ORIENTATION & TRAINING RHM

INTRODUCTION

•      After employees have been selected for various positions in an organization, training them for the specific tasks to which they have been assigned assumes great importance.

•      It is true in many organizations that before an employee is fitted into a harmonious working relationship with other employees, he is given adequate training. Training is the act of increasing the knowledge and skills of an employee for performing a particular job. The major outcome of training is learning.

ORIENTING THE EMPLOYEES

•      Orientation or induction is the task of introducing the new employees to the organization and its policies, procedures and rules. A typical formal orientation program may last a day or less in most organisations.

•      During this time, the new employee is provided with information about the company, its history, its current position, the benefits for which he is eligible, leave rules, rest periods, etc.

•     Also covered are the more routine things a newcomer must learn, such as the location of the rest rooms, break rooms, parking spaces, cafeteria, etc. In some organisations, all this is done informally by attaching new employees to their seniors, who provide guidance on the above matters. Lectures, handbooks, films, groups, seminars are also provided to new employees so that they can settle down quickly and resume the work.

•     Objectives Induction serves the following purposes:

•      1. Removes fears: A newcomer steps into an organization as a stranger. He is new to the people, workplace and work environment. He is not very sure about what he is supposed to do. Induction helps a new employee overcome such fears and perform better on the job.

•      i. It assists him in knowing more about:

•      ii. The job, its content, policies, rules and regulations.

•      iii. The people with whom he is supposed to interact.

•      iv. The terms and conditions of employment.

•      2. Creates a good impression: Another purpose of induction is to make the newcomer feel at home and develop a sense of pride in the organization. Induction helps him to:

•      i. Adjust and adapt to new demands of the job. Orientation & Training

•      ii. Get along with people.

•      iii. Get off to a good start. 

•      Through induction, a new recruit is able to see more clearly as to what he is supposed to do, how good the colleagues are, how important is the job, etc. He can pose questions and seek clarifications on issues relating to his job. Induction is a positive step, in the sense, it leaves a good impression about the company and the people working there in the minds of new recruits. They begin to take pride in their work and are more committed to their jobs.

•      3. Acts as a valuable source of information: Induction serves as a valuable source of information to new recruits. It classifies many things through employee manuals/ handbook.

•      Informal discussions with colleagues may also clear the fog surrounding certain issues. The basic purpose of induction is to communicate specific job requirements to the employee, put him at ease and make him feel confident about his abilities.

 INDUCTION PROGRAM: STEPS

•      The HR department may initiate the following steps while organizing the induction program:

•      i. Welcome to the organization.

•      ii. Explain about the company.

•      iii. Show the location/department where the new recruit will work.

•      iv. Give the company’s manual to the new recruit.

•      v. Provide details about various work groups and the extent of unionism within the company.

•      vi. Give details about pay, benefits, holidays, leave, etc. Emphasize the importance of attendance or punctuality.

•      vii. Explain about future training opportunities and career prospects.

•      viii. Clarify doubts, by encouraging the employee to come out with questions.

•      ix. Take the employee on a guided tour of buildings, facilities, etc. Hand him over to his supervisor.

•      Through such formal and informal interaction and discussion, newcomers begin to understand how the department/company is run, who holds power and who does not, who is politically active within the department, how to behave in the company, what is expected of them, etc. In short, if the new recruits wish to survive and prosper in their new work home, they must soon come to ‘know the ropes’. Orientation programs are effective socialization tools because they help the employees to learn about the job and perform things in a desired way.

THE TRAINING PROCESS

•      Training is essential for job success. It can lead to higher production, fewer mistakes, greater job satisfaction and lower turnover. These benefits accrue to both the trainee and the organization, if managers understand the principles behind the training process.

•      To this end, training efforts must invariably follow certain learning-oriented guidelines.

Modeling

•      Modeling is simply copying someone else’s behavior. Passive class room learning does not leave any room for modeling. If we want to change people, it would be a good idea to have videotapes of people showing the desired behavior. The selected model should provide the right kind of behavior to be copied by others.

•      A great deal of human behavior is learned by modeling others. Children learn by modeling parents and older children, they are quite comfortable with the process by the time they grow up. As experts put it. “managers tend to manage as they were managed!”

