recruitment and selection process of insurance companies
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ecruitment and selection processTRANSCRIPT
Recruitment and Selection Process of Insurance Companies
People are a company’s most important assets. They can make or break the fortunes of a business. In today’s highly competitive business environment placing the right people in the right position is very critical for the success of any organization.
The recruitment and selection decision is of prime importance as it is the vehicle for obtaining the best possible person-to-job fit that will, contribute significantly towards the Company's effectiveness. It is also becoming increasingly important, as the Company evolves and changes, that new recruits show a willingness to learn, adaptability and ability to work as part of a team. The Recruitment & Selection procedure ensures that these criteria are addressed
In this project I have studied Recruitment and Selection process of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and attempted to provide some ways so as to make recruitment more effective and to reduce the cost of hiring an employee.
I am privileged to be one of the students who got an opportunity to do my training with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. My involvement in the project has been very challenging and has provided me a platform to leverage my potential in the most constructive way.
ICICI Prudential Life insurance is one of India's leading financial institutions offering complete financial solutions that encompass every sphere of life. In a short span of time,ICICI has set an example by having a steady and confident journey to growth and success.
During the training period I have studied deeply the process of hiring in ICICI Prudential Life insurance and did a SWOT analysis of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance to find out the existing shortcomings and potential threats and thereby recommended suggestions. This project
however is an attempt to share as best as possible my experience in corporate world with all my colleagues and my faculty.
I would be delighted to receive reader’s comments which maybe valuable lessons for my future projects.
Executive Summary
In today’s rapidly changing business environment, organizations have to respond quickly to requirements for people. The Financial market has been witnessing growth which is manifold for last few years. Many private players have entered the economy thereby increasing the level of competition. In the competitive scenario it has become a challenge for each company to adopt practices that would help the organization stand out in the market. The competitiveness of a company of an organization is measured through the quality of products and services offered to customers that are unique from others. Thus the best services offered to the consumers are result of the genius brains working behind them.
Human Resource Management in this regard has become an important function in any organization. All practices of marketing and finances can be easily emulated but the capability, the skills and talent of a person cannot be emulated. Hence, it is important to have a well-defined recruitment policy in place, which can be executed effectively to get the best fits for the vacant positions. Selecting the wrong candidate or rejecting the right candidate could turn out to be costly mistakes for the organization. Therefore a recruitment practice in an organization must be effective and efficient in attracting the best manpower.
Coverage –The extent and limitation
With largest number of life insurance policies in force in the world, insurance happens to be a mega opportunity in India. Its business is growing at 15-20% annually and presently is of the order of Rs. 450m. Together with banking sector it adds about 7% to the GDP.
Like the case of BPO’s, Insurance sector too faces the problem of attrition. Thus, recruitment is an ongoing process carried through out the year. The project is based on the study of recruitment process. The various recommendations suggested have been the result of the study. The idea is to generate ways of dealing with high attrition and making hiring process manageable and efficient.
Data Used in Project
There were mainly two sources of data collection
Primary data:
Survey method Personal interview with candidates In depth conversation with the placement agency
Secondary data:
Study of recruitment policy Websites Published articles
Research methodology used
Study of recruitment and selection at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance by the manual provided by the HR department;
Web sites Journals Magazines Books
Findings
Recruitment is done throughout the year more during the months of May-June and Oct-Nov;
Huge investment of time; Huge recruitment cost;
To pursue these, I would be going through the recruitment policies of the company. By active participation in the recruitment process, the areas where improvement can be bought about can be identified.
Thus the whole research would be done under the guidance of external guide. It will also involve recruitment and selection processes, reading the material provide internally by the organization, information from the new employees.
Introduction Of The Insurance Industry
Overview
The story of insurance is probably as old as the story of mankind. The same instinct that prompts modern businessmen today to secure themselves against loss and disaster existed in primitive men also. They too sought to avert the evil consequences of fire and flood and loss of life and were willing to make some sort of sacrifice in order to achieve security. Though the concept of insurance is largely a development of the recent past, particularly after the industrial era – past few centuries – yet its beginnings date back almost 6000 years.
The first two decades of the twentieth century saw lot of growth in insurance business. From 44 companies with total business-in-force as Rs.22.44 crore, it rose to 176 companies with total business-in-force as Rs.298 crore in 1938. The Insurance Act 1938 was the first legislation governing not only life insurance but also non-life insurance to provide strict state control over insurance business.
Some of the important milestones in the life insurance business in India are:
1818: Oriental Life Insurance Company, the first life insurance company on Indian soil started functioning.
1870: Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society, the first Indian life insurance company started its business.
1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act enacted as the first statute to regulate the life insurance business.
1928: The Indian Insurance Companies Act enacted to enable the government to collect statistical information about both life and non-life insurance businesses.
1938: Earlier legislation consolidated and amended to by the Insurance Act with the objective of protecting the interests of the insuring public.
1956: 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies are taken over by the central government and nationalized. LIC formed by an Act of Parliament, viz. LIC Act, 1956, with a capital contribution of Rs. 5 crore from the Government of India.
The General insurance business in India, on the other hand, can trace its roots to the Triton Insurance Company Ltd., the first general insurance company established in the year 1850 in Calcutta by the British.
Some of the important milestones in the general insurance business in India are:
1907: The Indian Mercantile Insurance Ltd. set up, the first company to transact all classes of general insurance business.
1957: General Insurance Council, a wing of the Insurance Association of India, frames a code of conduct for ensuring fair conduct and sound business practices.
1968: The Insurance Act amended to regulate investments and set minimum solvency margins and the Tariff Advisory Committee set up.
1972: The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 nationalised the general insurance business in India with effect from 1st January 1973.
With largest number of life insurance policies in force in the world, Insurance happens to be a mega opportunity in India. It’s a business
growing at the rate of 15-20 per cent annually and presently is of the order of Rs 450 billion. Together with banking services, it adds about 7 per cent to the country’s GDP. Gross premium collection is nearly 2 per cent of GDP and funds available with LIC for investments are 8 per cent of GDP.
Yet, nearly 80 per cent of Indian population is without life insurance cover while health insurance and non-life insurance continues to be below international standards. And this part of the population is also subject to weak social security and pension systems with hardly any old age income security. This itself is an indicator that growth potential for the insurance sector is immense.
A well-developed and evolved insurance sector is needed for economic development as it provides long term funds for infrastructure development and at the same time strengthens the risk taking ability. It is estimated that over the next ten years India would require investments of the order of one trillion US dollar. The Insurance sector, to some extent, can enable investments in infrastructure development to sustain economic growth of the country.
India has come a full circle from being an open competitive market to nationalization and back to a liberalized market again. Tracing the developments in the Indian insurance sector reveals the 360 degree turn witnessed over a period of almost two centuries.
Present Scenario
The Government of India liberalized the insurance sector in March 2000 with the passage of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Bill, lifting all entry restrictions for private players and allowing foreign players to enter the market with some limits on direct foreign ownership.
The opening up of the sector is likely to lead to greater spread and deepening of insurance in India and this may also include restructuring
and revitalizing of the public sector companies. In the private sector 14 life insurance and 8 general insurance companies have been registered. A host of private Insurance companies operating in both life and non-life segments have started selling their insurance policies..
Life Insurance Market
The Life Insurance market in India is an underdeveloped market that was only tapped by the state owned LIC till the entry of private insurers. The penetration of life insurance products was 19 percent of the total 400 million of the insurable population. The state owned LIC sold insurance as a tax instrument, not as a product giving protection. Most customers were under- insured with no flexibility or transparency in the products. With the entry of the private insurers the rules of the game have changed.
The 12 private insurers in the life insurance market have already grabbed nearly 9 percent of the market in terms of premium income. The new business premiums of the 12 private players has tripled to Rs 1000 crore in year 2002- 03. Innovative products, smart marketing and aggressive distribution. That's the triple whammy combination that has enabled fledgling private insurance companies to sign up Indian customers faster than anyone ever expected. Indians, who have always seen life insurance as a tax saving device, are now suddenly turning to the private sector and snapping up the new innovative products on offer.
The private insurers also seem to be scoring big in other ways- they are persuading people to take out bigger policies. Buoyed by their quicker than expected success, nearly all private insurers are fast- forwarding the second phase of their expansion plans.
Major Insurance Players
Licenses have been issued for the following companies
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Limited
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited TATA AIG Life Insurance Company Limited Max New York Life Insurance Company Limited SBI – Cardiff Life Insurance Company Limited ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Limited Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited MetLife Life Insurance Company Limited Aviva Life Insurance Company Limited AMP Sanmar Life Insurance Company Limited Sahara India Life Insurance Limited Sri Ram Life Insurance Limited
Protection of the interests of policyholders:
IRDA has the responsibility of protecting the interest of insurance policyholders. Towards achieving this objective, the Authority has taken the following steps:
IRDA has notified Protection of Policyholders Interest Regulations 2001 to provide for: policy proposal documents in easily understandable language; claims procedure in both life and non-life; setting up of grievance redressal machinery; speedy settlement of claims; and policyholders' servicing. The Regulation also provides for payment of interest by insurers for the delay in settlement of claim.
The insurers are required to maintain solvency margins so that they are in a position to meet their obligations towards policyholders with regard to payment of claims.
It is obligatory on the part of the insurance companies to disclose clearly the benefits, terms and conditions under the policy. The advertisements issued by the insurers should not mislead the insuring public.
All insurers are required to set up proper grievance redress machinery in their head office and at their other offices.
The Authority takes up with the insurers any complaint received from the policyholders in connection with services provided by them under the insurance contract.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company-Profile :
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank, a premier financial powerhouse and Prudential plc, a leading international financial services group headquartered in the United Kingdom.
ICICI was established in 1955 to lend money for industrial development. Today, it has diversified into retail banking and is the largest private bank in the country. Prudential plc was established in 1848 and is presently the largest life insurance company in UK.
ICICI Prudential is currently the No. 1 private life insurer in the country. For the financial year ended March 31, 2005, the company garnered Rs 1584 crore of new business premium for a total sum assured of Rs 13,780 crore and wrote nearly 615,000 policies.
The Company recognizes that the driving force for gaining sustainable competitive advantage in this business is superior customer experience and investment behind the brand. The Company aims to achieve this by striving to provide world class service levels through constant innovation in products, distribution channels and technology based delivery. The Company has already taken significant steps to achieve this goal.
India's Number One private life insurer, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank-one of India's foremost financial services companies-and Prudential plc- a leading international financial services group headquartered in the United Kingdom. Total capital infusion stands
at Rs. 23.72 billion, with ICICI Bank holding a stake of 74% and Prudential plc holding 26%.
