Human Capital Development for Innovation in Asia:

Training and Development Practices and Experiences of

Philippine Large Companies

Divina M. Edralin
De La Salle University-Manila
College of Business and Economics
Business Management Department
2401 Taft Avenue, Manila, Philippines 1200
Tel: (632) 523-4173
Fax: (632) 523-4173
e-mail: edralind@dlsu.edu.ph

Abstract

This study aims to determine the current training and development experiences and the emerging
best practices of large corporations in the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors in the
Philippines. The findings reveal that the most frequently cited importance of training is that it
helps improve job performance. Companies implement technical trainings slightly more than
behavioral trainings. The most often used training method is the lecture, combined with the
usage of new technologies such as the CD-ROM, the Internet, and the company intranet/portal.
Adequate resources like budget and expertise are provided for the delivery of the training and
development programs. The implementation of extensive continuing training and development
programs, not only for the improvement of technical competence, but for the development of
cultural behaviors and values congruent with that of the company’s core values and philosophy,
is one of their emerging best practices that stimulate innovation.
 Human Capital Development 2

Introduction

In this era of a globalized economy and emergence of new information and

communication technologies, business organizations are faced with the challenge of survival or
extinction. Many companies, including large multinational corporations and domestic firms
operating locally only in their respective countries, have risen to respond to the challenge posed
by these changes. For the successful firms, it is not only for survival, but sustainable superior
performance in the midst of all the threats and barriers in their external environment. The pivotal
approaches that companies adopt are ultimately aimed at gaining competitive advantage.

According to Fitzroy and Hulbert (2005), competitive advantage is the way in which the
firm utilizes its resources and competencies to generate value-creating strategy that other firms
find difficult to imitate. Similarly, gaining competitive advantage refers to having a “special edge
that allows an organization to deal with market and environmental forces better than the
competitors” (Schermerhorn, 2008). It simply means being ahead and doing things better than
one’s competitors and the outcome of such effort will consistently produce something of high
value that one’s competitors cannot replicate immediately nor do as well (Shermerhorm, 2008).
Successful companies are able to achieve competitive advantage in various ways, especially
through innovation, cost reduction, and product/service differentiation strategies.

A significant strategy that enables the organizations to gain competitive advantage is

through innovation. Innovation is implicitly associated with change and as such has always been
a challenge for management (Roffe, 1999). It involves the bringing in of new ideas, process,
methods, products/services into the mainstream of organizational operations. Moreover,
McAdam and Armstrong (2001) defined innovation as the harnessing of creative ability within
individuals and the workforce in response to change, by doing things differently or better across
products, processes or procedures. Fitzroy and Hulbert (2005) asserted that in a turbulent and
unpredictable world, innovation in all aspects of the firm is the only route to sustained success.
This constitutes the strategic management challenge: how to create value in the present while
building a platform for future value creation.

People who initiate innovation see things from new angles, have broad perspectives, take
risks, communicate, and build support, are flexible, and are very persistent (Hannah, 1995).
Innovation is not an individual concern, but a concerted and unified concern of teams and the
entire organization. In the view of Kanter (1997), innovative organizations need innovative
people to work and “cultivating innovators is one of the most important things that companies
can do to make sure that they lead and not lag change''.

From the 1990s onwards, an emphasis on innovation has been seen to replace efficiency
and quality as the main source of competitive advantage for firms (Bolwijn and Kumpe, 1990).
Reflecting this emphasis, a huge body of literature has emerged which aims to identify “best
practices” in both the diffusion of innovation to users, and in the implementation of innovation
within user firms (Wolfe, 1994; Slappendel, 1996). Effective innovation requires the consistent
and coordinated use of resources, creative and committed people, process, technology, structures,
and organizational climate that will nurture and sustain innovation at different levels in the
organization.
 Human Capital Development 3

The internal organizations of firms are the critical components in the structure of the
innovation system. Most innovations are developed and adopted by firms. The organization of
the flow of information and of the learning process influences the innovative capability of the
firm. In particular, the linkage between sales, production, and R&D departments of the firm is an
important aspect of the innovation process (Patalinhug, 2002). This linkage can be done by “idea
champions, who actively and enthusiastically support new ideas, build support, overcome
resistance, and ensure that innovations are implemented” (Robbins and Coulter, 2004).
Therefore, the organization has to promote the training and development of their workforce to
broaden their knowledge and skills, re-orient their culture and values, and encourage individuals
to become idea champions.

