MGT 420

Training Human Resource Management

Mike Baer
 My gift to you…
• We are not going to go over every
detail of the training process
• People get PhDs in instructional
design
• We could talk for hours and only
scratch the surface
• So, this is a broad overview
• Read the chapter
 Why Train Employees?
• We picked applicants who had our KSAOs
• So why is training necessary?
• Inevitably, no applicant will possess every necessary KSAO. Training
can help supply lacking K’s and S’s, as well as some O’s (although not
usually A’s)
 What is Training?
• A planned effort to help employees acquire knowledge, skill, and
behaviors, with the goal of applying these on the job.
• Training increases desired things:
• Job performance
• Retention
• Job Attitudes
• …and reduces undesired things:
• Injuries, Grievances, Poor customer treatment, etc.
 Training
• Some national statistics
• 70% of US companies offer some formal training; 30% offer none
• Training is usually only offered to a small percentage of
employees
• Those who do receive training only get about 29 hours per year
• Most US companies spend 1–2% of payroll on training
• This is one-third of what Japan spends
 Training
• Training may be a routine part of an employee’s career progression,
or may be a response to a particular problem (i.e., “pressure point”)
• Training may revolve around the KSAO’s in an employee’s particular
job, or more general KSAO’s relevant to everyone in the
organization
 Instructional Design Process
• Effective training programs are created using the instructional design
process—a systematic approach to training
• The Five Stages of Training
1. Conduct the needs assessment
2. Ensure employees’ readiness for training
3. Create the learning environment
4. Ensure transfer of training
5. Training evaluation
 Is Training Necessary?
• Not every problem can be solved by
training
• Ex: Medical gases mistake
• Lack of knowledge?
• Anger?
• Mislabeled valves?
• Only lack of knowledge can be
solved with training
 Stage 1: Conduct Needs Assessment
• Task Analysis
• What tasks and KSAOs need to be the focus of the training
program?
• Involves the same kinds of steps used in job analysis
Task Analysis of an Electrical Maintenance Worker
Task Performance Ratings
Task Description Frequency Importance Difficulty
Replace a light bulb 012345 012345 012345

Replace an electrical outlet 012345 012345 012345

Install a light fixture 012345 012345 012345

Replace a light switch 012345 012345 012345

Install a new circuit breaker 012345 012345 012345

Scales: Never to Often Negligible to Easiest to Most
Extremely High Difficult
 Stage 1: Conduct Needs Assessment
• Task Analysis
• Create a task statement
• Short sentences that describe what the worker does, how the
worker does it, to whom or to what it is done, and why
• Example for Electrical worker: “Install a new circuit breaker using
supplied tool kit for residential customers in order to improve
customer satisfaction among our clients’ tenants”
 Stage 1: Conduct Needs Assessment
• Person Analysis
• Who needs training the most? Everyone, or just some critical
group?
• For the electrical workers, maybe everyone
• On new HR laws, maybe just HR and managers
• Are we sure that training is the solution, rather than new
equipment, new procedures, or more feedback?
 Stage 1: Conduct Needs Assessment
• Organization Analysis
• What aspects of the organization make training more or less
effective?
• Is there managerial and peer support for training?
• Does the organization have the resources (budget, time, and
expertise) for training?
 Stage 2: Ensure Employee Readiness
• Are employees ready to be trained?
• Specifically...
• Are employees trainable?
• Basic reading, writing skills (we’ll assume “yes” here)
• Are employees motivated to learn?
 Stage 2: Ensure Employee Readiness
• Are employees motivated to learn? Depends on:
• Self-efficacy: Belief they can actually learn training content
• An awareness of the economic and career benefits that
come from the training
• Personality variables
• Conscientiousness
• Openness (i.e. Inquisitiveness)
 Stage 3: Create Learning Environment
• Create an environment in which the following steps occur:
1. Provide the training objective(s)
2. Deliver the training content
3. Provide opportunities to practice
4. Provide feedback
• If there is no feedback or follow up then it is unlikely that
there will be a change in behavior
 Stage 3: Create Learning Environment
• Provide the training objective(s)
• Take the task statements and turn them into specific goals that
trainees will strive to meet
• Ensure that the outcomes are measurable
• e.g. at Enterprise: “After training, the employee will be able to
complete a rental transaction within 15 minutes of assessing the
customer’s needs”
 Stage 3: Create Learning Environment
• Deliver the training content
• Content can be delivered using a variety of instructional methods
• See the book for more detail on the types of methods
 Stage 3: Create Learning Environment
• Critical features of the various content delivery methods:
1. How similar is it to the task setting?
2. Do trainees have control over the pacing of the instruction?
3. How many trainees can take part at once?
4. How expensive is it?
• Trainers, equipment, travel etc…
 Hamburger University
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=sICEmBpAPq0

• Here you see the employees DOING

the actual job
• Pros: Highly relevant and similar
• Cons: Expensive / time consuming
 Stage 3: Create Learning Environment
• You can assess methods with these criteria

Potential Size
Training Option Similarity Control Expense
of Group

Classroom
Instruction

Business games/
Role playing

Apprenticeship
 Stage 3: Create Learning Environment
• My assessment of the trade-offs in training techniques...