ICICI Prudential was the first life insurer in India to receive a National Insurer Financial Strength rating of AAA (Ind) from Fitch ratings. For three years in a row, ICICI Prudential has been voted as India's Most Trusted Private Life Insurer, by The Economic Times - AC Nielsen ORG Marg survey of 'Most Trusted Brands'. As we grow our distribution, product range and customer base, we continue to tirelessly uphold our commitment to deliver world-class financial solutions to customers all over India.
ICICI Prudential's capital stands at Rs. 23.72 billion with ICICI Bank and Prudential plc holding 74% and 26% stake respectively. For the first quarter ended June 30, 2007, the company garnered Rs. 987 crore of weighted retail + group new business premiums and wrote over 450,000 retail policies in the period. The company has assets held to the tune of over Rs. 18,400 crore.
Distribution
ICICI Prudential has one of the largest distribution networks amongst private life insurers in India. It has a strong presence across India with over 680 branches and over 235,000 advisors.
The company has over 23 bancassurnace partners, having tie-ups with ICICI Bank, Federal Bank, South Indian Bank, Bank of India, Lord Krishna Bank, Idukki District Co-operative Bank, Jalgaon Peoples Co-operative Bank, Shamrao Vithal Co-op Bank, Ernakulam Bank, 9 Bank of India sponsored Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Sangli Urban Co-operative Bank, Baramati Co-operative Bank, Ballia Kshetriya Gramin Bank, The Haryana State Co-operative Bank and Imphal Urban Cooperative Bank Limited.
Products Insurance Solutions For Individuals
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance offers a range of innovative, customer-centric products that meet the needs of customers at every life stage. Its
products can be enhanced with up to 4 riders, to create a customized solution for each policy holder.
Savings Solutions
Save’n’ Protect is a traditional endowment savings plan that offers life protection along with adequate returns.
CashBak is an anticipated endowment policy ideal for meeting milestone expenses like a child’s marriage, expenses for a child’s higher education or purchase of an asset.
LifeTimeSuper offer customers the flexibility and control to customize the policy to meet the changing needs at different life stages. Each offer 4 fund options — Preserver, Protector, Balancer and Maximiser.
LifeLink Super is a single premium Unit Linked Insurance Plan which combines life insurance cover with the opportunity to stay invested in the stock market.
Premier Life Gold is a limited premium paying plan that offers customers life insurance cover till the age of 75.
InvestShield Life New is a unit linked plan that provides premium guarantee on the invested premiums and ensures that the customer receives only the benefits of fund appreciation without any of the risks of depreciation.
· InvestShield Cashbak is a unit linked plan that provides premium guarantee on the invested premiums along with flexible liquidity options.
Protection Solutions
LifeGuard is a protection plan, which offers life cover at very low cost. It is available in 3 options – level term assurance, level term assurance with return of premium and single premium.
HomeAssure is a mortgage reducing term assurance plan designed specifically to help customers cover their home loans in a simple and cost-effective manner.
Child Plans
SmartKid education plans provide guaranteed educational benefits to a child along with life insurance cover for the parent who purchases the policy. The policy is designed to provide money at important milestones in the child’s life. SmartKid plans are also available in unit-linked form – both single premium and regular premium.
Education Insurance Plans
Education insurance under the SmartKid brand provides guaranteed educational benefits to a child along with life insurance cover for the parent who purchases the policy. The policy is designed to provide money at important milestones in the child's life. SmartKid plans are also available in unit-linked form - both single premium and regular premium
Retirement Solutions
ForeverLife is a retirement product targeted at individuals in their thirties.
Market-linked retirement products LifeTime Super Pension is a regular premium market-linked
pension plan. Golden Years: is a limited premium paying retirement solution that
offers tax benefits up to Rs 100,000 u/s 80C, with flexibility in both the accumulation and payout stages.
Health Solution
Health Assure and Health Assure Plus: Health Assure is a regular premium plan which provides long term cover against 6 critical illnesses by providing policyholder with financial assistance, irrespective of the actual medical expenses. Health Assure Plus offers the added advantage of an equivalent life insurance cover
Cancer Care: is a regular premium plan that pays cash benefit on the diagnosis as well as at different stages in the treatment of various cancer conditions.
Diabetes Care and Diabetes Care Plus*: 1st ever critical illness insurance cover for diabetics.
Hospital Care*: Hospital Care offers a Cashless hospitalization facility in more then 3000 network hospitals
Crisis Cover : is a 360-degree product that will provide long-term coverage against 35 critical illnesses, total and permanent disability, and death
Note (*) products Re-launched on 1st July 2006
Group Insurance Solutions
ICICI Prudential also offers Group Insurance Solutions for companies seeking to enhance benefits to their employees.
ICICI Pru Group Gratuity Plan: ICICI Pru’s group gratuity plan helps employers fund their statutory gratuity obligation in a scientific manner. The plan can also be customized to structure schemes that can provide benefits beyond the statutory obligations.
ICICI Pru Group Superannuation Plan: ICICI Pru offers a flexible defined contribution superannuation scheme to provide a retirement kitty for each member of the group. Employees have the option of choosing from various annuity options or opting for a partial commutation of the annuity at the time of retirement.
ICICI Pru Group Term Plan: ICICI Pru’s flexible group term solution helps provide affordable cover to members of a group. The cover could be uniform or based on designation/rank or a multiple of salary. The benefit under the policy is paid to the beneficiary nominated by the member on his/her death.
Flexible Rider Options
ICICI Pru Life offers flexible riders, which can be added to the basic policy at a marginal cost, depending on the specific needs of the customer.
Accident Benefit: If death occurs as the result of an accident during the term of the policy, the beneficiary receives an additional amount equal to the rider sum assured under the policy. If the death occurs while traveling in an authorized mass transport vehicle, the beneficiary will be entitled to twice the sum assured as additional benefit.
Accident & Disability Benefit: This rider option pays 10% the sum assured under the rider every year till next 10 years on Accidental Permanent Disability of 2 Organs.
Critical Illness Benefit: protects the insured against financial loss in the event of 9 specified critical illnesses. Benefits are payable to the insured for medical expenses prior to death.
Income Benefit: This rider pays the 10% of the sum assured to the nominee every year, till maturity, in the event of the death of the life assured. It is available on SmarKid, SecurePlus and CashPlus
Waiver of Premium: In case of total and permanent disability due to an accident, the premiums are waived till maturity. This rider is available with SecurePlus and CashPlus.
Choice of Six Investment Options :- ICICI prudential offers you the opportunity of selecting between investment options to match your investment priorities.
1) Protector:-
An Investment Option with investment indebt and money market instruments.
2) Maximiser :-
An investment option with investment in equity and equity related instruments.
3) Balancer :-
An investment option with investment in a mix of equity and debt oriented instruments.
4) Preserver :-
An investment option with investment in low-risk instruments like cash and call money markets.
5) Flexi Growth:-
New Fund (NFO) launched in March 2007, Long term returns from an equity portfolio lare,mid and small cap companies.
6) Flexi balanced:-
Balance of capital appreciation and stable returns from an equity (large,mid & small cap companies) & debt portfolio.
Vision and Mission of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company
Their vision is to make ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company the dominant new insurer in the life insurance industry. This they hope to achieve through their commitment to excellence, focus on service, speed and innovation, and leveraging our technological expertise.
The success of the organisation will be founded on its strong focus on values and clarity of purpose. These include:
Understanding the needs of customers and offering them superior products and service
Building long lasting relationships with their partners Providing an enabling environment to foster growth and learning
for their employees
And above all building transparency in all our dealings.
They believe that they can play a significant role in redefining and reshaping the sector. Given the quality of their parentage and the commitment of their team, they feel that there will be no limits to their growth.
Registered Office : ICICI Towers 9thfloor, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai - 400 051, Tel: 494 3232
Regional Office : 8th floor EROS Coorporate Tower, Nehru place, New Delhi-110011.Tel:46554405
Delhi office : 3rd floor, Videocon Towers E-1, Rani Jhansi Road, New Delhi - 110055. Tel: 601 3232
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance opens office in Dubai
In a move to consolidate its position in the Gulf region, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance (ICICI Prudential), India's No. 1 private life insurance company, also opened its representative office in Dubai, becoming the first private life insurer from India to open an office in the Emirate.
At ICICI Prudential we offer pragmatic, world-class solutions. Put simply, solutions with a lot of common sense. Solutions that take care of your four basic financial needs - Earning, Saving, Investing and Spending. So you live your life to the fullest, sans worries.
New topic bsnl
PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEM AT BSNL
INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC
Human Resource (or personnel) management, in the sense of getting
things done through people, is an essential part of every manager’s
responsibility, but many organizations find it advantageous to establish a
specialist division to provide an expert service dedicated to ensuring that
the human resource function is performed efficiently.
“People are our most valuable asset” is a cliché, which no member of
any senior management team would disagree with. Yet, the reality for
many organizations are that their people remain under valued, under
trained and under utilized.
Performance Appraisal is the process of assessing the performance and
progress of an employee or a group of employees on a given job and
his / their potential for future development. It consists of all formal
procedures used in the working organizations to evaluate personalities,
contributions and potentials of employees.
PREFACE
Managing human resources in today’s dynamic environment is
becoming more and more complex as well as important. Recognition of
people as a valuable resource in the organization has led to increases
trends in employee maintenance, job security, etc
My research project deals with “Performance Appraisal as carried out at
Bhart Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNLK)”. In this report, I have studied
&evaluated the performance appraisal process as it is carried out in the
company.
The first section of my report deals with a detailed company profile. It
includes the company’s history: its activities and operations,
organizational structure, etc. this section attempts to give detailed
information about the company and the nature of it’s functioning.
The second section deals with performance appraisal. In this section, I
have given a brief conceptual explanation to performance appraisal. It
contains the definition, process and significance of performance
appraisal.
In the third section of my report, I have conducted a research study to
evaluate the process of performance appraisal at Bharat Sanchar Nigam
Ltd.; this section also contains my findings, conclusions, suggestions
and feedback.
The forth and final section of this report consists of extra information
that I related to the main contents of the report. These annexure include
some graphs and diagrams relating to the company, graphs relating to
the research study and important documents upon which the project is
based.
RATIONALE OF THE STUDY
Performance Appraisal is the important aspect in the organization to
evaluate the employees performance. It helps in understanding the
employees work culture, involvement, and satisfaction. It helps the
organization in deciding employees promotion, transfer, incentives, pay
increase.
INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Human Resource (or personnel) management, in the sense of getting
things done through people, is an essential part of every manager’s
responsibility, but many organizations find it advantageous to establish a
specialist division to provide an expert service dedicated to ensuring that
the human resource function is performed efficiently.
