Before we begin, a look at the basic terms involved in employees training and development. Training involves an expert, working with learners to transfer to them certain areas of knowledge or skills to improve themselves in their current jobs. Development is a broad, ongoing multi-faceted set of activities (training activities among them) to bring someone or an organization up to another threshold of performance, often to perform some job or new role in the future. (Managementhelp, 2006)

 

Why Train Employees

 

Employee training and development initiatives can transform organizations with providing extra skills to your employees to not only increase safety and productivity but training leads to higher job satisfaction, which shows up in better corporate performance.
Valuable training also includes situational training that provides personnel the skill sets that allow them to make timely, knowledgeable decisions that benefit both the customer and the company. (Managementhelp, 2006)

 

Typical Topics of Employee Training

 

Communications, computer skills, customer service, diversity training which usually includes explanation about how people have different perspectives and views, and includes techniques to value diversity, ethics, human relations, quality initiatives, safety, sexual harassment are some typical topics of employee training and development. (Managementhelp, 2006)

 

Reasons why Most Managers Don't Train Employees

 

Most managers recognize that continuous learning in today’s marketplace is essential. They know they are in the “Information Age.” They want a competitive high performance organization but they just don't know where to begin. There are five key reasons why managers don’t go in for employee training and development. They don’t have the time, they don’t know how to do it, they don’t know what material to use, they don’t know how to follow it up, they don’t know how to get people to apply the new skills learned again. (Unixl, 2007)

 

Employee Training: The Real Benefits

 

You can have the greatest business model in the world and the best systems, but if your people can’t handle the growth, your progress is stunted. If your company isn’t investing in training, think about all the companies you admire as models, for doing business right. You’ll not only find that they’ve got a good training program, but training is a part of their culture. If you want to breathe some life into your operation, start by investing in your people: train them, invest in employee training and development. (Unixl, 2007)

 

Among the  reasons for supervisors to conduct training among employees are: Increased job satisfaction and morale among employees, increased employee motivation, increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain, increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods, increased innovation in strategies and products, reduced employee turnover, enhanced company image, e.g., conducting ethics training (not a good reason for ethics training!), risk management, e.g., training about sexual harassment, diversity training. The above points highlight in brief the need for employee training and development in today’s time and age, more so in the UK. (Managementhelp, 2006)

 

 

References:

 

UniXl, “Employee Training and Development.”

Available from:

http://www.unixl.com/dir/

business_and_economy

/human_resources/employee_training/

Some information is sourced from www.bizlibrary.com/news_briantracey.asp

 

Free Management Library, McNamara, Carter,(1997-2007) “Employee Training and Development: Reasons and Benefits.”

Available from http://www.managementhelp.org/trng_ dev/basics/reasons.htm