Designing and Evaluating Employee Training

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Designing and Evaluating Employee Training
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Training is big business!

• Over 90 of US businesses have systematic
  training programs.
• From 1971-1981, training was most commonly cited
  intervention to improve productivity
• The U.S. Civil Service Commission offers over 50
  training programs for reading alone!
• In 1977, the DOD allocated 6 billion for
  military training efforts
• In 1979, the cost of training a telephone
  operator was 25,000/trainee

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The Ideal Process

• A set of planned activities on the part of the
  organization to increase job knowledge or skill
  or to modify attitudes and social behaviors in
  ways that are consistent with organizational
  goals and objectives

• A relatively permanent change in behavior that
  come through experience -- something that takes
  place inside the person, a change of some sort

• A response of some sort
• good performance implies the correct response

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Essential Problems

• Not all training leads to learning
• What was that all about?
• Some unintended learning may occur
• shortcuts
• Not all learning comes from training
• on-the-job, other jobs
• Not all learning leads to good performance
• motivation may be lacking
• Some learning is out of date
• ex using out-of-date programs

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Needs Assessment

• Organizational Analysis
• what are our goals, resources, and environment?
• Task and KSA Analysis
• what skills, knowledge, or attitudes are
  necessary for successful performance?
• Determine via Job Analysis
• Person Analysis
• which people do not currently possess the
  necessary KSAs to fill the organizations needs?

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Example Organizational Analysis

• Motel 6
• good product
• low price
• high volume

• Ritz-Carlton Hotel
• high-quality
• high price
• loyal customers

• Other typical issues
• Do we care about employee morale, job
  satisfaction, and life goals OR do we hire people
  and expect higher turnover?
• What is our stance on sexual harassment? Do we
  invest time and in preventative programs? OR
  deal with incidents on a case by case basis??

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Person Analysis Who needs the training?

• Current Incumbents
• remedy problems
• performance evaluations
• consistency chronic vs. temporary
• consensus how many people have the same problem?
• distinctiveness problems with one task or many?
• New Hires
• prevent problems
• un-learn previous learning

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On-the-Job Training Orientation Sessions

• First couple of days inform employee about
  policies, benefits, SOP, company goals

• Advantages
• usually positive experience for workers
• decreases ambiguity
• who to go to w/ questions

• Disadvantages
• can be overwhelming
• boring
• too general or too specific

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On-the-Job Training Coaching

• Informal feedback or advice from coworkers or
  supervisors

• Advantages
• non-threatening
• immediate feedback
• inexpensive

• Disadvantages
• relies on diligence of supervisor / coworker
• little control over consistency of advice

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On-the-Job Training Apprenticeships

• Formal training programs of set duration for
  skilled trades
• often include classroom component

• Advantages
• thorough
• applicable
• certification of completion
• standardized

• Disadvantages
• may be too programmed for people who are slower /
  faster

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On-the-Job Training Mentors

• Assigned advisor who guides employee through
  personal and professional challenges

• Advantages
• helps reduce ambiguity
• provides source of formal / informal information
• can help develop personal bonds

• Disadvantages
• totally dependent on effort of mentor / mentoree
  (mentee?)
• usually only with upper level jobs
• may be no connection

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On-the-Job Training Job Rotation

• Individuals try out a number of different jobs in
  the organization

• Advantages
• decreases boredom
• increases knowledge of whole company functioning
• increases staffing flexibility
• increases job communication

• Disadvantages
• very costly and time consuming
• undesirability of certain jobs
• pay differentials of jobs

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On-the-Job Training Local Expert

• Person in office/department is designated as the
  problem consultant

• Advantages
• cost effective
• fast
• easy
• personal

• Disadvantages
• takes expert away from other duties
• expert may resent the job and additional
  responsibility

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Simulation Training

• A work-like environment that replicate crucial
  features of the real work environment
• Equipment / Machine Simulator (ex flight
  simulator)

• Advantages
• can teach complex behavior in non-threatening
  environment
• allow for practice
• provides high fidelity

• Disadvantages
• can be quite costly
• trainees know its not real

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Simulators Social / Interpersonal Simulators

• role playing business games modeling incident
  method

• Advantages
• can teach new skills
• can teach organizational expectation
• can provide examples of correct behavior
• non-threatening environment

• Disadvantages
• can be costly / time-consuming
• employee reactions to games
• relies on employee motivation
• may emphasize acting more than problem solving

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Transfer of Training Ultimate Goal

• Maximize similarity between training situation
  and job situation
• Provide as much experience as possible with task
  being taught
• Provide a variety of examples when teaching
  concepts or skills
• Identify important features of task
• Make sure general principles are understood
• Reward transfer of training
• Ensure trainees can see applicability of training
  to their job

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Evaluation of Training

• Reaction Criteria
• face validity
• impressions of trainees
• Learning Criteria
• how much was learned
• Behavioral Criteria
• how much was transferred to the job
• did behavior change?
• Results Criteria
• measure of organizational payoff
• did sexual harassment decline?

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Validity of Training
Local Value

• Training validity
• did the trainees learn?
• Transfer validity
• did the trainees transfer what was learned to
  their job?
• Intra-organizational validity
• is the training program equally good for
  different groups of employees within the same
  organization?
• Inter-organizational validity
• is the training program equally effective in
  other organizations?

General Value
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Summary of Training Research

• By and large, the training and development
  literature is voluminous, non-empirical,
  non-theoretical, poorly written, and dull it is
  faddish to the extreme.
• (J. P. Campbell, 1971)

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Why?

• Field dominated by practitioners
• Many training procedures arise from an emergency
• Training programs have always been dominated by
  fads and fashions
• Despite lots of training, very little theory to
  permit building on existing knowledge
• Effects of training not assessed
• Many factors contribute to the success of
  training besides the program itself
• trainee motivation
• trainer expectations of success

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Evaluation of Training Programs The Solomon
Four-Group Design

• Group Before Training After
• Experimental Measure Train Measure
• Control 1 Measure Placebo Measure
• Control 2 No measure Train Measure
• Control 3 No measure No training Measure
• Control 1 tests for effects of training
• Control 2 tests for effects of pretest
• Control 3 tests for history effects

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Current Trendy Training Topics

• Diversity Training
• promoting intercultural sensitivity
• Sexual Harassment Training
• recognizing sexual harassment
• preventing SH