MHR Module 3
MHR Module 3
MHR Module 3
MODULE 3
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, CAREER MANAGEMENT
12 Hours
Training and Development – Training need analysis, designing a training program, Evaluating
a training program- approaches, Methods of Training: Job Instructed Training, Coaching,
Mentoring, Job Rotation, Apprenticeship training, Learning Theories – Jaen Piaget’s theory,
Social Learning theory, Kolb’s model on Learning style of individuals
Career Management – Need for career planning – Career Development (CD) – Steps in CD –
Elements in CD – Career anchors in CD – Diversity in CD – Counselling and Mentoring in CD –
Competency: Concept – Meaning – Types – Process of Competency Mapping.
1. Technical training is a form of instruction that teaches new employees about the
technology components of their jobs.
2. Quality training is the process of familiarizing personnel with the methods for
preventing, identifying, and removing non-quality goods in a manufacturing
environment.
3. Skill Training is the next type of training, which involves developing the ability to
execute the job.
4. Soft skills training is another form of training requires to improving the employee’s
soft skills that are personality traits, social graces, communication skills, and personal
routines that are used to define interpersonal interactions.
5. Professional training is the sort of professional education necessary to stay current in
one's line of work.
Conducting a training needs analysis before you start putting together your training program is a
crucial step to developing more effective training materials and capturing the best use of your
production time.
In this post, we’ll cover the basics of how to conduct a training needs analysis for your learning
program, including:
Knowledge
Skills
Abilities
Knowledge
Especially if your company hires newly-graduated employees, a training needs analysis of their
knowledge base is crucial.
Enthusiasm and energy can take you a long way, but when the rubber meets the road you need to
know your employees are capable of working within your industry. This can include things like
regulations and compliance-related issues, but also covers procedures and best practices.
Skills
With young employees just entering the workforce and with senior employees who have a broad
knowledge base, a training needs analysis of skills is crucial.
This type of analysis covers not only practical skills to do the job but also soft skills like
customer relations and working with other people. Sometimes it covers new or unfamiliar
technologies.
Abilities
Do your employees have the ability to problem-solve and manage risk? Are they able to manage
themselves and set objectives that help them produce results?
The more independent and empowered your employees, the more productive and invested they
are in their job (and your company!). Evaluating an employee’s ability to make decisions and
become more action-oriented will only help your business grow.
Not every method is appropriate for every company. We have to Choose the method or
methods that best suit your goals from:
Questionnaires
Observation
Interviews
Examining work
Assessments
Competitive analysis
Although self-reporting is notoriously unreliable, this can be a great place to start. How
competent do your employees feel? What would they like more training on?
Observation
When possible, regular observation can be a great training needs analysis method.
The key to this method is to conduct multiple observations over time, making them informal and
unannounced. Employees should know that these observations aren’t punitive but for training
purposes only.
Interviews
Everyone from managers to parking attendants has something to say about the company.
While that kind of comprehensive interviewing is probably not necessary, speaking directly with
managers and supervisors on what they see can be a great place to start.
Assessments
We all thought high-stakes tests were over when we graduated from college, but one way to
quickly evaluate employee knowledge is with a short multiple-choice assessment, delivered
online.
How are your closest competitor doing? Are their sales numbers higher? Customer satisfaction
rankings better? If so, what are they doing to make that happen?
This does not mean that you should change your entire business model, but maybe your
employees could use a quick refresher in one area that will make them more competitive.
When developing your training plan, there are a number of considerations. Training is something
that should be planned and developed in advance.
1. Needs assessment and learning objectives. This part of the framework development
asks you to consider what kind of training is needed in your organization. Once you have
determined the training needed, you can set learning objectives to measure at the end of
the training.
The first step in developing a training program is to determine what the organization
needs in terms of training. There are three levels of training needs
assessment: organizational assessment, occupational (task) assessment, and individual
assessment:
2. Learning Objectives
After you have determined what type of training should occur, learning objectives for the
training should be set. A learning objective is what you want the learner to be able to do, explain,
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MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES 2.3
or demonstrate at the end of the training period. Good learning objectives are performance based
and clear, and the end result of the learning objective can be observable or measured in some
way. Examples of learning objectives might include the following:
1. Be able to explain the company policy on sexual harassment and give examples of sexual
harassment.
