Human Resources Practice

📌 Module 6: Training and Development🙌

Okay, it’s time to tackle one of the topics I’m most excited about ☺️. In the next module, we’ll cover how to approach staff training. We’ll cover how to identify training needs, the different types of needs we may encounter, and, of course, we’ll explain the steps you should follow to develop a training plan. Let’s get started! 💪

🌟 Introduction

The job market is changing at a dizzying pace. Technology, new work models, and social transformations require us, as companies, to stay up-to-date and competitive. In this context, TRAINING becomes a strategic tool: it enables employes to grow professionally, improve their skills, and contribute to achieving the organization’s objectives.

Let’s recall that in the previous module, when evaluating performance and the results achieved, we can identify training needs if necessary.

👉 We shouldn’t think of training as an expense; instead, we need to sell it as an investment in talent that helps the company’s competitiveness.

📝Why is training important?

The purpose of our training program is to help employees develop new skills and enhance their performance in the workplace. Additionally, the program assists employees in managing transitions during changes in production processes. On the other hand, we must keep each worker’s personal aspirations in mind; training will help them advance in their careers, but above all, it will boost their motivation to tackle the courses that will enable them to face the challenges of the future.

We must ensure that training reaches all levels of our organization; sometimes the entire company may need it, like when we create a training program for risk prevention, or maybe each department or individual may require it specifically to foster the development of soft skills. It is recommended that we keep a record of training sessions to ensure their effectiveness.

📌 The role of the Training Department

Before we begin the training process, it’s important that we understand our mission as the Training and Development department.

• What is taught addresses a real need of the organization.
• The skills and knowledge must be effectively learned.
• What has been learned is applied in the workplace.
• The results must be sustained over time.

The last two points will be of utmost importance. I am aware that training people sounds good and is fantastic; however, if the content taught is not applicable or sustained over time, there is a risk that what has been learned will be forgotten, leading to a loss of organizational resources.

Our mission as the training department is to mold the employees to be successful in their tasks. But we must keep in mind that we can’t solve everything with training.

🎯 Keys to an effective training

When designing the training plan, here are some principles to consider to ensure the training is effective. Let’s go over them… 😉

• Utility: what is learned should be applied practically at work. We need to convey to staff the importance of training and what it means for their professional growth.
• Meaningful learning: new knowledge should be related to the worker’s prior knowledge. Additionally, it is important that we use examples and practical cases to facilitate understanding.
• Functionality: learning should be applicable and sustained over time. Here, it really matters that what is taught is applied. And that the new knowledge branches out into other areas of knowledge.
• Participation: encourage people to actively engage in their own development. Encourage them to actively engage with their learning process.
• Evaluation: use it as a tool for improvement, not as punishment.
• Decision: We will have two alternatives: either make the training a job requirement or allow it as a voluntary initiative.
• Time: plan adequately to avoid affecting daily tasks. It is the biggest challenge we face, as we must strike a balance between training and work responsibilities.
• Motivation: the most important point. Employees aren’t always interested in acquiring new insights, so we must make the training process experience appealing. It is advisable to indicate the benefits of the training beforehand.

We have learned about the role of the Training Department and the key factors that enable us to achieve much more effective training. So let’s continue by explaining how we identify training needs.

📋 Identifying training requirements

Before starting a training plan, we must ensure that the problem can only be solved through training.

In many cases, obstacles may be related to inadequate tools, organizational issues, or a lack of resources, rather than to knowledge.

Therefore, before starting the training plan, we need to determine whether the problems can be resolved through other means. If training is necessary, then we’ll need to identify which problem it addresses. Let’s see how we can determine whether it addresses a lack of knowledge, skills, or attitudes.

There are three types of training needs, which will help us determine whether training is necessary or not. Let’s see what they are:

1. Discrepancy ➡️ When tasks performed fail to meet the intended objectives, it may be due to a lack of skills, knowledge, or attitudes. For example, if the room personnel take a long time to prepare their designated rooms, it may be because they lack the skill or are unaware of a more efficient method. Discrepancies in pizza preparation: the kitchen lacks standardized guidelines for how much of each ingredient should be used on the pizzas, leading to inconsistent outcomes.
2. Change ➡️ What is modified is the production process; the person’s knowledge or skills do not change, only the way the employees perform their tasks. For example, in a bakery, they made the decision to switch from a standard mixer to an industrial one, so the person must learn how to operate the new mixer, but their knowledge of different doughs remains unchanged.
3. Incorporation ➡️ Here, we are indeed referring to the acquisition of a new skill or knowledge due to a change in tasks or because we transfer the employee to a different department. For example, we have someone in the administration department, and now we’ve decided that he will help with the recruitment processes in Human Resources. It will be necessary to train him to make the transition more effective.

