Whose Needs Matter More: Learner or Employer?

Training

Whose Needs Matter More: Learner or Employer?
April 19, 2007
A training debate: Should trainers side with employees or the employer?

By Rana Sinha

Balancing the development needs of individual employees against the needs of their employer has always been one of the central challenges of all OJT (on-the-job-training).

In attempting to evaluate the role of the trainer walking the tightrope between different and sometimes even seemingly conflicting needs, it could be argued that the trainer is personally involved in motivating trainees and it is of paramount importance for the trainer to constantly bear in mind the development needs of individual employees against the talent management road maps of their employer as dictated by the organizational strategy. In addition to providing content he also has to convince the employee that enhanced employee skills and knowledge meet the requirements of the organization as only this guarantees the survival of the organization and thus helps the employee maintain his job.

Alternatively it could be argued that the trainer is primarily responsible to the employer, who is interested only in how employee skills development contributes to performance increase of the entire organization guaranteeing its continued existence.

When designing and implementing OJT, both the employer and the employee are faced with two crucial questions

What is required of the employee in order to maintain her/his employability?
 <SCRIPT language="JavaScript">CM8ShowAd("Middle");</SCRIPT> 
What practical steps does it require of the employer?

The optimal situation is that both sides are equally aware of these needs and the cooperation is a fruitful one.

In the modern workplace, facing the challenges of globalization the first area of skills development is technical expertise that is relevant to the profession and vital for the performance of individual tasks, e.g., knowing what kind of facts and figures are necessary to include in a yearly marketing plan. The second area of development is personal skills such as communication, stress handling and time management skills. Interpersonal skills (e.g., abilities in negotiating, team-building) are very important along with leadership skills, which improves qualities for communicating and further the aims of the organization as well as the employee. Business skills, which gives knowledge of how the business functions, the nature of the particular industry and insights into marketing, finance and market trends are also not to be overlooked.

Employees approach on the job learning with varying attitudes. Some feel that they are compelled by management to learn new tricks, which may or may not be of much use to them. Others voluntarily seek out opportunities for learning as they see on the job learning as an invaluable vehicle for advancing in their careers. For them newly acquired knowledge and skills help them perform better in their jobs and even open up newer horizons.

Learners need to know why they should learn.

It can be said that the biggest area of learner need is getting feedback that reinforces the desire to learn. There should be a clear answer to the question, "Why should I learn?" The main area where many learners need support is seeing relevance, as it may not always be clear to them. Motivation to learn is not very high if they do not perceive any relevance to their job or future prospects.

The possibility of immediately applying to one's own situation the knowledge acquired is a great motivating factor. Without this possibility of immediate application interest in learning wanes as it is seen as only a generalized skill or bit of knowledge. If employees get any reward from applying newly learnt skills or knowledge, their enthusiasm for further learning is very high. If the employee fails to see any intrinsic or material reward, learning slows down and eventually stops totally.

Another significant learner need is to have the optimal social context that is conducive to the learning experience. There can be significant differences in the learner's perception of himself as a learner in relation to the teacher between students from different social and cultural backgrounds.

Employees feel a special need for support from teacher or facilitator, peer groups, community of learning and their superiors if they feel burdened by constraints of social class, race, gender or culture. In addition to all the abovementioned needs, a learner also needs to achieve a shift of focus from the belief that mere possession of knowledge guarantees power and success to a realization that static knowledge is ephemeral. Only placing one's trust in the process of seeking or the continuous search for knowledge can bring a feeling of security in the ever-changing world.

The ability to produce in learners this reassurance in learning as a process is the hallmark of a great trainer.

So then what are the needs of the employer? How would employers like to utilize talent management road maps to better implement the organizational strategy?

The removal of the distinction between mental work and manual labour, so essential to the Taylorist approach is not only a development of production technology and methods but is directly linked to broader social changes. Here the assumption is that workers involved in the design of work can be expected to pay conscious attention to quality control and innovation thus contributing to the competitive edge of the organization by dispensing of inspectors. The modern focus is now more on inculcating problem-solving skills and self-directed approach in own development. The employee cannot function as a competent and skilful member of a modern organization without being constantly involved in competence development processes, which, in turn, increases their self-esteem.