Motivation

•      For learning to take place, intention to learn is important. When the employee is motivated, he pays attention to what is being said, done and presented. Motivation to learn is influenced by the answers to questions such as: How important is my job to me? How important is the information? Will learning help me progress in the company? etc.

•      People learn more quickly when the material is important and relevant to them. Learning is usually quicker and long-lasting when the learner participates actively. Most people, for example, never forget how to ride a bicycle because they took an active part in the learning process!

Reinforcement

•      If a behavior is rewarded, it probably will be repeated. Positive reinforcement consists of rewarding desired behaviors. People avoid certain behaviors that invite criticism and punishment. A bank officer would want to do a post graduate course in finance, if it earns him increments and makes him eligible for further promotions. Both the external rewards (investments, praise) and the internal rewards (a feeling of pride and achievement) associated with desired behaviors compel subjects to learn properly.

•      To be effective, the trainer must reward desired behaviors only. If he rewards poor performance, the results may be disastrous: good performers may quit in frustration, accidents may go up, productivity may suffer. The reinforcement principle is also based on the premise that punishment is less effective in learning than reward. Punishment is a pointer to undesirable behaviors. When administered, it causes pain to the employee. He may or may not repeat the mistakes. The reactions may be mild or wild..

Feedback

•      People learn best if reinforcement is given as soon as possible after training. Every employee wants to know what is expected of him and how well he is doing. If he is off the track, somebody must put him back on the rails.

•      The errors in such cases must be rectified immediately. The trainee after learning the right behavior is motivated to do things in a ‘right’ way and earn the associated rewards. Positive feedback (showing the trainee the right way of doing things) is to be preferred to negative feedback (telling the trainee that he is not correct) when we want to change behavior.

Spaced Practice

•      Learning takes place easily if the practice sessions are spread over a period of time. New employees learn better if the orientation program is spread over a two or three day period, instead of covering it all in one day.

•      For memorizing tasks, ‘massed’ practice is usually more effective. Imagine the way schools ask the kids to say the Lord ’s Prayer aloud. Can you memorize a long poem by learning only one line per day? You tend to forget the beginning of the poem by the time you reach the last stanza. For ‘acquiring’ skills as stated by Mathis and Jackson, spaced practice is usually the best. This incremental approach to skill acquisition minimizes the physical fatigue that deters learning.

Whole Learning

•      The concept of whole learning suggests that employees learn better if the job information is explained as an entire logical process, so that they can see how the various actions fit together into the ‘big picture’.

•      A broad overview of what the trainee would be doing on the job should be given top priority, if learning has to take place quickly. Research studies have also indicated that it is more efficient to practice a whole task all at once rather than trying to master the various components of the task at different intervals.

Active Practice

•      ‘Practice makes a man perfect’: so said Bacon. To be a swimmer, you should plunge into water instead of simply reading about swimming or looking at films of the worlds’ best swimmers.

•      Learning is enhanced when trainees are provided ample opportunities to repeat the task. For maximum benefit, practice sessions should be distributed over time.

Need Analysis

•       Training efforts must aim at meeting the requirements of the organization (long-term) and the individual employees (short-term). This involves finding answers to questions such as: Whether training is needed? If yes, where is it needed? Which training is needed? etc.

•      Once we identify training gaps within the organization, it becomes easy to design an appropriate training program. Training needs can be identified through the following types of analysis:

•      1. Organizational analysis: It involves a study of the entire organization in terms of its objectives, its resources, the use of these resources, in order to achieve stated objectives and its interaction pattern with environment. The important elements that are closely examined in this connection are:

•      i. Analysis of objectives: This is a study of short term and long term objectives and the strategies followed at various levels to meet these objectives.

•      ii. Resource use analysis: How the various organizational resources (human, physical and financial) are put to use is the main focus of this study.

•      The contributions of various departments are also examined by establishing efficiency indices for each unit. This is done to find out comparative labor costs, whether a unit is under-manned or over-manned.

•      iii. Environmental scanning: Here the economic, political, socio-cultural and technological environment of the organization is examined.

