Training and Development Assessment - Essay Example

COMPARING HUMAN RESOURCE PRINCIPLES: Training And Development Assessment Introduction Training and development is one of the main considerations in today’s high volume, complicated business environment since there is a significant reliance on human capital in order to remain successful. This is true both in the public sector and the private sector as well. Businesses have begun to shed their rather traditional views of corporate leadership that relied on control management in order to guarantee high performance. In exchange, a more progressive human resources model is being developed that brings better employee skills profiling with an emphasis on personal leadership growth and job skills rotation. In this process, both public and private, training and development practices differ to provide the company or organization a more competitive work staff. The training and development practices at the University of Worcester and Tesco are compared to highlight the similarities and differences in public sector and private sector training principles. University of Worcester The University of Worcester must consider issues of revenue growth and strategy to remain competitive against other universities both local and international. With growth in e-learning available to citizens across the globe, it becomes more and more difficult to become recognized as an educational leader with students of all lifestyles, income brackets and values as learning becomes more convenient without necessarily having to leave home. Therefore, the university must ensure that its staff is well-trained and knowledgeable with new concepts and theories so that students choose the University of Worcester over other educational options. Part of training and development at the university involve establishing a set of criteria by which teachers are judged for performance. The University of Worcester has developed an annual development appraisal in order to ensure top performance that includes staff timetable tools for meeting individual teacher obligations (Wright & Evans 2009). Part of this appraisal includes what is referred to as the Resource Model that identifies key strengths and weaknesses of teachers in order to assess their current skills capabilities. Teachers are given timetables of milestones for learning and meeting new curriculum goals and then they are appraised to determine whether their knowledge is currently able to reach expectations. What makes the performance appraisal process so significant at the university is that staff is able to offer suggestions and amendments to these timetables (Wright & Evans). This indicates an empowerment model that includes teacher feedback in their training module to facilitate better ways to maximise the student’s satisfaction regarding the quality of their education. Unlike some businesses that have stricter sets of controls, the University of Worcester uses teacher opinion in order to develop better learning tools and assessment processes of their goal attainment levels. This is significant for training and development as teachers are an interactive part of learning and are able to ensure, through feedback generation, that their training moves at the pace required to remain competitive. The university also has developed a needs analysis system that measures current strengths before launching a training programme. It is considered before training even begins so that training can be custom-tailored to meet individual needs, again involving teachers to identify their own strengths or weaknesses and take personal responsibility for professional learning (worcester.ac.uk 2010). By launching the needs analysis, it gives senior leadership in human resources the ability to recognize specific training needs for individual staff so that a customized programme can be designed. Involving the teacher in this process and helping them see where their weaknesses lie builds a sense of empowerment that facilitates speed of training and which areas require most reinforcement. Again, this represents a more progressive training model with high involvement in teacher feedback, opinion and momentum. Unlike businesses that have very rigid and pre-designed training systems, the University of Worcester provides interactive learning that can be elastic for individual needs. The University of Worcester also has a heavy reliance on technology in their training process; a very interactive method of learning. The business has developed an Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) that consists of a data projector and touch-sensitive computer screens that teachers can amend or simply access as needed in their training programme (Egerton, Cook & Stambolis 2009). The IWB consists of software that has pre-made lesson plan materials as well as the ability to make modifications during their training process. The IWB gives access to the Internet, the ability to access multiple software programmes and modernises the training and development process (Egerton et al). The use of technology in training is significant at the university and, as with other elements of training and development, can be modified and made more interactive for teacher feedback and adjustment to improve training outcomes. The most noticeable feature of training and development at the university is the level to which teachers are actively involved in the training process. The development of the Resource Model, the needs analysis and timetables, along with technological reliance, makes the training process unique compared to other organisations or businesses. Teachers are empowered to not only offer feedback about training quality, but can suggest or ensure additions or corrections are made so that their performance appraisals are fair and balanced and built to their individual needs. These systems allow for personal ownership of training that dictates it speed and momentum; an interactive and flexible training system. Tesco