Improving Employee Performance
Training refers to a formal process of improving employee skills in order to enable them perform their duties in an organization in a more efficient and effective way. Development, on the other hand, is a broad term that focuses more on the growth of the employee and future performance rather than an immediate job role (Jehanzeb & Bashir, 2013). Both training and development usually take place together in an organization since the new skills that employees learn on how to execute their jobs add-up to previous skills and thus contributing to the long-term development of the employee.
According to Topno (2012), training and development is mainly imparted in two ways which are; on-the-job training which incorporates the methods through which employees are trained while executing their duties. It is mainly done by supervisors or other senior staff. Secondly, there is off-the-job training which consists of those methods in which training is done out of the actual working scenario. It may involve methods such as workshops. Training and development is essential to every organization that desires to achieve its objectives because of its importance in an organization which includes but not limited to:
Improving employee performance: According to Elnaga & Imran (2013), employee performance refers to the efficiency and effectiveness through which employees execute their duties in an organization. Human capital are very critical resources in an organization since they are the implementers of the organization’s strategies in order to achieve the strategic objectives, goals, vision, and deliver on the organization’s mission. Poor performance of the employees negatively impacts the organization since it results to poor quality products which consequently result to dissatisfied customers. Training and development solves this problem by impacting the employees with the skills and technical know-how that they need in order to become more efficient and effective.
Through improved performance courtesy of training and development, employees are able to become more productive. Hameed & Waheed (2011) argues that productivity is a broad sub-set of employee performance which if maximized can positively impact an organization through increasing the number of units produced without compromising the quality of the products and or services. Secondly, it also reduces the amount of time taken to produce the products thus minimizing delay on schedules. Thirdly, it minimizes the amount of effort that employees need to exert in producing the products or rendering their services to the organization. The fourth importance of increased productivity is that it reduces the total cost of production thus maximizing organization’s profits.
Increased Productivity
Improved employee satisfaction and morale: Employee morale refers to the attitude that an employee has towards the job that they are executing. Employee morale towards a job has a major influence on how the employee performs their duties. Morale is mainly gained through motivation which is part of training and development. An employee who is well motivated has the propensity of being efficient and effective in their duties than an employee who is less motivated or not motivated at all (Costen & Salazar, 2011). Mainly motivation/ morale building training is done by the employees’ immediate supervisor since s/he is the one who is aware of the employees’ capabilities and limitations.
Job satisfaction, On the other hand, refers to how contented an employee is with the job that they are doing. In the current world of work, employees are expected to work in groups. These groups form the society which the employee will be living in while in their workplace. Therefore training and development plays a major role in creating a cordial society in the workplace, which embraces diversity and cohesion (Tooksoon, 2011). More contented employees are likely to work in the organization for a long period of time thus enabling the organization to save on recruitment cost and retain experts (Costen & Salazar, 2011), therefore, giving it a competitive edge against the competitors.
Addressing employee weakness and developing strengths: Employee’s weakness refers to the factors within an employee that deter them from delivering their services as required by the organization (Frost, 2016). Some of the major weaknesses that employees have are related to job execution which include the skill gap between the job requirements and the skill set that the employees have. Training and development addresses this problem by providing the employees with the knowledge that they need to fill the skill gap. Other weaknesses may be related to employee personal issues, therefore, training and development helps them to overcome the issues thus resulting to self-actualization which is a long-term benefit to both the employee and the organization (Frost, 2016).
Strengths refers to the positive features/ characteristics of an employee which if utilized can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the employee in an organization. According to Nischithaa & Rao (2014), training and development plays a major role in tapping the strengths, talents, and abilities of the employees, by enabling them to realize them and use them for the common good. Through training and development employees who were relatively dormant become more encouraged to employ their skills to their level best. If an organization is able to maximize on the strengths of an employee, the employee becomes more loyal and bonded to the organization.
