Saturday, May 7, 2016

How To Achieve Training And Development Among Employees

By Peter Powell


Acquiring knowledge is a process and not an event. It occurs during our entire lifetime in two main ways: incidentally and intentionally. Incidental learning occurs with very little effort. It is the knowledge that we acquire as we attempt to solve various challenges in our lives. Intentional learning, on the other hand, is due to a deliberate effort. Training and development should take place at personal and institutional level.

It is the responsibility of an institution to ensure that its employees are regularly trained. This will help them improve on their knowledge and skills. The employees should be actively involved by making themselves available for training. They should create personal development goals that are in line with the aspirations of their employers. Collaboration between the employers and the employees is necessary for this process to succeed.

One of the ways in which the organization can encourage professional growth and development is by providing a suitable environment for the same. Each employee needs to have a clearly defined job description on which further training can be based. They should all have basic competencies that will help the organist ion succeed both in the present and in the future.

Learning opportunities are present in everyday activities. Unusual incidences happening in the work place should be used as opportunities to gain experience. If such do not exist, one should make a deliberate effort to take on newer challenges. Job expanding is a strategy that is usually adopted by the management in an attempt to help employees develop new skills. It involves the allocation of newer tasks to employees that have mastered skills in their area of specialty and need a new challenge.

Regular self-assessments will help you determine whether or not you are making progress. The assessment should be focused on evaluating skills, weaknesses, strengths, experience gained and so on. A number of self-assessment tools can be easily obtained from the internet for free or at a small fee. Another option that can be used for this is to conduct comparative studies among employees doing the same tasks.

Committees are typically made up of employees from different departments. This gives the members an opportunity to learn from each other and expound their knowledge of different aspects of their organization. In the end, the entire organization benefits since the individual employees gain more skills and knowledge and grow professionally. Every employee should be given an opportunity to be part of such committees whenever the chance arises.

Learning from a more experienced colleague is one of the most effective ways of getting knowledge and skills. This may be done through coaching or job shadowing. In job shadowing the learner follows the more experienced individual around and observes what they are doing but does not have to help with the work. A coach helps demonstrate skills and impart knowledge that is needed in discharging specific duties within the organization. They give feedback from time to time.

Furthering studies is another way in which employees can improve their level of skills and knowledge. This can be achieved by enrolling for professional development courses offered by colleges or universities or doing it in an informal manner on the internet. This is also referred to as e-learning. A number of the websites belong to professional bodies that play a key role in imparting skills among the members.




About the Author:



No comments: