Strategic HRM - Term Paper On Key Success Factors for Employee Development

Term Paper Done By:Zainab Vadnagarwala Raj Parikh

Development of Local Staff INTRODUCTION Employee development refers to the steps taken within a company to encourage each employee's professional and personal growth. Employees within organizations that offer employee development feel valued by their employer and produce larger amounts of quality work. By developing the employees both professionally and personally, the organization benefits from this growth.( By Kathy Adams McIntosh, eHow Contributor ) Employee performance is an important building block of an organization and factors which lay the foundation for high performance must be analysed by the organizations. Since every organization cannot progress by one or two individuals effort, it is collective effort of all the members of the organization. Performance is a major multidimensional construct aimed to achieve results and has a strong link to strategic goals of an organization. (Mwita,2000) Relation of these definitions to SHRM:- The definitions above state that you need a plan, a strategy to develop your employees in your organization. And only when you deal with your employees subtly will they respond to you and develop quickly. It relates to SHRM as it not only talks about professional development but also personal growth of the employee. As our professor taught us in our class USE IT OR LOOSE IT, employees are just like that if you dont train them well they will slip out of your hands and enter another firm. So employee retention is as much important as employee development. Various steps to develop local staff effectively and easily:

Step-by-step guidance for initial goal-setting and preparation for effective development planning for every employee and development method. Templates, worksheets, checklists, and guidelines to make your employee development efforts effective and sustainable. A modular, customized approach to developing employees by tailoring the development method to each employees unique needs and each organizations budget and constraints. Ways to capitalize on development ideas that are easy to implement immediately and cheaply such as self-directed learning, volunteering, sabbaticals and mentoring. The hidden value of job rotation, stretch assignments, and special teams for addressing your employees development needs while enhancing organizational results. The benefits of peer teaching and how to turn employee development into fun games and contests. Tools and techniques for developing employees by letting them turn stories from the frontlines into digital content for everyones benefit and why developing innovation zones within your organization may bring huge learning and development rewards. An examination of social learning and the use of multiple collaborative online tools for real time, on-the-job employee development. ( Halelly Azulay, Employee development on a Shoestring)

As said Practice makes you perfect, in the same way an employee needs step by step guidance and goal setting to get prepared to face and overcome obstacles in the near future. Employees can make organizations huge by performing exceptionally well only if they use the right set of tools. They need a modular approach to situations and also should be technologically updated in order to bring in innovation and creativity. They need a platform to lay down their ideas to feel motivated and to work harder. Teaching an employee to be disciplined is one of the main factors of employee development because if they arent disciplined they will never understand the seriousness of the situation they are dealing with, which could incur the company a major fall back.

LITREATURE REVIEW AND ANALYSIS Now we get into more detail and talk about the successful factors that develop local staff or the employees. What do factors in developing local staff mean? It shows us the factors which have developed employees from square one to top of the mark. And also provides us with the way and the technique by which the employees got to the top position. Given below are a few references which will make the topic clearer for the readers. Why Should An Employee Be Developed Purpose And Importance An employee is a great asset to the company. The company should give training and development programs to the employee in order to enhance the skills of the employee. An employee has to be developed as thats the only way he/she can show his true potential. Developing an employee is advantageous to the company as well for the personal growth of the employee. Its a two way deal where both sides are benefited, the company gets benefited as it saves a great deal of money and the employee enhances and enriches his/her skills and personal growth. As we talk about employee development, Lets also look at what is the purpose of employee development and its importance.

Purpose: An employee development plan enables employees to properly prepare and plan for their career. Even if the employee doesn't end up following the career path exactly, it still provides clear direction and purpose. An employee development plan identifies the person's goals and competency gaps and demonstrates techniques to close them up over time. It also provides career goals, interests and documents communication between the employee and manager. Practical Provision:An employee development plan provides training, coaching, job changes and details the delegation of responsibilities. Every employee needs consistent training in his job to improve skills and effectiveness. Coaching is offered in an employee development plan either between two employees or from the manager to the employee. If there is a change in the employee's job description or roles, it is clearly modified on paper with new goals and direction. The development plan also provides clarity for what responsibilities have been delegated to the individual. Emotional Provision:An employee development plan not only provides specific details and a plan of action for the individual, it also provides emotional support needed for an employee to succeed at his job. Confidence is an emotional provision provided by the development plan. The employee knows exactly what is expected of him, and he knows when he accomplishes the goals outlined in the plan, therefore boosting his confidence when the tasks are complete. Considerations:An employee development plan should always be monitored to implement any changes based on the employee's performance. Some employees may need more boundaries and defined roles while others may perform better with a general plan that allows for self-discovery. An employee not only needs training, coaching, delegation and other activities but also needs emotional and moral support to boost the confidence of the employee and help him/her succeed at their work. Employees should always be monitored with a view of helping them work harder and providing them support, not with a view of watching over them if they are doing the right work as that would demoralise them and it would show in the work they do.