•      iv. Organizational climate analysis: The climate of an organization speaks about the attitudes of members towards work, company policies, supervisors, etc. Absenteeism, turnover ratios generally reflect the prevailing employee attitudes. These can be used to find out whether training efforts have improved the overall climate within the company or not.

•      2. Task or role analysis: This is a detailed examination of a job, its components, its various operations and conditions under which it has to be performed. The focus here is on the roles played by an individual and the training needed to perform such roles.

•      The whole exercise is meant to find out how the various tasks have to be performed and what kind of skills, knowledge, attitudes are needed to meet the job needs. Questionnaires, interviews, reports, tests, observation and other methods are generally used to collect job related information from time-to-time.

•      After collecting the information, an appropriate training program may be designed, paying attention to (i) performance standards required of employees, (ii) the tasks they have to discharge, (iii) the methods they will employ on the job and (iv) how they have learned such methods, etc.

•      3. Person analysis: Here the focus is on the individual in a given job. There are three issues to be resolved through manpower analysis. First, we try to find out whether performance is satisfactory and training is required. Second, whether the employee is capable of being trained and the specific areas in which training is needed.

•      Finally, we need to state whether poor performers (who can improve with requisite training inputs) on the job need to be replaced by those who can do the job. Other options to training such as modifications in the job or processes should also be looked into. Personal observation, performance reviews, supervisory reports, diagnostic tests help in collecting the required information and select particular Orientation & Training training options that try to improve the performance of individual workers.

•      To be effective, training efforts must continuously monitor and coordinate the three kinds of analyses described above. An appropriate program that meets the company’s objectives, task and employee needs may then be introduced. Further, the training needs have to be prioritized so that the limited resources that are allocated to fill training gaps are put to use in a proper way.

•       TRAINING TECHNIQUES
 Training methods are usually classified by the location of instruction. On the job training is provided when the workers are taught relevant knowledge, skills and abilities at the actual workplace; off-the-job training, on the other hand, requires that trainees learn at a location other than the real workspot.

•      Some of the widely used training methods are listed below.

Job Instruction Training (JIT)

•      The JIT method (developed during World War II) is a four-step instructional process involving preparation, presentation, performance try out and follow up. It is used primarily to teach workers how to do their current jobs. A trainer, supervisor or co-worker acts as the coach. The four steps followed in the JIT methods are:

•      i. The trainee receives an overview of the job, its purpose and its desired outcomes, with a clear focus on the relevance of training.

•      ii. The trainer demonstrates the job in order to give the employee a model to copy.

•      The trainer shows a right way to handle the job.

•      iii. Next, the employee is permitted to copy the trainer’s way. Demonstrations by the trainer and practice by the trainee are repeated until the trainee masters the right way to handle the job.

Coaching

•      Coaching is a kind of daily training and feedback given to employees by immediate supervisors. It involves a continuous process of learning by doing. It may be defined as an informal, unplanned training and development activity provided by supervisors and peers. In coaching, the supervisor explains things and answers questions; he throws light on why things are done the way they are; he offers a model for trainees to copy; conducts lot of decision making meetings with trainees; procedures are agreed upon and the trainee is given enough authority to make divisions and even commit mistakes.

•      Of course, coaching can be a taxing job in that the coach may not possess requisite skills to guide the learner in a systematic way. Sometimes, doing a full day’s work may be more important than putting the learner on track.

•      When to use coaching usefully? Coaching could be put to good use when:

•      i. an employee demonstrates a new competency

•      ii. an employee expresses interest in a different job within the organization

•      iii. an employee seeks feedback

•      iv. an employee is expressing low morale, violating company policies or practices or having performance problems

•      v. an employee needs help with a new skill following a formal training program.

•      Effective working, obviously, requires patience and communication skills. It involves:

•      i. explaining appropriate ways of doing things

•      ii. making clear why actions were taken

•      iii. stating observations accurately , the employee does the job independently without supervision.

•      iv. offering possible alternatives / suggestions Orientation & Training

•      v. following up

Mentoring

•      Mentoring is a relationship in which a senior manager in an organization assumes the responsibility for grooming a junior person. Technical, interpersonal and political skills are generally conveyed in such a relationship from the more experienced person. A mentor is a teacher, spouse, counselor, developer of skills and intellect, host, guide, exemplar, and most importantly, supporter and facilitator in the realization of the vision the young person (protégé) has about the kind of life he wants as an adult.