“People are our most valuable asset” is a cliché, which no member of
any senior management team would disagree with. Yet, the reality for
many organizations are that their people remain under valued, under
trained and under utilized.
The market place for talented, skilled people is competitive and
expensive. Taking on new staff can be disruptive to existing employees.
Also, it takes time to develop ‘cultural awareness’, product / process /
organization knowledge and experience for new staff members.
FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Following are the various functions of Human Resource Management
that are essential for the effective functioning of the organization:
1. Recruitment
2. Selection
3. Induction
4. Performance Appraisal
5. Training & Development
Recruitment
The process of recruitment begins after manpower requirements are
determined in terms of quality through job analysis and quantity through
forecasting and planning.
Selection
The selection is the process of ascertaining whether or not candidates
possess the requisite qualifications, training and experience required.
Induction
a) Induction is the technique by which a new employee is
rehabilitated into the changed surroundings and introduced to the
practices, policies and purposes of the organization.
WHAT IS “PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL”?
Performance Appraisal is defined as the process of assessing the
performance and progress of an employee or a group of employees on a
given job and his / their potential for future development. It consists of
all formal procedures used in working organizations and potential of
employees. According to Flippo, “Performance Appraisal is the
systematic, periodic and an important rating of an employee’s excellence
in matters pertaining to his present job and his potential for a better job.”
CHARACTERISTICS
1. Performance Appraisal is a process.
2. It is the systematic examination of the strengths and weakness of
an employee in terms of his job.
3. It is scientific and objective study. Formal procedures are used in
the study.
4. It is an ongoing and continuous process wherein the evaluations
are arranged periodically according to a definite plan.
5. The main purpose of Performance Appraisal is to secure
information necessary for making objective and correct decision
an employee.
PROCESS
The process of performance appraisal:
1. Establishing performance standards
2. Communicating the Standards
3. Measuring Performance
4. Comparing the actual with the standards
5. Discussing the appraisal
6.Taking Corrective Action
LIMITATIONS
1. Errors in Rating
2. Lack of reliability
3. Negative approach
4. Multiple objectives
5. Lack of knowledge
METHODS OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
The foregoing list of major program pitfalls represents a formidable
challenge, even considering the available battery of appraisal techniques.
But attempting to avoid these pitfalls by doing away with appraisals
themselves is like trying to solve the problems of life by committing
suicide. The more logical task is to identify those appraisal practices that
are (a) most likely to achieve a particular objective and (b) least
vulnerable to the obstacles already discussed.
Before relating the specific techniques to the goals of performance
appraisal stated at the outset of the article, I shall briefly review each,
taking them more or less in an order of increasing complexity.
The best-known techniques will be treated most briefly.
ESSAY APPRAISAL
In its simplest form, this technique asks the rater to write a paragraph or
more covering an individual's strengths, weaknesses, potential, and so
on. In most selection situations, particularly those involving
professional, sales, or managerial positions, essay appraisals from
former employers, teachers, or associates carry significant weight.
.
GRAPHIC RATING SCALE
This technique may not yield the depth of an essay appraisal, but it is
more consistent and reliable. Typically, a graphic scale assesses a person
on the quality and quantity of his work (is he outstanding, above
average, average, or unsatisfactory?) and on a variety of other factors
that vary with the job but usually include personal traits like reliability
and cooperation. It may also include specific performance items like oral
and written communication.
FIELD REVIEW
The field review is one of several techniques for doing this. A member
of the personnel or central administrative staff meets with small groups
of raters from each supervisory unit and goes over each employee's
rating with them to (a) identify areas of inter-rater disagreement, (b) help
the group arrive at a consensus, and (c) determine that each rater
conceives the standards similarly. .
FORCED-CHOICE RATING
Like the field review, this technique was developed to reduce bias and
establish objective standards of comparison between individuals, but it
does not involve the intervention of a third party.
MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES
To avoid, or to deal with, the feeling that they are being judged by
unfairly high standards, employees in some organizations are being
asked to set - or help set - their own performance goals. Within the past
five or six years, MBO has become something of a fad and is so familiar
to most managers that I will not dwell on it here.
RANKING METHODS
For comparative purposes, particularly when it is necessary to compare
people who work for different supervisors, individual statements,
ratings, or appraisal forms are not particularly useful. Instead, it is
necessary to recognize that comparisons involve an overall subjective
judgment to which a host of additional facts and impressions must
somehow be added. There is no single form or way to do this.
The best approach appears to be a ranking technique involving pooled
judgment.
The two most effective methods are alternation ranking and paired
comparison ranking.
1. “Alternation ranking”:
Ranking of employees from best to worst on a trait or traits is another
method for evaluating employees. Since it is usually easier to distinguish
between the worst and the best employees than to rank them, an
alternation ranking method is most popular. Here subordinates to be
rated are listed and the names of those not well enough to rank are
crossed. Then on a form as shown below, the employee who is highest
on the characteristic being measured and the one who is the lowest are
indicated. Then chose the next highest and the next lowest, alternating
between highest and lowest until all the employees to be rated have been
ranked.
2. “Paired-comparison ranking”:
This technique is probably just as accurate as alternation ranking and
might be more so. But with large numbers of employees it becomes
extremely time consuming and cumbersome.
Both ranking techniques, particularly when combined with multiple
rankings (i.e., when two or more people are asked to make independent
rankings of the same work group and their lists are averaged), are among
the best available for generating valid order-of-merit rankings for salary
administration purposes.
ASSESSMENT CENTERS
So far, we have been talking about assessing past performance. What
about the assessment of future performance or potential? In any
placement decision and even more so in promotion decisions, some
prediction of future performance is necessary. How can this kind of
prediction be made most validly and most fairly?
360 DEGREE FEEDBACK
Many firms have expanded the idea of upward feedback into what the
call 360-degree feedback. The feedback is generally used for training
and development, rather than for pay increases.
Most 360 Degree Feedback system contains several common features.
Appropriate parties – peers, supervisors, subordinates and customers, for
instance – complete survey, questionnaires on an individual. 360 degree
feedback is also known as the multi-rater feedback, whereby ratings are
not given just by the next manager up in the organizational hierarchy,
but also by peers and subordinates. Appropriates customer ratings are
also included, along with the element of self appraisal. Once gathered in,
the assessment from the various quarters are compared with one another
and the results communicated to the manager concerned.
Another technique that is useful for coaching purposes is, of course,
MBO. Like the critical incident method, it focuses on actual behavior
and actual results, which can be discussed objectively and
constructively, with little or no need for a supervisor to "play God."
Advantages
Instead of assuming traits, the MBO method concentrates on actual
outcomes. If the employee meets or exceeds the set objectives, then he
or she has demonstrated an acceptable level of job performance.
Employees are judged according to real outcomes, and not on their
potential for success, or on someone's subjective opinion of their
abilities.
The guiding principle of the MBO approach is that direct results can be
observed easily. The MBO method recognizes the fact that it is difficult
to neatly dissect all the complex and varied elements that go to make up
employee performance.
MBO advocates claim that the performance of employees cannot be
broken up into so many constituent parts, but to put all the parts together
and the performance may be directly observed and measured.
Disadvantages
This approach can lead to unrealistic expectations about what can and
cannot be reasonably accomplished. Supervisors and subordinates must
have very good "reality checking" skills to use MBO appraisal methods.
They will need these skills during the initial stage of objective setting,
and for the purposes of self-auditing and self-monitoring.
Variable objectives may cause employee confusion. It is also possible
that fluid objectives may be distorted to disguise or justify failures in
performance.
Benefits of Performance Appraisals
Measures an employee’s performance. Helps in clarifying, defining, redefining priorities and objectives. Motivates the employee through achievement and feedback. Facilitates assessment and agreement of training needs. Helps in identification of personal strengths and weaknesses. Plays an important role in Personal career and succession planning. Clarifies team roles and facilitates team building. Plays major role in organizational training needs assessment and
analysis. Improves understanding and relationship between the employee
and the reporting manager and also helps in resolving confusions and misunderstandings.
Plays an important tool for communicating the organization’s philosophies, values, aims, strategies, priorities, etc among its employees.
Helps in counseling and feedback.
Rating Errors in Performance Appraisals
Performance appraisals are subject to a wide variety of inaccuracies and
biases referred to as 'rating errors'. These errors can seriously affect
assessment results. Some of the most common rating errors are: -
Leniency or severity: - Leniency or severity on the part of the rater
makes the assessment subjective. Subjective assessment defeats the very
purpose of performance appraisal. Ratings are lenient for the following
reasons:
a) The rater may feel that anyone under his or her jurisdiction
who is rated unfavorably will reflect poorly on his or her own
worthiness.
b) He/She may feel that a derogatory rating will be revealed to
the rate to detriment the relations between the rater and the
ratee.
c) He/She may rate leniently in order to win promotions for
the subordinates and therefore, indirectly increase his/her
hold over him.
Central tendency: - This occurs when employees are incorrectly rated
near the average or middle of the scale. The attitude of the rater is to
play safe. This safe playing attitude stems from certain doubts and
anxieties, which the raters have been assessing the rates.
Halo error: - A halo error takes place when one aspect of an
individual's performance influences the evaluation of the entire
performance of the individual. The halo error occurs when an employee
who works late constantly might be rated high on productivity and
quality of output as well ax on motivation. Similarly, an attractive or
popular personality might be given a high overall rating. Rating
employees separately on each of the performance measures and
encouraging raters to guard against the halo effect are the two ways to
reduce the halo effect.
Rater effect: -This includes favoritism, stereotyping, and hostility.
Extensively high or low score are given only to certain individuals or
groups based on the rater's attitude towards them and not on actual
outcomes or behaviors; sex, age, race and friendship biases are examples
of this type of error.
Primacy and Regency effects: - The rater's rating is heavily influenced
either by behavior exhibited by the ratee during his early stage of the
review period (primacy) or by the outcomes, or behavior exhibited by
the ratee near the end of the review period (regency). For example, if a
salesperson captures an important contract/sale just before the
completion of the appraisal, the timing of the incident may inflate his or
her standing, even though the overall performance of the sales person
may not have been encouraging. One way of guarding against such an
error is to ask the rater to consider the composite performance of the rate
and not to be influenced by one incident or an achievement.
Performance dimension order: - Two or more dimensions on a
performance instrument follow each other and both describe or rotate to
a similar quality. The rater rates the first dimensions accurately and then
rates the second dimension to the first because of the proximity. If the
dimensions had been arranged in a significantly different order, the
ratings might have been different.
Spillover effect: - This refers lo allowing past performance appraisal
rating lo unjustifiably influence current ratings. Past ratings, good or
bad, result in similar rating for current period although the demonstrated
behavior docs not deserve the rating, good or bad.