It has been found that over the years, business enterprises in many parts of the world,
including those in the Philippines, are increasingly spending more money annually on training
and developing their workforce with the strong belief that this will redound to innovation,
productivity, profitability, and sustainability of their company under the rubric of gaining
competitive advantage. This means that training and development of its people becomes
indispensable and a strategic investment in human resource capital. Human resource
development is generally defined “as a set of formal organizational and individual practices that
are designed to enhance the potential contribution of human resources to the organization”
(Holton, 2000; Walton, 1999).

Training pertains to a set of activities aimed to facilitate learning of knowledge, attitude,

and skills among people in the organization, to, in turn, improve their current job performance
and contribution to the achievement of organizational goals. Collins et al. (as cited in Hewitt
Associates, 2004) cite that most admired companies tend to mix traditional training programs
with a variety of other ongoing developmental efforts, such as planned career assignments,
outside executive programs, and individual coaching. In addition to extensive developmental
efforts, the most admired organizations also do a better job of assessing leadership talent,
developing it, and holding people accountable for these efforts. Most admired firms make greater
use of formal leadership competency models than their counterparts.

On the other hand, development involves long-term planned efforts to enhance the total
growth of human resources that will lead to the fulfillment of personal and organizational goals.
Marchland et al. (as cited in Hewitt Associates, 2004) reported that Microsoft’s leadership
recognizes the importance of attracting, developing, and retaining talent across the business.
Recently, Microsoft’s leadership challenged the marketing function to enhance its talent strategy
by building a pipeline of future marketing and company leaders from BA-level recruits. Collins
et al. (as cited in Hewitt Associates, 2004) cited development that is tied to the mission, strategy,
and values of the organization as one of the best practices for executive development programs.

In the case of the Philippines (whose 34.6 million people are part of the employed labor
force as of July 2008), investment in human resource capital development comes in the forms of
formal basic-secondary-tertiary education which are offered by private and public schools, and in
the form of the technical-vocational skills training which is provided by the government through
the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). Compared to other
 Human Capital Development 4

developing countries, the Philippines ranks very high in terms of literacy and other educational
indicators. The 1995 government statistics showed that the number of employed persons who
had completed high school was 9.560 million (35%) and those who earned college degree
figured at 6.573 million (24%). According to the Commission on Higher Education, college
graduates in school year 2003-2004 registered at 401,787. Moreover, TESDA was able to assess
127,790 and certify a total of 69,586 persons in various trades for a rate of 52% in 2003.
Employers in the Philippines, whether in the private sector or in government, believe that
investment in education and training is the key to raising productivity in the workplace (which
necessitates the development of skills and competencies of workers), and should lead to a
sustained increase in labor incomes. The employers, on their ends, provide trainings to meet their
needs through their respective companies, in collaboration with professional
associations/business chambers of commerce, or in partnership with colleges/universities.

As a consequence, human resource development as a transformative, regular, and

continuing learning process, which is usually initiated by the employer, promotes various forms
of learning possibilities in the workplace. The training and development department within an
organization is effectively responsible for providing the workforce with a great deal of its up-to-
date knowledge and skills, for promoting creativity, and innovation, and for helping the
workforce towards achieving a common goal (Marsick & Watkins, 1990). To ensure that the
employees grow and develop professionally, the company must “work hard to create a
conducive, collaborative and learning environment for professional development” and design
programs for leadership development as well (Hewitt Asia, 2003). These will help the employees
apply to different facets of their jobs and lives and see them staying in the company for a longer
time.

