Employee Development and Performance
Continuing from the Strategy, Planning, and Selection assignment, you were selected as the new HR director for the retail company and now have been in the position for approximately six months. Your approach to strategy, planning, and selection have been quite successful thus far, and now it is time to address the organization’s expectation for performance and development of employees since these components of HR strategy are critical in achieving business outcomes and success.
Write a four- to five-page paper in which you do the following:
Critically analyze and discuss any researched (web or textbook) training process model you may consider for use in developing employees (Here’s an idea: The Addie Model or exhibit 7-1, page 230 in the textbook). Then, identify and discuss some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company.
List and briefly discuss at least three types or methods of training that can be used for employee training. Of the three, which would you select to train the retail employees, and why? Be specific.
Differentiate the concepts of performance management and performance appraisal with three to four key points. Then, make your case to leadership for or against using annual performance appraisals in the organization. Be specific with your perspective.
Employee Development and Performance Example
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of the practical considerations for the creation and maintenance of employee development programs focusing on staff training and performance management. These development programs will tap the potential of employees and build their skills and competencies to accomplish organizational goals. This paper addresses the organizational expectations for employees’ development and performance as critical components of human resource strategy in the achievement of successful business outcomes. First, the Addie Model will be critically analyzed and discussed as the appropriate training model to support employee development. Secondly, three methods of training will be discussed. The paper recommends the most appropriate method of training employees in the retail sector. Besides, the challenges faced in the implementation of new training processes in the company are discussed, along with possible solutions. Furthermore, the paper constitutes a detailed differentiation of the two concepts of performance management and performance appraisal. Finally, arguments in favor of using annual performance appraisals will be presented to the organizational leaders.
Employee Development and Performance
Employees are considered as the biggest assets in organizations, and investment in high-quality talent is important to attain sustainable growth and long-term success. Employee development is a procedure by which the workforce becomes more valuable through increasing their capabilities and building their skillset (Dessler, 2020). The improved abilities and skills allow employees to succeed in the execution of their jobs and the progression of their careers. The training and development of employees are often used interchangeably to encompass various staff learning practices. Precisely, employee training programs for learning precise skillset and acquiring knowledge to enhance performance. Development programs focus on the extensive growth plans for improved performance in the future instead of improving their immediate roles. Thus, employee development is universally acknowledged as a viable strategic tool for the continued growth, staff productivity, and retention of valuable employees (Bohlander & Snell, 2013). Other reasons for implementing employee development programs include enhancing competitiveness, addressing skills shortages, adapting to changing structures, and aligning staff development with organizational needs. This paper provides an overview of considerations for the creation of employee development focusing on training and performance evaluations.
The Addie Training Process Model
For many years, the ADDIE Instructional Design method has been widely used and implemented as a systematic approach for the design and development of training programs. The acronym ADDIE stands for the five-step approach, Analysis, Design, Development,
Implementation and Evaluation. However, the sequence does not enforce a strictly linear progression throughout the five phases. The training developers use the ADDIE model as it has stages that are plainly defined, facilitating the implementation of training tools effectively (Branch, 2009). The initial analysis stage is considered as the Goal-Setting phase that focuses on the target audience. In the analysis stage, the training program is matched to each participant’s level of intelligence and skills. This will avoid duplication by ensuring that the topics and lessons included in the training program have not been explored and learned yet. The analysis phase allows instructors to distinguish between what is already known and what they ought to know after completing the training program.
Secondly, the design stage determines the goals, various tools that will be applied in gauging performance, training tests, analysis of the subject matter, lesson planning, and the resources. In this phase, the main focus is on the learning objectives, analysis of the subject matter content, exercise, planning, selection of instruments for assessment, and media. The suitable method in the design phase ought to be systematic with logical and methodical processes of identification and development and assessment of planned strategies targeting the goal accomplishment. This approach ensures that everything will fall within a cogent and planned strategy with the ultimate goal of realizing the targets.
Next, the development phase commences the production and tests of the methodology employed in the training project. The designers will collect data from the preceding stages to create a training program that communicates what will be taught to participants. The stage will focus on the execution of three tasks: drafts, production, and evaluations. Thus, the development stage involves creations and tests of the learning outcomes. The subsequent implementation replicates the constant modification of the training program to ensure maximum efficiency and generation of positive results. This will be achieved by redesigning, updating, and editing the course to ensure that it is delivered effectively. The bulk of the actual work is done as instructional design, and participants train on the tools and continuous evaluation for further improvement. The final phase is the evaluation stage. The project is then subjected to careful final tests concerning the how, when, what, and why of the elements that were accomplished of the entire training project. The evaluation stage is subdivided into summative and formative portions. First, the formative part happens while the participants are conducting the study, and the summative part happens at the close of the program. The goal is to establish whether the goals have been fulfilled and determine what will be needed to enhance the training project’s efficiency and success.