We should however refrain from concluding that all the changes in how people are managed in the workplace have sprung from purely altruistic concerns about the development needs of fellow human beings. The need to increase productivity and be innovative in reacting to changing markets may be more of a deciding factor behind these changes.

One very interesting branch of social learning theory is situated learning, which puts the development of knowledge and expertise away from formally structured classrooms and emphasises the process of engagement in the cultural milieu of a community of practice. Learning is seen as a social process within an appropriate backdrop and learners are assumed to be self-motivated and also that they are capable of learning without a formal teacher provided that the community of learning supplies the necessary learning tools, an opportunity to engage in actual task where learnt skills could be tested out and improved and a roadmap to learning that is comprehensible to the learner.

When a trainer has to consider different learning theories to determine which one would be suitable for learner needs in a particular context, he has to ask certain probing questions. In addition to the questions that aim to determine suitability of learning approach, here are three more:

1. Does a person need to perform in order for learning to have happened?

2. Are there other factors that may cause behaviour to change?

3. Can the change involved include the potential for change?

The answer to the first question addresses the issue of measurement or benchmarking which the trainer or training designers should clarify in order to justify the costs of training. Management is prone to measure training outcomes in ROI figures and enhanced performance of employees is what they are primarily interested in. In the behaviourist approach measurability is the central criterion.

Behaviorist theory has influenced training methods and techniques significantly in contributing the practice of giving immediate feedback on performance, the method of using praise and recognition as positive reinforcement and most importantly by breaking down complex tasks into simpler units. Behaviourist techniques are very valuable for on the job training, especially for teaching specific technical skills, which can be tried out and progress can be measured with relative ease. Pre-programmed computer-based learning with presentation of information, tutorial dialogue, simulation and modelling uses much behaviourist techniques.

Training for using new software or learning telephone behavior phrases in another language could be cited as examples. But when we are designing training for management skills or for example trying to raise the safety consciousness of the shop floor workers with more emphasis on changing attitudes than learning unequivocal facts or procedures, the behaviourist approach falls short. Does one measure an increase in safety consciousness only by the change in the number of fires and accidents on the premises?

The answer to the second question addresses the issue of incidental or unplanned learning. In behaviourist theories there is no place for incidental learning. In social and experiential learning theories there is more room for the kind of learning that is beyond the scope of the learning programme or what was intended. In social learning theories the learner’s social milieu is a deciding factor and this makes their application in workplace learning very attractive particularly for complex issues.

The techniques of guided simulation, which is a mixture of case study and guided role-play and critical incident are examples of application of social learning theory. When choosing to apply social and experiential learning theories the trainer should be aware that they require greater vigilance from the trainer. It is very easy to be carried away by the need to immerse in the learners needs and neglect the needs of the employer.

The third question aims to clarify the nature of the learning program. Is the aim of the training program a transmission of knowledge from trainer to learner or is it a facilitation program where knowledge is created in the unique interface that each learner has in his working life. Further it tests the concept of knowledge whether it is conceived as a static tool, a resource or dynamically unfolding pathway to improvement, which cannot be quantified easily. This is very pertinent to computer-aided instruction. CAI has been very much utilized as a means of training in diverse spheres ranging from airline pilot training to telephone behavior courses for operators. The greatest advantage here is that it shrinks the time frame needed to replicate a real life situation that could provide the social interaction.

It can be safely said that the trainer has to be aware of individual employee development needs and the strategic imperatives of the employer and how different theories and techniques have relevance to different learning situations and can produce different outcomes. The success of train the trainer programmes have shown that trainer's awareness of different theories, methods and techniques can have significant bearing upon the success of learning.

Rana Sinha was born in India, studied and lived in many places and traveled in 80 countries, acquiring cross-cultural knowledge and building an extensive network of professionals. He has spent many years developing and delivering cross-cultural training, professional communications skills, personal development and management solutions to all types of organizations and businesses. He now lives in Helsinki, Finland, and runs www.dot-connect.com, which specializes in human resource development as well as communication and management skills training with cross-cultural emphasis.

SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | MOST POPULAR |

RSS |

Back to Training Index