Over the years, the role of training has changed due to several factors like globalization,
advent of new technology, attracting and winning talents, workforce diversity, quality emphasis,
need for leadership, increased value placed on knowledge, and high performance model of work
systems (Noe, 2002). By the same token, Martocchio and Baldwin (1997) had also asserted that
training’s role has broadened from its traditional focus on teaching skills and knowledge, to
linking training to business needs to using training to create and share knowledge. This means
that for companies to gain competitive advantage, the key is to develop intellectual capital. As
such, in learning organizations, training is seen as one part of a system designed to create
intellectual capital, which includes not only learning basic opportunities needed to perform the
current jobs, but also stimulating creativity and innovation as well as motivating employees to
acquire and apply knowledge (Noe, 2002). As part of this process, firms are now focusing on
continuous cycles of learning to capitalize on their organizational capabilities in achieving a
sustained superior performance.

The purpose of this research is to determine the current training and development
experiences and the emerging best practices of large corporations in the manufacturing and non-
manufacturing sectors in the Philippines. Specifically, this paper aim to: (1) identify the
importance, types, and methods of trainings being implemented; (2) determine the training
resources allocated for the delivery of these programs; and (3) describe the emerging workplace
patterns and best training and development practices of the selected firms, from which other
companies can learn from.
 Human Capital Development 5

Analytical Framework and Methodology

Analytical Framework

Figure 1. Operational framework on human capital development for innovation.

This operational framework was based on the on the “system view of innovation” of
Woodman, Sawyer, and Griffin (1993). By using the systems model, we can better understand
how organizations become more innovative. It can be seen from the model that to get the desired
outputs (e.g. profitability, productivity, efficiency, and creative products/services), it is necessary
to consider the inputs and the transformation) of those inputs.

However, Robbins and Coulter (2002) believed that just having creative people in not
enough. It takes the right environment as inputs for the innovation process to take gain ground
and prosper. They identified three sets of variables that have been found to stimulate innovation:
organization’s structure (e.g. organic structure, abundant resources); culture (e.g. tolerance of
conflict, focus on ends); and human resource practices (e.g. training and development).

In turn, innovation as a transformative process, together with the execution of key

priorities and capacity building (leadership and management development; individual
effectiveness) in the organization, will lead to the goal of sustained superior performance
(Covey, 2004).
 Human Capital Development 6

Research Methodology

Using the descriptive and comparative research designs, a survey was conducted among
a total of 120 large companies in the Philippines, consisting of manufacturing (60) and non-
manufacturing (60) firms, which undertake formal training and development programs that are
planned and implemented by the training unit, or the human resource departments of the
respective companies. A 2-page survey questionnaire was given to the key informants to answer.
The responses from the survey came from either the training and development specialists/officers
or the HRD managers of the firms.

The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics like the frequency,
percentage, means, and simple ranking.
 Human Capital Development 7

Results and Discussion

Training is a set of activities aimed to facilitate learning of knowledge, attitude, and skills
among people in the organization, to, in turn, improve their current job performance and
contribution to the achievement of organizational goals. Most companies invest in training
whether for the employee’s personal development or technical expertise improvement. These
companies view training as a contributing factor to the over-all growth of an employee. As a
result, it benefits the companies through their employees’ increased productivity. The concept of
continuous learning expects employees to learn on a constant basis and apply what they learned
to their job. This section is divided into five main parts: importance of training and development,
types of training, training methods, training resources, and emerging best practices of the firms.

Importance of Training and Development

The respondent companies strongly believed that training and development is a vital
strategy in human resource management, which was found to be one of the factors that stimulate
innovation, which in turn, steer the companies to gain competitive advantage. There are a
number of reasons cited in the survey as to why training and development was important, and
these are shown in Table 1. From the array of responses mentioned, it is the value of “improves
job performance” (95.83%) that tops the list. The other more frequently identified importance of
training from a bigger bulk of the firms are: “helps improve and acquire technical skills”
(91.67%); “develops creativity and problem solving skills” (89.17%); “helps retain a competent
and efficient workforce” (89.17%); “helps achieve overall organizational objectives” (88.33%);
“contributes to flexibility in order to adapt to changes” (80.83%).

