MSG Team's other articles

11009 Rewarding the Givers Instead of the Takers

The Givers and Takers and the Rewards Systems The previous articles discussed the theme of rewards and their uses in modern organizations from multiple perspectives. The focus of the discussion was on how an effective rewards management system can boost productivity and improve job satisfaction leading to all round benefits to the companies and their […]

11763 Variable Pay and Performance Linked Incentives

Variable Pay – Then and Now The practice of linking pay to performance has been around for a while. However, what’s new is that the percentage of pay that is linked to performance and the way in which the same is structured around different components of performance is new. We all know about the system […]

11302 Skilling the Workforce to Make them Employable and Contribute to Economic Growth

Need for a Skilled Workforce Any employer needs a workforce that is competent and has expertise in the niche that it operates in. For instance, manufacturing industries need skilled workers who are able to function effectively on the shop floor and this means that whoever they employ must be adept at handling machinery, taking up […]

9271 Factors Affecting Compensation from Employees Perspective

In the previous article, we looked at some of the factors that help the employers determine the level of compensation to be given to employees. In this article, we look at the factors that affect compensation from the perspective of the employee. What this means is that the employee should not be constrained by the […]

11804 Ways to Influence Employee Behaviour

Let us go through some ways which go a long way in influencing employee’s behaviour. It is essential for managers to guide their team members and encourage them to behave sensibly at workplace. Employees need to feel important at workplace for them to develop a positive attitude and a sense of loyalty and attachment towards […]

Search with tags

  • No tags available.

Training and development is one of the key HR functions. Most organisations look at training and development as an integral part of the human resource development activity.

The turn of the century has seen increased focus on the same in organisations globally.

Many organisations have mandated training hours per year for employees keeping in consideration the fact that technology is deskilling the employees at a very fast rate.

So what is training and development then? Is it really that important to organisational survival or they can survive without the former?

Are training and development one and the same thing or are they different?

Training may be described as an endeavour aimed to improve or develop additional competency or skills in an employee on the job one currently holds in order to increase the performance or productivity.

Technically training involves change in attitude, skills or knowledge of a person with the resultant improvement in the behaviour.

For training to be effective it has to be a planned activity conducted after a thorough need analysis and target at certain competencies, most important it is to be conducted in a learning atmosphere.

While designing the training program both the individual goals and organisational goals are kept in mind. Although it may not be entirely possible to ensure a sync, but competencies are chosen in a way that a win-win is created for the employee and the organisation.

Typically organisations prepare their training calendars at the beginning of the financial year where training needs are identified for the employees. This need identification called as ‘training need analysis’ is a part of the performance appraisal process.

After need analysis the number of training hours, along with the training intervention are decided and the same is spread strategically over the next year.

Development

Lots of time training is confused with development, both are different in certain respects yet components of the same system. Development implies opportunities created to help employees grow.

It is more of long term or futuristic in nature as opposed to training, which focus on the current job. It also is not limited to the job avenues in the current organisation but may focus on other development aspects also.

At Goodyear, for example, employees are expected to mandatorily attend training program on presentation skills however they are also free to choose a course on ‘perspectives in leadership through literature’. Whereas the presentation skills program helps them on job, the literature based program may or may not help them directly.

Similarly many organisations choose certain employees preferentially for programs to develop them for future positions. This is done on the basis of existing attitude, skills and abilities, knowledge and performance of the employee. Most of the leadership programs tend to be of this nature with a vision of creating and nurturing leaders for tomorrow.

The major difference between training and development therefore is that while training focuses often on the current employee needs or competency gaps, development concerns itself with preparing people for future assignments and responsibilities.

With technology creating more deskilled workers and with industrial workers being replaced by knowledge workers, training and development is at the forefront of HRD. The onus is now on the human development department to take a proactive leadership role in responding to training and business needs.

Article Written by

MSG Team

An insightful writer passionate about sharing expertise, trends, and tips, dedicated to inspiring and informing readers through engaging and thoughtful content.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Cost Benefit Analysis for Training

MSG Team

Techniques for Collecting Data for Training Needs Assessment

MSG Team