ROLES IN THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PROCESS
a) Reporting Manager
Ø Provide feedback to the reviewer / HOD on the
employees’ behavioral traits indicated in the PMS Policy
Manual
Ø Ensures that employee is aware of the normalization /
performance appraisal process
Ø Address employee concerns / queries on performance
rating, in consultation with the reviewer
b) Reviewer (Reporting Manager’s Reporting Manager)
Ø Discuss with the reporting managers on the behavioral
traits of all the employees for whom he / she is the
reviewer
Ø Where required, independently assess employees for the
said behavioral traits; such assessments might require
collecting data directly from other relevant employees
c) HOD (In some cases, a reviewer may not be a HOD)
Ø Presents the proposed Performance Rating for every
employee of his / her function to the Normalization
committee.
Ø HOD also plays the role of a normalization committee
member
Ø Owns the performance rating of every employee in the
department
d) HR Head
Ø Secretary to the normalization committee
Ø Assists HOD’s / Reporting Managers in communicating
the performance rating of all the employees
e) Normalization Committee
Ø Decides on the final bell curve for each function in the
respective Business Unit / Circle
Ø Reviews the performance ratings proposed by the
HOD’s, specifically on the upward / downward shift in
ratings, to ensure an unbiased relative ranking of
employees on overall performance, and thus finalize the
performance rating of each employee
KEY CONCEPTS IN PMS
In order to understand the Performance Management System at
BHARTI, some concepts need to be explained which play a very
important role in using the PMS successfully. They are:
Ø KRA’S (KEY RESULT AREAS): The performance of an
employee is largely dependent on the KRA score achieved by the
employee during that particular year. Thus, it is necessary to
answer a few basic questions i.e.
o What are the guidelines for setting the KRA’s for an
employee?
o How does an employee write down his KRA’s for a
particular financial year?
o KRA’s: The Four Perspectives.
o How is the KRA score calculated for an employee on the
basis of the targets sets and targets achieved?
Ø BEHAVIORAL TRAITS: Some of the qualitative aspects of
an employees’ performance combined with the general behavioral
traits displayed by the employee during a year constitutes his
behavior traits. An employee is assigned the rating on the basis of
the intensity of the behavior displayed by him. They play a very
important role in the deciding the final performance rating for an
employee as is even capable of shifting the rating one level
upwards/downwards.
Ø BHARTI 2010 LEADERSHIP COMPETENCY
FRAMEWORK: This competency framework is a simple and
structured way to describe the elements of behaviors required to
perform a role effectively. This framework also tries to assess the
performance of an employee objectively.
Ø THE PERFORMANCE RATING PROCESS: The rating
process tries to explain the four different types of rating that an
employee can achieve i.e. EC, SC, C and PC. It also explains the
criteria, which is considered for awarding any of these ratings to
the employee.
Ø PROMOTION AND RATING DISRTRIBUTION
GUIDELINES: The promotion and normal distribution guidelines
provide the framework within which the performance appraisal
process has to work. It is very important that the HR department
pays due attention to these guidelines while preparing the bell
curves for various functions and the consolidated bell curve for all
the functions. These guidelines also help in deciding upon the
promotion cases in a year.
PERFORMANCE RATING PROCESS
EXCEPTIONAL
CONTRIBUTOR (EC)
· Performs consistently
and substantially above
expectations in all areas
· Achieves a final score
greater than or equal to
115%
· Consistently delivers on
stretch targets
· Is proactive
· Spots and anticipates
problems, implements
solutions
· Sees and exploits
SIGNIFICANT
CONTRIBUTOR (SC)
· Performs above
expectations in all areas
· Achieves final score
between 100-114%
Versatile in his/ her area
of operation
Develops creative
solutions and require
little / minimal
supervision
Sets examples for others
opportunities
· Delivers ahead of time
· Sees the wider picture-
impacts across business
· Focuses on what’s good
for the business
· Seen as role model by
others
· Recognized as
exceptional by other
functions as well
· Motivates others to solve
problems
· Develops others
· Provides open and
honest feedback
· Able to establish and
lead cross-functional teams
Take ownership of own
development
Coaches others
Demonstrates business
initiative
Is self motivated
Supportive team player
Leads own team very
effectively
Demonstrate functional
initiative
·
Find the Next Chapter - literature_review_and_concept, objectives, research methodology ...
New topic
PROJECT REPORTONEMPLOYEES TRAINING ANDDEVELOPMENTIN THE PARTI SAL FULLFILLMENT OF REQUIRMENTFOR THE AWARD OF DEGREE INMBA (MASTER OF BUS INES S ADMINI STRATION)SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BYwww.allprojectreports.comOBJECTIVES OF THE STUDYPRIMARY OBJECTIVEThe primary objective of my study at _________________to lay down the foundation oftraining and development.SECONDARY OBJECTIVE
The objective of my study about employees training and development to improve the currentprocess of employees training and development at _________________.· My another objective is to apply my learning in the area of Human Resources so that Igain significant practical and Understand the nature and importance of training anddevelopment and identify the various inputs that should go into any programme.· Delineate the different stages in a training and development programme and describeeach step.· Understand the need for and the ways of training for international assignments.SCOPE OF THE STUDYThis research provides me with an opportunity to explore in the field of Human Resources.This research also provides the feedback of people involved in the Training and developmentprocess Apart from that it would provide me a great deal of exposure to interact with the highprofile managers of the company.www.allprojectreports.comTRAININGTraining is concerned with imparting developing specific skills for a particular purpose.Training is the act of increasing the skills of an employees for doing a particular job. Trainingis the process of learning a sequence of programmed behaviour.In earlier practice, training programme focused more on preparation for improvedperformance in particular job. Most of the trainees used to be from operative levels likemechanics, machines operators and other kinds of skilled workers. When the problems of
supervision increased, the step were taken to train supervisors for better supervision.DEVELOPMENTManagement development is all those activities and programme when recognized andcontrolled have substantial influence in changing the capacity of the individual to perform hisassignment better and in going so all likely to increase his potential for future assignments.Thus, management development is a combination of various training programme, thoughsome kind of training is necessary, it is the overall development of the competency ofmanagerial personal in the light of the present requirement as well as the future requirement.Development an activity designed to improve the performance of existing managers and toprovide for a planned growth of managers to meet future organizational requirements ismanagement development.Management development is based on following on assumptions.1. Management development is a continuous process. It is not one shot programme butcontinues though out the career of a manager.2. Management development is any kind of learning, is based on the assumption thatthere, always existing a gape between an individual’s performance and his potentialfor the performance.3. Management development seldom takes place in completely peaceful and relaxedatmosphere.4. Management development requires clear setting of goals.5. Management development required conducive environment.www.allprojectreports.com
Training Need Identification for a companyIntroductionTraining need identification is a tool utilized to identify what educational courses or activitiesshould be provided to employees to improve their work productivity. Here the focus shouldbe placed on needs as opposed to desires of the employees for a constructive outcome. Inorder to emphasize the importance of training need identification we can focus on thefollowing areas: -· To pinpoint if training will make a difference in productivity and the bottom line.· To decide what specific training each employee needs and what will improve his orher job performance.· To differentiate between the need for training and organizational issues and bringabout a match between individual aspirations and organizational goals.Identification of training needs (ITN), if done properly, provides the basis on which all othertraining activities can be considered. Also requiring careful thought and analysis, it is aprocess that needs to be carried out with sensitivity as people's learning is important to them,and the reputation of the organization is also at stake.Identification of training needs is important from both the organisational point of view aswell as from an individual's point of view. From an organisation's point of view it isimportant because an organisation has objectives that it wants to achieve for the benefit of allstakeholders or members, including owners, employees, customers, suppliers, and
neighbours. These objectives can be achieved only through harnessing the abilities of itspeople, releasing potential and maximising opportunities for development. Therefore peoplemust know what they need to learn in order to achieve organisational goals. Similarly if seenfrom an individual's point of view, people have aspirations, they want to develop and in orderto learn and use new abilities, people need appropriate opportunities, resources, andconditions. Therefore, to meet people's aspirations, the organization must provide effectiveand attractive learning resources and conditions. And it is also important to see that there is awww.allprojectreports.comsuitable match between achieving organizational goals and providing attractive learningopportunities.Training ProcessTraining ProcessNeeds Assessmenta) Organization Support b)Organizational Analysis c)Tasks and KSA Analysis d)Person AnalysisInstructionalObjectivesDevelopment ofCriteriaTrainingValidityTransferValidityInterorganizationalValidity
InterorganizationalValiditySelection andDesign ofInstructionalProgramsTrainingUse ofEvaluationModelswww.allprojectreports.comDevelopment ProcessCompetitive EnvironmentOrganizational StrategyCareer PlanningConduct of TrainingOrganizational ObjectiveIdentifying Competency gapesTraining Needs AssessmentAnnual Training PlanReview of Training ActivitiesCompetency MappingInternal Training ProgrammesExternal Training ProgrammesCustomised TrainingProgrammesStage-1Stage-3Stage-2PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENTwww.allprojectreports.comRESEARCH METHODOLOGYMEANING OF RESEARCH:-Research as “ the manipulation of things, concepts of symbols for the purpose
of generalizing to extend, correct or verify knowledge, whether that knowledge aids inconstruction of theory or in the practice of an art.”The Research Methodology followed for further work can be primarily classified into twostages namely Exploratory and Descriptive. The stepwise details of the research are asfollows:Stage - IExploratory Study: Since we always lack a clear idea of the problems one will meetduring the study, carrying out an exploratory study is particularly useful. It helped developmy concepts more clearly, establish priorities and in improve the final research design.Exploratory study will be carried out by conducting:Secondary data analysis which included studying the website (www.___________.com) ofthe company and also going through the various articles published in different sources(magazines, books, internet, newspapers) on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises andTraining and development process.Experience surveys also conduct with Assistant-Manager Human Resources and the GeneralManager and Personnel Officer of ________________ to gain knowledge about the nature ofTraining and development process followed in the organization.Stage – IIDescriptive Study: After carrying out initial Exploratory studies to bring clarity on thesubject under study, Descriptive study will be carried out to know the actual Training andDevelopment method being followed at ____________. The knowledge of actual training and
development process is needed to document the process and suggest improvements in thecurrent system to make it more effective. The tools used to carry out Descriptive studyincluded both monitoring and Interrogation.www.allprojectreports.comSample Selection : To know the Training and development process of the ___________,for identifying through Exploratory and Observational studies that the Assistant ManagerHuman Resources, the General Manager at Head office and The Esteemed ManagingDirector of the company are the right persons who provides training to the employees.Research has shown specific benefits that a small business receives fromtraining and developing its workers, including:· Increased productivity.· Reduced employee turnover.· Increased efficiency resulting in financial gains.· Decreased need for supervision.www.allprojectreports.comQUESTIONNAIREDear Sir/Madam,I am doing a research work on Employees Training & Development. I would request you tokindly spare some time to fill up this questionnaire.Thank you very much for your cooperation.Name --------------------------------------------------Designation-------------------------------------------Department-------------------------------------------Section IQ1. Please mention your age 20-25 25-30
Above 30Q2. Sex: Male FemaleQ3. Marital Status: Single Married DivorcedQ4. No. of years of experience: Less than 3 years 3 to 5 years More than 5 yearsQ5. Is this your first organization? Yes Nowww.allprojectreports.comSection IINOTE: Please tick mark (ü) the option you feel is most appropriate as per the following:Rate on a scale of 1-6 to indicate your option, 1 being strongly disagree and 6being strongly agreeQ1. You know what is expected of 1 2 3 4 5 6you at work.Q2. You have the materials and 1 2 3 4 5 6Equipment that you need todo your everyday work.Q3. The work you do has appropriate 1 2 3 4 5 6task variety.Q4.You are performing a job that 1 2 3 4 5 6matches your skills.Q5.You are given ample flexibility to 1 2 3 4 5 6perform your job.Q6.The organization clarifies how its 1 2 3 4 5 6culture is evident through
employee behavior.Q7.The organization rewards or 1 2 3 4 5 6recognizes such employee behavior.Q8.You feel comfortable working with 1 2 3 4 5 6your team members.Q9.Your organization has created a 1 2 3 4 5 6professional, attractive work areathat is functional and promotesproductivityQ10.The company provides you a safe 1 2 3 4 5 6work environment by accidentprevention & safety programs.Q11.Your work interferes with your 1 2 3 4 5 6personal relationships & familyresponsibilities.www.allprojectreports.comQ12.Your salary is fair, equitable 1 2 3 4 5 6and competitive.Q13.You are offered economically feasible 1 2 3 4 5 6employee benefit programs tailored toindividual needs.Q14.Rewards in your organization are 1 2 3 4 5 6immediate and appropriate.Q15.Performance goals are behavioral, 1 2 3 4 5 6result-oriented and achievable.Q16.Performance is regularly tracked 1 2 3 4 5 6and measured.Q17.Performance measures are mutually 1 2 3 4 5 6agreed on & discussed by both theemployee & supervisor.Q18.Performance is appropriately rewarded 1 2 3 4 5 6with raises, incentives, rewardsand recognition.Q19.Performance measurement is used 1 2 3 4 5 6as criteria for promotions.