2. Be able to show the proper way to take a customer’s order.
3. Perform a variety of customer needs analyses using company software
3.Learning Styles
Understanding learning styles is an important component to any training program. For our
purposes, we will utilize a widely accepted learning style model.
An effective trainer tries to develop training to meet the three different learning styles 1:
1. Visual learner. A visual learner usually has a clear “picture” of an experience. A visual
learner often says things such as “I can see what you are saying” or “This looks good.” A
visual learner is best reached using graphics, pictures, and figures.
2. Auditory learner. An auditory learner learns by sound. An auditory learner might say,
“If I hear you right” or “What do you hear about this situation?” The auditory learner
will learn by listening to a lecture or to someone explaining how to do something.
3. Kinaesthetic learner. A kinaesthetic learner learns by developing feelings toward an
experience. These types of learners tend to learn by doing rather than listening or seeing
someone else do it. This type of learner will often say things such as “This feels right.”
4. Delivery Mode
Depending on the type of training that needs to be delivered, you will likely choose a different
mode to deliver the training like on the job, mentoring, soft skills, Job shadowing etc.
5. Budget
How much money do you have to spend on this training?
6. Delivery Style Taking into consideration the delivery method, what is the best style to
deliver this training? It’s also important to keep in mind that most people don’t learn
through “death by PowerPoint”; they learn in a variety of ways, such as auditory,
kinaesthetic, or visual. Considering this, what kinds of ice breakers, breakout
discussions, and activities can you incorporate to make the training as interactive as
possible? Role plays and other games can make the training fun for employees. Many
trainers implement online videos, podcasts, and other interactive media in their training
sessions. This ensures different learning styles are met and also makes the training more
interesting.
7. Audience
Considering your audience is an important aspect to training. How long have they been with the
organization, or are they new employees? What departments do they work in? Knowing the
answers to these questions can help you develop a relevant delivery style that makes for better
training. For example, if you know that all the people attending the training are from the
accounting department, examples you provide in the training can be focused on this type of job.
If you have a mixed group, examples and discussions can touch on a variety of disciplines.
8. Content Development
The content you want to deliver is perhaps one of the most important parts in training and one of
the most time-consuming to develop. Development of learning objectives or those things you
want your learners to know after the training makes for a more focused training. Think of
learning objectives as goals—what should someone know after completing this training? Here
are some sample learning objectives:
1. Be able to define and explain the handling of hazardous materials in the workplace.
2. Be able to utilize the team decision process model.
3. Understand the definition of sexual harassment and be able to recognize sexual
harassment in the workplace.
4. Understand and be able to explain the company policies and structure.
After you have developed the objectives and goals, you can begin to develop the content of the
training. Consideration of the learning methods you will use, such as discussion and role playing,
will be outlined in your content area.
Development of content usually requires a development of learning objectives and then a brief
outline of the major topics you wish to cover. With that outline, you can “fill in” the major topics
with information. Based on this information, you can develop modules or PowerPoint slides,
activities, discussion questions, and other learning techniques.
9. Timelines
For some types of training, time lines may be required to ensure the training has been done. This
is often the case for safety training; usually the training should be done before the employee
starts. In other words, in what time frame should an employee complete the training?
Another consideration regarding time lines is how much time you think you need to give the
training. Perhaps one hour will be enough, but sometimes, training may take a day or even a
week.
From a long-term approach, it may not be cost effective to offer an orientation each time
someone new is hired. One consideration might be to offer orientation training once per month
so that all employees hired within that month are trained at the same time.
Development of a dependable schedule for training might be ideal, as in the following example:
Developing a dependable training schedule allows for better communication to your staff, results
in fewer communication issues surrounding training, and allows all employees to plan ahead to
attend training.
10. Communication
Once you have developed your training, your next consideration is how you will communicate
the available training to employees. In a situation such as an orientation, you will need to
communicate to managers, staff, and anyone involved in the training the timing and confirm that
it fits within their schedule.
Consider utilizing your company’s intranet, e-mail, and even old-fashioned posters to
communicate the training. Many companies have Listservs that can relay the message to only
certain groups, if need be.
After we have completed the training, we want to make sure our training objectives were met.
One model to measure effectiveness of training is the Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick, 2006),
developed in the 1950s. His model has four levels:
Evaluation is important in determining the outcome of the training as a whole but also to get an
idea of which specific components were the most useful and how engaged employees were.
Additionally, it’s important to focus not just on knowledge retention but on how effective the
trainings are at improving employee job performance. Here, we have a four-step process for
evaluating the effectiveness of trainings.
methods. For example, a learning objective might be ‘Perform procedure X’ and you may ask
participants to perform the steps of procedure X in order from first to last.”
This type of assessment can be repeated over time to test retention of key learning objectives.
1. Reactive Approach
The traditional approaches to training can be generally termed as reactionary, driven by tactical
delivery of technical skills in bricks and mortar, classrooms trainings and where training is seen
as an event-oriented activity.
2. Proactive Approach
In the learning organization this approach aligns all learning activities with the corporate
business strategy, and its focus is on developing competencies.
In this approach, trainees play a leading role in learning by exploring issues and situational
problems under the guidance of their facilitator. The trainees learn by asking thought provoking
questions, searching for answers, and interpreting various observations made during the process.
The active learning approach has its lasting impact on learning since it helps in long-term
retention and finding better solutions in the challenging situations.
In today’s fast paced world, continuous learning is essential to success. Individuals need to learn
to succeed in life and at work. Companies need to ensure their employees continue to learn, so
they can keep up with increased job demands and so the company can gain or maintain
competitive advantage.
Training and career development are very vital in any company or organization that aims at
progressing. This includes decision making, thinking creatively and managing people.
METHODS OF TRAINING
Training method refers to a way or technique for improving the knowledge and skills of an
employee for doing assigned jobs perfectively.
The organization has to consider the nature of the job, size of the organization & workers, types
of workers, and cost for selecting a training method.
There are different types of Training methods.
These methods are generally applied in the workplace while employees are working.
This form helps develop the occupational skills necessary to manage an organization and fully
understand its products and services and how they are designed and carried out.
This is the most common method of training in which a trainee is placed on a specific job and
taught the skills and knowledge necessary to perform it.
1. preparing the trainees by telling them about the job and overcoming their uncertainties;
2. presenting the instruction, clearly giving essential information;
3. having the trainees try out the job to demonstrate their understanding; and
4. On their own, placing the workers into the job with a designated resource person is ready
to provide the required assistance.
COACHING
Patience and wisdom are required of superiors who must delegate authority and recognize and
praise for jobs well done.
Effective coaching will develop the strengths and potentials of subordinates and help them
overcome their weakness.
Coaching requires time, but if done well, it will save time and money and will prevent costly
mistakes by subordinates; thus, in the long run, it will benefit all – the superior, the subordinates,
and the enterprise.
MENTORING
Mentoring is the Employee training system under which a senior or more experienced person
(the mentor) is assigned to act as an advisor, counsellor, or guide to a junior or trainee. The
mentor is responsible for providing support to, and feedback on, the person in his or her charge.
Mentoring is the process of sharing your knowledge and experience with an employee.
Mentoring is an ongoing relationship that is developed between a senior and junior employee.
Mentoring provides guidance and clear understanding of how the organization goes to achieve its
vision and mission to the junior employee.
Mentoring is a need felt by women recently, when they see the rise of their male counterparts in
the workforce. Having a mentor means you have a formally appointed 'guru' at the workplace.
JOB ROTATION
The purpose of job rotation is to broaden the knowledge of managers or potential managers. It
also increases their experiences. Trainees learn about the different enterprise functions by
rotating into different positions.
Other reasons for rotating people include compensating for a labor shortage, safety, and
preventing fatigue.
Assistant-to positions are frequently created to broaden the viewpoints of trainees by allowing
them to work closely with experienced managers who can give special attention to the
development needs of trainees. Managers can provide selected assignments to test the judgment
of trainees.
This approach can be efficient when superiors are also qualified trainers who can guide and
develop trainees until they are ready to assume full responsibilities as managers.
Temporary promotions
Individuals are frequently appointed as acting managers when, for example, the permanent
manager is on vacation, is ill, or is making an extended business trip, or even when a position is
vacant.
When the acting manager makes decisions and assumes full responsibility, the experience can be
valuable. In this way, managerial people can be trained up well.
