Training and LearningTraining Employees

“Training is a process that develops and improves skills related to performance.”

M.L. BlumJ.C. Naylor

- Effective training programs can result in increased production, reduced labor turnover and greater employee satisfaction.

Meaning of Training:

Meaning of Training:

• “Training is the act of increasing the knowledge and skills of an employee for doing a particular job.” — Edwin B. Flippo

• Training is an organized activity for increasing the technical skills of the employees to enable them to do particular jobs efficiently. In other words, training provides the workers with facility to gain technical knowledge and to learn new skills to do specific jobs.

Objectives of Training: • (i) To provide job related knowledge to the

workers.• (ii) To impart skills among the workers

systematically so that they may learn quickly.

• iii) To bring about change in the attitudes of the workers towards fellow workers, supervisor and the organization.

• (iv) To improve the productivity of the workers and the organization.

• (v) To reduce the number of accidents by providing safety training to the workers,

• (vi) To make the workers handle materials, machines and equipment efficiently and thus to check wastage of time and resources.

• (vii) To prepare workers for promotion to higher jobs by imparting them advanced skills.

• (viii) To fulfill goals of organization by securing optimum co-operation and contribution from the employees.

Need and Importance of Training:

• Why is Employees’ Training Necessary? • (i) Higher Productivity: • It is essential to increase productivity and

reduce cost of production for meeting competition in the market. Effective training can help increase productivity of workers by imparting the required skills.

• (ii) Quality Improvement: • The customers have become quality

conscious and their requirement keep on changing. To satisfy the customers, quality of products must be continuously improved through training of workers.

• (iii) Reduction of Learning Time: • Systematic training through trained

instructors is essential to reduce the training period. If the workers learn through trial and error, they will take a longer time and even may not be able to learn right methods of doing work.

• (iv) Industrial Safety: • Trained workers can handle the machines

safely. They also know the use of various safety devices in the factory. Thus, they are less prone to industrial accidents.

• (iv) Reduction of Turnover and Absenteeism:

• Training creates a feeling of confidence in the minds of the workers. It gives them a security at the workplace. As a result, labour turnover and absenteeism rates are reduced.

• (vi) Technology Update: • Technology is changing at a fast pace. The

workers must learn new techniques to make use of advance technology. Thus, training should be treated as a continuous process to update the employees in the new methods and procedures.

• (vii) Effective Management: • Training can be used as an effective tool of

planning and control. It develops skills among workers and prepares them for handling present and future jobs. It helps in reducing the costs of supervision, wastages and industrial accidents. It also helps increase productivity and quality which are the cherished goals of any modern organization.

Training In Organizations

• spend money on training their employees•  Training Organizations can be very valuable by

– Increasing employee competence and performance

– Increasing employee motivation– Increasing employee adjustment and well-being

•  Not always effective because training– is for the wrong thing– given to the wrong people– uses the wrong methods

•  Characteristics of organizational training– 1. Field dominated by non psychologists

practitioners.– 2. Much training crisis motivated.– 3. Much training playful no particular goal.– 4. Many fads & fashions.– 5. No theoretical. Few principles are applied.

Main I/O Training Activities

Main I/O Training Activities

• Need assessment

• Objectives • Design  • Delivery of training usually (but not always) done by non-

psychologist trainers

• Evaluation

Needs Assessment

• Determining what training should be done• Major methods

– Job analysis: KSAO's necessary for the job– Critical incidents: E.g., hospital incident reports– Performance appraisal: Can be part of a performance management

system – Employee surveys(KSAOs refer to the knowledge, skill, ability, and other personal

characteristics required for good job performance on a specific job.)

Training Program Design Principles• Goal: Transfer of training to job• Principles

– Feedback‑necessary for learning– General principles: Cover the basic principles involved in the

training.– Identical elements: Between training and job situation– Whole vs. part (depends on complexity)– Ability– Motivation– Supportive environment increases motivation– Anxiety (Nervousness)

Kinds of training:• Over the years a number of different types of training

have emerged in industrial situations. For example, Tiffin and McCormick (1958) classify training into the following seven categories:

1. Orientation training: To acquaint new employees with the company.

2. Vestibule training: A vestibule is a large entrance or reception room or area. Vestibule Training is a term for near-the-job training, as it offers access to something new (learning).In the early 1800s, factory schools were created, due to the industrial revolution, in which workers were trained in classrooms within the factory walls.

