HRM Strategies for an Increasingly Complex, Uncertain, and Volatile World
Need for HRM Strategies to Change with the Times Given the volatility and uncertainty that characterize the present day world which is also increasingly becoming more complex, the HRM or the Human Resource Management strategies need to change with the times. For instance, conventional recruitment and training strategies are heavily oriented towards hiring science and […]
Career Choices for the Present Times
The four career choices analyzed here are entrepreneurship, freelancing, sabbaticals, and regular full time employment. While all of these are attractive to different individuals, the bottom line for any career choice is how well you are able to support yourself and your families. In addition, feet on the ground approach is preferable as many career […]
The HRM Challenge: Managing Opinionated Employees in Polarized and Divisive Times
How Workplaces can Become Toxic in These Polarised Times We live in extremely polarized and divisive times. With passions about politics and other topics running high and tempers flaring on social media and other online platforms, corporates and HR (Human Resource) Managers too have to deal with managing workforces that bring such passions to the […]
Performance Development Planning and Individual Development through Performance Management
Performance management system of any organization aims at identifying the potential of development in the employees and optimally utilizing it for mutual satisfaction by providing the right support and guidance for doing well in the job. Gone are the days when performance management was simply regarded as a disciplinary and an assessment tool. Today the […]
Why Do Some Excel in the Interviews, But, Fail on the Job and How HR Can Fix This?
How HR Managers are vexed by the Problem of Good Interview Candidates Research has shown that there are many instances of jobseekers excelling in the interviews, but, failing on the job, once they are recruited and placed in projects. While this problem has been around for a while, in recent years, it has become so […]
Whenever training programs have to be conducted, there needs to be an assessment of the training needs which needs to preclude everything else.
Assessment of the training needs should be done in an elaborate and methodical manner and should be comprehensive. Before we discuss how training needs are to be assessed, we need to understand what training needs are.
To start with, employees in any organization often have to upgrade their skills or learn new skills to remain competitive on the job. This means that they need to be trained on the latest technologies or whatever skill is needed for them to get the job done.
Employees moving up the ladder might need to be trained on managerial skills and leadership skills. All this means that each employee has a real need to get trained on either technical skills or soft skills. These form the basis for the training needs which need to be identified and acted upon.
Once training needs are identified, then the HRD function must prepare a checklist of employees and a matrix of each employee and his or her training needs. This would give them a scientific method to assess how many employees need to be trained on what skill and whether they have the quorum necessary to conduct the trainings.
Further, this matrix would help them in planning for the trainings in a structured and well thought out manner. There is another aspect here and that relates to the identification of training needs done by employees and their managers.
The point here is that the specific needs that are identified by the managers might be different from those articulated by the employees. Hence, a gap analysis needs to be done which tallies both these and adds to the matrix discussed above.
The third aspect is when the training needs are finalized and the process of preparing for the actual trainings starts. The HRD function must use the matrix of needs to identify those that are compatible with the organizational goals and prepare a final list of training needs that can be circulated to the managers for their approval.
There are many back and forth discussions involved in this process because of the perceptual gaps that are common to organizational culture and organizational behavior. After this, the training programs must be selected which would address these training needs and would be the catalysts for actualizing the training needs and satiating them.
Finally, training needs vary from organization to organization and from employee to employee. There is no point in making all employees undergo specialized trainings and at the same time, there is the need to train all employees on the skills that they need to do their job well. So, the HRD function must be astute to recognize this asymmetry and hence their capability and understanding of the situation makes the difference between successful training programs and those that meander and ramble their way through.
In conclusion, training is a basic aspect of any job and hence, the HRD functions in organizations must pay enough attention and thought to the process. Only where there is a comprehensive plan in place to train employees according to their needs and the alignment of these needs with organizational goals would ensure true progress for the organizations.
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