There are different and important benefits that are obtained from professional and continuous training in companies, and that explain the efforts and money applied.
Not all of these benefits are visible to the naked eye, nor are they effective in the short term; But the fact is that training comes to be, from the outset, a kind of corrective or preventive medicine for the company that takes care of its health, and also a kind of maintenance or revitalizing gymnastics for people attentive to their individual competitiveness.
We could formulate more daring or ambitious analogies, but it is not lost on us that the performance of those efforts and money can be improved -and sometimes a lot-; we do know that the effectiveness of learning is often modest or discreet.
To address the improvement of continuous training in companies, we must first unfold its dimensions, its axes, its bases, its intentions, its visible and underlying aspects.
This writer and consultant is not going to be able to display so many things, but in these paragraphs he will try to reflect with the interested reader, at the beginning of this new year 2005.
We can agree that the effectiveness of training, understood as a contribution to results, cannot be increased without an intrinsic motivation of people towards lifelong learning throughout the working life, and in this regard it can be extraordinarily An awareness raising effort, authentically and successfully orchestrated by HR managers, pays off.
Participants in training actions - students - must go to them convinced of their need and interest, and it would not seem desirable that they do so compelled, skeptical or upset; They need to be aware of both the benefits of learning and the risks of not learning.
We have made reference to the effectiveness of training, and this concept should be defined; Kirkpatrick did it and many professionals rely on his model.
Today, adding a fifth level, it has been accepted that in-company training is fully effective when:
- It satisfies, in its development, the participants in the training actions It generates learning, whether it is knowledge, skills, attitudes, etc. It produces improvement in the performance of the job position It positively affects the results of the organization.
The above benefits exceed the investment made.
Perhaps we should talk more about learning and less about training. Each of us would probably define learning in our own way. Making an etymological interpretation, we would say that learning comes to mean “perfecting oneself by following a path”; this, as it moves into the future, seems applicable to both individuals and organizations, seen as a collective of people. The conquest of the future, that is, the prosperity of the organization, demands frequent and rapid structural, functional, technical, cultural, social changes…
Some people think that change is only welcomed by a wet baby, but the truth is that we live with him; of change we could equally formulate, and even refute, some definitions.
We can see it as "continuous progress in the learning of the company" and, therefore, as a continuous improvement of the organization.
In companies, individual and collective learning and the changes they facilitate go hand in hand.
To continue delving into this world of company training, we would have to accept, because there are studies that show it, that, beyond the questionnaires that are completed on the last day of the course, the training does not satisfy its users sufficiently, both young managers and workers. According to a study (2004) by Accenture, only 14% of Spanish managers consider that training programs (orchestrated for them or for their subordinates) achieve the proposed objectives, and it seems that this percentage is not much higher in countries such as States. United States, France, Germany, United Kingdom or Australia.
Also, and for referring to an emerging method, e-learning, we knew months ago of a study by Santillana Formación, according to which most users thought that online courses did not contribute anything, or very little, to the improvement of the job performance. Curiously and at the same time, the training departments that had implemented e-learning used to talk about its success, although it is true that some failures are already recognized, and blended learning is even pointed to as the best solution.
The matter is highly complex, but perhaps those in charge of training have to devote a lot of attention - limited recourse of the mind - to the big plans, the volume of orchestrated courses and their financing, and there is not always enough left for the expectations of the participants. its recipients and the effectiveness of these training actions.
We could also be neglecting learning opportunities outside the traditional courses, and ignoring still underlying needs, or belonging to the terra incognita of detection or anticipation.
This reflection could be prolonged, without ruling out that of other agents involved: Senior Management, users…
There will be, for example, those who think that some people may be complaining about the quality or effectiveness of the training to avoid their responsibility for learning…, but we have to lead the reflection along the constructive path of improvement, because surely there is room for her.
Naturally, there is also the satisfaction and the savor of achievement.
On more than a few occasions, the contributions of training to the success of specific projects in companies are recognized and celebrated, whether it be transfers of know-how and know-why, innovation processes and continuous improvement, computerization, introduction of versatility or multi-skilling, or other special cases in which the evolution of the role of human resources professionals is more evident.
But, far from dangerous complacency, one should stay in savoring, and reflect on how it could have been done even better, considering the relationship of training with other parts of the systemic whole of companies.
For greater entropy in the world of training, and perhaps especially in large organizations, the former - training - may have served, in the past and occasionally, as a softener for initiatives and conflicting messages from the Management: think about the introduction of the work system by objectives among employees, in the implementation of quality standards, in the incorporation of other bureaucratic control systems, or in changes in incentive systems.
Although all this, and other possible examples, requires or involves training, it also requires a certain negotiation between the parties, sometimes well resolved in advance and in a timely manner, but perhaps other times not so much.
Within this quick overview -formulated to provoke dissension, reflection and perhaps some decisions-, we could also stop at identifying the concepts of "training" and "development", beyond solving them by mere alignment with the short and the long-term.