All these needs can be analyzed at three levels:

• Functional: We must detect and attempt to solve a requirement related to the specific function of the job.
• Situational: Refers to solving how the person will perform their tasks.
• Personal: We must keep in mind that not all people are equals; we will focus on the individual characteristics of each employee.

We have identified the role we must fulfill as a department. The points we need to focus on to make our training successful. And we also learned how to identify the needs that allow us to begin the training process. Therefore, let’s now look at the steps we can follow to make our training process more effective. Let's go, we still have so much to discover in this fascinating area. ☺️

📅 Stages of the training process

To make our training process successful, we must plan it and execute it clearly. Here is a sequence that will enable us to achieve that goal.

1. Identification of Training Needs => Year after year, together with the other departments, we must identify training needs to help them meet their objectives.
2. Planning the training process => We must establish a timeline with the priority deadlines for each phase.
3. Communication and Invitation => It is essential that employees participate in developing the training, and we must hear their opinions and suggestions about their training path.
4. Selection and evaluation of content and instructors => Yes, it’s important to know the content that will be delivered, especially when an external third party will be providing the training process. We make sure that what needs to be taught is taught.
5. Training implementation => This is the moment when we deliver the training process. We need to ensure the training space is in good condition and that everyone has the materials to participate. The space and materials must be included in the training plan. Later, we will talk about this.
6. Follow-up and measurement of our results => Primarily to determine whether the training was effective and if reinforcement is needed.
7. Training Registration and Documentation (Training MIS) => Maintaining a record of training sessions will help us improve, keep track of when the sessions were held, and, especially, the costs we have incurred.

How about we figure out how we can track and record the training sessions we conduct at our company? Let’s get to it... 🙌

🎯 Following and Measurement

Measuring the effectiveness and impact of the training process is significant. We want to know whether people are learning, whether they’re attending, whether the courses help them stay motivated, and also if the trainer is meeting the objectives established. Follow-up helps us to assess whether new knowledge is being applied to daily tasks.

Some tools we can use to measure and track the process are:

• Participation and assistance registration.

• Pre- and post-diagnostic tests.

• Satisfaction surveys and feedback from participants.

• Evaluation of the impact the training has on job performance.

Additionally, the Training MIS (Training Information System) should allow us to obtain quantitative and qualitative reports on training activities, hours invested, and return on investment.

📝 Developing the Training Plan

We have learned about the role of the Training department, what aspects we must consider to ensure our training is effective, and how to identify training needs. Now it’s time to learn how we can create our training plan.

What is the Training Plan? 🤔

The training plan is the one we will develop to present to the company; initially, we’ll start with a general one, and once it’s approved, we’ll proceed with designing the training activities. Let’s take a look at what we can include in our training plan.

👇Below is a list of items we can incorporate into our Training Plan:

Objectives, materials, action to be taken, type of course, budget, trainer

• Justification

  We will begin by explaining the problem we have identified and the steps we will address through this training. We will justify why we’re going to apply a training process.

• Objectives

  • General => We explain what we aim to achieve with the training, and the impact it will have on the organization. Reflects the reason for the training process and how it will benefit the company in the future.

  • Operational => We will describe the tasks the worker will be able to perform in their job after the training. They must be clear and express observable behaviors. It is recommended that we write one for each operational objective.

  • Learning => We will indicate the skills or abilities, as well as any acquired expertise, that employees are expected to gain after the training. These objectives should be realistic and identifiable to people performing their tasks.

  The objective would be worded as follows => "Upon completion of the training, participants will be able to perform data analysis and create presentations with Power BI, enabling them to visualize data in real time and process 100% of the database information."

• Contents

  The training contents must align with the objectives and include the material to be taught, such as principles, values, procedures, norms, etc. Remember that we must select and organize the content to make it easier to dictate.

  • Selection => We can’t cover everything. We must prioritize the most important topics applicable to the tasks. Remember that they must be related to the objectives set before.

  • Planning => Once we have chosen the content, we need to organize it logically to make the learning and training process easier. We must go from general info to the specific and from the simple to the complex.