Tesco is a large retail supermarket chain in the UK (and abroad) that is well-known for many of its training and development innovations. Tesco is an organisation that is constantly changing its business model in order to remain more competitive, with new product and services offerings developed that require staff and management to understand how to provide excellence in service quality. One key feature of Tesco’s training and development is the use of the balanced scorecard. The balanced scorecard consists of specific measurement criteria that must be reached in training, such as key learning milestones or desired training outcomes. It works as a form of checklist by which individual staff and management learning is assessed and redeveloped when outcomes or milestones have not been achieved. Unlike the University of Worcester that relies on employee feedback when developing training tools, Tesco has a somewhat less-flexible system in place in order to guarantee training quality without necessarily relying on staff or management feedback. However, the advantage of the scorecard is that a set of specific customer service-related criteria can be highlighted so that individual performance in meeting these goals is measured effectively. “In Tesco, there is a belief that an intrinsic link exists between employees’ perceptions of how their company values their contribution, development, reward and morale” (Holbeche 2005, p.28). The balanced scorecard acts as a template for employees to show that the company has employee needs considered and can be developed with individualised learning criteria so that employees feel valued and coached regarding learning and development. Another interesting factor at Tesco is the company’s partnering mentality when it comes to staff learning. Tesco partners with community organisations to identify pre-recruitment trainees who later go on to work in Tesco stores (Brown 2005). The business project in this case is improving the quality of learning and giving the business a better pool of training recipients that have previous experience working with community organisations. It builds better connections with community partners and also highlights the company’s dedication to training in the pre-recruitment process. Tesco is very committed to training both prior to landing a career with the business and after employees have been planted in their job roles. What makes this system unique is the reliance on external partners to assist in developing training and development, in some ways much like an apprenticeship of learning. Tesco also uses what is known as a plan and review process that is developed after discussions with supervision and the training employee. In this system, employees develop their own, unique objectives they want to attain and helps the employee and their management determine the pace by which training moves forward (Strategic Direction 2009). Tesco has five perspectives related to training involving different elements of customer service. Using this as a template, employees are able to meet interactively with managers to help develop a customised training programme. This is similar to the feedback mechanisms found at the University of Worcester, however it is a much more customised system. Tesco does not rely on standardized training programmes, but like the university gives employees much more input and control over how training and development practices are delivered. It puts training in the hands of the store level, rather than corporate human resources, so that employees can be trained in a method that is most effective for their individualised needs or objectives related to career growth. Tesco also relies on what is referred to as a Change Map that is part of a pre-established, generic training tool. Using software known as BigPicture Learning, it creates a “graphical journey” that explores the history of the company, its values, goals, operations and marketing strategies to help new employees familiarise themselves with what Tesco stands for (Whitelock 2003). This is also an interactive and engaging learning support system, with a heavy reliance on technology for facilitating the learning process. Tesco also has further partnerships with community experts to assist in on-the-job training, with training sessions being conducted by teachers from local colleges (Lloyd 2005). This, again, bridges connections with community organisations and adds a new element of training conducted by experts from the external environment. This training consists of educational literacy in areas of numeracy and common learning found in the university or college environment (Lloyd). This gives staff members, who might not have the resources for a secondary degree, the ability to understand mathematics and literacy to help expand their educational knowledge to become better employees for areas of finance, software and technology learning and how to understand the complicated business reports produced by Tesco. The end result is a more balanced employee that is versed in a variety of basic college-level skills to ensure a more rewarding and knowledgeable staff. Tesco has even devoted considerable resources to training through the development of the Tesco Academy, a centre for development and learning. Tesco has achieved a 23 percent increase in expenditures since 2008 in order to develop better senior-level team members (Pollitt 2010). The main course in this training is referred to as the Advanced Leadership Programme in the Academy that prioritizes executive learning. What makes this system unique, compared to the training practices found at the University of Worcester, is that executive employees can work together in a team environment to explore concepts of leadership to be equipped to work as team-focused management members. It gives them practical, hands-on experience working in groups to become excellent business leaders when managing large groups of employees. The Academy provides the staff with a