Some of The Different Methods of employee Development:-

Effective Staff Development There are many different types of staff development (Ryan, 1987). These may include grade-level meetings, building-level meetings, or district-level meetings. The effectiveness of the meetings is dependent upon factors such as the following: Teacher Involvement Teachers should be involved in all aspects of planning and implementation of the staff development (Showers et al., 1987). Thorough Presentation of Ideas Staff development sessions should:

Present the background or theory for the innovation or strategy Provide a demonstration with interactive activities and visual media Provide initial practice in the sessions Provide immediate feedback to teachers about their efforts (Johnson, 1989; Showers et al., 1987; Sparks, 1983; Volker, Gehler, Howlett, & Twetten, 1986).

Coaching Expert or peer coaching should be provided to support teachers as they try new ideas in their classrooms (Hoffman, Roser, &Farest, 1988; McLaughlin et al., 1986; Showers et al., 1987). This talks about simple steps and basic approaches of employee development. It tells us about coaching the employee through his work, providing good feedback and motivating the employee to strive harder towards success. Also it is very important to meet the individual needs of the employee as only then will the employee feel satisfied and give his 100% dedication to the work he/she is doing. It is very important to satisfy the employee and make him/her feel comfortable in order to get the best out the employee. Employee is a power weapon in the company and every employee is different. Difference between training an employee and developing an employee is as follows:Training is imparted so that he understands his roles and responsibilities and learns to perform the tasks entrusted to him with ease and with efficiency Training of a new employee is an important part of his learning and orientation Development of an employee is an ongoing process which continues even after training. The focus of development is the person himself where the focus of training is the organization.

Looking At A Few Factors to Develop Local Staff Effective methods of employee development:Employee development involves providing employees with the information, tools, training, resources and support needed to learn and grow on the job. Effective employee development benefits the employee, the department, the manager and, ultimately, the company as a whole. To be effective, though, companies need to make sure that their development efforts are focused, specific and aligned with company goals and objectives. To be effective, though, companies need to make sure that their development efforts are focused, specific and aligned with company goals and objectives. Just Doing It! A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management revealed that almost 84 percent of HR professionals do not use structured employee development programs. Instead, they rely on information processes or, basically, just leave it to chance that employee development needs are being taken care of. Clear Expectations Employee development is all about helping employees learn and grow so that they can meet organizational needs. The first step, therefore, is determining what the organizational needs are and then setting clear expectations for employees in terms of how they can best meet those needs. This is generally done through the job description, which should be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure alignment with current goals and objectives. Effective Feedback Employee development success requires ongoing conversations and feedback between managers and employees so that employees know whether their performance is meeting expectations and if there are areas where they need to improve. Managers who set clear expectations and then provide specific and timely feedback on whether employees are meeting those expectations are more successful at employee development than those who don't have these conversations Access to Training and Other Resources When development needs are identified, it is important that employees have access to coaching, mentoring and training activities that can help them meet these needs. Managers and supervisors are in a natural position to serve as coaches and role models. Training can be offered internally or externally, in live or online formats. Information technology makes access to information easier and less expensive than ever before. (by Leigh Richards, Demand Media ) A Quote for Employee Development The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been. Henry A. Kissinger These Famous quotes have a direct relation to Strategic Human Resource Management. Our professor Donald Minday Taught us the difference between training an employee and developing an employee, these definitions not only focus on the current job of the employee but it makes them more ambitious to even think about their future jobs and makes them more experimental and clear towards their goals and objectives for future.