The trainees become acquainted with a variety of issues that concern the whole organization.
They learn about the relationships among different departments and the problems created by the
interaction of these organizational units.
Trainees may submit reports and proposals to the committee or the board and demonstrate their
analytical and conceptual abilities.
APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING
People seeking to enter the skilled trades to become, for example, plumbers, electricians,
Ironworkers are often required to undergo apprenticeship training before they are accepted to
journeyman status.
Typically, this apprenticeship period is from two to five years. During this period, the trainee is
paid less than a qualified worker.
These programs put the trainee under the guidance of a master worker.
Off-the-job training is sometimes necessary to get people away from the work environment to a
place where the frustrations and buzz of work are eliminated.
Training is generally given in the form of lectures, discussions, case studies, and demonstrations.
This enables the trainee to study theoretical information or be exposed to new and innovative
ideas.
This type of developmental model incorporates each stage into the next, which is why it is often
called a “staircase” model. On this staircase, Piaget labeled four stages of cognitive growth that
occurred at an approximate age in children.
Babies are born into the world and immediately become aware of their surroundings through
their senses. These senses include the sense of hearing, smell, sight, touch, and taste.
They explore the world through the movements of their bodies, which are reflex movements at
first. it turns into exploratory movements later on in the stage. The term for this gathering of
information is called the sensorimotor stage.
This is the stage where they discover textures, recognise people, objects, and different sights, and
learn emotions as well.
Up to this point, the child has established that objects remain a reality regardless of whether one
can sense it through any of the five senses.
From this point onward the stages of learning theory include the development of language skills
and abstract thinking. This is done through various means such as imitation, drawing,
imagination (mental imagery) and verbal expressions of thoughts (evocation).
During this stage, it is important to note that the child operates from an egocentric perspective.
At this stage, the cognitive development of the child demands a less egocentric approach. The
child becomes more concrete and logical in their thinking. As more rational beings, they are able
to understand aspects such as conservation.
This means that an object can remain the same even if it changes shape, size, height or volume
(for example an object such as water).
The eleven-year-old now has many skills to build upon. This is the operational stage where the
child establishes the final cognitive learning skills that include finding solutions to problems, use
logical reasoning and are able to understand abstract concepts.
They are now able to use deductive reasoning to analyse situations and other aspects of the
environment. The eleven-year-old (into adulthood) can now find possible solutions and new
theories based on prior knowledge.
Social learning theory is the philosophy that people can learn from each other through
observation, imitation and modelling. The concept was theorized by psychologist Albert Bandura
and combined ideas behind behaviourist and cognitive learning approaches. Social learning
theory endeavours to study socialization and how it affects human behaviour.
This study acted as the basis for Bandura's theory. The social learning theory is still commonly
used in social psychology today and relates with other behaviourist theories such as nature versus
nurture, symbolic interaction, situated learning, reinforcement learning and social development.
The key concepts behind this process include four basic learning requirements. These four
concrete stages of social learning within social learning theory include attention, retention and
memory, initiation and motor behaviour, and motivation.
These principles make up the social learning theory modelling process that determines whether
the influence is successful or not. The behavioural models used in social learning theory can be
demonstrated live, verbally or even symbolically.
Independent, prepared exercises that the learner can complete without the instructor
Classic teacher-class lecture supported by an audio or video presentation
CAREER MANAGEMENT
What is Career Management?
Career management is an ongoing, conscious & step-by-step process of an individual to manage
their career to meet their personal goals, aspirations and ambitions. Career management is when
an individual plans in advance how they want their career to shape up in future.
This includes career planning and career development as critical elements, where an individual
plans short-term, medium-term and long-term career goals and develop his or her skills
accordingly at every stage.
Importance of Career Management
Every individual at the start of their job or business has career aspirations. These aspirations are
on the type of industry, job role, preferred area of expertise, salary, perks, stability etc. Every
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MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES 2.3
person who starts their career, start at the bottom of the hierarchy and gradually move up the
ranks by virtue of their education, performance, skills etc. To ensure that an individual performs
well in their career there is a lot of planning required.
Career management is an important aspect for the personal growth for every professional. Career
management is essential to prepare short-, medium- and long-term goals for oneself and develop
their skills, knowledge and business acumen so that they can work towards their ultimate career
aspirations at all career stages.