Q20.You are a part of a supportive and 1 2 3 4 5 6productive team.Q21.A variety of training & development 1 2 3 4 5 6programs are offered to improve skillsQ22.You feel attached with your company, 1 2 3 4 5 6team & other employees.Q23.You have the opportunity to grow and 1 2 3 4 5 6prosper with the organization.Q24.You work in a trusting and ethical 1 2 3 4 5 6environmentQ25.You have a supervisor who is 1 2 3 4 5 6respectful and one who inspires youwww.allprojectreports.comSection IIIQ1. Has your company organizes a training and development programme?. Yes. NoQ2. If your organisation identifies the training needs for the employees?. Yes. NoQ3. On an average, how much time did it used to take for training and developmentprogramme?. One Month. Two Month. Three MonthQ4. How much training programs has been made in the past one year?. One. Two. ThreeQ5. Do you have any training programs in the coming financial year?. Yes. NoQ6. Do your top management take feed back?
. Yes
. NoQ7. What do you think the training programs will be run in future?. Yes. NoQ8. Do employee development programs raise unrealistic expectations about promotions?. Yes. NoQ 9. Do the Executive Director engage development activities for him/herself?. Yes. Nowww.allprojectreports.comQ10. Do you feel trust in your supervisors?. Yes. NoQ11. Do the practice's supervisors use positive attitude with employees?. Yes. NoQ12. Does the practice have a consistent, timely and fair method for evaluating individualperformance?. Yes. NoQ13. Do you feel, you are being paid fairly?. Yes. NoQ14. Does your practice's equipment (everything from computers to scales) work properly?. Yes. NoQ15. Does your company use a specific training process?. Yes. No
Q16. Do you require a high degree of technical knowledge for your job?. Yes. NoQ17. Are office conditions comfortable?. Yes. NoQ18. Do you satisfy with organizational training and development programmme?. Yes. Nowww.allprojectreports.comLimitations: In view of the limited time available for the study, only the Training andDevelopment process could be studied. The sample size is too small to reflect the opinion of the whole organization. The answers given by the respondents have to be believed and have to be takenfor granted as truly reflecting their perception.www.allprojectreports.comBIBLIOGRAPHY :1. Making performance work effectively: - Philip Tom: McGraw Hill Book Company:England: 1983.2. Principles and procedures in evaluating performance: John C. Flanagan: volume28.3. Public Personal Administration: S L Goel: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.: NewDelhi.4. Training & Development : A Better way: Robert Hayden: Volume 52.5. Research Methodology Methods and Techniques: Kothari C. R.: Willey Easter: NewDelhi.
6. P. Jyothi, P., Venkatesh, D.N., Human Resource Management7. Kothari, C. R., Methods and Techniques, New Delhi, New Age InternationalPublications8. Aswathappa, K., Human Resource Personal Management
New topic
TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS - 5p/Training
The game of economic competition has new rules. Firms should be fast and responsive. This requires responding to customers' needs for quality, variety, customization, convenience and timeliness. Meeting these new standards requires a workforce that is technically trained in all respects. It requires people who are capable of analyzing and solving job related problems, working cooperatively in teams and 'changing hats' and shifting from job to job as well. Training has increased in importance in today's environment where jobs are complex and change. Rapidly. Companies that pay lip-service to the need for training, by lazily setting aside a few hours a year, will soon find themselves at the receiving end when talented employees leave in frustration and other employees find it difficult to beat rivals with new products, sophisticated designs and improved ways of selling. To survive and flourish in the present day corporate-jungle, companies should invest time and money in upgrading the knowledge and skills of their employees constantly. For, any company that stops injecting itself with intelligence is going to die. The purpose of this chapter is make the student understand the basic principles, areas, and methods of training currently in use in the corporate circles.
Need for Training
After employees have been selected for various positions in an organization, training them for the specific tasks to which they have been assigned assumes great importance. It is true in many organizations that before an employee is fitted into a harmonious working relationship with other employees, he is given adequate training. Training is the act of increasing the knowledge and skills of an employee for performing a particular job. The major outcome of training is learning. A trainee learns new habits, refined skills and useful knowledge during the training that helps him improve performance. Training enables an employee to do his present job more efficiently and prepare himself for a higher-level job. The essential features of training may be stated thus:
· Increases knowledge and skills for doing a particular job; it bridges the gap between job needs and employee skills, knowledge and behaviors
· Focuses attention on the current job; it is job specific and addresses particular performance deficits or problems
· Concentrates on individual employees; changing what employees know, how they work, their attitudes toward their work or their interactions with their co-workers or supervisors
· Tends to be more narrowly focused and oriented toward short-term performance concerns.
Training is needed to serve the following purposes:
· Newly recruited employees require training so as to perform their tasks effectively. Instruction, guidance, coaching help them to handle jobs competently, without any wastage.
· Training is necessary to prepare existing employees for higher-level jobs (promotion).
· Existing employees require refresher training so as to keep abreast of the latest developments in job operations. In the face of rapid technological changes, this is an absolute necessity.
· Training is necessary when a person moves from one job to another (transfer). After training, the' employee can change jobs quickly, improve his performance levels and achieve career goals comfortably
· Training is necessary to make employees mobile and versatile. They can be placed on various jobs depending on organizational needs.
· Training is needed to bridge the gap between what the employee has and what the job demands.
Training is needed to make employees more productive and useful in the long-run.
Training is needed for employees to gain acceptance from peers (learning a job quickly and being able to pull their own weight is one of the best ways for them to gain acceptance).
Importance
Training offers innumerable benefits to both employees and employers. It makes the employee more productive and more useful to an organization. The importance of training can be studied under the following heads:
Benefits to the business:
Trained workers can work more efficiently. They use machines, tools, and materials in a proper way. Wastage is thus eliminated to a large extent.
There will be fewer accidents. Training improves the knowledge of employees regarding the use of machines and equipment. Hence, trained
workers need not be put under close supervision, as they know how to handle operations properly.
Trained workers can show superior performance. They can turn out better performance. They can turn out better quality goods by putting the materials, tools and equipment to good use.
Training makes employees more loyal to an organization. They will be less inclined to leave the unit where there are growth opportunities
Benefits to the employees:
Training makes an employee more useful to a firm. Hence, he will find employment more easily.
Training makes employees more efficient and effective. By combining materials, tools and equipment in a right way, they can produce more with minimum effort.
Training enables employees to secure promotions easily. They can realise their career goals comfortably.
Training helps an employee to move from one organization to another easily. He can be more mobile and pursue career goals actively.
Employees can avoid mistakes, accidents on the job. They can handle jobs with confidence. They will be more satisfied on their jobs. Their morale would be high.
Thus, training can contribute to higher production, fewer mistakes, greater job satisfaction and lower labour turnover. Also, it can enable employees to cope with organizational, social and technological change. Effective training is an invaluable investment in the human resources of an organization.
Learning Principles: The Philosophy of Training
Training is essential for job success. It can lead to higher production, fewer mistakes, greater job satisfaction and lower turnover. These benefits accrue to both the trainee and the organization, if managers understand the principles behind the training process. To this end, training efforts must invariably follow certain learning-oriented guidelines.
Modelling
Modeling is simply copying someone else's behavior. Passive classroom learning does not leave any room for modeling. If we want to change people, it would be a good idea to have videotapes of people showing the desired behavior. The selected model should provide the right kind of behavior to be copied by others. A great deal of human behaviour is learned by modelling others. Children learn by modelling parents and older children, they are quite comfortable with the process by the time they grow up. As experts put it. "managers tend to manage as they were managed"
Motivation
For learning to take place, intention to learn is important. When the employee is motivated, he pays attention to what is being said, done and presented. Motivation to learn is influenced by the answers to questions such as: How important is my job to me? How important is the information? Will learning help me progress in the company? etc. People learn more quickly when the material is important and relevant to them. Learning is usually quicker and long-lasting when the learner participates actively. Most people, for example, never forget how to ride a bicycle because they took an active part in the learning process.