Let's accept from the outset that, in the times we live in, a certain acceleration of our personal and professional maturity seems necessary; Development actions should be asked for visible results, although to achieve them it is necessary to give some continuity to the initiatives and perhaps greater participation of individuals.
It would also be necessary to better align and synergize individual development with the collective.
So when a knowledge worker or manager is called to a course, it may happen that the individual wonders what awaits them, and even mistrusts the training, in general or in particular.
Although it is certainly possible to think that the training is well received and that there is a majority of people always ready to learn, it can also happen that this last sentence is put into question, and that someone may express contrary ideas.
Training is certainly talked about a lot; more, if possible, since the coinage of terms such as e-learning or knowledge management in the 90s, and of course since they began to talk about the information and knowledge society.
Specifically, the "Development and Training Directors" of large companies seem to have acquired a special prominence: they frequently express their ideas and experiences in magazines and other media.
It is, by the way, revealing to read some of the statements of these executives of large or medium-sized companies, or to listen to them in their presentations. An observer would detect dilemmas to be solved, although they can certainly be solved differently in different companies.
For example: some training departments are receptive and reactive, and are dedicated to satisfying the demands that arise, and others are highly proactive and impose their initiatives; Some decided to commit themselves to e-learning, identifying it as an unstoppable alternative, and others hardly saw a possible complement in the new online method; Some see themselves primarily as a service to the members of the organization, and others seem to consider themselves fundamentally one more service to Senior Management. Obviously, Senior Management has a lot, or everything, to do with solving these and other training dilemmas in companies.
The reader will agree that training is interpreted in a lot of different ways, responds to a lot of different intentions, targets a lot of different actions, and generates a lot of different reactions.
Let's look, for now, at some visible purposes behind the training actions that are orchestrated in companies. The following appear legitimate, though of uneven significance:
- Satisfy technical and functional training needs of people Contribute to the professional development of managers and workers Accelerate the personal maturity of future managers Disseminate messages from the Management, for strategic alignment Introduce functional or operational changes Cultivate beliefs and related values with the culture of the organization. Implement specific programs (continuous improvement, innovation…). Facilitate dialogue and exchange of experiences between people. Generate a healthy and stimulating change of scenery for a few days. Improve internal and external image Consume the available budget Reward, motivate or satisfy the selected participants.
Each of us can add and remove elements in this list above, but perhaps we would agree that a good profile of…
- KnowledgeExperiencesTechnical skillsIntrapersonal strengthsInterpersonal skillsAttitudesFeelingsBeliefs or mental modelsMoral values and Behaviors…
in people -workers and managers-, it would contribute to the great achievements of the organization. When we talk about great achievements or goals, we mean:
- Efficiency in achieving business objectives Innovation in methods and products (or services) Customer satisfaction Quality of life in the organization Social recognition
These five achievements (and a few more that the reader may add) are worth looking at because they are what ensure the prosperity of the organization.
Do we agree that they are only possible with a professional profile of managers and workers, appropriate to each circumstance of the environment, and that therefore requires constant updates through training actions of different kinds? Well, now observe a possible division of training in the company, admitting the natural overlap of the corresponding actions:
- Training for individual and collective efficiency and competitiveness Training for creativity and innovation Training for the satisfaction of internal and external clients Training for quality of life at work Training for social responsibility and satisfaction of the environment
So, in terms of content, it could be said that we have traditionally dedicated ourselves to the effectiveness of the individual, and perhaps we have neglected other purposes equally linked to the health and prosperity of the organization.
But it is, of course, each company that decides its objectives in terms of training and development of its people, and shows greater or lesser sensitivity towards aspects such as people's satisfaction, their creativity, or the social significance of their activity.
Given that training is divided, rather than by content, in practice it has been divided by methods, without excluding their combination (blended learning) in specific programs.
The reader will be able to excuse the use of terms in English, because they are surely better known than their translations into Spanish. Let's see:
- Traditional classroom training Distance training with tutelary support Traditional and mayeutical workshops On the job training E-learning with or without tutelary support Coaching Mentoring Shadowing Outdoor Self-learning Conference attendance Others (practice the reader's thinking exploratory).
I titled this article alluding to better training in companies, and it may indeed be time to complete a certain reengineering of it; each company will decide on the matter based on their circumstances.
This consultant does not believe in universal solutions, but he dares to insist on this last message that I submit for consideration: let's reach out with your five fingers. There it goes:
- Training for individual and collective efficiency and competitiveness Training for creativity and innovation Training for the satisfaction of internal and external clients Training for quality of life at work Training for social responsibility and satisfaction of the environment
In this regard, encourage yourselves in your companies to adequately show your agreements and disagreements, so that things are done better, so that we achieve better results, so that they satisfy others, and so that we feel, ourselves, more satisfied and happy in 2005.
