The need to have knowledge workers and employees is being felt more and more in the changing business and production environment globally including India. Possessing mere knowledge alone is not sufficient to produce results. Acquiring skills to make use of the knowledge to produce the desired result is more important. Further, knowledge is like a perishable commodity. What we had yesterday may not be of any use today. What we posses today may not be needed tomorrow. Hence updating the knowledge and the skill to make use of them to get the desired results are very important especially in the changing business environment. In this connection, training has assumed greater significance and an important priority for the industry and commerce. Training and developing people are the strategic focus. In a highly competitive world of business, the objective is to lead the work force to achieve results through effective training. This will not happen unless every person including the top management executives makes a personal investment in leadership, in learning, and in development. This is the central concept around building quality work life, getting the best people to come to work for and to fulfill the individual aspirations for development and progress and for achieving the organizational goals. It cannot be overemphasized.
It is essential to undertake organizational study and devise need based training programs to suit the various business requirements. In the changing business environment and the emerging domineering position of the business community globally, the success of business depends on how the management makes people connected with the business happy. Further they also have yet another important role to play to meet their social and ethical obligations to the society and the business community. The role of the modern business is to provide ever better products and services in a way that is profitable, ethical, and respects the environment, individuals and the communities in which it operates. It may take 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If it is so, then things are to be done differently. But how you are going to do it?
Change is the law of nature and every change is a challenge too. Hence the success or failure depends upon how challenge is going to be met to meet the change taking place in the business world, and how it is going to affect the business as well as its environment, ethics, social conditions and individual disposition. Understanding the changes taking place in the national and global business climate, it is very much essential to evaluate the performance of industry and trade and find solutions and strategies to arrest deteriorating trends, if any, and to improve the business to bring order and progress to achieve business excellence. The business is not built tomorrow but today with whatever available now. Hence the motto is “Build Tomorrow Today”.
The training programs envisaged by the organization should be focused on the aforesaid principal and it aims at creating a highly inspired workforce and a progressive and dynamic Management Executives required to face the challenges of the changing business environment and to introduce the most effective and efficient management systems and procedures to achieve institutional and organization excellence. It also aims at preventing organizations becoming self-defeating.
Training presents a prime opportunity to expand the knowledge base of all employees which includes top level executives also, but many employers find the development opportunities expensive. Employees also miss out on work time while attending training sessions, which may delay the completion of projects. Despite the potential drawbacks, training and development provides both the company as a whole and the individual employees with benefits that make the cost and time a worthwhile investment.
Every employee is different from one another and each one has his own strength and weaknesses. An effective training programme, if implemented properly and diligently would enhance the strength of the employees further and enable the employees who have some weaknesses to strengthen those skills that each employee needs to improve. A development program through training brings all employees to a higher level so they all have similar skills and knowledge which when put to use would bring improved performance and better results. This helps reduce any weak links within the company who rely heavily on others to complete basic work tasks. Providing the necessary training creates an overall knowledgeable staff with employees who can take over for one another as needed, work on teams or work independently without constant help and supervision from others.
Employees who receive the necessary training are better able and equipped to perform their job. They become more aware of safety practices and proper procedures for basic tasks. The training also builds the employee's confidence in their own ability to undertake any task and also a commitment to execute their task effectively because they have a stronger understanding of the industry and the responsibilities of their job. This confidence may push them to perform even better and think of new ideas that help them to excel. Continuous training also keeps the employees on the cutting edge of industry developments. Employees who are competent and on top of changing industry standards help the enterprise hold a position as a leader and strong competitor within the industry.
A structured training and development program ensures that employees have a consistent experience and background knowledge. The consistency is particularly relevant for the company's basic policies and procedures. All employees need to be aware of the expectations and procedures within the company. This includes safety, discrimination and administrative tasks. Putting all employees through regular training in these areas ensures that all staff members not only have exposure to the information but also understand the need to implement them perfectly to achieve the objectives and the results.
Employees with access to training and development programs have the advantage over employees in other companies who are left to seek out training opportunities on their own. The investment in training that a company makes shows the employees they are valued. Besides, any investment in human resources would also bring in a return much more valuable than any other investments made by the enterprise. The training creates a supportive workplace. Employees may gain access to training they wouldn't have otherwise known about or sought out themselves. Employees who feel appreciated and challenged through training opportunities may feel more satisfaction toward their work and will motivate them to achieve personal goals through organizational achievements of the desired objectives.
In the ultimate analysis, the veritable realization of the organizational objectives and individual aspirations depend upon following principle: “In management, the first concern of the company is the happiness of the people connected with it. If the people do not feel happy and cannot be made happy, that company does not deserve to exist.”
The training programme should be focused on the aforesaid principal and it aims at creating a highly inspired workforce and a progressive and dynamic Management Executives required to face the challenges of the changing global business environment and to introduce an effective and efficient management systems and procedures to achieve institutional and organization excellence. It also aims at preventing organizations becoming self defeating. The aim of training is to produce winners and winners are:
“Winners are too busy to be sad,
Too positive to be doubtful,
Too optimistic to be fearful,
And too determined to be defeated.”
T.R.Radhakrishnan
Banking & Management Consultant
Facilitator: DRT & SARFAESI Act for Banks & Financial Institutions
HR Trainer: Corporate, Colleges & Schools
8, Morya Gardens, Kanadia Road
Indore. - 452016 (Madhya Pradesh)
E-mail: trrrk1941@gmail.com; radhakrishnan1941@gmail.com
(The author invites comments from readers and can be contacted through his mobile or e-mail)
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