Chapter 8

Orientation and Employee Training

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 8 Overview
Orientation Training Employees Methods of Training Evaluation of Training Principles of Learning

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Relationships among HR Functions Necessary for Effective Performance

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Orientation
Introducing new employees to the

organization, work units, and jobs.

Orientation from coworkers: Usually unplanned, unofficial; often

provides misleading, inaccurate info.

Job applicants get some orientation

before hired through organizations reputation.

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Orientation
During selection, new employee learns: General aspects of organization. Duties, working conditions, and pay. Formal orientation begins after hiring. Orientation usually conducted at 2 levels: Organizational orientation. Departmental and Job orientation.
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Shared Responsibility
HR and employees immediate manager

normally share orientation responsibilities.

HR department responsible for coordinating

the process, for organizational orientation and follow-up.

Manager usually responsible for

departmental and job orientation.

Buddy System Coworker of new

employee conducts job orientation.

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Organizational Orientation
Topics relevant to all employees. Organization is interested in: Making a profit Providing good customer service Satisfying employee needs Being socially responsible New employees are interested in: Pay and Benefits Terms and conditions of employment
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Departmental and Job Orientation

Topics unique to new employees specific

department and job.

Content depends on: Specific Department needs. Skills and Experience of new employee.

Orientation Kit
Usually prepared by HR department. Many organizations require employees to

sign a form indicating they received and read the orientation kit:
In Unionized organizations, to protect

against grievances.
In Non-Union organizations, to protect

against wrongful discharge litigation.

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Orientation Kit Contents May Include:

Company organization chart Map of companys facilities Policy and procedures handbook List of holidays and benefits Performance appraisal forms, etc. Emergency and safety procedures Company newsletter or magazine Phone numbers, locations of key personnel Insurance plans
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Orientation: Length and Timing

Brief sessions increase likelihood of

understanding and retention:

Best if not more than 2 hours per session,

spread over several days.

Departmental and job orientation methods: Employee given department procedures

manual, told to read and ask questions.

Or, giving new employees menial tasks. Both likely to produce poor results
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Orientation Follow-Up
Employee should not be told to drop by

if problems occur.
Manager should regularly check on new

employee and answer questions arising after initial training.

HR department should schedule follow-up

after employee on job for a month.

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Orientation Evaluation
Feedback to evaluate orientation effectiveness:
Unsigned questionnaires from all new

employees.
Interview randomly selected employees. Group discussion sessions with new

employees settled into their jobs.

Helps organization adapt and improve

orientation program.
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Training Employees

Learning process of acquiring skills,

concepts, rules, attitudes to enhance performance.

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Reasons for Training

Changes (technology, etc.) make skills

learned today obsolete in future.

Planned organizational changes:

employees must update or acquire skills.

Performance problems such as low

productivity or quality issues.

Regulatory, certification, etc. issues

require employer to provide training.

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Successful Training Steps

Perform Job Analysis: Identifies KSAs of a job. Design Training to improve trainee KSAs. Perform Needs Assessment. Establish Training Objectives: Conduct training program Evaluate training outcomes

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Training Needs Assessment

Commit resources to only training activities

that help achieve organization objectives.

5 Methods to collect assessment info: Interviews Surveys/questionnaires Observations Focus groups Document examination
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Needs Assessment Questions

What problems is employee having in job? What additional skills and/or knowledge

does employee need to perform job better?

What training does employee believe is

needed?
Employees must believe their input will be

valued and not be used against them.

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Needs Assessment Questions

Surveys and/or Questionnaires often used:

Develop a list of skills required to perform

particular jobs effectively.

Ask employees to check those skills in

which they believe they need training.

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Training Needs Assessment

Employee Attitude Surveys can uncover

training needs; usually an outside expert conducts and analyzes the survey.
Customer Surveys can indicate problem

areas for the entire organization or particular units.

Training Needs observations conducted

by trained experts.
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Training Needs Assessment

Focus Groups: employees from various

departments and levels within organization.

Sessions can be conducted by HR

department specialists or outside experts.

Focus group topics address issues such as: What skills/knowledge will employees

need for us to stay competitive over next five years?

What organizational problems can be

solved through training?

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Training Needs Assessment

Document (record) examination to find: If problems exist. If these problems can be addressed

through training.
Organizational records include: Absenteeism Turnover Accident Rates Performance Appraisals
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Establishing Training Objectives

Many training programs have no objectives! Training for trainings sake: Impossible to evaluate strengths and

weaknesses of a training program.

Effective training objectives state (in

writing) what outcomes will result for organization, department, or individual after training.
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Training Objectives Categories

Instructional Objectives: What is to be learned? Who is to be taught, and When? Organizational and Departmental Objectives: What impact will training have on

outcomes turnover, costs, etc.?