Table 1
Importance of Training and Development
Non-
Importance Manufacturing Frequency Percentage
Manufacturing
(n=60) n=(120) (%)
(n=60)
Improves job performance 57 95.00 58 96.67 115 95.83
Helps improve and acquire technical
skills 54 90.00 56 93.33 110 91.67
Develops creativity and problem-solving
skills 53 88.33 54 90.00 107 89.17
Helps retain a competent and efficient
workforce 50 83.33 57 95.00 107 89.17
Helps achieve overall organizational
objectives 50 83.33 56 93.99 106 88.33
Contributes to flexibility in order to adapt
to changes 48 80.00 49 81.67 97 80.83
Develops interpersonal skills 41 68.33 49 81.67 90 75.00
Creates an interesting and challenging
environment 36 60.00 50 83.33 86 71.67
Increases knowledge/awareness of the
total environment 42 70.00 44 73.33 86 71.67
Heightens employee morale 36 60.00 48 80.00 84 70.00
Increases organizational commitment 39 65.00 40 66.67 79 65.83
Fosters greater organizational stability 37 61.67 38 63.33 75 62.50
Develops employee as a holistic person 30 50.00 39 65.00 69 57.50
 Human Capital Development 8

To cite an example, one of the biggest broadcasting companies in the Philippines’

experience in training and development involves providing a learning environment where there
are different training and development opportunities available to the employees. Among these
are employee education, and technical and behavioral training programs. For the technical
training programs, various business units are encouraged to participate in activities that are
designed to maintain and update their skills. For example, the staff of the news and public affairs
division is given the opportunity to attend workshops, such as on documentary shooting and
video journalism.

By the same token, the creative staff of the TV entertainment division is exposed to
training programs on set design and scriptwriting. Values and team spirit are also being
promoted among its employees through behavioral training programs, like values enhancement
program for station artists center on-cam talents, harnessing Filipino work values for effective
frontline leadership, and team building workshops

In doing each training module, the company’s HR department balances short- and long-
term organizational needs. It develops a curriculum to address basic competency requirements,
while considering the flexibility of the curriculum so that it addresses continuing knowledge
requirements and prepares people for future competencies required by the organization.

Another example is the case of the biggest telecommunications provider in the country.
Over the past years, its management has placed greater emphasis upon increased training for all
levels throughout the organization. Training and retraining are now key components of the
company’s strategy to ensure that its people’s skills are updated and that they possess the tools to
be competitive in the marketplace. The company’s “TelTech” learning center in suburban
Manila, in fact, has already hosted over 21,000 employees taking classes.

Given that the company and its subsidiaries have only some 20,000 employees, this is
possible only because in many instances, the firm’s employees were taking more than one class
to improve their skills and abilities. The training facility, which is one of the few ISO 9001 rated
facilities in Asia, is more than just a vital learning center. The company sees the depth and
breadth of its programs expanding to the degree that the company is able to convert the said
center into its very own internal technology university churning out its own IT professionals.

These findings also validate the 2003 survey conducted among different companies in the
Philippines by Edralin and Roque (2005), which revealed that training is conducted in their
organizations for reasons such as: (1) improving job performance; (2) fostering greater
organizational stability; (3) reducing costs; (4) increasing organizational commitment of
employees; and (5) helping achieve overall organizational objectives.

