Employee or human resource training has become an important aspect in many contemporary organizations whereby employees or prospective personnel are required to have the specific skills or experience that match the type of jobs in an organization (Abdus, 2011). Training not only benefits the organization in terms of quality job outcomes, but also leads to the personal development of employees thus enhancing their productivity and performance (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009) The main recognized categories of training include the traditional and technology-based or modern training techniques. This essay paper is a description of each of these strategies, their advantages and disadvantages.
Traditional Training Methods
These are strategies that were used for training employees before the advent of more advanced technologies such as computers. They include the presentation, hands-on and group building methods. The presentation methods are where the trainees passively receive the information concerning processes, facts and problem-solving methods. These methods include audio-visual and lecturing techniques. On the other hand, in hands-on training methods, the trainee is required to participate actively in the learning process and they include simulations, on-the-job training, cases studies, role plays, business games and behavior modelling. The most common hands-on training methods are the apprenticeships that combine both the classroom and on-the-job training. It is beneficial in that the training gets to earn while learning at the same time and there is a possibility of being offered a full-time job on successful completion of the training exercise. In group modelling methods, the trainees are able to share experiences and ideas, build group identity and teamwork, develop interpersonal dynamics and learn their weaknesses and strengths and that of their co-trainees. They involve action, team and adventure learning.
Advantages
Career Competency
According to Jahanzeb and Bashir (2013), traditional training and development programs for employees in an organization enables them to acquire technical and soft skills that the nature of their jobs require and this enables them to advance in their career.
Improve Employee Performance
Training enhances the performance of employees by impacting on their job attitudes, work skills and behavior (Dodd, Burris, Fraze, Doerfert, & McCulloch, 2013).
Employee Satisfaction and Turn Over
Traditional training methods such as on-the-job training, owing to their personalized nature, make the employee trainees to feel that the organization cares for their personal development (Alipour, 2009). As a result, the employees are more likely to develop positive attitudes towards their jobs, work extra hard to apply the learned skills and be willing to identify with the organization.
Disadvantages
The main disadvantage associated with traditional job training methods is that they are less interactive and lack the active involvement or participation of trainees. Strategies such as the lecture method lack feedback while the visual and audio techniques lack creativity and unattractive to trainees. Moreover, owing to their general lack of an standardized content and format of training, these techniques may result in employees who are poorly trained.
Technology-Based Training Strategies
According to Wentland (2007), these are training methods that are computer-based and are mainly conducted from an online platforms through the internet, extranet, webcasts, satellite broadcasts, CD-ROM, intranet, video conferencing, chat rooms and bulletin boards. They are web-based learning methods for employees.
Advantages
Flexibility and Convenience
These training methods give the trainees the ability to arrange and coordinate their workload and schedules accordingly besides enabling them to learn conveniently at any time and from any place, say at home, since these training strategies are mostly online-based.
Comfort
The training strategy makes the trainees feel comfortable and relaxed so that they can easily understand every aspect of the training.
Learner Control
The trainee is able, through these training methods, to exert greater control over the process of learning. Moreover, the trainee gets to control the sequence, pace and content of training. Besides, the training method gives the trainee the opportunity to enter and exit the training if they don’t feel comfortable or satisfied with the training process.
Reduced Training Costs
The computer-based training methods are beneficial to an organization in that they help minimize costs by eliminating the costs of training facilities, travel, meals, hotel rooms for employees or trainees and payments for their time off while on training and travel (Wentland, 2007).
Additionally, though these training methods, an organization can train many employees simultaneously but within a limited period of time since there are no such limitations usually associated with traditional training such as space availability. Furthermore, the training strategy enables an organization to keep track of or check the performance and progress of their employee trainees regarding tests and learning exercises. In cases where certification is required, or there is a legal requirement that certain standards must be met, then the employer is able to provide evidence or proof that the employee has met the required standards. Further, technology-based training ensures that there is consistency and standardization in training many employees in an organization using the same systems and methods irrespective of their locations.
Disadvantages
High Costs of Development
Technology-based or computer training methods can be costly when an organization has to apply sophisticated training programs for training many employees.
In addition, these methods require access to computer and literacy by trainees which may not be possible for some. Also, technology-based training strategies are less interactive and may not effectively impart specific soft skills like sales and customer service (Dodd et al., 2013).
Tips for use in a Training Setting
In order to ensure effective training, the training strategy to be chosen or applied, the organization should consider the goals of the t raining and the type of workforce being trained. Also, the method chosen should be interactive enough involving role playing, quizzes, group discussions, problem solving, case studies and demonstrations. For traditional training methods, it is important to frequently test the trainees, and apply hands-on training mostly while for technology-based methods, it is vital to develop strategies for actively involving or engaging the trainees and asking them to share their experiences in order to evaluate performance and effectiveness. It is also important to build self-esteem, apply attractive packaging, encourage trainee participation, use graphics, make the training process fun-filled and use humor. The trainers selected should also possess excellent motivational, communication, interpersonal, organizational and creative skills. According to Wentland (2007), a training program should also take into account issues to do with training content, costs and effectiveness in achieving an organization’s goals.
Conclusion
In summary, the main business employee training methods are the traditional and technology-based methods. Even though the modern technology-based training strategies have become so common as to almost make the traditional methods obsolete, the traditional techniques are still relevant due to their interactive and participatory nature. An organization should therefore apply both strategies in accordance with their training needs and goals.
References
Abdus, S.N. (2011). Training and development strategy and its role in organizational performance. Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 1(2), 42-57. doi:10.5296/jpag.v1i2.862
Aguinis, H., & Kraiger, K. (2009). Benefits of training and development for individuals and teams, organizations and society. Annual Reviews Psychology Journal, 60, 451-474. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163505
Alipour, M. (2009). A study of on-the-job training effectiveness: E mpirical eviodence from Iran. International Journal of Business Management, 4(11), 63-67.
Dodd, C. D., Burris, S., Fraze, S., Doerfert, D., & McCulloch, A. (2013). Evaluating effectiveness of traditional training methods in non-traditional training programs for adult learners through a pre-test/pro-test comparision of food safety knowledge. Journal of Agricultural Education, 54(1), 18-30. doi:10.5032/jae.2013.01018
Jehanzeb, K., & Bashir, N. A. (2013). Training and development program and its benefits to employee and organization: A conceptual study. European Journal of Business and Management, 5(2), 243-252.
Wentland, D. M. (2007). Strategic training: Putting employees first. Amherst, Massachusetts: HRD Press, Inc.
