Strategic Training

 A plan that integrates the company’s goals,

policies, and actions
 The strategy influences how the company
uses:
◦ physical capital (plants, technology, and
equipment)
◦ financial capital (assets and cash reserves)
◦ human capital (employees)

 The business strategy helps direct the

company’s activities to reach specific goals
 The amount of training devoted to current
or future job skills
 The extent to which training is customized
for:
◦ the particular needs of an employee,
◦ or developed based on the needs of a team, unit,
or division
 Whether training is restricted to specific
groups of employees or open to all
employees
 Whether training is:
◦ planned and systematically administered, or
◦ provided only when problems occur, or
◦ spontaneously as a reaction to what competitors
are doing

 The importance placed on training

compared to other human resource
management practices such as selection
and compensation
 The acquisition of knowledge by individuals,
employees, or groups of employees

 Willing to apply that knowledge in their jobs

in making decisions and accomplishing tasks
for the company
 Human and social knowledge; what
individuals or teams of employees know or
know how to do, and structured knowledge
 Two types:

◦ explicit knowledge – knowledge that can be

formalized, codified, and communicated
◦ tacit knowledge – personal knowledge based on
individual experience; difficult to explain to others
 Alignment of learning goals to the business
goals
 Measurement of the overall business impact
of the learning function
 Movement of learning outside the company to
include customers, vendors, and suppliers
 A focus on developing competencies for the
most critical jobs
 Integration of learning with other human
resource functions such as :
◦ knowledge management
◦ performance support
◦ talent management

 Training delivery approaches that include

classroom as well as e-learning
 Design and delivery of leadership
development courses
1. Where to compete?
◦ In what markets, industries, products will we
compete?
2. How to compete?
◦ On what outcome or differentiating characteristic
will we compete?
3. With what will we compete?
◦ What resources will allow us to beat the
competition?
◦ How will we acquire, develop, and deploy those
resources to compete?
Strategic Training and
Development Initiatives Implications
Diversify the Learning Use new technology for training
Portfolio Facilitate informal learning
Provide more personalized learning opportunities
Expand Who is Trained Train customers, suppliers, and employees
Offer more learning opportunities for non-managerial
employees
Accelerate the Pace of Quickly identify needs and provide a high-quality
Employee Learning learning solution
Reduce the time to develop training programs
Facilitate access to learning resources on an as-
needed basis
Strategic Training and
Development Initiatives Implications
Improve Customer Ensure that employees have product and service
Service knowledge
Ensure that employees have skills needed to interact
with customers
Ensure that employees understand their roles and
decision-making authority
Provide Development Ensure that employees have opportunities to develop
Opportunities and Ensure that employees understand career
Communicate to opportunities and personal growth opportunities
Employees Ensure that training and development addresses
employees’ needs in current job as well as growth
opportunities
Strategic Training and
Development Initiatives Implications

Capture and Share Capture insight and information from knowledgeable

Knowledge employees
Logically organize and store information
Provide methods to make information available

Align Training and Identify needed knowledge, skills, abilities, or

Development with the competencies
Company’s Strategic Ensure that current training and development
Direction programs support the company’s strategic needs
Strategic Training and
Development Initiatives Implications

Ensure That the Work Remove constraints on learning

Environment Supports Dedicate physical space to encourage teamwork,
Learning and Transfer of collaboration, creativity, and knowledge sharing
Training Ensure that employees understand the importance of
learning
Ensure that managers and peers are supportive of
training, development, and learning
 Measurements that look at performance from
the perspective of:
◦ internal customers
◦ external customers
◦ employees
◦ shareholders
Four different perspectives are considered:
◦ Customer
 (time, quality, performance, services, cost)
◦ Internal
 (processes that influence customer satisfaction)
◦ Innovation and Learning
 (operating efficiency, employee satisfaction,
continuous improvement)
◦ Financial
 (profitability, growth, shareholder value)
Roles of Employees Business Conditions
and Managers
Other HRM Practices
Top Management
Support Extent of Unionization

Integration of Staff Involvement in

Business Units Training and
Development
Global Presence
 Manage individual performance
 Develop employees
 Plan and allocate resources
 Coordinate interdependent groups
 Manage group performance
 Monitor the business environment
 Represent one’s work unit
 Managing Alignment
◦ Clarify team goals and company goals
◦ Help employees manage their objectives
◦ Scan organization environment for useful
information for the team
 Coordinating Activities
◦ Ensure team meets internal and external
customer needs
◦ Ensure team meets quantity and quality
objectives
◦ Help team resolve problems with other teams
◦ Ensure uniformity in interpretation of policies and
procedures

 Facilitating Decision-Making Process

◦ Facilitate team decision making
◦ Help team use effective decision-making
processes
 Encouraging Continuous Learning
◦ Help team identify training needs
◦ Help team become effective at on-the-job
training
◦ Create environment that encourages learning

 Creating and Maintaining Trust

◦ Ensure that each team member is responsible for
his or her work load and customers
◦ Treat all team members with respect
◦ Listen and respond honestly to team ideas
 Vision
 Sponsor
 Governor
 Faculty
 Learner
 Marketing agent
 Consist of the management activities related
to:
◦ investments in staffing
◦ performance management
◦ training
◦ compensation and benefits
 The type of training and resources devoted to
training are influenced by the strategy
adopted for two HRM practices:
◦ Staffing
◦ Human Resource Planning
 Company’s decisions regarding:
◦ where to find employees
◦ how to select them
◦ the mix of employee skills and statuses
 Two aspects of a company’s staffing strategy
influence training:
◦ assignment flow
◦ supply flow
 HR planning
◦ allows the company to anticipate the movement
of human resources in the company
◦ can help identify where employees with certain
types of skills are needed in the company
 Training can be used to prepare employees
for:
◦ increased responsibilities in their current job
◦ promotions, lateral moves, transfers
◦ downward job opportunities that are predicted by
the human resource plan
 Faculty Model
Customer Model

Matrix Model

Corporate University
Model
Embedded model
 Director
DirectorofofTraining
Training

Safety
Safety Quality
Quality Technology
Technology Leadership
Leadership Sales
Sales
Training
Training Training
Training and
and Development
Development Training
Training
Computer
Computer
Systems
Systems

Training Specialty Areas

 Director
Directorof
ofTraining
Training

Information
Information Marketing
Marketing Production
Production Finance
Finance
Systems
Systems and
and
Operations
Operations

Business Functions
 D ir e c t o r o f T r a in in g

Training S a le s Q u a lit y T e c h n o lo g y S a fe t y
Specialty T r a in in g T r a in in g and T r a in in g
Areas C o m p u te r
S y s te m s

Production
Marketing and
Operations

Business Functions
 The business embedded (BE) model is
characterized by five competencies:
◦ strategic direction
◦ product design
◦ structural versatility
◦ product delivery
◦ accountability for result
 Involve the target audience in developing
the training or learning effort

 Demonstrate how a training and

development program can be used to solve
specific needs

 Showcase an example of how training has

been used within the company to solve
specific business needs
 Identify a “champion” who actively supports
training
 Listen and act on feedback received from
clients, managers, and employees
 Advertise on e-mail, on company websites,
in employee break areas
 Designate someone in the training function
as an account representative between the
training designer and internal customer
 Outsourcing – use of an outside company
that
◦ takes complete responsibility and control of some
training or development activities
◦ takes over all or most of a company’s training

 Business process outsourcing – outsourcing

of any business process
◦ human resource management, production, or
training