Training and Development in the Companies - Essay Example

Training and Development Introduction In the dynamic world of today, the only constant word is presumed to be the ‘change’. Thanks to the increasing effects of globalization all across the globe along with the technological advancements and improvements of communication processes, the terms of trade are on constant revision. The developments have increasingly made the competition very stiff among almost all of the industries. To ensure sustainable development and growth, the companies have to be aware of the changing scenarios and develop in the requisite fashion. In order to get aligned with the newer requirements, the companies all over the globe greatly depend upon the various training and development modules. The big corporates provide due emphasis upon such modules and carry extensive research to design such methods. The United Kingdom based retail chain of repute; Tesco also has implemented dedicated programs of training and development of its highly skilled work force so that it can align with the changing needs and dynamics of the business environment. The same is true for the other prominent retail chain of the country, J Sainsbury. The company is one of the closest competitors of Tesco and so was selected to be the other grocery chain to carry out the report. Training at Sainsbury J Sainsbury, Plc has been the renowned retail chain of the United Kingdom. The organization is celebrating its 140th year of establishment this very year and therefore has come up with whole lot of schemes and promotional offers to cater to the changing purchasing needs of the customers. To ensure efficient and effective training sessions, at the outset it is important to identify the areas in which training is required. For the purpose, Sainsbury has a dedicated system of review known as Performance Development Review. Through the Performance Development Review, all the employees of the company discuss the issue of career development with the respective managers and also consider the progress made towards the double objective of organizational goal as well as career goal along with the needs of the training. The company provides due importance to the identification of the needs and so have career development committees in place that decides about the needs of training and development and also plans for the future. After successfully identifying the needs of the training modules, the retail chain initiates numerous measures to prepare the workforce. The training modules include numerous courses and various workshops. Also, the modern techniques are implemented like that of job shadowing and mentoring. In case of job shadowing, the trainee is assigned with a manager and is asked to follow the job closely. The trainee has to work and complete certain assignments under the manager along with workbooks. Whereas, in mentoring a superior is assigned with the trainee who guides him not only in the professional aspect but also in the personal fronts. The mentor usually sets target for the trainee and also directs him the way to achieve such targets. The company also lays much importance upon the self developments of the employees and therefore initiates major self development measures through videos and books. The other important method to train the incumbents has been the on - the - job training (J Sainsbury, n.d.). Benefits of Training and Development The measures of training and development are initiated by the companies to inculcate newer methods of doing things among the employees and the work force. There is little doubt that such measures of training and development calls for massive utilization of resources of the companies as also it hampers the steady flow of revenue of the company. This is so because the modules of training and development requires time as well as money to successfully implement the training processes and when such training and development are going on, the employees are busy and cannot contribute towards the organizational revenue. Still, the organizations initiate such training and development modules only to implement the changing techniques among the human capital. While designing the training and development, the companies scientifically perceive the benefits that are attributed with such modules and the future years in which such benefits are expected to arise. The training and development initiatives in J Sainsbury are highly beneficial. The training modules are designed in such a way that it helps the trainee to understand every facets of the assigned job along with his responsibilities and accountabilities. This is primarily done in the on - the – job training where the person is trained while he is working. He gets hands - on experience. The methods like shadowing and mentoring involves an assigned senior executive of the organization with the new comer so that the executive on trainee can learn the organizational culture and the methodologies that are required for the successful implementations of the organizational goal. The initiative of the Personal Development Review helps the executives and the existing employees of the company to review their performance in consultation with their managers and take measures to improve those as and when required. The company also puts due emphasis on the development of the career goals of the executives and through the comprehensive training procedures such goals are also met. Similarities and Dis-Similarities The two giant retail chains of the United Kingdom i.e. the Tesco and the Sainsbury, both caters to almost the similar markets and therefore the target group of customers and the purchasing patterns of such customers are almost similar. Few of the major training modules as initiated by Tesco consists primarily of two broad heads namely on – the – job training and the off – the - job training. On – the –job training includes the following training methods: Shadowing Coaching Mentoring Job rotation (The Times 100, n.d.) The other method of the off – the - job training methods comprises of specific new skills in the fields of team building, planning, organizations and communications. It has been a proven fact that the comprehensive training and development methods that Tesco implements in scheduling the training needs of the employees and there after initiates the effective training and development module, adds value towards business development. One of the fiercest competitors of Tesco in the home market of the United Kingdom, Sainsbury also has an elaborate model of assessing the needs of training and development. The company banks upon the Performance Development Review in which the superior or the colleague of the executive reviews his performance and denotes the various areas in which he needs to work upon. The company provides due importance in identifying the training needs of the employees. Among the various training methods as implemented by the Sainsbury, few are similar to that of Tesco. The similar training methods include the on – the – job training as it has been reported that Sainsbury depends lot upon the on – the - job trainings (Sloman, 1989). The methods like shadowing and mentoring are also implemented by Sainsbury. The technique of the Performance Development Review of the Sainsbury is also similar to the 360 – degree appraisal method of Tesco. The dis-similar methods of Tesco includes job rotation or coaching among the on – the – job training methods and many of the off – the - job training methods like emphasis on organizational culture. Among the training methods as implemented by Sainsbury, workshops, work books and various self development tools are not found to be similar with that of Tesco. Conclusions Training and development means are presumed to be the only way out to ensure sustainable development of the companies in the changing times of today. The companies cannot afford to remain stagnant in the present dynamic business environment. They spend much of their hard earned and scarce resources to ensure that the workforce is all equipped with the latest methodologies. The training methods initiated by the two retail giant of the United Kingdom have many of the approaches similar and also few of the initiatives are quite different. It has been observed that the training methods as implemented by both the companies have contributed considerably toward the attainment of the business goals. References J Sainsbury Plc, No Date. Training and Development. Performance in Detail. [Online] Available at: http://www.j-sainsbury.com/files/reports/cr2005/index.asp?pageid=36 [Accessed 21 December, 2009]. Sloman, M. Human resources and labor relations. Personnel Publications Ltd, 1989. The Times 100, No Date. How training and development supports business growth. Tesco. [Online] Available at: http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/downloads/tesco/tesco_14_full.pdf [Accessed 21 December, 2009]. Bibliography Kubr, M. * Prokopenko, J. Diagnosing management training and development needs: concepts and techniques. International Labour Organization, 1989. Sainsbury’s. 140 Years of Making A Difference. Corporate Responsibility Report, 2009. Read More