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Deirdre Elphick Moore
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WORKPLACE TRAINING
Connecting skills devel opment to employee performance
Thu, 22 Nov 2012 09:52
By Deirdre Elphick-Moore
Skills development is a major focus in South Africa. Businesses are incentivised to
implement clearly defined skills development programmes. Although businesses can
see almost immediate benefits through tax and skills levy rebates and better B-BBEE
scores; are these programmes positively affecting the performance of employees and
the organisations they work for?
Millions of rands are spent each year on learnerships and skills programmes, yet South Africa's skills
shortages continue to be widely regarded as a key factor preventing the achievement of targeted growth
rates. Why?
Research indicates that no matter the quality of the training, on average, no more than 15% of learning
transfers to the job (Cromwell & Kolb, 2004). This article goes on to review the individual and
organisational factors that impact on the degree of skills transfered from the learning environment to the
workplace.
It is argued that for skills development to lead to increased work performance, these factors, which
include, inter alia, employee motivation, in-depth analysis of organisational influences and ongoing training
initiatives/involvement, need to be considered and managed concurrently.
Empl oyee Moti vati on
The single most important element needed for skills transfer is employee motivation. It is both something
that employees bring to the classroom/working environment and something that can be fostered by the
culture of an organisation. If a person is motivated by extrinsic factors, for example money or recognition,
his/her approach to the learning opportunity is likely to be very different to a person who is motivated by
intrinsic factors such as the pleasure they derive from learning a new skills or because being engaged in a
learning opportunity seems ethically the right thing to do. Consider the following scenarios:
An extrinsically motivated employee is placed on a learnership without any clear brief regarding why he
has been chosen. Before learning commences, he is required to sign a document that includes the text "I
understand that completion of this learnership in no way entitles me to changes in my employment status,
including a higher salary or a promotion". It is unsurprising that this person fails to embrace the learning
opportunity and the possibility of skills transfer is likely doomed from the beginning.
The same employee on the same learnership, but here his manager takes the time to explain to him why
he has been chosen to attend the course, why the organisation is investing in this training and what
potential impact this will have on his career prospects if he is able to demonstrate an application of the
skills learnt in his workplace. In this scenario, the transfer of skills to the workplace is much more likely.
The implication of this should be clear: It is important that those involved in skills development understand
what motivates individuals and that each training opportunity is appropriately contextualised in advance.
Organi sati onal factors
Within the context of our economy's ability to expand and provide increased employment opportunities, the
National Skills Development Strategy III (NSDS3) Document identifies "a need for much more substantial
programmes that improve qualifications, support career-pathing, enable greater flexibility and mobility and
increase productivity" (p.6).
The practice of skills development currently focuses largely on learnerships and accredited skills
programmes, which aim to improve deficits in foundational skill and knowledge. In order to achieve the
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Connecting skills development to employee performance http://www.skillsportal.co.za/page/skills-development/1469534-Connect...
1 of 2 6/12/2014 12:26 PM
transfer of more than 15% of learning to the job, "today's high-impact learning teams [must] help their
companies put in place programmes, content, systems and a culture which creates continuous, high-value
learning".
The good news
The good news for employers is that the NSDS3 makes provision for the development of such initiatives;
"employers who provide workplace-based opportunities can supplement the cost of the programme with
the grant from the SETAs. The SETAs, in turn, are expected to ensure that 10% of the mandatory grants is
ring-fenced to fund workplace-based training opportunities".
In her article, "An Inconvenient Truth - The Other Side of South Africa's Skills Crisis Debate in South
African Companies", Lindi Cawdry identifies the challenge that organisations must face if they are to be
effective in their skills development efforts: they have to "be introspective, to understand the organisational
politics and dynamics that are difficult to quantify and are often seen to be 'politically sensitive'. It will
require honest conversations, and proper assessment of the 'real needs'. [High impact learning teams] will
require new and more dynamic strategies to confront and eliminate systemic barriers to skills [transfer] as
well as continued skills development".
These are the missing links between skills development and increased performance.
Source - Bizcommunity
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Femi Fortune-Idowu HR & Facility management at Cadwell Limited
...changing the perspective of employees about the organization and its set objectives
through series of Leadership training via mentoring, coaching, observation etc will indeed
play a significant role in employee skills development couple with the identification of key
employee interest and giving the employees the right motivation will empower transfer of
knowledge at workplace during and after employee training & development thereby
enhancing organisation productivity. Thank you for this insightful article.
Reply Like November 27, 2012 at 9:18am 2
Bel ia Nel University of J ohannesburg
Good points raised regarding employee performance as it relates to skills development.
However, to improve employee or organisational performance it is necessary to take a
holistic view of the factors that influence performance. Research indicates that only 15% of
performance issues are attributed to a lack of skill and knowledge and yet we continue to
spend 85% of resources on training and developing employees! Taking a systemic view of
performance means one has to consider organisational (workplace), operational (work)
and people (worker) factors either enhancing or impeding performance. Please read more
on https://www.improvid.co.za.
Reply Like November 27, 2012 at 12:20pm
Connecting skills development to employee performance http://www.skillsportal.co.za/page/skills-development/1469534-Connect...
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