A person with certain qualifications may look for sales role in future but at the same time a
person with same qualifications may look at management or consulting as future role for oneself.
3. Skill Development
If a person has certain career goals and aspirations in place, they can develop their skills and
competencies accordingly.
Skills can have a very important impact on one's career path and overall management. In current
market scenario, the right skills are the key to success in career. Skill development and
management can help get the right skills through right training and planning leading to better
opportunities in career.
4. Ambition
Having a short-, medium- and long-term plan enables a person to evaluate the wealth one wants
to have in their life. Wealth can include house, car, savings, investments etc. and how their job
and career can help fulfil those goals.
NEED FOR CAREER PLANNING
What is Career?
The career can be defined as a sequence of separate but related work activities that provide
continuity, order and meaning to a person’s life. It consists of a series of properly sequenced role
experiences, leading to an increasing level of responsibility, status, power, and rewards.
Career Planning
Career Planning is an organizational system of career movement and growth opportunities from
the point of entry of an individual in employment to the point of his or her retirement. Career
planning is not an event or an end in itself, but a process of development of human resources. It
is the process of setting individual career objectives and devising developmental activities
necessary to achieve them.
b. Career planning encourages employees to tap more of their potential abilities because they
have specific career goals.
Prof. Subba Rao described the need for career planning due to the following reasons:
1. To attract competent persons and to retain them in the organization.
2. To provide suitable promotional opportunities.
3. To enable the employees to develop and make them ready to meet future challenges.
4. To increase the utilization of managerial reserves within organization.
5. To correct employee placement.
6. To reduce employee dissatisfaction and turnover.
7. To improve motivation and morale.
When someone pays careful attention to their career development, they identify their own
strengths and blind spots, then work hard to improve their skills. It also involved learning about
different roles and industries to find a match to their abilities, seeking out opportunities to
advance, and maybe even changing careers altogether if they find a more suitable one
A person's career development can be affected by multiple factors, some of which may be largely
outside their control. These influences must be considered during the process of developing a
career.
Personal Characteristics: Personality type, interests, aptitudes, and work-related values make
all of us who we are. These personal characteristics play a significant role in career development
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MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES 2.3
since they influence which occupations we find satisfying, as well as the types of work
environments in which we will succeed. That is why, when you are in the process of choosing a
career, it is so important to do a self-assessment that will help you learn about yourself.
Financial Resources: Pursuing certain career options can be costly. If you choose an
occupation, for example, that requires you to attend college, you may be limited by your ability
to pay for it and need to seek student loans, financial aid, and scholarships. Financial limitations
can also hinder you when job-hunting. For example, you may have limited funds for interview
clothes.
Financial Obligations: Financial obligations such as a mortgage, rent, student loans, or even a
child's college tuition may inhibit a person from switching jobs or careers. To combat this, you
can try to put money aside to use later during a career change, or you can try to change your
lifestyle to lessen your financial burden (for example, downsizing your home to get a smaller
mortgage payment).
Physical, Mental, and Emotional Impairments: Some people are better suited to some careers
than to others due to physical and mental abilities or limitations. For example, you may want to
become a doctor but don't have a strong academic record in the sciences.
Age: Your age, or your perception of it, can hinder you in your career development. You may
worry about being too young or too old to pursue a particular path, advance in your career, or
make a career change. Instead of focusing on your age, concentrate on your abilities and how
motivated you are.
Family Obligations: A person's career development may stall if they take time off from work to
take care of children or elderly parents. Outside help with childcare or eldercare may make it
easier to continue with a career.
STEPS IN CD
The steps in career development are:
(1) Identifying career needs.
Under ‘management by objectives’, the employee sets his/her development goals and also an
action plan to achieve those goals. Steps are taken by the line managers to integrate personal
goals with the organizational goals.
In the case of counselling, the manager discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the employee.
This helps the employee to identify areas of development so that he/she can meet future chal-
lenges of his/her job.
