In this weeks blog post I will be talking about this weeks reading material: chapter 8 and 9, Case 1: Super-sized gamification for training – MCdonald’s is lovin it and Case 2. Nando’s tastes success through training.
Chapter 8 and 9
Chapter 8 and 9 discussed the difference between training and development and the different methods and steps for each of them. Training is focused on the current jobs and needs to be better at that job. Development is where employees train themselves to be ready for future needs of the job or to grow further as a person.
There are a lot of reasons on why an employee needs to be trained. Some of them involve a bad performance of the employee. For this reason training does have some sort of bad connotation to the word. Therefor employers often brand it a bit different, blurring the lines between training and development.
There are challenges and issues with training. Determining what form of training and who needs the training. There are two main forms of training either on the job or off the job. Maintaining a high quality of training through out the entire company. Quality assurance and relevance are key. A bad performance isn’t always related to the person in question. There are other external and internal factors that can influence the performance indicators. Bad sales can be related to a downturn in the general economic situation or a bad product. Private matters can also affect someone’s performance, in that case other help might be more effective.
Some companies do a cost benefit analysis for the training. In order to do this properly there needs to be clear and realistic goals. Measuring the benefits are the hardest part. Sometimes the benefits aren’t immediately clear or measurable in a monetary way. A good example of this is anti-discrimination training. This doesn’t have a direct impact on the persons performance but can be measured through other means. These types of trainings have an impact on the general motivation, team motivation and cohesion.
The training process is a fairly long and complicated process. In general it starts my assessing the needs the organisation and how the training can help. Secondly studying the knowledge, skills and abilities need to perform the necessary tasks. These skills and abilities must be checked off to those of the employees.
There are multiple ways to train people. As a Start there is on the job training. On the job training has multiple advantages. The new employee can get realistic experience as he is already doing his job. Secondly the new employee is able to build up his social connections with his new co-workers faster. On the job training has a few negatives as well. It can slow down production, cause potential damage to machinery. Customers might become frustrated if the quality lowers because of the trainee.
Off the job doesn’t have the same issues as on the job training. This version of training can be done in many ways. As long as the training is relevant and realistic this works really well. There are less distractions than on the job training. This form can use anything from powerpoint slides to simulations. For certain jobs like a pilot simulations are a good cost-efficient way of training new pilots. The can fly more at a lower cost. Training can also take place online giving you to opportunity to give people all over the world the exact same training. There can also be more focus on certain deficits that some individuals have.
Developement:
Development is different from training in many ways. Development is a more continuous and voluntary than a training. Development can be voluntary if employees chose to do this but also the employee can ask people if they want to learn certain aspects. If the employer choses who gets to develop them selves further they should look fo clear and objective qualities. The development can come in many forms: certain assignments, traineeships or training.
If an employee or employer focusses to much on development, it can cause issues. Performance can go down if someone focusses to much on networking, flattery and competing with other employees to rise faster in the ranks than others. Every employee should have the same opportunities.
The development process is similar to the the training process. First of all the person who wants to undergo this process or the person who selects the people should have a clear development plan. where is the subject now and where would you like to go from there. This can be done by assessment who take different kinds of tests, workshops and seminars.
After the key people have been identified the career options and steps towards getting there can be taken. Internal job postings or promotions can be be a good way to find the next step in your career. The HR-department plays a key role here. Guiding people to the the right position for them, offering counselling. After this step the actual development takes place.
Case 1: Super-sized gamification for training – McDonald’s is lovin’ it (Milne 2016)
Mcdonald’s uses VR- in order to train their store managers in advance for their new processes and lay-out of the locations. This is a great way of training without having the actual facilities finished and allows for training with no risks. VR comes with a lot of advantages and great uses however, it can be hard to implement. Having a good VR can be hard to make and setup. The VR shouldn’t be a priority if there are better options.
Case 2: Nando’s tastes success through training: Expanding restaurants retains a family feel (polite, 2006)
This case is a great example of creating a good company culture. Nando’s is know for having a family feel even though it is a big company. This is done by a good training program which trains the new managers. The company also has a buddy system, these buddies are responsible for training the employees and creating a good training atmosphere. This buddy system allows the training to be decentralised from HR but still needs to follow their guidelines.
New employees get a 10-training period. This training period ends with some dry runs to see if the employee is ready. Integrating new employees and managers in the company’s culture, maintaining this culture on the internally and externally is key to keeping your current customers and employees happy while expanding at a fast pace. This requires a lot of effort but Nando’s is able to do it.
5 Microlearning Benefits And Applications L&D Managers Cannot Ignore (Galhotra, 2020)
Micro learning is a new online way to train people. It consists of short courses usually in video form lasting 10 minutes. This has multiple benefits but this method doesn’t work for every type of training. This is a great way to adjust your soft skills, teach about compliance and changing behaviour.
Micro training has multiple advantages. It is relatively in expensive as the videos can be shared to the entire company. Decreasing the cost per person and increasing the return on investment. Secondly these are short videos which can be produced relatively quickly. Making it a flexible/agile way to train people. If some department is underperforming the can be instructed to watch certain videos. As these are short videos it increases the engagement. People only need to pay attention for a short time. It cannot replace a proper training completely but it engages your employees to get better and develop them selves.
Where Companies Go Wrong with Learning and Development (glaveski, 2020)
In today’s business landscape there is a lot of focus on continuous learning. This isn’t always the right thing to do. This article points out several flaws with some companies learning and development plans. People are forced the be in a training which they don’t need . The writer (Glaveski, 2020) gives conflict resolution classes as an example. Often employees are forced into this training when it isn’t needed. People won’t pay attention or learn anything.
Sometimes training is given at a bad time here it isn’t needed. People are able to learn faster when they need a new skill. In some corporate training general skills are thought which don’t reflect on the real life situation for some or even most people. Because of this people won’t learn anything.
Something every student knows is that you forget really fast what you have learned. This is also addressed in this article. People need repetition and real life application to learn things properly.
In the writers conclusion he gives some solution and one is close to me as I have learned it before but in a different situation. Glaveski talks about the Toyota production system and lean thinking. This system focusses on reducing waste. Giving people the wrong training or at the wrong time is waste of your Human Resources and financial resources. Only give the training which is needed an do it in an effective way.
Lean learning is about:
- Learning the core of what you need to learn
- Applying it to real-world situations immediately
- Receiving immediate feedback and refining your understanding
- Repeating the cycle (glavenski, 2019°
if these steps are followed people are able to learn new skills faster and will retain them longer.
References
Glavenski, S. 2019. Harvard business review. Where Companies Go Wrong with Learning and Development. https://hbr.org/2019/10/where-companies-go-wrong-with-learning-and-development. Accessed: 14 September 2020
Galhotra, A. 2020. e-learning industry. Microlearning training strategy uses you can’t ignore. https://elearningindustry.com/microlearning-training-strategy-benefits-and-applications-ld-managers-cannot-ignore. Accessed: 14 September 2020
Milne, J. 2016. Diginomica. Super-sized gamification for training, Mcdonald’s is loving it. https://diginomica.com/2016/06/08/super-sized-gamification-for-training-mcdonalds-is-lovin-it/ Accessed:13 September 2020
Pollitt, D. 2006. Nando’s tastes success through training: Expanding restaurant firm retains a family feel. Human Resource Management International Digest, 14, 2, pp. 19-21
Gomez-Mejia, L.R., Balkin, D.B. and Cardy, R.L. 2016. Managing Human Resources. Global Edition 8/E. Pearson. London.
Robbe's blog 