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What could Whitney do to enhance the value of training? My recommendation for Whitney and Company is to incorporate the following changes to their current training program to ensure that they are meeting the needs of the trainees and also meeting the company’s overall objectives in an efficient and cost effective manner. •Testing during the initial hiring phase •On-the-spot Assessments •Blended Training Approach Tailoring training content be to be more specific and opportunity for hands-on •Evaluation and Feedback on training program and instructors Specific job-related testing during the initial screening phase will allow Whitney and Company to determine competency level of candidate(s) and whether or not training is required. An On–the-spot Assessment will help identify the specific needs of each group of trainees by means of general questions, open discussion and/or a group activity. Another technique might be a pre-course assignment.
Either one will solicit responses that can be useful to the instructor in preparing or tweaking training contents and method(s). Training methods should include interactive training, such as role playing, group activities, discussions, and whenever possible hands-on training, because people learn more easily when they build upon experience this would give the employees an opportunity to apply the skills they learned and not just learning in theory in a three and a half month training program. Shadowing might be another method of training for employees that enjoy this type of interaction.
It also promotes team building. Ensuring that the content of the material is specific to each group of trainees is crucial and can help trainees learn it more effectively. More is not necessarily the best approach because you run the chance of being too general and overloading the trainees. The training program might also be broken into different modules which allow trainees to go back to their respective department for some hands-on and apply the theories they’ve learned to date before being given additional training.
Feedback or evaluation by means of a survey or questionnaire during and at the end of each training program will ensure that the content is being understood. The course objectives being met, learning approaches meeting everyone’s expectations and allow you to address and alter your training program. This can also assist in determining the instructor’s effectiveness and provide other useful insights which might include developmental plans of action for the instructor. Feedback and evaluations help in the development and tweaking of an effective training program.
Is the company using the most effective techniques, especially with regard to training for client and customer service? What techniques changes would you recommend? No, Whitney and Company’s current client and customer service training is lecture-based. This type of training is considered a traditional way of teaching to large audiences, and might be effective with auditory learners, however, but not appeal to visual and kinesthetic learners. I would recommend reinforcing the lectures with the use of other training techniques such as interactive workshops, role-playing, E-Learning and Simulation Training.
These training methods allow flexibility, interactive learning, hands-on learning, assess performance and also give trainees individual feedback. How should Whitney decide specifically who needs training? Is it advisable even cost-efficient to send everyone through the program? No, definitely not. During the preliminary stages of recruitment, Human Resources should administer testing to all qualified candidates to determine basic skills assessment (cognitive, aptitude, personality, integrity, etc. ) and testing of job-specific skills to determine if the applicant meets the requirements and whether or not they will require training. Assuming that everyone needs training without proper testing can be very costly. How would Whitney determine whether its education and training programs are of sufficiently utility? How would you specifically evaluate the programs? Again, feedback or evaluation by means of a survey or questionnaire during and at the end of each training program will ensure that the content is being understood.
The course objectives being met, learning approaches meeting everyone’s expectations and allow you to address and alter your training program. This can also assist in determining the instructor’s effectiveness and provide other useful insights which might include developmental plans of action for the instructor. Feedback and evaluations help in the development and tweaking of an effective training program. I would use the same concept as mentioned above; however, I change the method slightly. I would provide electronic urvey that allowed participants to remain anonymous. I would conduct this type of polling if you would to ensure that the information was candid and objective. References: Mel Silberman, Assisted by Carol Auerbach (3rd Edition) Assessing Training Needs, Preparing Brain Friendly Lectures Online Sources: September 24, 2002 E-learning vs. Classrooms http://www. elearnspace. org/Articles/Week1_Elearningvs. Classrooms. htm Dan Carnevale (February 24, 2002). The Chronicle of Higher Education. Online Students Don’t Fare as Well as Classroom Counterparts