•      The main objective of mentoring is to help an employee attain psychological maturity and effectiveness and get integrated with the organization.

•      In a work situation, such mentoring can take place at both formal and informal levels, depending on the prevailing work culture and the commitment from the top management. Formal mentoring can be very fruitful, if management invests time and money in such relationship building exercises.

SPECIAL PURPOSE TRAINING

•      Under this method of training, the trainee is separated from the job situation and his attention is focused upon learning the material related to his future job performance.

•      Since the trainee is not distracted by job requirements, he can focus his entire concentration on learning the job rather than spending his time in performing it. There is an opportunity for freedom of expression for the trainees. Off-the-job training methods are as follows:

•      i. Vestibule training: In this method, actual work conditions are simulated in a class room. Material, files and equipment – those that are used in actual job performance are also used in the training. This type of training is commonly used for training personnel for clerical and semi-skilled jobs. The duration of this training ranges from a few days to a few weeks. Theory can be related to practice in this method.

•      ii. Role playing: It is defined as a method of human interaction that involves realistic behavior in imaginary situations. This method of training involves action, doing and practice.

•      The participants play the role of certain characters, such as the production manager, mechanical engineer, superintendents, maintenance engineers, quality control inspectors, foreman, workers and the like.

•      This method is mostly used for developing interpersonal interactions and relations.

•      iii. Lecture method: The lecture is a traditional and direct method of instruction. The instructor organizes the material and gives it to a group of trainees in the form of a talk.

•      To be effective, the lecture must motivate and create interest among the trainees. An advantage of lecture method is that it is direct and can be used for a large group of trainees.

•      Thus, costs and time involved are reduced. The major limitation of the lecture method is that it does not provide for transfer of training effectively.

•      iv. Conference/discussion approach: In this method, the trainer delivers a lecture and involves the trainee in a discussion so that his doubts about the job get clarified. When big organisations use this method, the trainer uses audio-visual aids such as blackboards, mockups and slides; in some cases the lectures are videotaped or audio taped.

•      Even the trainee’s presentation can be taped for self-confrontation and self-assessment. The conference is, thus, a group-centred approach where there is a clarification of ideas, communication of procedures and standards to the trainees.

•      Those individuals who have a general educational background and whatever specific skills are required – such as typing, shorthand, office equipment operation, filing, indexing, recording, etc. – may be provided with specific instructions to handle their respective jobs.

•      v. Programmed instruction: This method has become popular in recent years. The subject-matter to be learned is presented in a series of carefully planned sequential units. These units are arranged from simple to more complex levels of instruction.

•      The trainee goes through these units by answering questions or filling the blanks. This method is, thus, expensive and time-consuming.

Training via Internet

•      Training programs delivered via intranet have now been thought of most cost effective route. It is not only cost effective but also caters to the real time information need of employees. However, it involves convergence of several technologies, like; hardware, software, web-designing and authoring, instructional design, multi-media design, telecommunications and finally internet intranet network management.

•      Organisations can outsource e-learning training modules at relatively cheaper rate. Even though training through e-learning is globally increasing, we do not have adequate empirical evidence to Orientation & Training justify this.

TO  SUM UP

•      Orientation or induction is the task of introducing the new employees to the organization and its policies, procedures and rules. A typical formal orientation program may last a day or less in most organisations. Induction serves various purposes like: Removes fears, Creates a good impression and Acts as a valuable source of information. Acts as valuable source of information.  Training is essential for job success. It can lead to higher production, fewer mistakes, greater job satisfaction and lower turnover. These benefits accrue to both the trainee and the organization, if managers understand the principles behind the training process.

•      To this end, training efforts must invariably follow certain learning-oriented guidelines.

•      Training methods are usually classified by the location of instruction.

•      Some of the widely used training methods are: Job Instruction Training (JIT), Coaching, Mentoring etc. Training programs delivered via internet have now been thought of next cost effective route. It is not only cost effective but also caters to the real time information need of employees.