Reinforcement
If a behavior is rewarded, it probably will be repeated. Positive reinforcement consists of rewarding desired behaviors. People avoid certain behaviors that invite criticism and punishment. A bank officer
would want to do a postgraduate course in finance, if it earns him increments and makes him eligible for further promotions. Both the external rewards (investments, praise) and the internal rewards (a feeling of pride and achievement) associated with desired behaviors compel subjects to learn properly. To be effective, the trainer must reward desired behaviors only. If he rewards poor performance, the results may be disastrous: good performers may quit in frustration, accidents may go up, and productivity may suffer. The reinforcement principle is also based on the premise that punishment is less effective in learning than reward. Punishment is a pointer to undesirable behaviors. When administered, it causes pain to the employee. He mayor may not repeat the mistakes. The reactions may be mild or wild. Action taken to repeal a person from undesirable action is punishment. If administered properly, punishment may force the trainee to modify the undesired or incorrect behaviors.
Feedback
People learn best if reinforcement is given as soon as possible after training. Every employee wants to know what is expected of him and how well he is doing. If he is off the track, somebody must put him back on the rails. The errors in such cases must be rectified immediately. The trainee after learning the right behaviour is motivated to do things in a 'right' way and earn the associated rewards. Positive feedback (showing the trainee the right way of doing things) is to be preferred to negative feedback (telling the trainee that he is not correct) when we want to change behaviour.
Spaced Practice
Learning takes place easily if the practice sessions are spread over a period of time. New employees learn better if the orientation programme is spread over a two or three day period, instead of covering it all in one day. For memorizing tasks, 'massed' practice is usually more effective. Imagine the way schools ask the kids to say the Lord's prayer aloud. Can you memorise a long poem by learning only one line per day? You tend
to forget the beginning of the poem by the time you reach the last stanza. For 'acquiring' skills as stated by Mathis and Jackson, spaced practice is usually the best. This incremental approach to skill acquisition minimises the physical fatigue that deters learning.
Whole Learning
The concept of whole learning suggests that employees learn better if the job information is explained as an entire logical process, so that they can see how the various actions fit together into the 'big picture'. A broad overview of what the trainee would be doing on the job should be given top priority, if learning has to take place quickly. Research studies have also indicated that it is more efficient to practice a whole task all at once rather than trying to master the various components of the task at different intervals.
Active Practice
'Practice makes a man perfect': so said Bacon. To be a swimmer, you should plunge into water instead of simply reading about swimming or looking at films of the worlds' best swimmers. Learning is enhanced when trainees are provided ample opportunities to repeat the task. For maximum benefit, practice sessions should be distributed over time.
Applicability of Training
Training should be as real as possible so that trainees can successfully transfer the new knowledge to their jobs. The training situations should be set up so that trainees can visualise - and identify with - the types of situations they can come across on the job.
Environment
Finally, environment plays a major role in training. It is natural that workers who are exposed to training in comfortable environments with adequate, well spaced rest periods are more likely to learn than employees whose training conditions are less than ideal. Generally
speaking, learning is very fast at the beginning. Thereafter, the pace of learning slows down as opportunities for improvement taper off.
Areas of Training
The Areas of Training in which training is offered may be classified into the following categories.
Knowledge
Here the trainee learns about a set of rules and regulations about the job, the staff and the products or services offered by the company. The aim is to make the new employee fully aware of what goes on inside and outside the company.
Technical Skills
The employee is taught a specific skill (e.g., operating a machine, handling computer etc.) so that he can acquire that skill and contribute meaningfully.
Social Skills
The employee is made to learn about himself and others, and to develop a right mental attitude towards the job, colleagues and the company. The principal focus is on teaching the employee how to be a team member and get ahead.
Techniques
This involves the application of knowledge and skill to various on-the-job situations.
In addition to improving the skills and knowledge of employees, training aims at moulding employee attitudes: When administered properly, a training programme will go a long way in obt8ining employee loyalty, support and commitment to company activities.
Types of Training
There are many approaches to training. We focus here on the types of training that are commonly employed in present-day organisations.
Skills training: This type of training is most common in organisations. The process here is fairly simple. The need for training in basic skills (such as reading, writing, computing, speaking, listening, problem solving, managing oneself, knowing how to learn, working as part of a team, leading others) is identified through assessment. Specific training objectives are set and training content is developed to meet those objectives. Several methods are available for imparting these basic skills in modern organisations (such as lectures, apprenticeship, on-the-job, coaching etc.). Before employing these methods, managers should:
· explain how the training will help the trainees in their jobs.
· relate the training to the trainees' goals.
· respect and consider participant responses and use these as a resource.
· encourage trainees to learn by doing.
· give feedback on progress toward meeting learning objectives.
· Refresher training: Rapid changes in technology may force companies to go in for this kind of training. By organising short-term courses which incorporate the latest developments in a particular field, the company may keep its employees up-to-date and ready to take on emerging challenges.
· It is conducted at regular intervals by taking the help of outside consultants who specialise in a particular descriptive.
· Cross-functional Training: Cross-functional Training involves training employees to perform operations in areas other than their
assigned job. There are many approaches to cross functional training. Job rotation can be used to provide a manager in one functional area with a broader perspective than he would otherwise have. Departments can exchange personnel for a certain period so that each employee understands how other departments are functioning. High performing workers can act as peer trainers and help employees develop skills in another area of operation. Cross functional training provides the following benefits to an organisation (and the workers as well) (1) Workers gain rich experience in handling diverse jobs; they become more adaptable and versatile (2) they can better engineer their own career paths (3) they not only know their job well but also understand how others are able to perform under a different set of constraints (4) A broader perspective increases workers' understanding of the business and reduces the need for supervision (5) when workers can fill in for other workers who are absent, it is easier to use flexible scheduling, which is increasingly in demand as more employees want to spend more time with their families. Eli Lilly and Company (India), for example, encourages cross-functional movements to make the organisation equally attractive to both specialists and generalists.
· Team Training: Team training generally covers two areas; content tasks and group processes. Content tasks specify the team's goals such as cost control and problem solving. Group processes reflect the way members function as a team - for example how they interact with each other, how they sort out differences, how they participate etc. Companies are investing heavy amounts, nowadays, in training new employees to listen to each other and to cooperate. They are using outdoor experiential training techniques to develop teamwork and team spirit among their employees (such as scaling a mountain, preparing recipes for colleagues at a restaurant, sailing through uncharted waters, crossing a jungle etc.). The training basically throws light on (i) how members should communicate with each other (ii) how they have to cooperate and get ahead (iii) how they should deal with conflict-full situations (iv) how they should
find their way, using collective wisdom and experience to good advantage.
· Creativity training: Companies like Mudra Communications, Titan Industries, Wipro encourage their employees to think unconventionally, break the rules, take risks, go out of the box and devise unexpected solutions.
Postpone judgment: Don't reject any idea
Create alternative frames of reference
Break the boundary of thinking
Examine a different aspect of the problem
Make a wish list of solutions
Borrow ideas from other fields
Look for processes to change or eliminate
Think up alternative methods
Adopt another person's perspective
Question all Assumptions.
In creativity training, trainers often focus on three things:
(a) Breaking away: In order to break away from restrictions, the trainee is expected to (i) identify the dominant ideas influencing his own
thinking (ii) define the boundaries within which he is working (iii) bring the assumptions out into the open and challenge everything
(b) Generate new ideas: To generate new ideas, the trainee should open up his mind; look at the problem from all possible angles and list as many alternative approaches as possible. The trainee should allow his mind to wander over alternatives freely. Expose himself to new influences (people, articles, books, situations), switch over from one perspective to another, -arrange cross fertilization of ideas with other people and use analogies to spark off ideas.
(c) Delaying judgement: To promote creative thinking, the trainee should not try to kill off ideas too quickly; they should be held back until he is able to generate as many ideas as possible. He should allow ideas to grow a little. Brainstorming (getting a large number of ideas from a group of people in a short time) often helps in generating as many ideas as possible without pausing to evaluate them. It helps in releasing ideas, overcoming inhibitions, cross fertilising ideas and getting away from patterned thinking.
· Diversity Training: Diversity training considers all of the diverse dimensions in the workplace race, gender, age, disabilities, lifestyles, culture, education, ideas and backgrounds - while designing a training programme. It aims to create better cross-cultural sensitivity with the aim of fostering more harmonious and fruitful working relationships among a firm's employees.
· The programme covers two things: (i) awareness building, which helps employees appreciate the key benefits of diversity, and (ii) skill building, which offers the knowledge, skills and abilities required for working with people having varied backgrounds.
· Literacy Training: Inability to write, speak and work well with others could often come in the way of discharging duties, especially at the lower levels. Workers, in such situations, may fail to understand safety messages, appreciate the importance of sticking to
rules, and commit avoidable mistakes. Functional illiteracy (low skill level in a particular content area) may be a serious impediment to a firm's productivity and competitiveness. Functional literacy programmes focus on the basic skills required to perform a job adequately and capitalise on most workers' motivation to get help in a particular area. Tutorial programmes, home assignments, reading and writing exercises, simple mathematical tests, etc., are generally used in all company in-house programmes meant to improve the literacy levels of employees with weak reading, writing or arithmetic skills.
Training Methods
Training methods are usually classified by the location of instruction. On the job training is provided when the workers are taught relevant knowledge, skills and abilities at the actual workplace; off-the-job training, on the other hand, requires that trainees learn at a location other than the real work spot. Some of the widely used training methods are listed below.
1. Job Instruction Training (JlT)
The JIT method (developed during World War II) is a four-step instructional process involving preparation, presentation, performance try out and follow up. It is used primarily to teach workers how to do their current jobs. A trainer, supervisor or co-worker acts as the coach. The four steps followed in the JIT methods are:
1. The trainee receives an overview of the job, its purpose and its desired outcomes, with a clear focus on the relevance of training.
2. The trainer demonstrates the job in order to give the employee a model to copy. The trainer shows a right way to handle the job.
3. Next, the employee is permitted to copy the trainer's way. Demonstrations by the trainer and practice by the trainee are repeated until the trainee masters the right way to handle the job.
4. Finally, the employee does the job independently without supervision.
Merits:
• Trainee learns fast through practice and observation.
• It is economical as it does not require any special settings. Also, mistakes can be corrected immediately.
• The trainee gains confidence quickly as he does the work himself in actual setting with help from supervisor.
• It is most suitable for unskilled and semi-skilled jobs where the job operations are simple; easy to explain and demonstrate within a short span of time.
Demerits:
• The trainee should be as good as the trainer if the trainer is not good, transference of knowledge and skills will be poor.
• While learning, trainee may damage equipment, waste materials, cause accidents frequently,
• Experienced workers cannot use the machinery while it is being used for training.
