Write in 2000 words about Criteria / Inputs used by you (if you are a trainer) for

finalising design of a Training Program. If you are not a trainer, speak to any trainer
and write about his / her experience.

The first step in developing a training program is to determine what the organization needs in terms
of training. There are three levels of training needs assessment: organizational assessment,
occupational (task) assessment, and individual assessment:

To make a Training Need Assessment

1. Organizational assessment. In this type of needs assessment, we can determine the skills,
knowledge, and abilities a company needs to meet its strategic objectives. This type of
assessment considers things such as changing demographics and technological trends.

2. Occupational (task) assessment. This type of assessment looks at the specific tasks, skills
knowledge, and abilities required to do within the organization.

3. Individual assessment. An individual assessment looks at the performance of an individual

employee and determines what training should be accomplished for that individual.

To do an organizational assessment, we can look at future trends and our overall company’s
strategic plan to determine training needs. We can also see how jobs and industries are changing,
and knowing this, we can better determine the occupational and individual assessments.

Reviewing the performance evaluations given by the Line managers / Managers, we may observe the
pattern which shows where employees are not meeting expectations. This may help in
understanding where exactly the training is lacking.

There are also different types of training that will be required for a job, such as technical training,
safety training, quality training, and professional training. Each of these should be viewed separately,
requiring an individual framework for each type of training. An employee orientation framework will
look entirely different from an in-house technical training framework.

Training must be linked to job expectations. Any training developed should transfer directly to the
skills of that particular employee. Reviewing the HR strategic plan and various job analyses may help
us see what kind of training should be developed for specific job titles in our organization.
Learning Objectives

Once determined what type of training should happen, learning objectives for the training should be
set. A learning objective is what a learner should be able to do, explain, or demonstrate at the end of
the training period. Good learning objectives are performance based and clear, and the end result of
the learning objective can be observable or measured in some way. Examples of learning objectives
might include the following:

 Be able to explain the company policy on sexual harassment and give examples of sexual
harassment.
 Be able to show the proper way to deal with customers.
 Perform a variety of customer needs analyses using company software.
 Understand and utilize the new expense-tracking software.
 Explain the safety procedure in handling chemicals.
 Be able to explain the types of communication styles and strategies to effectively deal with
each style.
 Demonstrate ethics when handling customer complaints.
 Be able to effectively delegate to employees.

Once we have set our learning objectives, we can utilize information on learning styles to then
determine the best delivery mode.

Learning Styles

Understanding learning styles is an important component to any training program. For our purposes,
we will utilize a widely accepted learning style model. Recent research has shown that classifying
people into learning styles may not be the best way to determine a style, and most people have a
different style depending on the information being taught. In a study by Pashler et al., the authors
look at aptitude and personality as key traits when learning, as opposed to classifying people into
categories of learning styles. Bearing this in mind, we will address a common approach to learning
styles next.

An effective trainer tries to develop training to meet the three different learning styles:

1. Visual learner. A visual learner usually has a clear “picture” of an experience. A visual learner
often says things such as “I can see what you are saying” or “This looks good.” A visual
learner is best reached using graphics, pictures, and figures.
 2. Auditory learner. An auditory learner learns by sound. An auditory learner might say, “If I
hear you right” or “What do you hear about this situation?” The auditory learner will learn
by listening to a lecture or to someone explaining how to do something.

3. Kinaesthetic learner. A kinaesthetic learner learns by developing feelings toward an

experience. These types of learners tend to learn by doing rather than listening or seeing
someone else do it. This type of learner will often say things such as “This feels right.”

Most individuals use more than one type of learning style, depending on what kinds of information
they are processing. For example, in class you might be a visual learner, but when learning how to
change a tire, you might be a kinaesthetic learner.

Delivery Style

Taking into consideration the delivery method, what is the best style to deliver this training? It’s also
important to keep in mind that most people don’t learn through “death by PowerPoint”; they learn
in a variety of ways, such as auditory, kinaesthetic, or visual. Considering this, what kinds of ice
breakers, breakout discussions, and activities can we incorporate to make the training as interactive
as possible? Role plays and other games can make the training fun for employees. Many trainers
implement online videos, podcasts, and other interactive media in their training sessions. This
ensures different learning styles are met and also makes the training more interesting.

Target Audience

Considering that audience is an important aspect to training. How long have they been with the
organization, or are they new employees? What departments do they work in? Knowing the answers
to these questions can help trainer develop a relevant delivery style that makes for better training.