Individual Performance/Growth Objectives: What impact will training have on behavior

and attitude outcomes or personal growth?

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Common Training Methods

On-the-Job training (OJT) Job Rotation Apprenticeship training Classroom training

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On-the-Job Training (OJT)

Shows employee how to perform job under

trainers supervision (normally senior employee or manager)

Advantages: No special facilities are required Performs productive work during learning More effective than classroom training Disadvantage: Workplace pressures can cause

instruction to be haphazard or neglected

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Job Rotation (Cross Training)

A form of OJT. Requires individual to learn several

different jobs and perform each job for a specified time period.
Advantage Makes flexibility possible

in the department.

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Apprenticeship Training
Combines OJT and Classroom training to

prepare workers for skilled occupations such as:

Bricklayer Computer operator Laboratory technician About two-thirds of apprenticeable

occupations are in construction and manufacturing trades.

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Classroom Training
Quickly imparting information to groups

with little or no knowledge of subject.

Useful for teaching: Facts, Concepts,

Principles, and Theories.

Orientation, safety, and, apprenticeship

programs usually include some classroom instruction.

Classroom instruction is more frequently

used for technical, professional, and managerial employees.

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Virtual Classroom
Online teaching & learning environment integrating:
Chat rooms Video conferencing Web sites E-mail

into a lecture-based system.

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Benefits of Evaluating Training

Less effective programs can be

withdrawn, saving time, money and effort.

Weaknesses within established programs

can be identified and addressed.

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Training Evaluation: 4 Areas

Reaction: How did trainees like program? Learning: What principles, facts, and

concepts were learned?

Behavior: Did trainees job behavior change? Results: In terms of factors such as

reduced costs or reduction in turnover?

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Reaction to Training
Reaction Evaluation Questionnaires

normally administered immediately following training:

Can be administered several weeks later. Drawback in using only reaction evaluation: Enthusiasm of trainees cannot be taken

as evidence of improved ability and performance.

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Learning Evaluations
How well trainees understood and absorbed

principles, facts, and skills taught:

Skills: Fairly objective way to determine

how much learning is occurring.

Principles and facts: Paper-&-pencil tests. For accurate picture of what was learned,

trainees should be tested both before and after the training program.

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Behavior Changes
More difficult to evaluate! Systematic appraisal of on-the-job

performance on a before-and-after basis, by one or more of these groups: Trainee Trainees superior(s) Trainees subordinates Trainees peers
Control group should be used
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Results Evaluation
Attempts to measure changes in variables: Turnover Costs Efficiency Quantity and Quality of Production Pretests, posttests, and control groups are

needed for an accurate results evaluation.

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Principles of Learning
Used during development and

implementation of training programs to help ensure success. Principles of Learning: Motivation to Achieve Personal Goals Knowledge of Results Reinforcement Flow of the Training Program Practice and Repetition Spacing of Sessions Whole or Part Training
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Motivation to Achieve Personal Goals

Frequently identified Employee Objectives: Job Security Rewarding Work (Financial or Intellectual) Recognition and Status Responsibility and Achievement If training program helps employees achieve

personal goals, learning process is greatly facilitated.

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Knowledge of Results (Feedback)

Feedback influences the learning process: Progress feedback helps in setting

goals for what remains to be learned.

Continuous progress analysis and

setting new goals enhances learning.

Employees may become discouraged

by goals that seem unachievable.

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Knowledge of Results (Feedback)

Learning Curve Chart plotting progress

of an individual learner or a group.

Primary purpose Provide feedback on

trainees progress.
Helps in deciding when to increase or

decrease training and when to change methods.

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Sample Learning Curves

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Reinforcement
Behavior that appears to lead to a positive

consequence tends to be repeated, but behavior that appears to lead to a negative consequence tends not to be repeated.
Positive Consequence = a reward Praise and recognition, typical rewards.

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Flow of the Training Program

Each segment of training should be

organized so that trainee can see:

Its purpose. How it fits in with other parts of program. Later segments should build on earlier ones. Gaps and inconsistencies in material are

not conducive to effective learning.

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Practice and Repetition

Having trainees perform a particular

operation helps them concentrate on subject.

Repeating a task several times develops

facility in performing it.

Practice and repetition almost always

enhance effective learning.

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Spacing of Training Sessions

Managers often want to get an employee

out of training and into productive work.

Trade-offs in deciding whether training

should be given on consecutive days or at longer intervals.

Spacing out training over a period of

time facilitates learning process.

Interval most conducive to learning

depends on type of training.

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Whole or Part Training

Training for a job all at once, or training

employee separately for each job component, should be based on:

Specific Job Content Material to be Taught Needs of Trainees Often successful method: First give brief overview of whole job Divide job into parts for in-depth training
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