Chapter 6: Training and Developing Employees

Question 1

What are the benefits of training in general?

Answer 1

1. Helps avoid costly errors
2. Help a company attract
3. May ensure a company’s long-term survival.

Question 2

What are the advantages of formal training?

Answer 2

1. Helps employees continue to develop their skills
2. Makes teams more effective
3. Improves organizaton’s operational and financial performance

Question 3

Why should managers care about training?

Answer 3

1. There are many ways managers can influence your employee’s training choices, motivate them and help them implement, but managers are often unaware of this
2. Many managerial actions that boost learning in formal training program also promote informal learning.
3. Informal learning results mostly happen outside formal training programs.

Question 4

What is referred to with training content?

Answer 4

core material that is the focus of the training program. Focuses on hard or soft skills.
Hard skills are quantifiable technical skills and knowledge tied to specific tasks.
Soft skills: usually interpersonal ‘people’ skills.

Question 5

What are the four instructional principles essential for effective training?

Answer 5

1. Information: provide concepts, facts and information trainees need to know
2. Demonstration: show examples of knowledge targeted by the training and e.g. knowledge that is undesirable
3. Practice: creates opportunities to practice using trained knowledge, attitudes and behavioral skills
4. Feedback: provides timely, meaningful and diagnostic feedback with opportunities to make corrections

Question 6

What is meant with training methods?

Answer 6

materials and means that are used to share training content with trainees.

Question 7

What is a blended learning approach and what is the biggest benefit of blended learning approaches?

Answer 7

training approach drawing on multiple teaching methods. Benefit of blended learning is that different training methods provide opportunities to address different principles, so whole training package works together to facilitate learning.

Question 7

What is e-learning?

Answer 7

Putting part of the training online.

Question 8

What two trends are driven by an increase of technology-based training?

Answer 8

1. Interest in microlearning: bite-size chunks of learning, usually provided through an app or website.
2. Organizations are encouraging employees to engage in self-directed learning.

Question 9

Name two ways to influence training effectiveness before the start of the training?

Answer 9

1. Conduct needs assessment
2. Motivate employees to actively engage in training.

Question 10

What is needs assessment?

Answer 10

assesses what skills need to be trained and which employees need those skills.

Question 11

What three assessments does the needs assessment consist of?

Answer 11

1. Task assessment
2. Person assessment
3. Organizational assessment

Question 12

What is a task assessment?

Answer 12

addresses essential work functions of employee’s job.

Question 12

What is a person assessment?

Answer 12

identifies individuals most likely to benefit from training and suggest what type of training is most effective.

Question 12

What is an organizational assessment?

Answer 12

identifies training priorities based on company’s strategic goals and determines whether company has resources to support training. Should also focus on what skills will be needed in the future.

Question 12

Name two ways in which managers can engage employees to actively engage in training?

Answer 12

1. Communication
2. Behavior

Question 13

Name three important things managers should do in communication with employees to motivate to actively engage in training?

Answer 13

• Employees are more motivated when supervisors frame opportunities positively and also determines whether employees will go in with a learning or performance orientation
• Sense of choice can make training more effective. Limit mandatory trainings to just a few topics core to organization’s business, culture or mission.
• Training is more effective when employee has realistic sense of what training will be about.

Question 14

Name three behaviors managers should perform to motivate employees to actively engage in training?

Answer 14

• Managers should demonstrate the importance of the training.
• Practical and emotional support before own training can have a big impact.
• Support you give can create a learning climate

Question 15

What is learning orientation?

Answer 15

trainee wants to develop new skills and master new challenges
Performance orientation: trainee wants others to see them as capable.

Question 16

What is meant by climate?

Answer 16

way employees perceive their employer’s policies, procedures and activities

Question 17

What should managers do after training to influence and measure effectiveness of training?

Answer 17

1. Ensure workplace encourages employees to transfer training material to job
2. Conduct training evaluation to measure value training delivered to organization.

Question 18

What are the four essential components of a post-training work environment?

Answer 18

1. Support
2. Opportunities to practice
3. Performance feedback
4. Follow up

Question 19

What are support component of a post-training work environment?

Answer 19

create opportunities to discuss training; help apply what they have learned. Try surfacing obstacles that employees face when trying to apply training material.

Question 20

What is the opportunities to practice in post-training work environment?

Answer 20

help employees identify opportunities to apply skills or assign tasks that draw directly on those new skills. Cut slack when they are practicing.

Question 21

What is the performance feedback component in the post-training work environment?

Answer 21

Give specific feedback about performance, enabling to make immediate, concrete improvements

Question 22

What is the follow up component in the post-training work environment?

Answer 22

praise employees for using skills learned in training or debrief with employees on moments where they could apply new skills.

Question 23

What is training transfer?

Answer 23

employee can identify opportunities to use their new skills and change work behavior.

Question 24

What are the four levels of kirkpatrick’s training evaluation framework?

Answer 24

1. Trainee reactions: measures how trainees felt about training
2. Trainee learning: measure how their attitudes, knowledge or skills have change
3. Trainee behavior: measures how transfer of training and assesses whether new knowledge or skills are used on the job.
4. Results: measures how training outcomes such as profit, customer satisfaction etc. have changed.