Content Development

When choosing a delivery mode, it is important to consider the audience and budget constrictions.
The content we want to deliver is perhaps one of the most important parts in training and one of the
most time-consuming to develop. Development of learning objectives or those things which we want
our learners to know after the training makes for a more focused training. Learning objectives should
be considered as goals—what should someone know after completing this training? Here are some
sample learning objectives:
 1. Be able to define and explain the handling of hazardous materials in the workplace.
2. Be able to utilize the team decision process model.
3. Understand the definition of sexual harassment and be able to recognize sexual harassment
in the workplace.
4. Understand and be able to explain the company policies and structure.

After developing the objectives and goals, we can begin to develop the content of the training.

Development of content usually requires a development of learning objectives and then a brief
outline of the major topics which are supposed to be covered. The major topics can be filled with
information. Based on this information, we can develop modules or PowerPoint slides, activities,
discussion questions, and other learning techniques.

Timelines

For some types of training, time lines may be required to ensure the training has been done. This is
often the case for safety training; usually the training should be done before the employee starts. In
other words, in what time frame should an employee complete the training?

Another consideration for time lines is how much time a training needs to be given. Once we
developed our training content, we will have a good idea that how long it will take to deliver it. Keep
the training time realistic and concise.

From a long-term approach, it may not be cost effective to offer an orientation each time someone
new is hired. One consideration might be to offer orientation training once per month or twice
depending on the volume joins so that all employees hired within that month are trained at the
same time.

Communication

This is an important aspect; such as an orientation, communication could be sent to managers who
will further communicate their staff and ensure that they attend the session.

Messages using company’s intranet, e-mail, and even posters on notice boards to communicate the
training.
Measuring Effectiveness

Measuring effectiveness is what is the exact outcome of the training as well as the effectiveness of
the Trainer. One model to measure effectiveness of training is the Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick,
2006), developed in the 1950s. His model has four levels:

1. Reaction: How did the participants react to the training program?

2. Learning: To what extent did participants improve knowledge and skills?
3. Behaviour: Did behaviour change as a result of the training?
4. Results: What benefits to the organization resulted from the training?

Comparing the performance of the employees who received the training with those who did not
receive the training. For example, in your orientation training, if one of the learning objectives was
to be able to request time off using the company intranet, and several employees who attended the
training come back and ask for clarification on how to perform this task, it may mean the training
didn’t work as well as you might have thought. In this case, it is important to go back and review the
learning objectives and content of your training to ensure it can be more effective in the future.

Many trainers also ask people to take informal, anonymous surveys after the training to gauge the
training. Another option is to require a quiz at the end of the training to see how well the employees
understand what you were trying to teach them.

Career Development Programs and Succession Planning

Another important aspect to training is career development programs. A career development

program is a process developed to help people manage their career, learn new things, and take
steps to improve personally and professionally. It is a sort of training program, but for individuals.
Sometimes career development programs are called professional development plans.

Employee develop goals and make suggestions on the types of training that could help her meet her
goals. Based on this data, the manager suggests in-house training and external training for him / her
to reach her goals within the organization.
Career development programs are necessary in today’s organizations for a variety of reasons. First,
with a maturing population, newer employees must be trained to take those jobs when maturing
people retire. Second, if an employee knows a particular path to career development is in place, this
can increase motivation. A career development plan usually includes a list of short- and long-term
goals that employees have pertaining to their current and future jobs and a planned sequence of
formal and informal training and experiences needed to help them reach the goals. As this chapter
has discussed, the organization can and should be instrumental in defining what types of training,
both in-house and external, can be used to help develop employees.

To help develop this type of program, managers can consider a few components:

1. Talk to employees. Talking with employees about their goals and what they hope to achieve
can be a good first step in developing a formal career development program. Although this
may seem obvious, it doesn’t always happen.

2. Create specific requirements for career development. Allow employees to see that if they
do A, B, and C, they will be eligible for promotion. For example, to become a supervisor,
maybe three years of experience, management training, and communication training are
required. Perhaps an employee might be required to prove themselves in certain areas, such
as “maintain and exceed sales quota for eight quarters” to be a sales manager. In other
words, in career development there should be a clear process for the employees to develop
themselves within the organization.

3. Use cross-training and job rotation. Cross-training is a method by which employees can gain
management experience, even if for short periods of time. For example, when a manager is
out of the office, putting an employee “in charge” can help the employee learn skills and
abilities needed to perform that function appropriately. Through the use of job rotation,
which involves a systematic movement of employees from job to job within an organization,
employees can gain a variety of experiences to prepare them for upward movement in the
organization.

4. Utilize Mentors. Mentorship can be a great way for employees to understand what it takes
to develop one’s career to the next level. A formal mentorship program in place with willing
mentees can add value to a career development program.