Training Option Similarity Control Potential Size Expense

Classroom
LOW LOW HIGH LOW
Instruction

Business games/
MODERATE MODERATE MODERATE DEPENDS
Role playing

Apprenticeship HIGH MODERATE LOW HIGH

 Stage 4: Ensure Transfer of Training
• Transfer of training refers to on-the-job
use of the KSAOs learned during
training.
• Transfer of training is increased
when trainees practice learned
skills in the first days and weeks
back on the job
Stage 4: Ensure Transfer of Learning
Climate for transfer
Opportunity Technological
to use learned support
capability
Transfer
of
Training
Self-management Manager
skills support

Peer support
 Stage 5: Training Evaluation
• How do you evaluate the training process itself?
• One popular option…Ask participants
• “Did you enjoy the training?”
• “Do you think training helped?”
• If people say “yes” then you can be confident that training worked
well...
• Do you agree with this?
 Stage 5: Training Evaluation
• In actuality, there is little or no relationship between trainee reactions
and most other training outcomes.
• But, about 75% of US companies do only this!
• It’s an easy and cheap way to evaluate training

• At one organization I worked for we did it this way to avoid looking

bad…
 Stage 5: Training Evaluation
Cognitive Outcomes Skill-based Outcomes
• Increases in K • Increases in S
• Measured with paper-and-pencil • Measured using trainer, peer, or
tests or computer-based exercises supervisor evaluation; work
sample tests; computer-based
exercises

Affective Outcomes Results

• Increases in O’s like self- • Improvements in performance,
confidence, acceptance of diversity, productivity, quality, absenteeism,
safety attitudes turnover, etc...
• Measured using surveys & • Measured using manager
interviews observation or personnel records
 Stage 5: Training Evaluation
• Hopefully we gave the trainees a training objective consisting of
some cognitive, skill-based, affective, or results-oriented goal
• The evaluation process should assess whether that objective
was met, along with other relevant outcomes
 Stage 5: Training Evaluation
• Another example
• One fairly common training practice
is “Adventure Learning,” normally
used as a team-building exercise.
• How do companies evaluate this
training method?
 m
o
c

Stage 5: Training Evaluation

t
u
O

g
• Compares teams that engaged in Adventure Learning with teams
n
that did not. The team that participated is currently performing
i
n
better than the untrained group.
i
a
r
T
Trained Group
f
Performance
o
Untrained Group
l
e
v
e
L

Before After
Training Training
 o
c
t
u
Stage 5: Training Evaluation
O

g
n
• Company notes that teams performed better after having gone
i
n
through the Adventure Learning than they did before.
i
a
r
T
Performance Trained Group
f
o

l
e
v
e
L

Before After
Training Training
 Stage 5: Training Evaluation
• Groups compared after training (first scenario) may differ for
reasons other than training, such as pre-existing differences in KSAOs
• A group that improves from pre to post-training (second scenario)
may improve for reasons other than training, such as:
• Maturation
• Some historical event
• Regression to the mean
 t
u
O
Stage 5: Training Evaluation
g
n
i
• Does this prove training worked?
n
i
a
r
T Trained Group
Performance
f
o Untrained Group
l
e
v
e
L

Before After
Training Training
 O

g
Stage 5: Training Evaluation
n
i
n
• Does this prove
i training worked?
a
r Trained Group
T
Performance
f
o
Untrained Group
l
e
v
e
L

Before After
Training Training
 Stage 5: Training Evaluation
• Evaluation methods
• Pretest-posttest with comparison group design should be
used whenever possible.
• An exception might be when trainers only need to show that
some baseline level of KSAOs have been reached.
• Even here though, the importance and effectiveness of training
can remain unclear.
 Stage 5: Training Evaluation
• What about the bottom-line? We can use a cost-benefit analysis to
calculate ROI (return on investment). ROI = (benefits – cost)/cost
• Training Costs = $30,000
• Ex: Program development, instructional materials, equipment,
• Training Benefits = $75,000
• Ex: Increase in performance, but also give a value to “soft outcomes”
• ROI = ($75k – $30k)/$30k = 1.5 = 150% ROI
 Recap
• If you want effective training follow the instructional design process:
1. What do employees need to know how to do?
2. Are employees ready for training?
3. Create an environment that will help learning
4. Help employees transfer that training to the job
5. Evaluate the effectiveness of the training
Next time: Development