ELEMENTS IN CD
Regardless of the type of job that you are seeking, the following seven areas are of utmost
importance to not only landing the job that you want but also holding on to that job for the long
haul. So, what are the skills that employers value and seek in potential employees? This same
question was asked of hiring managers and their responses may surprise you! Below are the most
common skills mentioned, whether the employee happens to be a manager, network engineer, or
a cook. Here are seven “In-Demand Skills for Success” in the workplace:
Basic Skills
Employers are seeking employees who can read well, can write coherently, and who can
calculate mathematics in a business environment (fractions, percentages, etc.). Also, the ability
to use the appropriate computer tools specific to the job round out the basic skill sets needed for
employment success.
Personal Skills
Can a potential employee speak well? Can he/she answer questions of customers in a positive,
informative manner? While not everyone has an outgoing sales personality, successful
employees can communicate in a non-confrontational, positive manner with their coworkers,
subordinates, managers, and customers. Being able to work well with others is a vital skill for
success in all jobs.
Job Attainment
Job search is a process that requires a great deal of dedication and attention to be conducted
successfully. If you put in little effort, you will receive little results. Employers are seeking
employees who know how to present themselves in a positive manner and who display
enthusiasm and knowledge about the companies they approach. Not only do candidates get
evaluated on their skills and experience, but also on how they are approaching the job search.
Enthusiastic candidates that follow up and show true interest will win success above equally
qualified candidates.
Job Survival
It’s true that who gets laid-off and who doesn’t is often a matter of numbers, but it is also often a
matter of performance. Employees who have consistently demonstrated their worth and made
themselves a valuable asset have lower incidences of being downsized than employees who put
forth average effort. Surviving in a company during layoffs is a skill that makes a candidate
stand out among peers.
Professional Development
Successful individuals are constantly attending seminars, taking classes, attaining training and
otherwise learning new skills that will keep them marketable in their careers. Successful people
are lifelong learners. Employers are looking for people who understand this.
Career Development
Healthy Attitude
Employees who approach their work with passion and energy certainly have a leg up on those
who simply “go through the motions” each day. By coming to work each day with a smile on
your face and a song in your heart may seem like a cliché, but these are things that communicate
to others your attitude towards work. Those with a “healthy attitude” are valued by employers
over those who always seem to be down in the dumps.
By focusing on the seven areas throughout your interview process will certainly show the
potential employer that you are a candidate worth their investment. When you do get a job, is
even more important to focus on these seven areas every day.
CAREER ANCHORS IN CD
There are eight career anchor’s themes and has shown that people identify primarily with one or
two. The anchors can enable people to recognize their preferences for certain areas in their job
which can help career planning e.g., a person with a primary theme of autonomy/ independence
will seek to work under their own rules and be less likely to conform to organizational norms.
People are generally more fulfilled in their careers when they can satisfy their career anchors and
seek roles that are aligned with these.
4. Security/stability – they seek stable and predictable positions and activities, which they
are able to plan aspects of their life around, taking few risks; they are also often the
individuals who will spend many years in the same position.
5. Entrepreneurial capability – these are the creatives within a business, who enjoy
brainstorming and inventing new things, and also often seek to run or start their own
business; they are different from those who seek autonomy as they will share the
workload with others and enjoy individuals, including themselves, taking ownership for
their work; they often get bored and seek monetary gains.
6. Service/dedication to a cause – these individuals always seek new ways to help other
people, both within and outside the organisation, using their talents; they are often found
in relevant employment areas, such as HR and customer service.
8. Life style – these individuals orientate everything, including their role, around their
pattern of living as a whole – not so much balancing work and life, as integrating it; they
may also take long periods of leave to take part in recreational activities or balance
themselves and their lives through holidays and other forms of downtime.
DIVERSITY IN CD
Reasons Diversity is Important in the Workplace and Career Development
Workplace diversity has been a popular topic in the corporate world for a while. Now it seems,
more than ever, that teams are prioritizing diversity initiatives. Here we dive into what diversity
in the workplace is and why it should be implemented into business strategies.
Diversity is an unending list of characteristics that make us stand out from one another in our
own beautiful ways. Workplace diversity is becoming more of a business requirement than a way
to show values and uphold social responsibility. Yet, many organizations are struggling
with diversification.
There is more to diversity than a list of attributes that barely scratch the surface of what diversity
encompasses. Diversity has multiple benefits for people and businesses alike. Let’s look
into what those are and what they mean for your organization.
Stronger teams – When employees can work with others from diverse
backgrounds, they are given the opportunity to create better quality service and
results. They earn a mutual respect for their co-workers and can promote these kinds of
innovations to problem solving that any organization looks for.
