CHAPTER 8: DESIGNING & EVALUATING TRAINING SYSTEMS

• Need analysis


  The process of determining the training needs of the organization
• Organizational analysis


  1. Determining organizational factors that facilitate or inhibit training effectiveness

  2. Determining the goals the organization wants to achieve

  3. Determining the extent to which training will help achieve those goals

  4. Determining the organization's ability to conduct training

  5. Determining the extent to which employees are willing and able to be trained
• Training will be effective only if the organization is willing to provide a supportive climate for training, it can afford an effective program, that employees want to learn, and the goals of a program are consistent with those of the organization
• Task analysis


  1. Identifying the tasks performed by each employee

  2. Identifying the conditions under which these tasks are performed

  3. Identifying the competencies needed to perform the tasks under the identified conditions
• Person analysis


  1. Identifying the employees who need training

  2. Determining the areas in which each individual employee needs to be trained
• Performance appraisal scores


  A rating representing some aspect of an employee's work performance
• Surveys


  Questionnaires asking employees about the areas in which they feel they need training
• Skill test


  A test that measures an employee's level of some job-related skill
• Knowledge test


  A test that measures the level of an employee's knowledge about a job-related topic
• Critical incidents


  Examples of good and poor performance that are sorted into dimensions
• Establishing goals and objectives

  1. Determining what the organization wants to accomplish with the training

  2. Determining the time and resources that will be allocated to the training
• Lectures


  A good training source if the goal is for employees to obtain knowledge
• Handouts


  Material that the trainees can take back to their jobs
• Case studies


  A training technique in which employees, usually in a group, are presented with a real or hypothetical workplace problem and are asked to propose the best solution
• Simulations


  An exercise designed to place an applicant in a situation that is similar to the one that will be encountered on the job
• Role-play


  A training technique in which employees act out simulated roles
• Behavior modeling


  A training technique in which employees observe correct behavior, practice that behavior, and then receive feedback about their performance
• Motivating employees to attend training

  1. Relating the training to an employee's immediate job

  2. Making the training interesting

  3. Increasing employee buy-in

  4. Providing incentives

  5. Providing food

  6. Reducing stress associated with attending
• Conducting classroom training

  1. Deciding who will conduct the training

  2. Deciding where the training will be held

  3. Deciding how long the training should be
• Massed versus distributed practice

  Massing the training into a shorter period is less effective than distributing it over a longer period
• Preparing for classroom training

  1. Adjusting for the audience

  2. Developing the training curriculum

  3. Creating handouts
• Developing the training program

  1. Introducing the trainer and the training session

  2. Using icebreakers and energizers
• Making the presentation

  • Making eye contact
  • Using gestures effectively
  • Not reading the presentation
  • Using a conversational style
  • Being confident
  • Speaking at an appropriate pace
  • Avoiding inappropriate language
  • Making the presentation interesting
  • Answering audience questions effectively
• Distance learning


  Training programs in which employees can complete the training at their own pace and at a time of their choosing
• Asynchronous distance learning


  Distance learning programs in which employees can complete the training at their own pace and at a time of their choosing
• Synchronous distance learning


  Distance learning programs in which employees complete the training at the same time, even though they are in different locations
• When answering audience questions, repeat the question if the room is large
• Disadvantages of traditional classroom instruction

  • All employees must be taught at the same pace in the same location
  • Some employees are bored if training moves too slowly
  • Other employees become frustrated if training goes too quickly
• Distance learning


  Allows employees to learn material at their own pace, at a time and place that is convenient to them
• Distance learning technologies


  • Asynchronous
  • Synchronous
• Asynchronous distance learning


  Employees can complete the training at their own pace and at a time of their choosing
• Program instruction


  A training method in which employees learn information at their own pace
• Principles of program instruction

  • Learning is self-paced
  • Trainees are actively involved
  • Information is presented in small units or chunks
• Synchronous distance learning


  Employees complete the training at the same time and at the same pace although they may be in different physical locations
• Sources of synchronous distance learning

  • Teleconferences
  • Webinars
  • Webcasts
• Webinar


  An interactive training method in which training is transmitted over the Internet
• Webcast


  A noninteractive training method in which the trainer transmits training information over the Internet
• Interactive online communities of learning

  • Blogs
  • Wikis
  • Listservs
• On-the-job training (OJT)


  Informal training by experienced peers and supervisors that occurs on the job and during job tasks
• When OJT works best

  • For teaching skills that require supervision to learn
  • Are best learned through repetition
  • Benefit from role modeling