Results are of the present study are also similar to those of Arthur (1994); Kallenberg and
Moody (1994); and d'Orcimoles (1995), all indicating that human resource development
contributed to improved performance and organizational effectiveness.
 Human Capital Development 9

Types of Training

Table 2
Examples of Training Programs that Stimulate Innovation in the Companies
Technical
 Product designing
 Systems thinking
 Project management
 Computer/information technology
 Product knowledge
 Product management
 Systems analysis and design
 Agricultural innovations
 Resource maximization
 Statistical process control
 Advanced brand management
 Creative selling
 Environmental scanning
 Industrial product engineering
Behavioral
 Management of change
 Strategic leadership
 Paradigm shift
 Culture building
 Creative problem solving &
decision making
 Total quality management
 Values enhancement/enrichment
 Personal effectiveness
 Performance management
 7 Habits of highly effective people
 Conflict management
 Teambuilding

There are many types of training programs given to the employees during the year by the
surveyed firms because every employee they hire will require training. These programs were
developed based on the training needs assessment of individual employees, which came from
various sources like their job competency requirements, department performance, employee
feedback, and performance appraisal results. The training or curriculum design is finalized
before the delivery of the programs. The large firms in the Philippines implement both technical
and behavioral trainings to stimulate creativity and innovation in their firms. Table 2, illustrates
some of the common training courses that are undergone by the employees. Behavioral trainings
are those that aim to enhance the social-emotional-psychological skills of the employees, while
technical trainings are those that aim to improve the conceptual and technical skills of the
workforce to enable them to perform effectively and efficiently the tasks and duties assigned to
them.
Results revealed that to stimulate and generate innovations as well as achieve company
goals, there are slightly more technical trainings (65%) on various topics that were conducted,
compared to behavioral trainings (45%). Among the hundreds of training courses offered to the
workforce, the findings indicate that the more often technical topics dealt on were both
considered to be directly linked to pursuing creativity and innovation such as product designing,
systems thinking, product knowledge, environmental scanning, and agricultural innovation. On
the other hand, examples of behavioral trainings are those on the management of change,
paradigm shift, strategic leadership, teambuilding, and values enhancement.

As an example, in the case of the largest universal bank in the Philippines, its
management indicated that there are more technical/skills type of trainings (e.g. trust operation
and investment management, counterfeit and fraud detection, project management, financial
analysis, taxation, and high impact selling) that are conducted, than behavioral trainings (e.g.
leadership excellence and development, executive coaching, performance management, value
enhancement, creative problem solving and decision making and teambuilding).
 Human Capital Development 10

On the other hand, in the case of one of the biggest supermall corporations operating in
the country, its training practices primarily assured the employee of necessary training programs.
The company conducts behavioral trainings like customer service excellence, 4 roles of
leadership, work attitude and values enrichment, and S-leadership the Potter’s way. The
technical skills trainings it implements, among others, cover mall management, financial
management, strategic planning, systems thinking, environmental scanning, and problem-solving
and decision making.

Another experience worth sharing is the training and development practices of the
leading broadsheet publisher in the country. The corporation utilized a 3Ps system – Person,
Position, and Performance. All employees are evaluated based on the competency requirements
of the position every year. For instance, the competency requirement of a position is a rating
level of “4” on communication skills, however, based on an objective evaluation process by the
system, a person may be found as either having attained only a grade of “3” or exceeded the
requirement and earned a rating of “5”. This evaluation system helps the human resource
department in determining and designing programs specific to the needs of its employees,
whether these be technical or behavioral training.

Corollarily, the largest publicly listed food, beverage, and packaging company in the
Philippines currently provides numerous types of training and development programs to all its
employees in the belief that this effort will contribute to sustaining their edge over other
competitors. The company conducts behavioral trainings like management of change, strategic
leadership, conflict management, performance management, personal effectiveness, and problem
solving and decision making. However, the firm implements much more in terms of technical
training programs, such as on quality assurance, brand management, logistics and customer
service, and selling systems. These types of trainings are examples of the courses offered by its
in-house functional and technical schools.
 Human Capital Development 11