Employee engagement – Having a workplace that fosters diversity will allow your
employees to interact, grow and thrive together. The average employee cares more
than just about their pay check. They want to be included in an environment where all
voices are heard so that they feel their work has meaning.
Businesses that understand their social responsibility to implement diversity in the workplace are
known to perform better both financially and culturally.
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Employee Retention - People expect organizations to have and act on DE&I (Diversity,
Equity, Inclusion) initiatives. Diversity in the workforce and
in leadership make employees feel more included and therefor are less likely to leave,
reducing your employee turnover. As stated, job expectations are no longer just about a
pay check anymore, but rather about work life balance and company culture.
Creative Ideas - Another benefit of diversity in your leadership pipeline is having a wide
range of cultural backgrounds and beliefs contribute to more innovative ideas and thought
processes when strategizing. In fact, Deloitte research shows that inclusive teams
outperform their peers by 80% in team-based assessments. New perspectives through
diversity and inclusion are valuable when you need to deliver for the organization.
Successful career development requires much more than technical and job-related skills.
Typically, crafting a successful career requires effective communication and other soft skills,
professional relationships and networks, and a career vision.
Many professionals fail to move up the career ladder even while excelling at their jobs because
they lack some of these important competencies. However, a mentor can help professionals
develop some of these extra-role skills and build key relationships; being a part of a mentoring
relationship can be transformational for early career professionals.
The mentor acts as a trusted advisor to the mentee, and supports them in developing new skills,
navigating political environments, challenging ideas, and encouraging career development. Most
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MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES 2.3
professionals who make it to the executive level cite mentoring as an important contributor to
their career success.
Mentors can act as role models for desired behaviours, which often includes communication
skills.
Interaction between the mentor and mentee gives the mentee an opportunity to observe the
mentor and adapt some of the effective behaviours. Mentors can also give valuable feedback to
mentees on their communication style and effectiveness.
Mentors typically have the benefit of more work and leadership experience, which often equates
to a wider and deeper network.
Mentors can help new mentees broaden their own network by making introductions and
connecting mentees with other individuals who can help the mentee advance in their careers. For
example, a mentor can introduce the mentee to their organizational peers. The mentee benefits by
getting exposure to higher-ups in the organization that normally would not interact with the
mentee.
This is one of the most wonderful benefits of mentoring for the mentees. By discussing problems
with their mentors, mentees can problem-solve and work through career issues, whether they are
immediate, operational issues, or longer-term problems.
Mentees can tap into the experience of mentors, rather than learning things “the hard way”
through trial and error. Mentors can also help mentees avoid problems in the first place by
providing advice.
At times, a mentor can even step in and provide tangible support for their mentees, by sponsoring
them or recruiting them for new positions. When a mentor sponsors a mentee, they actively
advocate for them and their career.
Often, early career professionals can lack self-awareness, and not have a good understanding of
their professional strengths and weaknesses. Mentors can also be helpful in identifying critical
skills for potential future roles for the mentee. Mentors can help uncover these professional blind
spots, which can help professionals target their developmental efforts.
5. One of the key benefits of mentoring is to develop and refine mentees' leadership
philosophy.
As a professional matures, they will need to figure out what kind of leader they will be, and be
prepared to face tough ethical choices.
Often, this is done through many situations, large and small, that test the professional’s
boundaries. The mentor can act as a sounding board to the mentee, to help them work through
ethical dilemmas and other tough situations.
One role of an effective mentor is that of a good listener. While not imposing their own values
on the mentee, they can make suggestions, help the mentee think through choices, and ask
questions to challenge the mentee’s thinking.
For example, the mentor may help the mentee work through a moral challenge. In this way, the
mentor can be instrumental in developing the character of the mentee.
6. Last, but not least, mentors help young professionals develop a broader perspective.
Often, mentors are two organizational levels higher than their mentees (or more). From their
organizational vantage point, they “see” much more than their mentees relatively narrow view.
By sharing their perspective, they can help mentees broaden their own perspective, and
understand the point of view of different functional or regional areas. Further, mentors can tap
into their experience when helping their mentees discuss choices and dilemmas by thinking
through the impact of potential actions.