certificate of programme completion as part of a foundational retail learning degree, therefore motivating them through receipt of acknowledgement for accomplishing pre-established training goals at the Academy. On-the-job training at Tesco consists of a system known as shadowing, in which a person already established in a staff role is assigned to a new employee to help them understand their own job role (thetimes100.co.uk 2009). Along with shadowing is a coaching and mentoring system where assigned colleagues or managers assist trainees in finding solutions and also to inspire them to achieve maximum growth and learning potential (thetimes100.co.uk). There is a strong commitment to coaching and development at Tesco where employees are treated like team-based learners that can rely on managers and colleagues to assist them in learning and personal growth toward meeting career goals. This differs somewhat from the training practices described at the University of Worcester as there is a stronger reliance on peer and management team involvement in building a better skills and knowledge profile. It is a transformational model where vision and self-exploration as part of training is commonplace as a motivational tool for learning and exploring goal-setting. Comparing training styles The University of Worcester has a strong reliance on technological tools and software presentations to ensure a better quality of learning in the training process. It is constantly in a state of development based on direct teacher involvement and suggestion so that it can be custom-tailored to fit training needs for each individual. There is the ability, in its training philosophies, to provide flexible learning tools based on individual need. This would avoid learners becoming frustrated by being exposed to training elements when they already have strengths in this area. The interactive method of its training and development practices ensure that the quality of learning is directly related to individualised learning needs. Tesco, on the other hand, uses a blend of flexible and standardised learning that starts even before recruitment is underway. Using external elements in training, such as the use of college educators and community organisations, gives the business a better training pool and ensures that fundamental learning practices are instilled in employees in all areas of the business from low-level to executive-level staff. Tesco ensures that employees who might not have access to education in the college environment are equipped with free learning tools to make them better contributors to the organisational business model. This makes the training and development system at Tesco considerably different from the University of Worcester, where Tesco blends morale philosophies with higher college-level learning to motivate learners to achieve their career goals. Neither the University of Worcester nor Tesco prescribe to specific, well-known HR models for training, but devote considerable effort in identifying current skills at the individual level and then adapting training to fit these identified needs. The University of Worcester must compete with many different learning organisations, both local and in the online environment, therefore the main emphasis of training and development is creating quality and student satisfaction. Tesco, on the other hand, has so many layers in its organisational hierarchy that demands a variety of training tools in order to build more successful staff and management members. Conclusion When comparing the training and development practices at both organisations, Tesco’s is more developed and uses transformational learning tools with a strong emphasis on coaching, mentoring and what the business has referred to as shadowing. There is a heavy emphasis on team and management involvement in the learning process in multiple areas of business know-how. This is likely the product of having to compete in an ever-changing business environment where the model of operations is constantly adjusting. There is more of a need for financial analysis at Tesco than would be found with staff at the University of Worcester, therefore there is much more need for external support in aiding learning. This explains the use of external consultants in the training process. At the university, learning is internalised, however similarly customised in comparison to Tesco to ensure individual needs are addressed and measurement tools are developed to better suit their learning needs. References Brown, C.S. (2005). The Sustainable Enterprise: Profiting from Best Practice, Sterling: Kogan Page. Egerton, J., Cook, J. & Stambolis, C. (2009). Developing a model of pedagogical best practice in the use of Interactive Whiteboards for Children with Autism and Complex learning disabilities: Implications for teacher training. [online] http://www.sunfield.org.uk/pdf/TDA_project.pdf. (accessed November 2, 2010). Holbeche, L. (2005). The High Performance Organization: Creating Dynamic Stability and Sustainable Success, Boston:Elsevier. Lloyd, T. (2005). Shopping for apprentices, Human Resources, London. pp.26-28. Pollitt, D. (2010). Tesco Academy nurtures top talent, Training & Management Development Methods, Bradford. 24, 2, p.525. Strategic Direction. (2009). Tesco staff keeps hands on the wheel: objectives managed and steered to appraisal. 25,9, p.7. Thetimes100.co.uk. (2009). How training and development supports business growth, p.154. [online] http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/downloads/tesco/tesco_14_full.pdf. (accessed November 1, 2010). Whitelock, N. (2003). Tesco’s new recruits see the big picture, Training & Management Development Methods, Bradford. 17, 1, pp.801-805. Worcester.ac.uk. (2010). Graduate teacher programme, University of Worcester. [online] http://www.worcester.ac.uk/courses/2608.html. (accessed November 1, 2010). Wright, W. & Evans, C. (2009). More judgment than luck?, Management Services. 53, 1, pp.26-31. Read More