Training Methods

Table 3
Training Methods
Non-
Manufacturing TOTAL
Categories of training Manufacturing
(n=60) (n=120)
(n=60)
Presentation methods
Lecture (standard lecture; panel; guest speakers;
team teaching; trainee presentation) with use of new
technologies such as CD-ROM, internet, & intranet 55 56 111
Audiovisual techniques (film; video; slides;
overheads) 40 44 84
Hands-on methods
On-the-job training 36 38 74
Simulation 30 36 66
Case study 22 31 53
Business games 25 26 51
Role playing 19 27 46
Self-directed learning 22 24 46
Mentoring/coaching 20 17 37
Apprenticeship 16 18 34
Behavioral modeling 16 27 33
Group building methods
Team Training (team building, cross training, group
and intergroup encounter) 37 45 82
Action learning (problem solving, task teams,
project management) 17 25 42
Adventure learning (outdoor training) 18 17 35

There are many different types of training methods that are currently being used by the
large corporations in the Philippines to help their employees acquire new knowledge, skills,
attitude, and behavior to pursue innovation in their organization. These can be categorized as
presentation methods, hands-on methods, and group building methods (McMurrer, Van Buren, &
Woodnell, 2000).

Based on the survey results as indicated in Table 3, the most frequently used training
method, regardless of the industry sector and training categories, is the lecture with the use of
new technologies such as the CD-ROM, the Internet, and the company intranet/portal. This is
followed by team training and then by on-the-job training. Survey results suggest that there is a
 Human Capital Development 12

growing trend among companies towards using team training approaches as a method to nurture
and sustain their innovation efforts, particularly in the non-manufacturing industry.

In conducting the numerous needed training programs during the year, companies clearly
use a combination of the training methods available to them, considering expected outcome, cost,
and effectiveness.

The experience of one the leading manufacturers of home and personal care products,
food, and ice cream in the Philippines involves the adoption of a core curriculum that serves as
the guideline and standard when it comes to the needed employee skills and competencies. Each
individual in the company completed this core curriculum, thereupon aligning his or her
projected goals toward the main thrusts of the organization. This curriculum is utilized in
trainings and workshops, and equalizes the key strengths of each employee. The company also
provides regional trainings in the country to enable those in the provincial areas to embark on the
same leadership growth profile. Trainings abroad are likewise part of this program. This makes
the employees not only competent in their local workplaces, but also in company bases in other
countries. A swapping program then brings homegrown talents to other company plants.

The case of the biggest wire and cables manufacturer in the country shows that it
inculcates cultural values among its staff, more than just technical skills. Each of the company’s
employees is entitled to a series of trainings, which they undergo whether they occupy
apprenticeship, probationary, rank and file, or supervisory positions. Moreover, they are sent to
Japan for overseas observation and study trips. By exposing them to other cultures, the company
enables its employees to experience the best practices that formal trainings only cannot teach.

Another interesting example is that of an audio equipment manufacturing company listed

in the Business World’s Top 1000 Corporations in the Philippines. Their emphasis on learning
and development is manifested in trainings, workshops, evaluations, and meetings it conducts,
which help to periodically inculcate the company’s corporate philosophy, standards and
procedures among the employees. For the employees in the service department, efficiency and
effectiveness in doing their work is promoted; while for all employees, the corporate philosophy
(the cornerstone of company management) and the guiding principles of conducts and behaviors
are emphasized. These are deemed necessary to avoid protracted duration of delivering products
to supplemental plants in China.

On the other hand, the practice of an automotive manufacturing company is to

immediately immerse a newly hired team member into the system through core training
programs and on-the-job-training (OJT). The company believes that OJT exposure is critical, as
an employee learns about one’s work best by doing it. As the team member acquires essential
skills for the job, the employee is also exposed to other training programs that would make one a
highly-skilled and competent worker, as well as a well-developed individual. Personality
development courses and livelihood seminars are offered to help Team Members reach their full
potential in life.
 Human Capital Development 13

Training Resources

The surveyed firms provide adequate resources in terms of budget, time, and expertise for
training. The administration of such resources is normally the responsibility of the Training and
Development section under the Human Resource Department/Division of a company.