2. Coaching:
Coaching is a kind of daily training and feedback given to employees by immediate supervisors. It involves a continuous process of learning by doing. It may be defined as an informal, unplanned training and development activity provided by supervisors and peers. In coaching, the supervisor explains things and answers questions; he throws light on why things are done the way they are; he offers a model for trainees to copy; conducts lot of decision making meetings with trainees; procedures are agreed upon and the trainee is given enough authority to make divisions and even commit mistakes. Of course, coaching can be a taxing job in that the coach may not possess requisite skills to guide the learner in a systematic way. Sometimes, doing a full day's work may be more important than putting the learner on track.
When to use coaching usefully? Coaching could be put to good use when:
· an employee demonstrates a new competency
· an employee expresses interest in a different job within the organisation
· an employee seeks feedback
· an employee is expressing low morale, violating company policies or practices or having performance problems
· an employee needs help with a new skill following a formal training programme.
Effective working, obviously, requires patience and communication skills. It involves:
· explaining appropriate ways of doing things
· making clear why actions were taken
· stating observations accurately
· offering possible alternatives / suggestions
· following up
3. Mentoring :
Mentoring is a relationship in which a senior manager in an organisation assumes the responsibility for grooming a junior person. Technical, interpersonal and political skills are generally conveyed in such a relationship from the more experienced person. A mentor is a teacher, spouse, counsellor, developerr of skills and intellect, host, guide, exemplar, and most importantly, supporter and facilitator in the realisation of the vision the young person (protege) has about the kind of 1ife he wants as an adult.
The main objective is to he1p an employee attain psychological maturity and effectiveness and get integrated with the organisation. In a work situation, such mentoring can take place at both formal and informal levels, depending on the prevailing work culture and the commitment from the top management. Formal mentoring can be very fruitful, if management invests time and money in such relationship building exercises.
· Career functions: Career functions are those aspects of the relationship that enhance career advancement. These include:
1. Sponsorship: Where mentors actively nominate a junior person (called 'mentee') for promotions or desirable positions.
2. Exposure and visibility: Where mentors offer opportunities for mentees to interact with senior executives, demonstrate their abilities and exploit their potential.
3. Coaching: Mentors help mentees to analyse how they are doing their work and to define their aspirations. Here mentors
offer practical advice on how to accomplish objectives and gain recognition from others.
4. Protection: Mentors shield the junior person from harmful situations/seniors.
5. Challenging assignments: Mentors help mentees develop necessary competencies through challenging job assignments and appropriate feedback. Mentors create opportunities clients to prove their worth to demonstrate clearly what they have to offer.
· Psychological functions: Psychological functions are those aspects that enhance the mentee’s sense of competence, and identify effectiveness in a professional role. These include:
6. Role modeling: Mentors offer mentees a pattern of values and behaviours to imitate
7. Acceptance and confirmation: mentors offer support, guidance and encouragement to mentees so that they can solve the problems independently and gain confidence in course of time. Mentors also help people to learn about the organisation's culture and understand why things are done in certain ways.
8. Counseling: Mentors help mentees work out their personal problems, learn about what to do and what not to do, offer advice on what works and what doesn't, and do everything to demonstrate improved performance and prepare themselves for greater responsibility.
9. Friendship: Mentors offer practical help and support to mentees so that they can indulge in mutually satisfying social interactions (with peers, subordinates, bosses and customers)
Mentoring in India is based on the time-honoured guru-shishya relationship where the guru would do everything to develop the personality of the shishya, offering emotional support, and guidance.
Companies like TISCO, Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Polaris, Coca-Cola India have used mentoring systems to good effect in recent times (Economic Times, 25 Oct., 2002). Organisations like General Electric, Intel, Proctor & Gamble have given a lot of importance to mentoring programmes, going even gone to the extent of penalising senior managers if they fail to develop leadership skills among subordinates. Of course, mentoring is not without its problems. Mentors who are dissatisfied with their jobs and though who teach or narrow or distorted view of events may not help a protege's development. Not all mentors are well prepared to transfer their skills and wisdom to their junior colleagues. When young people are bombarded with conflicting viewpoints - about how things should go - from a series of advisors, they may find it difficult to get ahead with confidence. Mentoring can succeed if (i) there is genuine support and commitment from top management (ii) mentors take up their job seriously and transfer ideas, skills and experiences in a systematic way and (iii) mentees believe in the whole process and carry out things in an appropriate manner.
4. Job Rotation :
This kind of training involves the movement of trainee from one job to another. This helps him to have a general understanding of how the organisation functions. The purpose of job rotation is to provide trainees with a larger organisational perspective and a greater understanding of different functional areas as well as a better sense of their own career objectives and interests. Apart from relieving boredom, job rotation allows trainees to build rapport with a wide range of individuals within the organisation, facilitating future cooperation among departments. The cross-trained personnel offer a great amount of flexibility for organisations when transfers, promotions or replacements become inevitable.
Job rotation may pose several problems, especially when the trainees are rolled on various jobs at frequent intervals. In such a case, trainees do not usually stay long enough in any single phase of the operation to
develop a high degree of expertise. For slow learners, there is little room to integrate resources properly. Trainees can become confused when they are exposed to rotating managers, with contrasting styles of operation. Today's manager's commands may be replaced by another set from another manager! Further, job rotation can be quite expensive. A substantial amount of managerial time is lost when trainees change positions, because they must be acquainted with different people and techniques in each department. Development costs can go up and productivity is reduced by moving a trainee into a new position when his efficiency levels begin to improve at the prior job. Inexperienced trainees may fail to handle new tasks in an efficient way. Intelligent and aggressive trainees, on the offer hand, may find the system to be thoroughly boring as they continue to perform more or less similar jobs without any stretch, pull and challenge. To get the best results out of the system, it should be tailored to the needs, interests and capabilities of the individual trainee, and not be a standard sequence that all trainees undergo.
5 Apprenticeship Training
Most craft workers such as plumbers and carpenters are trained through formal apprenticeship programmes. Apprentices are trainees who spend a prescribed amount of time working with an experienced guide, coach or trainer. Assistantships and internships are similar to apprenticeships because they also demand high levels of participation from the trainee. An internship is a kind of on-the-job training that usually combines job training with classroom instruction in trade schools, colleges or universities. Coaching, as explained above, is similar to apprenticeship because the coach attempts to provide a model for the trainee to copy. One important disadvantage ofthe apprenticeship methods is the uniform period of training offered to trainees. People have different abilities and learn at varied rates. Those who learn fast may quit the programme in frustration. Slow learners may need additional training time. It is also likely that in these days of rapid changes in technology, old skills may get outdated quickly. Trainees who spend years learning specific skills
may find, upon completion of their programmes, that the job skills they acquired are no longer appropriate.
6 Committee Assignments
In this method, trainees are asked to solve an actual organisational problem. The trainees have to work together and offer solution to the problem. Assigning talented employees to important committees can give these employees a broadening experience and can help them to understand the personalities, issues and processes governing the organisation. It helps them to develop team spirit and work unitedly toward common goals. However, managers should very well understand that committee assignments could become notorious time wasting activities. The above on-the-job methods are cost effective. Workers actually produce while they learn. Since immediat.e feedback is available, they motivate trainees to observe and learn the right way of doing things. Very few problems arise in the· case of transfer of training because the employees learn in the actual work environment where the skills that are learnt are actually used. On-the-job methods may cause disruptions in production schedules. Experienced workers cannot use the facilities that are used in training. Poor learners may damage machinery and equipment. Finally, if the trainer does not possess teaching skills, there is very little benefit to the trainee.
Off-the-Job Methods
Under this method of training, the trainee is separated from the job situation and his attention is focused upon learning the material related to his future job performance. Since the trainee is not distracted by job requirements, he can focus his entire concentration on learning the job rather than spending his time in performing it. There is an opportunity for freedom of expression for the trainees. Off-the-job training methods are as follows:
a. Vestibule training: In this
method, actual work conditions are simulated in a classroom. Material, files and equipment - those that are used in actual job performance are also used in the training. This type of training is commonly used for training personnel for clerical and semi-skilled jobs. The duration of this training ranges from a few days to a few weeks. Theory can be related to practice in this method.
b. Role playing: It is defined as a method of human interaction that involves realistic behaviour in imaginary situations. This method of training involves action, doing and practice. The participants play the role of certain characters, such as the production manager, mechanical engineer, superintendents, maintenance engineers, quality control inspectors, foreman, workers and the like. This method is mostly used for developing interpersonal interactions and relations.
c. Lecture method: The lecture is a traditional and direct method of instruction. The instructor organizes the material and gives it to a group of trainees in the form of a talk. To be effective, the lecture must motivate and create interest among the trainees. An advantage of lecture method is that it is direct and can be used for a large group of trainees. Thus, costs and time involved are reduced. The major limitation of the lecture method is that it does not provide for transfer of training effectively.
d. Conference/discussion approach: In this method, the trainer delivers a lecture and involves the trainee in a discussion so that his doubts about the job get clarified. When big organisations use this method, the trainer uses audio-visual aids such as black boards, mockups and slides; in some cases the lectures are videotaped or audio taped. Even the trainee's presentation can be taped for selfconfrontation and self-assessment.
The conference is, thus, a group-centered approach where there is a clarification of ideas, communication of procedures and standards to the trainees. Those individuals who have a general educational background and whatever specific skills are required such as typing, shorthand,
office equipment operation, filing, indexing, recording, etc. - may be provided with specific instructions to handle their respective jobs.
e. Programmed instruction: This method has become popular in recent years. The subject matter to be learned is presented in a series of carefully planned sequential units. These units are arranged from simple to more complex levels of instruction. The trainee goes through these units by answering questions or filling the blanks. This method is, thus, expensive and time-consuming.
Behaviourally Experienced Training
Some training programmes focus on emotional and behavioural learning. Here employees can learn about behaviour by role-playing in which the role players attempt to act their part in respect of a case, as they would behave in a real-life situation. Business games, cases, incidents, group discussions and short assignments are also used in behaviourally-experienced learning methods. Sensitivity training or laboratory training is an example of a method used for emotional learning. The focus of experiential methods is on achieving, through group processes, a better understanding of oneself and others. These are discussed elaborately in the section covering Executive Development Programmes.
Evaluation of a Training Programme
The specification of values forms a basis for evaluation. The basis of evaluation and the mode of collection of information necessary for evaluation should be determined at the planning stage.
The process of training evaluation has been defined as any attempt to obtain information on the effects of training performance and to assess the value of training in the light of that information. Evaluation helps in controlling and correcting the training programme. Hamblin suggested five levels at which evaluation of training can take place, viz., reactions, learning, job behaviour, organisation and ultimate value.