Different Employee Development Methods & Their Benefits

This is another article from a different author and after this article we will talk about the differences between them as mentioned by our professor. Core Training Core or fundamental training is the base of any good development plan. Core training includes teaching new employees the basics of their job, such as job duties, how to work employee software, company expectations and both company-wide and departmental goals. Many companies conduct this training for all new hires. Core training helps get a new employee off on the right foot, by giving him the training he needs to do his job. Personal Development Plans Personal development plans are a development method that focuses on the employee's professional life. With this method, the employer works with the employee to set personal professional goals. The employer and employee will create a list of goals and a plan for achieving them, such as raising to a higher level within the company or meeting a higher sales quota. Personal development plans help keep employees on track within the company, and encourage an employee to work harder. Leadership Training Leadership training is a development method used to help well performing employees rise to a leadership level. With leadership training, the best employees are placed in a specialized training program that helps them develop the skills they need to become team leaders or supervisors. These programs also often involve creating personal goals. Leadership programs help companies promote from within, and encourage employees to reach for higher levels. Mentor Development Program A mentor development program is a method of pairing a member of management with an employee to help the employee achieve more in her professional life. For example, a supervisor may become a mentor to a team leader. The supervisor will meet with the team leader on a regular basis, help the team leader develop professional goals and create check points for making sure she meets those goals. Using the mentor program helps a company develop stronger employees, and helps the employees develop better relationships with management. (By Amelia Jenkins, eHow Contributor) Here is an interesting article from Houston Community College which gives us an excellent approach to successfully develop employees. Article - Employee Development (Taken from Houston Community College) An excellent way to approach employment development is the through utilization of a four step employee development plan. This plan will put the mentor and the employees on track to achieve their maximum potential. The steps are as follows:

1. Prepare the employee: Make the employee think about their own development and the areas where development can occur. Ask them: a.What are the skills needed to do your job? How well do you perform them? b. What aspects of your job do you like least/best? c. What major accomplishments have you achieved since your last performance appraisal? d. In what ways, can your supervisor and/or the organization help you to do a better job? e. What changes would you like to see in your current job? f. What are your job goals for this next year? g. Where do you see yourself in five years? h. What have you been doing to prepare yourself to move ahead in your career? i. What activities would help you develop yourself? An excellent time to begin the developmental process is during the performance appraisal. Get the questions to the employee well in advance of the appraisal interview to give them time to prepare. Their answers will help guide the discussion. 2. Provide Development opportunities: There are a number of things you can do to help the employee develop and every employee is different. The following is a list of developmental approaches you can consider. a. Training Often training needs are simply defined by looking at the employees performance or by understanding their experience or lack of experience with the specific job tasks. b. Peer Coaching Employees coach other individuals on their jobs. The benefits are two-fold. First, the employees develop skills in other areas and can fill in for their counterpart if that person is on vacation or out sick. Also, in the process of teaching another person, the teacher themselves becomes more proficient. c. Job Design Changes Here, the employee defines all aspects of their job and makes suggestions as to how the job might be redesigned to enhance proficiency. You may be surprised by their creativity and superior ideas. Even though you may not be able to totally revamp a job, the employee understands the job better and you begin to recognize some of their concerns. d. Representing the Department Have the employee represent you, the team, or the department at an important meeting. Have them report back the proceedings to you and/or the team. In the process, the employee has a better understanding of how the team, the department, and their job fit into the big picture of the organization. e. Delegate Special Projects Create certain project challenges for the employee. The project must be seen as meaningful. Also, make sure the employee views the project as a reward for good work in other areas of their job. In doing so, the assignment becomes a motivating experience and not just more work. f. Assist the Boss Assign an employee to assist your boss or another executive on a special assignment where the employee will be exposed to new business perspectives of the organizations business. 3. Monitor Progress: Observe how the employee is doing. Schedule to meet at least once per quarter to discuss how things are going. Ask questions; review any quantity and quality measures that are relevant. Give ongoing feedback on what the individual is doing well and what they need to be doing differently. Feedback is critical to the success of the developmental process. If you do not follow up with them, you are essentially telling the employee the developmental process is not all

that important to you. If it is not important to you, how can you expect the employee to take it seriously? 4. Create Confidence: Let them know you are always available. Give the employee the encouragement and support needed to feel confident in his or her ability to succeed. When things do not go as well as planned, focus on what went right. You are asking the person to go beyond their current level, take it one step at a time. Sometimes we must take smaller steps to ensure a successful outcome.( By: Frank Abbott, Program Manager) This article has been taken from the Houston community college. By this we have understood that the true potential to develop the employees lie within themselves, only when they have high amount of dedication to be developed, will they follow these approaches positively and strive towards success. The Next article is taken from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) which also talks about employee development factors in the institution. Employee development is a key area of focus for the university. The employee Development plan is designed to identify areas of growth for employees, either in their current position or in preparation for future roles. Areas of focus typically relate to knowledge or skills. Like the performance management cycle, the employee Development cycle should be a process that begins with identifying the areas where the employee would like to develop; followed by regular feedback throughout the year; with an update on progress at the end of the year. Development goals may have a one year completion timeline or they could cross over several years, depending on the goal. According to RIT development of employee can be addressed in a number of ways:1. Training (classroom, webinar, seminar, university courses, etc.) 2. Observation of a skill (job shadowing) 3. Placement on a project team 4. On-the-job experience (broadening within a current role) 5. Independent reading These are articles from academic institutions which also show us different ways and approaches with which employees in an organization or an institution can be developed and motivated. It is very interesting for us to know that there are so many easily approachable ways with which employees can be developed.