• Teaching Techniques

  Now, we’re going to focus on explaining how we’ll impart the training content. Remember that we may encounter countless techniques, so we need to find the one that suits our needs.

  We also need to keep in mind the content scope we’ll present, whether it’s technical, psychomotor, or attitudinal. Also, keep in mind the time we have, the physical space we’ll be using, and the characteristics of the group that will participate. Remember, not all employees are equal. We must create an environment that enables learning, and new information can be associated with what people already know.

  We will encounter several formative techniques, but here is a list of the most common:

  • Expository => As its name suggests, it refers to an expository class, ideal for presenting theoretical knowledge or clarifying basic concepts. We must avoid the lecture turning into a listening session without an exchange of ideas. It will also be difficult for us to assess the incorporation of the content.

  • Didactic interrogation => Similar to the last point, but here we will emphasize generating dialogue and exchanging ideas. We must start from what people already know and from there build bridges between the new and the known.

  • Educational board => It consists of creating a presentation by several people who come to speak on the same topic. A debate is held among the presenters; it is advisable to allow attendees to ask questions for clarification on any subject.

  • Case method => Learning consists of working with a specific case, which is presented to the group for analysis and decision-making debate. We must encourage participants to study the given situation and draw their own conclusions about the paths or actions to take. It is advisable to raise topics that do not have a single solution.

  • Role-play game => A story is presented, and roles are distributed among the participants. We can provide a context, but there’s no need for a script they have to follow; it’s up to the participants’ imagination and originality.

  • Educational game => Learning through games. The game’s mechanics allow you to incorporate knowledge gradually.

  • Brainstorming => A group technique in which we encourage participants to develop ideas. The conception is to create an atmosphere that allows people to express themselves without criticism, fostering free imagination and emerging ideas that inspire everyone. The group should be familiar with the topic beforehand to facilitate the activity. At the end, a summary should be made and conclusions drawn from everything that has been contributed.

  • On-the-job training => It’s the most common. It also takes place during onboarding, and we generally provide it to new employees to help them understand their job responsibilities. It can also be done through job rotation, where managers prepare them for different positions and tasks. Another form of on-the-job training occurs when we prepare someone to take over the position of an employe who is retiring from the company.

  • e-Learning => The training is conducted through an online platform. Individuals are responsible for enrolling in the offered courses and completing them at their own pace. Remember that the downside of this method is that it makes it difficult to answer questions and maintain the participants' motivation. Additionally, we should consider an “extra” cost of doing it outside working hours.

  • Professional observation => As its name suggests, the individual learns from an expert while the expert performs his daily tasks; the participant follows the expert and observes to determine how the work must be done.

  • Outdoor training => It takes place outside the classroom and involves an activity designed to work with abstract concepts. In addition to facilitating performance observation, they are perfect for fostering teamwork or individual leadership.

  These are some of the techniques we can employ. But I encourage you to explore others, as trainers, we need to find the method that better suits our company and the content we want to provide.

• Auxiliary Resources

  These are the materials that help us put the training into action, such as a whiteboard, computer, projector, pens, and anything else necessary for the training. We must detail the resources we will use in our training plan and indicate their cost, for example, if we rent an outdoor space for an activity.

👇 Here’s an example of a training plan to help you get oriented with the process.

🚨 I want to apologize, I don't have a translated copy of the file.

📊 Conclusion

As the Training Department, we act in the present with the future in mind. Our commitment is to ensure the company remains competitive over time. We must also help people develop and reach their potential. We must be able to identify training needs and choose the modality that best suits the process. Above all, we must ensure that people feel motivated to train themselves.

🧠 Practical exercises

👉 Exercise 1:

Create a training needs assessment matrix and indicate:

1. Position or area.
2. Competency or skill to improve.
3. Type of need (discrepancy, change, onboarding).
4. Suggested training method.

👉 Exercise 2:

Design a short annual training plan with three training activities (e.g., leadership, customer service, and workplace safety).

Includes: objectives, tentative dates, modality and responsible parties.

👉 Exercise 3:

The following image presents a comment regarding a training course sent by a company.

1. Do you think the company acted properly?
2. Can you indicate what type of need it addresses?
3. Assuming the job is office administration, do you consider the training as a good action?
4. Do you think motivation will be affected?
5. If you had the opportunity, what type of training would you propose?