This method is beneficial in that it guides the employees’ actions and decisions. It helps the new employees keep on the right track by giving them the necessary training needed for their particular jobs.
Mentor development
This method of employee development pairs the employees with members of the management or senior employees, with the main aim of helping the employees achieve more in their professional lives. For instance, a team leader may be a mentor to team members. The team meets on regular basis and the team leader helps the members develop professional goals. Mentor development helps the employees develop stronger and better relationship, communication, and coordination with the management. Besides, it helps the organization develop stronger and focused employees.
Personal development
This development method focuses on the personal life of the employee. Here, the employer helps the employee set the personal professional goals. The employer guides the employee in developing the goals and how to achieve them. This helps the employees to remain focused and encourage them to work harder.
Leadership training
This is a development method that helps the better performing employees become leaders. Best performing employees are given specialized training on how to develop the skills needed of becoming supervisors or team leaders. It also helps the leaders identify and develop the skills of how to become better leaders. Leadership training helps the organization promote from within. It also encourages the employees to be ambitious and reach out for higher levels.
The relationship between employee development and organizational development
Basically, employee development is the development of employees’ skills and abilities. It is concerned with encouraging the employees to acquire the needed skills and knowledge by providing the learning and training facilities and the opportunities for growth (Cummings & Worley, 2008). Organizational development, on the other hand, deals with improving the performance of the organization and the individual development of the employees. Employee development is a crucial component of organizational development. Without employee development, organizational development cannot be achieved.
Organizational development helps in changing the structure, culture, and dynamics of an organization in a manner that employees are better positioned to achieve the goals of the organization (Cummings & Worley, 2008). For an organizational excellence, various organizational systems, structures, and people must be involved and aligned towards a common objective. Organizational development focuses on how the organization and its employees function together. Specifically, it looks at how the organization meets the needs of the employees, how the employees work together effectively in achieving the goals of the organization, and how the relationship between the organizational success and the employee satisfaction can be optimized.
The organizational development strategies ensure that employees are more adaptable and more committed, thus improves the well being of the organization as a whole. In a nut shell, employee development is one of the major components of organizational development.
The role of human resource management in career development
Career development is a structured approach of matching the career goals of the employees with the needs of the organization, in support of the workforce development initiatives. It is a process aimed at enhancing the employees’ current job performance, enabling them to take advantage of the future job opportunities, and fulfilling the organization’s goals for an effective and dynamic workforce. The performance of the employees is what dictates the effectiveness of the organization. Better people achieve better results (Budhathoki, 2004). Human resource management (HRM) is at the heart of career development.
HR managers are directly responsible for linking the needs of the organization with career goals of the employees and can assist the employees in career planning process. The HR managers often identify the knowledge, skills, and experience of the employees that are needed in order to perform a given task in the best possible manner. Every organization needs to acquire and retain the skilled, competent, and well motivated employees in order to achieve the full potential of human resources needs for the growth of the organization. This is part of the human resource management. In order to retain the skilled employees, individuals are assisted to plan their careers with realistic information about the career opportunities that exist within a particular organization (Budhathoki, 2004). Employee development programs and career paths are designed by the Human resource personnel. These programs help the employees reach their goals. From the HR department, employees can get the tools for professional networking. In addition, it is the duty of the HR managers to offer a compensation structure that compliments the needs of the business and, at the same time, allows individual career growth. For instance, an employee who exhibits excellent performance and growth in the needed skills can be promoted and given a pay rise.
References
Budhathoki, D. K. (2004). Human Resource Management: Career Development. Journal of Nepalese Business Studies, 1(1). Retrieved August 14, 2012 from http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JNBS/article/viewFile/45/127..
Cummings, T.G., and Worley, C.G. (2008). Organization Development and Change. 9th ed. Mason, OH: South-Western College Pub.
Esen, E., and Collison, J. (2005). Employee Development. Society for Human Resource Management and Catalyst. Retrieved August 14, 2012 from http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/documents/employee%20development%20survey%20report%20-%20%20a%20study%20by%20shrm%20and%20catalyst.pdf