Academic Journals
International Journal of Business and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 13 [Special Issue - July 2011]

Employee Development and Its Affect on Employee Performance Conceptual Framework

Abdul Hameed Aamer Waheed Lecturer Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Park Road, Islamabad, Pakistan E-mail: abdulhameed@comsats.edu.pk)

Introduction: Employee Development is one of the most important functions of Human Resource Management. Employee development means to develop the abilities of an individual employee and organization as a whole so; hence employee development consists of individual or employee and overall growth of the employee as when employees of the organization would develop the organization, organization would be more flourished and the employee performance would increase (Elena P. 2000).
Relation of employee development to Employee Performance:Therefore, there is a direct relationship between Employee Development and Employee Performance. As when employees would be more developed, they would be more satisfied with the job, more committed with the job and the performance would be increased. When employee performance would increase, this will lead to the organization effectiveness (Champathes, 2006). Proposed Model:Employee Development and Its affect on employee development Employee Performance means employee productivity and output as a result of employee development. Employee performance will ultimately affect the organizational effectiveness. Employee Learning: Employee learning explains the process of acquiring knowledge through curiosity to learn. It is a mind-set who has anxiety to get information. Employee learning will increase the abilities and competency of the employee (Dixon 1999). The abilities and competencies are helpful in employee performance and productivity. Skill Growth: It means to increase in the skill inventory level of an employee. The skill growth is possible through training and coaching. The skill level will affect on the employee performance. Employee performance will affect the organizational effectiveness. Employee Attitude and Behaviour: Employee attitude and behaviour refers to the responsiveness of an employee. When employee is nominated in different workshops, and training sessions, the employee attitude and behaviour will determine the seriousness in training and development programs. The responsive employee will learn different skills which will increase the employee performance. Employee performance will affect the organizational productivity. Employee Performance: Employee Performance means employee productivity and output as a result of employee development. Employee performance will ultimately affect the organizational effectiveness. Organizational Effectiveness: Organizational effectiveness refers to the achievement of overall organizational goals (Milkovich et al, 2004). Employee development leads to employee performance. Individual Performance of an employee will lead to the organizational effectiveness. (Abdul Hameed , Aamer Waheed Lecturer Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Park Road, Islamabad, Pakistan E-mail: abdulhameed@comsats.edu.pk)

An Academic Journal on developing and training employees shows us some new techniques how to systematically develop your employees. To be effective, training and management development programs need to take into account that employees are adult learners (Forrest &Peterson, 2006). Knowless (1990) theory of adult learning or Andragogy is based on five ideas: (a) Adults need to know why they are learning something (b) Adults need to be self-directed (c) Adults bring more work-related experiences into the learning situation (d) Adults enter into a learning experience with a problem-centered approach to learning (e) Adults are motivated to learn by both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators. Having a problemcentered approach means that workers will learn better when they can see how learning will help them perform tasks or deal with problems that they confront in their work (Aik & Tway, 2006). Hence, to maximize the effectiveness of training and development, organizations must constantly assess their employees current training and development needs and identify training and development needs to prepare employees for their next position. This requires that organizations recognize that different employees will have different needs and that these needs will change over time as these workers continue in their careers. If an organization invests in new equipment, it is expected that the equipment will pay for itself in faster production, less waste, lower maintenance costs, and so forth. But if an organization invests in improving the knowledge and skills of its employees, there should be some benefit to the organization. How should the organization measure the effect? As measures of training program success, Kirkpatrick (1959) suggested using four criteria: 1. Reaction: what the trainees thought of the particular program 2. Learning: what principles, facts, and techniques trainees have learned. 3. Behaviour: an assessment of changes in trainee job performance 4. Results: the impact of the training program on organizational objectives, such as turnover, absence, and costs Measuring the return on investment for a training program adds a fifth level to the criteria. Phillipss (1996) summary of the American Society for Training and Developments return on investment for training case studies in a variety of industries notes that the returns on investment ranged from 150% to 2000%. There is a second reason that organizations have a bias toward investments in equipment rather than employee development. Developing your employees makes them more attractive to other employers, potentially making them more likely to turnover. After they have been developed, employees are free to leave the organization to work for another organization, taking the organizations investment in their improved level of knowledge or skills with them to their new employer. According to this counterproductive logic, it is better not to develop your own employees, to prevent competitors from potentially benefitting from the training. At different stages of their careers, employees need different kinds of training and different kinds of development experiences. Although a business degree might prepare students for their first job, they will need to gain knowledge and skills through education and experience as they progress through their career. Peters (2006) suggests that there are four stages of management education with different learning outcomes: 1. Functional competence, an understanding of finance, accounting, marketing, strategy, information technology, economics, operations, and human resources management 2. Understanding context and strategy and how organizational processes interrelate, to make sense of societal changes, politics, social values, global issues, and technological change