For a professional who wants to advance in their career, developing a meaningful mentoring
relationship can be key. While improving technical and job skills is also important, it’s not
enough to prepare professionals for an executive role. The benefits of mentoring are worth the
investment for career development.
COMPETENCY CONCEPT
Competency is a set of demonstrable characteristics and skills that enable, and improve the
efficiency of, performance of a job. Competencies are not skills, although they are similar. Skills
are learned, while competencies are inherent qualities an individual possesses – collaboration
skills, knowledge and ability. During job interviews and assessments, competencies are used as
benchmarks against which assessors can evaluate candidates.
One of the biggest challenges a company might face in recruitment is identifying employee
competencies in the first place; it can often be difficult to put into words what employees need to
possess to make them successful. Competencies usually fall into three categories:
MEANING
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MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES 2.3
DEFINITION
1. A set of individual performance behaviours which are observable, measurable and critical
to successful individual and company performance
2. Individual characteristics of a person which result in an effective and superior
performance in a job
TYPES
chosen are usually based on the skills that someone performing well within that role is already
demonstrating. The job competencies of one person within a department may differ greatly from
another within that same department.
These are the knowledge, attitude, and skills-related to technical or functional expertise required
to perform a role.
6.Managerial Competencies
These are the knowledge, attitude, and skills required to plan, organize, mobilize, and utilize
resources.
7.Human Competencies
These are the knowledge, attitude, and skills required to motivate, utilize, and develop human
resources.
8. Conceptual Competencies
These are the knowledge, attitude, and skills to visualize the invisible, i.e., the thinking at
abstract levels and use of the thinking to plan future business.
Competency mapping is the process of determining the skills, behaviors, abilities and knowledge
a job title requires. Organizations often begin this process by determining their goals and
analyzing the abilities of their existing employees. Then, they clearly define the expectations
they have for each position and ensure employees have the necessary skills to succeed in their
roles. For instance, competency mapping for an information technology specialist might reveal
the importance of communication, problem-solving skills and proficiency in relevant operating
systems.
An organization can begin the competency mapping process by identifying its goals. It can
review its mission statement or meet with senior executives to understand the larger goals that
employees are trying to achieve. This step allows the process to build a good foundation, identify
smaller goals that employees strive for daily and clarify any confusion about the organization's
objectives.
By analysing the skills of existing employees, an organization can create outlines for competency
maps and identify opportunities for improvement. One useful analysis method is self-evaluation,
as employees have a unique perspective on their skills and can highlight them as they relate to
their roles. Organizations also implement supervisor evaluations to obtain a more unbiased
perspective of employee performance. Whether you use one of these evaluation methods or a
combination of the two, consider making them specific to each department or role.
When you implement evaluations, consider reviewing employee work history to improve the
accuracy of your results. These reports can reveal insightful information about an employee's
progress or test weaknesses. For instance, work history might demonstrate a steady development
of leadership skills that improved an employee's ability to delegate tasks. If an employee's work
history shows proficiency in a skill that a current evaluation doesn't reflect, it might indicate a
weak test and encourage the organization to revaluate its evaluation standards.
3. Define competencies
Once an organization understands what employee goals are and what skills are necessary for
achieving them, it can define competencies for each job role. Consider listing important skills
and relating them to essential duties. For instance, the competencies of a product designer might
include communication and negotiation to facilitate positive client relationships. These
professionals also rely on analytical thinking skills to develop prototypes and conduct user
testing that effectively analyses consumer preferences.
4. Determine metrics
An organization can more clearly define competencies by assigning metrics to them. A common
example of a metric is a sales quota that indicates an employee's performance expectations.
While a sales quota is just a number, it closely relates to competencies like interpersonal skills,
negotiation and active listening. If an employee reaches their quota or comes close, the employer
can better understand the employee's ability to perform their job.
Throughout the process of competency mapping, organizations may recognize employee demand
for additional resources. Departments might require more training or upgraded equipment to
adequately perform their duties. By allocating these additional resources, organizations can boost
morale and demonstrate their ability to set realistic expectations.
After an organization clearly defines roles through competency mapping, it can share results
internally and externally. For instance, it might incorporate the findings into job descriptions to
attract suitable candidates. Organizations can also share the results with employees so that they
can prepare for performance evaluations.