BENEFITS OF EMPLOYEE TRAINING

‘The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who could not read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.’

ALVIN TOFFLER.

INTRODUCTION

Many organisations are afraid of investing extensively on their employees’ training and development due to the fear of being poached. Some organisations are also of the view that training employees add value to the employees more than it does to the organisation. In some business organisations, investment in employees’ training and development are seen as a waste because of the believe that a trained employee could call it quit with the organisation at a time the organisation is yet to derive the full benefit of training and development investment on such an employee.

DEFINITION OF TRAINING

Training is a systematic development of knowledge, skills and attitudes required by employees to perform adequately on a given task or job (Abiodun, 1999). The quality of employees’ job performance is a function of their knowledge, skills and attitudes. If the requisite skills, knowledge and attitudes needed for optimal job performance are not possessed by employees, poor job quality is inevitable. To be productive and profitable an organisation must be staffed by competent individuals. This competency can only be

guaranteed through training and retraining of employees.

One thing that employers need to understand is the fact that training, if well designed and carefully implemented, could serve as a useful strategy for employee retention. The fear of losing employee to the competitors should never be a reason for failure to invest in training and development as an employer.

BENEFITS OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

There are so many benefits accrued from investment in training and development of employees at work. Some of these benefits are listed below.

·         Improved employees’ morale and job quality.

·         Increased productivity.

·         Development of new skills, knowledge and attitudes.

·         Training addresses obsolescence in skills, products, production process and   

            production method.

·         It reduces waste and cost by reducing the rate of accident, turnover and

absenteeism.

·         It aids smooth succession planning strategy.

·         Training ensures correct usage of new tools, machines and methods.

·         Organizational growth and survival.

FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN DESIGNING TRAINING PROGRAMME

Getting optimal return from investment in training and development of employees requires laying emphasis on the major determinants of the success or failure of any training and development effort.

The factors determining the success or failure of employees training and development must be put into consideration when designing and implementing employees training and development programs.

Those factors to be considered in designing and implementing training and development programs are:

·         the training needs

·         the training objective

·          number of people to be trained

·         appropriate training method and format

·         optimal training duration

·         most conducive training venue or location

·         measurement of training effectiveness, and

·         ascertaining trainees’ reaction to the training efforts.

TRAINING METHODS

There are so many ways of delivering or achieving training and development objectives of an organisation. Employees training and development could be achieved through the following means:

·         mentoring

·         apprenticeship

·         business game and case studies

·         self directed learning

·         cd’s and DVD

·         cd-rom

·         intranet

·         team training

·         action learning

·         adventure learning

·         audio visual techniques

·         on the job training

·         distance learning

·         internal training courses

·         external training, seminar and workshops

·         secondment and job deputation

·         interactive video

·         internet and e-learning

·         Job-swap, etc.

CONCLUSION

The returns on employees training and development far outweigh the investment; therefore employers should see investment in training and development as investment in organisational growth and development.

REFERENCES:

Abiodun, E.J.A. (1999) Human Resources management, an overview. Concept Publication,

Shomolu, Lagos. P. 110-121.

Olaniyan D.A, Ojo L.B (2008) Staff Training and Development: A Vital Tool for Organisational Effectiveness. European Journal of Scientific Research.Vol.24 No.3, pp.326-331.

About the Author

Ajiboro Ayodeji is a Chartered HR Practitioner based in Lagos, Nigeria. Email: hutrenconsulting@gmail.com. Tel: 2348027807452.