3. Ability to influence people, based on a broad understanding of people and motivations 4. Reflective skills, to set priorities for work efforts and life goals.

Company Examples We will now look at a few examples and see the training methods they use to develop their employees. This example is of Panasonic. This article tells us about three training centres which Panasonic operates to develop their workforce and make them more efficient. Training Program Our most recent employee survey revealed that, while our employees are generally satisfied with their roles within Panasonic, there is an undercurrent of concern about their level of preparedness and ability to do their jobs, as well as understandable uncertainty about the ongoing global economic downturn. Providing sound training and development is one of the best ways to ensure our employees continue to flourish and meet their professional and personal goals at Panasonic. The Panasonic Human Resource Development Company (HRDC) is dedicated to providing employees at every level of the organization with training and education. HRDC's Global Leadership Development Centre is dedicated to training Panasonic's leadership in our founder's management philosophy. The Centre also offers Basic Business Philosophy seminars to employees at every level of the organization, with special tracks for managers and executives to learn about innovation practices and ways to implement the Basic Business Philosophy. The HRDC also operates three training centres, each of which offers specialized training to Panasonic's workforce:
Corporate Technology Training Centre

Focus on technology management, hardware and software training, and product safety and information security. Offers training on basic and specialized manufacturing skills, as well as functional training for quality control, environmental management, production engineering, and procurement. Trains Panasonic employees and key business partners to better understand the importance of marketing based on the Panasonic management philosophy.

Manufacturing Training Centre

Marketing Management Development Training Centre

CONCLUSION (Analysis) Firstly before getting to our conclusion of the articles above, we would like to thank our professor (Donald Minday) for giving us such an interesting assignment. After reading so many articles and researching on so many different ways of developing employees and their success factors we have understood and learnt a great deal about Strategic Human Resource Management. Instead of giving our pointers on this topic we have designed our own methods and ways of developing employees in the precise manner. The key success factors of developing employees are as follows:-On Job Training: instructing the employee on the dos and donts while he/she is at work. Giving them responsibilities and showing the right from the wrong. Testing their knowledge and skills by giving assignments and seeing how they perform as only then can you determine the amount of training which is required to be given to the particular employee. - Off Job Training: Conference calls, research work are some of the off job training that employers give the employees not only to keep them active but also to make them more efficient and effective to the organization. These assignments enhance their social skills and make the employees more at ease in what they do. Some of the off job training examples are: Day release (employee takes time off work to attend a local college or training centre) Distance learning / evening classes Block release courses - which may involve several weeks at a local college Sandwich courses - where the employee spends a longer period of time at college before returning to work

- Job Rotation: One of the best methods to develop employees is job rotation. In this you switch the job of the employee temporarily to develop the skills of the employee in various fields to make him/her more accessible and reliable to take up more assignments and also develop their skills tremendously. - Role Play (Simulations): Role play is not just practicing working with an imaginary customer, it means to work out the deal with a group of employees. It opens communications, and for the time that it puts a person on spot, it also gives a great deal of confidence and develops teamwork among those participating in role play. Situational Analysis: This basically means that the employer/supervisor tests the employee by giving him a situation and making it look like a fun exercise. Then the employers wait for the response of the employee and see what they have to say about the situation and how they would face it. After the employee is done giving their part of explanation then the employer makes shows the right way to approach the situation and makes them understand the importance of the situations. -In basket exercise: Is to pick the best employee out of the lot by giving an assignment and seeing who performs the best. The employee who performs the best is given a chance to work on an important project that he/she has never done before. -Coaching: The universal technique used by everyone to develop employees is Coaching. This means to not only practically and morally support the employee and guide him/her through the work but also to provide emotional support to raise the moral and satisfy the employee to work harder and strive towards success.