Challenges in New Training Processes
One of the main challenges that could be faced in carrying out new training processes is hectic schedules since family life, school, work, social life, and other demands can drain the energy levels of employees. There is a risk that the training could add to their stress, especially when training sessions intrude on their time; thus, they can resist and resent training. Furthermore, the hectic schedules can lead to challenges in the coordination of schedules of all stakeholders. This can be resolved using a micro-learning approach that focuses on short and focused sessions in the training regimen. The consistency and generation of similar learning outcomes from the same learning materials, is another challenge faced in employee training and development, mainly in big corporate settings. These corporations rely on external trainers. It is hard to guarantee that their expertise and teaching styles are universally consistent. This can be alleviated by developing a clear and unambiguous syllabus and creating standardized online training modules.
The steady surge in remote working and decentralized global workforce has also brought forth challenges in staff training and development. The geographically dispersed employees are a challenge to training due to misunderstandings and cultural differences, leading to inconsistency in training. This can be resolved using social tools for the unification of the dispersed teams, including video conferences and online forums, as convenient tools for fostering trust and empathy. Finally, engagement is essential on three levels: behavioral, cognitive, and emotional. The absence of any of the three elements leads to poor retention of knowledge, passive learning, and low commitment, contributing to training challenges. The possible solution is to provide engaging and experiential training to retain new information and partake in active learning by seeing what their work looks like, asking questions, and feeling the satisfaction of doing something new successfully.
Methods of Staff Training
The best types of staff training methods for a given workforce are instructor-led classrooms, interactive, and hands-on training methods. The instructor-led training is the conventional kind of employee training, which occurs in a classroom setting, with the teacher presenting the learning material (Brown, 2018). It is a highly effective employee training method, particularly for complex topics. Secondly, the interactive method adds interactive group activities to training, such as group discussions, reviews of case studies, quizzes, role-playing, and demonstrations. The training approach adds fun to learning through engaging experiences. This employee training method is best applicable to challenges that need a collaborative approach to addressing complex issues. Lastly, the hands-on training method is an experiential training that focuses on employees’ individual needs since training is conducted on the job directly (Brown, 2018). The hands-on training approach is the best for training retail employees as it helps an employee to fit perfectly into imminent or current roles while improving their current skillset. The training skips the abstract knowledge and dives into practical knowledge, allowing trainees to grasp the learning rapidly.
Performance Management versus Performance Appraisal
These terms are interchangeably, but there is a need to build a more nuanced approach to the related yet distinct concepts. This will aid in the realization of the full benefits derived from building a high-quality performance management system that comprises strong performance appraisals. First, performance management is defined as a process of the identification, measurement, management, and development of the performance of the human resource within an organization (Bratton & Gold, 2017). Conversely, performance appraisal is defined as an ongoing procedure of evaluation of the performance of employees (Snell & Bohlander, 2013). Performance appraisal is a reactive procedure that can be used as an operational tool for improving employee efficiency, whereas performance management is a proactive process considered a strategic tool. Another distinguishing factor is that performance management mainly focuses on continued employee development such that the workforce becomes increasingly better in their job to enhance organizational performance. Contrastingly, performance appraisal is the evaluation of the progress through the periodic assessment or measurement of the employees’ actual performance over time. Lastly, the performance appraisals focus on the past, to assess how the employees previously performed in the immediate period under review in the appraisal processes. Nevertheless, performance management focuses on the current and future period to ensure employees’ performance reaches desired levels by developing their capabilities and skills for subsequent periods.
Arguments for Using Annual Performance Appraisals
When carried out effectively, the annual performance appraisals can substantially affect employee morale, job satisfaction, engagement, and productivity. The benefits of annual performance appraisals are mostly dependent on how they are implemented. When executed correctly, appraisals offer a means of staff evaluation across different performance measures. Thus, they can provide valuable insight used by the management in spotting high achievers, correcting bad behaviors, and identifying training needs for the staff to grow their potential. The management can use the employee evaluation system to gauge their employees against pre-defined objectives and resolve performance issues. The annual appraisals provide critical insights to management and employees that aid in decision-making regarding staff bonuses, promotions, salary increments, and other kinds of rewards. The appraisals are used in annual planning by providing a structure for planning for the subsequent periods and developing employee goals. The leaders can use the performance appraisals in defining the medium and long-term organizational objectives for employees and support their professional growth. Finally, the appraisals are a perfect opportunity for assessing the organizational training and development programs, rewarding top performers, and identifying opportunities for staff improvement.
References
Aguinis, H. (2019). Performance management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons
Bohlander, G. W., & Snell, S. (2013). Principles of human resource management. Mason, Ohio: South-Western.
Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2017). Human resource management: Theory and practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Brown, K. G. (2018). The Cambridge handbook of workplace training and employee development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316091067
Branch, R. M. (2009). Instructional design: The ADDIE approach. New York: Springer.
Dessler, G. (2020). Fundamentals of human resource management. Harlow, England: Pearson.
Noe, R. A. (2020). Employee training and development. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Snell, S., & Bohlander, G. W. (2013). Managing human resources. Mason, Ohio: South-Western.