Articles on Training & Development

Training and development is vital part of the human resource development. Noted management author Peter Drucker said that the fastest growing industry would be training and development as a result of replacement of industrial workers with knowledge workers.

Training and development is one of the key HR function. It id the responsibility of the human development department to take a proactive leadership role in responding to training and business needs.

The basic process of any training program consists of four stages which are assessment, development, delivery and evaluation

Training needs analysis is a systematic process of understanding training requirements. It is conducted at three stages - at the level of organisation, individual and the job.

The process of needs assessment is conducted at three stages - the organisational, the job and the person or the individual. This is the basis for any needs assessment survey.

Many organisations around the world have their in house learning centers and many have their own training universities where they train people onboard and those who aspire to join in the future.

Training programs need to be designed, keeping in mind the needs and requirements of employees. Lets discuss various points which should be considered while designing and developing effective training programs.

Employee training manuals are small handbooks which are given to employees during training for their future reference. Lets discuss the different formats of training manuals and the essential elements of an ideal employee training manual.

There are certain practices which have been designed to ensure an efficient transfer of the learning during the training session. Lets discuss some of these practices.

Most people face a relapse after a certain period of time, howsoever good the training may have been. Training relapses are experienced in both technical and behavioural trainings.

It is very important to evaluate the benefits of the training. Training comes at a cost and therefore any organisation would be interested in knowing the return on investment.

Training Evaluation involves the assessment of the effectiveness of the training programs. As organisations spend a large amount of money on trainings, it is important for them to understand its usefulness.

Donald Kirkpatrick, professor emeritus, university of Wisconsin began working on evaluating the effectiveness of training very early in his life. He laid out four levels for evaluation of any training.

Most of training is either technical or behavioural in nature, but there are still other trainings that are neither. This article discusses trainings other than the behavioural and technical ones.

Informational training methods are basically used to teach facts and figures and for developing a change in attitude. For example - Lectures, audio visuals, self directed learning (SDL) methods, programmed instruction (PI), etc.

Experiential training is a whole body of training methods that are used to develop behavioural skills and physical abilities. For example - Role playing, equipment simulations, games, on the job training (OJT), behaviour modelling etc.

Training programs play a crucial role in honing skills of employees, making them responsible and productive. The article discusses the various types of management training programs.

A training module is said to be effective only when it is clearly understood by the audience. Let us go through some ways to improve employee training modules.

Train the trainer refers to upgrading existing knowledge and honing skills of individuals who further train people. Lets understand the need and importance of training the trainers.

This article describes the different steps involved in the Systematic Approach to Training and how it helps in determining the training needs and in the development of a comprehensive training plan.