As far as budget is concerned, about 86% of the firms allocate at least an average of 1.2
million Pesos or $25,000 a year for training delivery. However, this expenditure remains a small
percentage of their remuneration budgets. This practice is similar to that of the majority of
organizations in most countries, where they spend less than two percent of their budgets on
training. The limited expenditure on training and development is basically due to the difficulty
in the accurate determination of direct and indirect costs of training, the firm’s budgetary
controls, and throughout the virtual absence of legislation requiring reporting of training and
development received by different categories of employees in a company.

In terms of schedules of training programs, these are normally spread throughout the
year, with the peak on the lean months of the business, to enable more employees to attend with
no major disruptions in the day-to-day company operations. All personnel from the executives
down to the rank-and-file employees are given time-off from their work and paid for time not
worked to be able to attend their respective trainings. Additional financial support for travel,
registration, hand-outs, food, and lodging are given to employees who are sent to training
programs outside of the company, conducted by or with other training/educational institutions
either in the Philippines or in other countries.

Of the surveyed firms, 75% utilized experts from both internal and external sources
depending on the objectives and contents of the trainings to be implemented. External
consultants/vendors are availed of when the firms lack time and/or internal expertise to conduct
the program. These training providers are usually individual consultants, consulting firms, or
academic institutions. Academic institutions like the universities are tapped because these are the
primary sources of new skills, new knowledge, and new ideas which make substantial and direct
contributions to the development of intellectual capital.

The experience of one of the tertiary hospitals in the Philippines is an example. While
employees are encouraged to take some responsibility for their own development, there is a
comprehensive training plan for each of them, composed of competency assessment and
development. The results of these are always matched with the performance evaluation rating of
the concerned employees. Trainings are administered based on the plan, which impact on
evaluated reaction and learning levels. These are done among the hospital or the medical staff.
Physicians, in particular, are sent abroad for further studies.

Similarly, one of the motorcycles
philosophy of “quality human resource
employees get the skills they need through
is also done regularly for field personnel
allocated at the beginning of the year.
manufacturing firms in the country believes in the
development”, wherein new recruits and regular
an in-house training program. Development training
as well as support personnel based on the budget
 Human Capital Development 14

The case of the leading wireless services provider in the country showcases the use of
new and existing methodologies in delivering training and development programs. For instance,
its in-house trainers have developed online courses for product and information cascades to the
company’s provincial operations. It has also combined the use of traditional classroom
workshops with computer-based trainings. Since most of the company’s team leaders,
supervisors, and managers are home-grown experts, it provides people management training to
develop their leadership skills.

The firm also emphasizes skills sharing and on-the-job training by establishing a core
group of internal trainers to orient their employees on new technologies, processes, and
marketing activities. By creating such a training team, the company has reduced its costs for
external training, since skills learned outside the organization is shared by cascading it down the
line. Its human resources have been equipped with such relevant skills that eventually also
enabled them to pursue other career opportunities in various telecommunication companies
worldwide.

The corporation also fosters the continuous development of its employees. Top
management is committed to provide strong emphasis on programs on culture development and
inculcation of the company’s mission, vision, and overall thrusts to all its employees.

Best Training and Development Practices

Several emerging workplace patterns and best training and development practices which
are considered to stimulate and generate innovations were identified by the different participating
companies. Examples of these emerging patterns and best practices are the following:

 Encouraging  Providing a learning  Imbibing cultural  Use of ICT for

employees to take environment values to the training
some responsibility for comprised of various employees, more than  Developing employees
their own development training and just technical skills continually
 Customized training development programs  Extensive and well-  Individual coaching
 Extensive use  Training and planned training and /mentoring of
of external consultants development are development program managers and
 On-the-job training aligned with the firm’s  Adequate investment supervisors
 Assessment of mission, strategy, and in both technical and  Conduct of training on
employees skills and culture behavioral trainings cultural behaviors and
behavior before and  Core curriculum as  In-house development values.
after the training to guideline for programs
gauge its impact developing employee  Employee education,
 TESDA-accredited competencies and technical, safety,
learner’s program  Sending employees for and behavioral training
training abroad activities

Based on the training and development goals of the firms, the common pattern that exists
among them is the provision of all employees with a great number of training to develop their
skills and knowledge, whether in-house or external. It provides sufficient opportunities to
develop the skills necessary for a changing workplace and society, and not necessarily just for
 Human Capital Development 15

the specific jobs they are engaged in. The companies emphasize learning and development for
cultural behaviors and values over technical skills training, and encourage employees to take
some responsibility for their own development.

