Qualityworld

• Knowledge portal
• FAQs
• Information
• Qualityworld
  • Current issue
  • Editorial comment
  • Free Qualityworld
  • Past articles
  • Advertisers
  • Subscribe to Qualityworld
  • Advertise in Qualityworld
• Journal of Quality
• Jobs
• Press
• Links

What have you learnt today?

Training and development is becoming more and more important as employers attempt to recruit, retain and motivate staff in an increasingly competitive labour market. With unemployment in the UK at an all time low and fierce competition for skilled labour, employers need to think creatively about how they can compete in the battle for talent. Martyn Sloman, from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) offers some help.

Investing in staff can save employers money in the long run. Research shows training helps motivate and retain staff, cutting recruitment costs and reducing sickness absence. Training allows organisations to use the staff they have which can solve the problem of filling vacancies. It also acts as a retention tool. In fact, 95 per cent of organisations believe training staff can improve retention, according to the training and development survey carried out by the CIPD in 2004 (see table 1).

Shift from training to learning

CIPD research shows there has been a shift from the term 'training' to 'learning' within organisations - progressive movement from the delivery of content to the development of learning capabilities as a people development strategy. Training is one method by which you can learn. It is characterised as an instructor-led, content-based intervention, leading to desired changes in behaviour. But learning has a much wider definition as a self-directed, work-based process, leading to an increased capacity to adapt. It places emphasis on the individual and is the process by which a person gains new skills and knowledge. Figure 1 shows employers are moving away from classroom/instructor led training sessions to coaching and e-learning techniques.

Figure 1 Net increases in training provision over the last few years

Learning can happen formally, informally, deliberately or accidentally and individuals can learn bad as well as good habits and practices. There are many ways to learn and these include simple techniques such as questioning someone or something, feedback and evaluating work - in fact early findings from CIPD's training and development 2005 survey suggests that the most important form of learning that takes place is learning from the internet. But there are also more formal ways of learning such as subject or tutor-led courses. The structure of these courses vary in order to cater for the diverse workforce and meet the needs of the organisation.

Create a learning culture

Every organisation has specific business needs and individual goals. Every employer will have slightly different processes and requirements and staff cannot be expected to meet these unless they have been trained. This is why it is important to make sure that the learning begins at the recruitment stage.

Employers should develop a strategy to determine what and how they want individuals to learn. The next step is to work with line managers to ensure they understand the benefit of training and are prepared to support their staff. Only then will the strategy turn into action and learning begin, which ensures learning meets the needs of the organisation and create a learning culture that is aligned with business objectives.

Help people learn

Learning is something each person does, not something that is done to them, and if a good learning/training programme is in place it can help the individual realise their potential and benefit both themselves and their organisation.

There is a growing acceptance that people are indeed the most important asset and investing in staff through helping them learn new skills will bring benefits in the long term. Individuals who understand the organisation's objectives and have the necessary skills create powerful business advantages that can be very difficult for a competitor to duplicate. This change in the nature of competition enhances the potential of learning.

Managers should work with their staff to identify when an individual requires training and when an individual has the potential to progress. Only with the support of line-managers will learning benefit the individual and business.

The next step is to apply this learning in line with the business needs. And in doing so managers should help their staff find more opportunities to develop their role, and more opportunities to learn. Being actively committed to learning can help ensure greater job satisfaction, improved behavioural skills and higher competency among workers.

Nobody has to learn. Employers have to persuade, incentivise, encourage and support until staff want to learn. Getting this message across, from the boardroom to the front-line manager, and everywhere in between, is the challenge facing managers at all levels in organisations

Biography

Martyn Sloman is CIPD's learning, training and development adviser. His latest book The E-Learning Revolution - from proposition to action was published by the CIPD in April 2001. He previously wrote, A Handbook for Training Strategy (Gower, 1994/1999). Prior to joining the CIPD he worked in the private and public sectors and as a consultant.