1. Reactions: Trainee's reactions to the overall usefulness of the training including the coverage of the topics, the method of presentation, the techniques used to clarify things, often throw light on the effectiveness of the programme. Potential questions to trainees might include: (i) What were your learning goals for the programme? (ii) Did you achieve them? (iii) Did you like this programme? (iv) Would you recommend it to others who have similar learning goals? ( v) what suggestions do you have for improving the programme? (vi) Should the organisation continue to offer it?
2. Learning: Training programme, trainer's ability and trainee's ability are evaluated on the basis of quantity of content learned and time in which it is learned and learner's ability to use or apply the content learned.
3. Job behaviour: This evaluation includes the manner and extent to which the trainee has applied his learning to his job.
4. Organisation: This evaluation measures the use of training, learning and change in the job behaviour of the department/organisation in the form of increased productivity, quality, morale, sales turnover and the like.
5. Ultimate value: It. is the measurement of ultimate result of the contributions of the training programme to the company goals like survival, growth, profitability, etc. and to the individual goals like development of personality and social goals like maximising social benefit.
Methods of Evaluation
Various methods can be used to collect data on the outcomes of training. Some of these are:
· Questionnaires: Comprehensive questionnaires could be used to obtain opinions, reactions, views of trainees.
· Tests: Standard tests could be used to find out whether trainees have learnt anything during and after the training.
· Interviews: Interviews could be conducted to find the usefulness of training offered to operatives.
· Studies: Comprehensive studies could be carried out eliciting the opinions and judgements of trainers, superiors and peer groups about the training.
· Human resource factors: Training can also be evaluated on the basis of employee satisfaction, which in turn can be examined on the basis of decrease in employee turnover, absenteeism, accidents, grievances, discharges, dismissals, etc.
· Cost benefit analysis: The costs of training (cost of hiring trainers, tools to learn, training centre, wastage, production stoppage, opportunity cost of trainers and trainees) could be compared with its value (in terms of reduced learning time, improved learning, superior performance) in order to evaluate a training programme.
Feedback: After the evaluation, the situation should be examined to identify the probable causes for gaps in performance. The training evaluation information (about costs, time spent, outcomes, etc.) should be provided to the instructors, trainees and other parties concerned for control, correction and improvement of trainees' activities. The training evaluator should follow it up sincerely so as to ensure effective implementation of the feedback report at every stage.
Training Programme of Company
Purpose-
To establish and maintain a documented procedure for identifying and providing training to all the employees of the organization with essential skill and knowledge so as to achieve desired quality and productivity goals.
Scope-
This procedure is applicable to all employees. Company's personnel involved in quality system.
Training Process
Training is provided both “In House” and through “Outside Agencies” Which could be for an individual or for group of persons as a collective training.
Training is conducted either through “Planned Training Programme” “Emergent Training Programme” which is organized by the HRD Department
Planned Training-
The planned training programme is drawn on annual basis both for individual and group of persons for collective training at the beginning of Calendar Year by Manager HRD and HRD Executive of factory. The departmental Heads drawn out the training requirements on the training requisition slip and sent it to HID Dept. Training of the senior personnel at Factory Is also catered for at Head Office on receipt of requirement from HRD Executive.
The annual Training Prog. at Head office is approved by from Chairman cum Managing Director.
Annual training Prog. is prepared on format and circulated to all heads of department and is updated. If required in case of additional training needs.
Emergent Training –
The Emergent training programme is a supplementary training programme both for individual and collective persons which is imparted during the course of work to take care for unforeseen or uncatered training requirements arisen due to installation of new machine, system, procedure etc.
Identification of such training need is done by the concerned HOD at Head Office and HOD/Supervisor at factory and accordingly forwards their request. The procedure as in case of planned training is followed there after.
Conduct of Training
HRD Head at HO & HRD (Executive) at factory ensures that identified training in their respective areas is conducted as scheduled.
In case of External training, liaison with the agency is done and dates, venue etc. is fixed up and concerned person is intimated through Heads of Department.
For In-House training, date/Venue is fixed up with identified faculty and concerned individual is informed through Heads of Department. Besides, necessary resource/infrastructure is also provided for effective training.
External Trainers for the Company are:
Father Son & Company
Skill & Thoughts
Logic Consultant
Topics covered under Training Programme
EFT Act & Scheme Provisions
Rigid and Semi Rigid Packaging
Principles of Contract Labour Act
Self-motivational & Attitudinal Seminar
Organic farming
Training about operations in the company.
Processing of Rice (value addition In Rice)
Knowledge about rice trade
Operational and maintenance of dryer & Cleaning Plant
Silo storage Techniques
Scientific Instrumentation
Finished goods quality control
Trouble shooting
PURPOSE OF PROJECT
To know the effectiveness of the training programme conducted by the company.
To know whether employees are aware about their responsibilities and authorities or not.
To improve Organizational Climate and increase the morale of employees.
To know whether training programme is conducted successfully or not.
To know about the work culture of the organization.
Job satisfaction
Job satisfaction is in regard to one's feeling or state of mind regarding the nature of their work. It can be influenced by a variety of factors e.g.: quality of one's relationships with there supervisor, quality of physical environment in which they work, degree of fulfillment in there work etc.
Locke gives a comprehensive definition of job satisfaction as involving cognitive, effective and evaluative reactions or attitudes and states it is "a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's job or job experience." Job satisfaction is a result of employees' perception of how well their job provides those things that are viewed as important.
There are three generally accepted dimensions to job satisfaction.
First, job satisfaction is an emotional response to a job situation, as such it cannot be seen; it can only be inferred.
Second, job satisfaction is often determined by how well outcomes meet or exceed expectations. For example if organizational participants feel that they are working more harder than others in the department but are receiving fewer rewards, they will probably have a negative attitude toward the work, the boss or the coworkers. They will be dissatisfied. On the other hand, if they feel they are being treated very well and are
being paid equitably, they are likely to have a positive attitude toward the job. They will be job - satisfied.
Third, job satisfaction represents several related attitudes.
Factors determining job satisfaction
• Factors affecting jobs are the main factors of job satisfaction, which may be challenging work, reward systems, working conditions, colleagues, learning and personality. Skill variety autonomy and significance are challenging tasks, which provide maximum satisfaction to employees. Many people feel bored if a job is too simple and routine, but many employees also enjoy simple and routine jobs.
• The job characteristics are important factors for providing satisfaction. Reward systems, equitable rewards, equal pay for equal work, promotion avenues, etc are satisfaction factors. Money is important to employees having unfulfilled basic needs, i.e. they require more award and recognition.
• Fairness in promotion, unbiased attitude of management, responsibilities and social status are the factors that are said to be providing satisfaction to employees.
• Working conditions influence employee's level of satisfaction. Under conducive working condition, people prefer to work hard while in an adverse atmosphere people avoid work. Working condition not only include physicals of the work but also the working relationships in the organization. The physical conditions, for example, are the light, temperature, willingness, etc. A clerk working under routine conditions likes to work hard in an air - conditioned atmosphere with computer facilities. It increases the working capacity of the employee.
· The relationships between the employees and the managers have an important bearing on job satisfaction.
· Job satisfaction is greater in case the higher authority is sympathetic, friendly and willing to help the employees. Employees feel satisfied when their views are listened to and regarded by their higher authorities
· Personal attitude and perceptions are the employees' angles of satisfaction, which should be taken into consideration while motivating people to arrive at job satisfaction
· Feedback from the job itself and autonomy are two of the major job-related motivational factors. A recent found that career development was most important to both younger and older employees.
· Supervision is another moderately important of job satisfaction. There seem to be two dimensions of supervisory style that affect job satisfaction. One is employee centeredness, which is measured by the degree to which a supervisor takes a personal interest and cares about the employee.
It commonly is manifested in ways such as checking to see how well the employee is doing, providing advice and assistance to the individual, and communicating with the associate on a personal as well as an official level . The other dimension is participation or influence, as illustrated by managers who allow their people to participate in decisions that affect their own jobs. In most case, this approach leads higher job satisfaction.
· Friendly, cooperative coworkers or team members are a modest source of job satisfaction to individual employees. The group, especially a "tight" team, serves as a source of support, comfort, advice, and assistance to the individual member.
Outcomes of job satisfaction
To society as a whole as well as from an individual employee's standpoint, job satisfaction in and of itself is a desirable outcome. It is important to know, if at all, satisfaction relates to outcomes variable. For example, if job satisfaction is high, will the employee perform better and the organization be more effective? I f job satisfaction is low, will there be performance problems and ineffectiveness? The following sections examine the most important of these.
Satisfaction and performance:
Most assume a positive relationship; the research to date indicates that there is no strong linkage between satisfaction and performance. Conceptual, methodological, and empirical analyses have questioned and argued against these results.
The best conclusion about satisfaction and performance is that there is, definitely a relationship. The relationship may even be more complex than others in organization behavior. For example, there seem to be many possible-moderating variables, the most important of which is reward. If people receive reward they feel are equitable, they will be satisfied, and is likely to result in greater performance effort.
Satisfaction and turnover:
Unlike that between satisfaction and performance, research has uncovered a moderately negatively relationship between satisfaction and turnover. High job satisfaction will not, in and of itself, keep turnover low, but it does seem to help. On the other hand, if there is considerable job dissatisfaction, there is likely to be high turnover. Obviously, other variables enter into an Employees decision to quit besides job satisfaction. For example, age tenure in the organization, and commitments to the organization, may playa role. Some people cannot see them selves working anywhere else, so they remain regardless of how dissatisfied they feel.
Another factor is the general economy, typically there will be an increase in turnover because will being looking for better opportunities with other organization.
Satisfaction and absenteeism:
Research has only demonstrated a weak negative relationship between satisfaction and absenteeism. As with turnover, many variables enter into the decision to stay home besides satisfaction with the job. For example, there are moderating variables such as the degree to which people that there job are important. For example, research among state govt. Employees has found those who believed that there was important had lower absenteeism than did who did not feel this way. Additionally, it is important to remember that although job satisfaction will not necessarily result in absenteeism, low job satisfaction more likely to bring about absenteeism.
Significance of Study
Every organization desires that it will grow continuously and make and retain its position in the competitive and continuously changing market environment. For this purpose the employees of the organization must be skilled and talented. But all the employees may not have the desired skills. Their skills can be improved with the help of training programs. It is an important activity for the origination to conduct appropriate and related programme for its employees, so that may be able to understand the terms required for the completion of his job. This also helps the employees of the organization to know about his job and organization very well. This also helps in better communication and relation among the organization wants to grow rapidly, then it is essential for it to conduct periodically training programmes for its employees to improve the skills and knowledge.
So the top management must concentrate on the training programs and organize them in such a way that maximum number of
employees wants to attend these programs. These must be related to employees and their jobs.