Improved Employee Satisfaction and Morale
Promoting innovation among the employees: In the current world of business, the market in any particular industry is very competitive and therefore organizations need to set their position in the market (Chand & Ambardar, 2010). Innovation is one such way through which an organization can become competitive in the market. Training and development plays a major role in impacting the employees with knowledge that they need to be innovative. Such knowledge can be gained through regular training programs which focus more on enabling employees to think beyond the limitations of their current skills. Training also promotes the sharing of ideas within a group thus promoting creativity (Chand & Ambardar, 2010).
Innovation and creativity that is capable of making an organization to be a market leader can be in diverse areas which include and not limited to; product development such as improving on product features and development of new products, services delivery which focuses on delivering more unique set of services to the customers, and production technology that will reduce the cost of production and improve on the quality of the product thus maximizing on profits (Chang, Gong, & Shum, 2011). It is through training and development that employees can become more sensitive about the market trends thus come-up with qualitative ideas on how the organization they work with can surpass its competitors.
Reducing workplace injuries: it is the role of any particular organization to provide a secure and safe working environment to its employees. This can be quite expensive to the organization especially those organizations that have a high number of employees. Training and development provides a proactive control of workplace risks and injuries through providing the employees with sufficient knowledge on how to avoid work-related risks (Salas, Tannenbaum, Kraiger, & Smith-Jentsch, 2012). For an organization that deals with machinery and hazardous raw materials such as chemicals, training which is focused on job execution procedures enables the employee to operate the machinery as required thus minimizing the risks of injury.
Training and development also provides the employees with knowledge on the measures to take when an accident occurs within the organization. This helps in reducing/ controlling the extent of the damage (Baicker, Cutler, & Song, 2010). For example, an organization that deals with the packaging of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) can train its employees on how to raise an alarm when fire ignites in order to reduce causalities, it can also train them on how to contain the fire using firefighting equipment without subjecting themselves to risks. Employee development will give the employees a long-term risk control know-how that they can even use to train new entrants in the organization thus cutting on future training cost.
Addressing Employee Weakness and Developing Strengths
Maintaining standards: standards refer to the principles or metrics that an organization should meet in its operations. They are mainly set by standardization organizations such as the International Organizational for Standardization (ISO). For an organization to be viable in the industry that it operates in it must adhere to the standards such as product standards, stakeholder relationship, marketing standards, and operational standards among others (Kaplinsky, 2010). Through training and development, an organization is able to acquaint its employees with information regarding to the standards set by the industry regulators or international bodies, how the standards can be met by the organization, and their role as employees in ensuring that the standards are adhered to/achieved.
Training and development also gives the employee a pool of knowledge on the importance of the standards to the organization and the consumers of the organization’s products and or services. It also furnishes the employees with information about the ramifications of not adhering to the set standards (Lipson, 2014). This builds a necessity of adherence to standards among the employees. Through training and development employees who are in the marketing department are able to detect and confidently report any unethical or below standard marketing tactics such as defamation that competitors may be using to gain a competitive edge over the organization, thus protecting the organization from unfair competition ploys.
Qualitative decision making: Organizations have in the recent past changed from bureaucratic to more flat organizations in which even junior staff members are involved in decision making at their operational levels (Han, Chiang, & Chang, 2010). Many managers have found that employees have great potential and ideas that can be used to pursue the organizations agenda. Moreover, despite the level of management at which a decision is made, the people who put that decision into practice are the employees, therefore, it is of great essence to involve them in decision making. Training and development gives employees an exposure to the way things are done in the organizations thus making them good contributors to decision making.
At their own individual level, training and development gives the employees a wealth of experience that is essential for them to make reliable, responsible and accountable decisions in their operation (Nielsen & Randall, 2012). This reduces supervision cost since employees are now able to work efficiently without requiring guidelines and monitoring from supervisors. Proper training also promotes the problem-solving ability of an employee which is an essential component of qualitative decision making and vital in every activity that the employees engage in (Nielsen & Randall, 2012).
Promoting Innovation Among the Employees
From the above analysis of the role and importance of organizational training and development, it is clear that training and development is essential to both the organization and the employee since it molds the employees to the kind of workforce that the organization needs to achieve its objectives and deliver on its mandate. It is also evident that the benefits of training and development surpasses its cost. Therefore every organization should consider embracing regular training and development in its strategies if it wants to be sustainable.
References
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