• Ref: Industrial psychology book by M.L. Blum and J.C. Naylor(page: 251)

3. On-the job training: actual practice on the job.4. Apprentice training: formal apprenticeship for a craft.5. Technical training: training in technical aspects of job6. Supervisory training: training in management7. Other training: any unusual situation not included in the above.

Training methods and techniques1. lecture

2. Audio visual aids: such as motion pictures, slides, filmstrips and television.

3. simulators and training aids: example- to extremely complex simulators such as those used by the military services for training aircraft pilots.

4. conference methods: In the training context the conference method provides the opportunity for the participants to pool ideas, to discuss ideas and facts, to test assumptions and draw implications and conclusions.

Reference: Industrial psychology book, by Tiffin and McCormick (1958) page: 253

5. human relations laboratory training: Training - group and training laboratory are designed to facilitate such learning by providing the following conditions of learning:- exposure of one’s own behavior to others-feedback from others about one’s own behavior to others-a supportive climate or atmosphere (which reduces defensiveness)-knowledge as a “map” (to provide for growth and change)

- experimentation and practice-application (how to maintain changed behavior back on the job)-learning how to learn

• 6. case method: the case method is one in which an actual or hypothetical problem is presented to a training group-usually consisting of supervisors or management personnel for discussion and solution.

7. role playing: in role playing each participant plays the “part” (role) of someone in a simulated situation.8. management games: in these games, the trainees (who are often executives) make the same kinds of operating and policy decisions as are required in real life.9.programmed instruction: in programmed instruction the material to be learned is presented in series of steps of units that generally progress from simple to complex.10. computer assisted instruction:

The evaluation of training• It is probable that most organizations assume that their

training programs are achieving their intended objectives. Such faith, however, may sometimes be unwarranted. If an organization really wants to know whether its training program is accomplishing its purposes, it must go through a systematic evaluation process.

• Basic evaluation of training: – Reaction– Learning– Behavior– results

Definition of learning

• Learning is the activity or process of gaining knowledge or skill by studying, practicing, being taught, or experiencing something.

Principles of learning

• Educational psychologists and pedagogues have identified several principles of learning, also referred to as laws of learning, which seem generally applicable to the learning process. These principles have been discovered, tested, and used in practical situations.

• Readiness

Readiness implies a degree of concentration and eagerness. Individuals learn best when they are physically, mentally, and emotionally ready to learn, and do not learn well if they see no reason for learning.

• Exercise• The principle of exercise states that those

things most often repeated are best remembered.

• It is the basis of drill and practice. It has been proven that students learn best and retain information longer when they have meaningful practice and repetition. The key here is that the practice must be meaningful. It is clear that practice leads to improvement only when it is followed by positive feedback.

• Effect• The principle of effect is based on the emotional

reaction of the student. It has a direct relationship to motivation.

• The principle of effect is that learning is strengthened when accompanied by a pleasant or satisfying feeling, and that learning is weakened when associated with an unpleasant feeling. The student will strive to continue doing what provides a pleasant effect to continue learning.

• Primacy• Primacy, the state of being first, often

creates a strong, almost unshakable, impression. Things learned first create a strong impression in the mind that is difficult to erase. For the instructor, this means that what is taught must be right the first time. For the student, it means that learning must be right. “Unteaching” wrong first impressions is harder than teaching them right the first time.

• Recency• The principle of recency states that things most

recently learned are best remembered. Conversely, the further a student is removed time-wise from a new fact or understanding, the more difficult it is to remember.

• For example, it is fairly easy to recall a telephone number dialed a few minutes ago, but it is usually impossible to recall a new number dialed last week. The closer the training or learning time is to the time of actual need to apply the training, the more appply the learner will be to perform successfully.

• Intensity• The more intense the material taught, the

more likely it will be retained. • The principle of intensity implies that a

student will learn more from the real thing than from a substitute.

• For example, a student can get more understanding and appreciation of a movie by watching it than by reading the script

• Freedom• The principle of freedom states that things

freely learned are best learned. Conversely, the further a student is coerced, the more difficult is for him to learn, assimilate and implement what is learned.

• Compulsion and coercion are antithetical to personal growth. The greater the freedom enjoyed by individuals within a society, the greater the intellectual and moral advancement enjoyed by the society as a whole.

• Requirement• The law of requirement states that "we must

have something to obtain or do something." It can be an ability, skill, instrument or anything that may help us to learn or gain something.

• A starting point or root is needed; for example, if you want to draw a person, you need to have the materials with which to draw, and you must know how to draw a point, a line, a figure and so on until you reach your goal, which is to draw a person.