These are lessons from which other companies can learn:

First is the implementation of extensive continuing training and development programs,

not only for the improvement of technical competence, but for the development of cultural
behaviors and values congruent with that of the company’s core values and philosophy as well.

Second is the increasing use of team training which involves strategies like cross training,
coordination training, and team leader training. This also usually requires the use of multiple
training methods like lecture, video, role plays or simulations to enhance the creative, problem-
solving, and people skills of the employees.

Third is the greater utilization of new learning technologies such as the CD-ROM,
internet, and the company intranet/portal in training delivery, storage, and sharing of knowledge
throughout the company.

Fourth is the genuine commitment and strong desire of company executives to use
training and development as a strategy for creating a company environment that will change and
build employees’ commitment, sense of ownership, and achievement of a balance between the
firm’s current performance and necessary innovation.

Fifth is the consistent positive attitude and supportive behavior (e.g. willingness to
provide data; regular feedback; affirmation) among co-employees, supervisors, and managers
about participation in training programs.

Sixth is the granting of rewards such as public recognition of corporate innovators,

opportunity to use learned capabilities in assigned work, promotion, and monetary rewards for
introducing innovation in the workplace, as a result of participation in training.

Seventh is the conduct of training needs assessment which focus on competencies to

identify the knowledge, skills, and personal characteristics (attitude, personality) needed for
successful performance in a job and contribute to innovation efforts of the company. The
development of employee competencies is done in close partnership between HRD specialists
and line managers.

Lastly is the use of a data base for the immediate access to internal labor market
information such as skills availability profile, capacity/potential of individuals, individual
experience profile, education mix attained, and competency record relative to realistically
defined job entry and performance criteria.
 Human Capital Development 16

Conclusion

The surveyed large companies in the Philippines strongly believe that training and
development is a vital strategy in human resource management, which is one of the factors that
stimulate innovation, which in turn, steer the companies to gain competitive advantage.

There are several reasons why training and development efforts have become important
are for the firms. The most frequently cited among these are to “improve job performance” of,
and to help the workforce acquire and improve their technical skills.

The companies’ practices revealed that in terms of the type of trainings, both technical
and behavioral trainings to stimulate creativity and innovation in their firms are undertaken,
although those are slightly more technical trainings implemented than behavioral trainings. With
regards to training methods, there are many methods, which can be categorized as presentation
methods, hands-on methods, and group building methods, which are used by large companies to
help their employees acquire new knowledge, skills, and behavior to pursue innovation in their
organizations. The most often used training method, regardless of the industry sector and training
categories, is the lecture together with the use of new technologies such as the CD-ROM, the
Internet, and the company intranet/portal. This is followed by team training, and then by on-the-
job training. The surveyed firms also provide adequate resources in terms of budget, time, and
expertise for training and development.

Several emerging workplace patterns and best training and development practices which
are considered to stimulate and generate innovations were identified by the different participating
companies. These lessons which other companies can learn from are related to people
commitment, use of resources, and conducive organizational climate. The top prevailing
emerging best practice is the implementation of extensive continuing training and development
programs, not only for the improvement of technical competence, but for the development of
cultural behaviors and values congruent with that of the company’s core values and philosophy.

While this survey’s results are mostly consistent with the practices of other companies in
the Philippines and in other countries, there is a need to conduct further in depth research that
will investigate the training and development efforts that have high and significant contributions
in stimulating and generating innovation.
 Human Capital Development 17

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