There are a number of approaches to employee development, and each one does something specific and unique.

UNIT VI STUDY GUIDE Employee Development and Special Issues in Training and Development Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VI Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 4. Examine performance appraisal information to obtain person analysis data. 4.1 Discuss the four approaches to employee development. 4.2 Discuss the benefits of mentoring relationships and the characteristics of a successful mentoring program. 4.3 Describe how companies and employees benefit from assessment of personality, work behaviors, and job performance. 9. Illustrate the importance of succession planning using a real world scenario. 9.1 Explain the advantages of e-learning on employee development. 9.2 Discuss how legal issues relate to training practices. 9.3 Discuss the implications of cultural dimensions on the design of training. Reading Assignment Chapter 9: Employee Development and Career Management Unit Lesson Employee Development What is employee development? It is formal education, job experiences, relationships, and assessments of personality and abilities that help employees perform effectively in their current or future job and organization. It is more than just a training program. It should be rooted in the company s mission, goals, values, and business outcomes (Noe, 2010). Let s discuss some of the differences between training and development. Training focuses on the current state, where development has a focus on future state. The goal of training is the preparation for the current position, while development prepares for possible changes. One of the major differences is that training is required in order to successfully fulfill the needs of the position. Development is strictly voluntary on the part of the employee. Why is development so important? It gives organizations the opportunity to improve quality, meet the challenges of global competition and social change, and incorporate technological advances and changes in work design. There is also additional information that shows it can help reduce employee turnover by showing employees that the company is investing in the employees skill development and developing managers who can create a positive work environment that makes employees want to come to work and contribute to the company goals (Noe, 2010). There are a number of approaches to employee development, and each one does something specific and unique. Formal education programs: this includes off-site and on-site programs designed specifically for the company s employees, as well as short courses offered by consultants or universities, executive MBA programs, and university programs. Tuition reimbursement: the practice of reimbursing employees costs for college and university courses and degree programs. BHR 4680, Training and Development 1

Assessments: collect information and provide feedback to employees UNIT about x their STUDY behavior, GUIDE communication style, values, or skills. They are used most frequently to identify employees with managerial potential and measure current managers strengths and weaknesses. Companies vary in the methods and sources of information they use in developmental assessment. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): this is the most popular psychological test for employee development. It identifies individuals preferences for energy, information gathering, decision making, and lifestyle. It is a valuable tool for understanding communication styles and the ways people prefer to interact with others. Assessment centers: in this scenario, there are multiple raters or evaluators who evaluate employees performance on a number of exercises. It is used to identify if employees have the abilities, personality, and behaviors for management jobs and if employees have the necessary skills to work in teams. Some of the types of exercises used include leaderless group discussions, interviews, inbaskets, and role plays. Performance appraisals: this is the process of measuring employees performance. There are different approaches for measuring performance such as ranking employees, rating their work behaviors, and rating the extent to which employees have desirable traits believed to be necessary for job success. The appraisal system must give employees specific information about their performance problems and ways they can improve their performance, while managers must be trained in providing performance feedback. Upward feedback: this process involves collecting subordinates evaluations of managers behaviors or skills. The factors necessary for a 360-degree feedback system to be effective are as follows: o The system must provide consistent or reliable ratings. o Feedback must be job-related (valid). o The system must be easy to use, understandable, and relevant. o The system must lead to managerial development. Job experiences: job experiences includes relationships, problems, demands, tasks, or other features that employees face in their jobs and helping them with how to best navigate issues. A major assumption is that development is most likely to occur when there is a mismatch between the employee s skills and past experiences and the skills required for the job. This is not true. The following are a few examples of when development can occur: Job enlargement adds challenges or new responsibilities to an employee s current job. Job rotation provides employees with a series of job assignments in various functional areas of the company or movement among jobs in a single functional area or department. Transfer occurs when an employee is given a different job assignment in a different area of the company. Promotions are advancements into positions with greater challenges, more responsibility, and more authority than in the previous job. Downward move occurs when an employee is given a reduced level of responsibility and authority. Externships occur when employees take full-time, temporary operational roles at another company. Employee exchange is one example of temporary assignments in which two companies agree to exchange employees. Volunteer assignments offer employees opportunities to manage change, to teach, to take on a higher level of responsibility, or to be exposed to other job demands. Another avenue for development and growth for employees is interpersonal relationships. Two types we will discuss in particular are mentoring and coaching. Mentor: An experienced, productive senior employee who helps develop a less experienced employee (the protégé). They provide career support and psychosocial support to the protégé. This relationship is not only good for the person being mentored, it also provides opportunities for mentors to: o develop interpersonal skills, increase feelings of self-esteem and worth to the organization, and gain knowledge about important new scientific developments Coach: A peer or manager who works with employees to motivate them, help them develop skills, and provide reinforcement and feedback. The best coaches are empathetic, supportive, practical, and self-confident, but do not appear to know all the answers or want to tell others what to do. BHR 4680, Training and Development 2

Three roles that a coach can play: UNIT x STUDY GUIDE 1. One-on-one with an employee, providing feedback based on psychological tests, 360-degree assessment, or interviews with bosses, peers, and subordinates. 2. Help employees learn for themselves by putting them in touch with experts who can help them with their concerns, and by teaching them how to obtain feedback from others. 3. Provide the employee with resources such as mentors, courses, or job experiences that the employee may not otherwise have access to. The development planning process involves: identifying development needs, choosing a development goal, identifying the actions that need to be taken by the employee and the company to achieve the goal, determining how progress toward goal attainment will be measured, investing time and energy to achieve the goal, and establishing a timetable for development. The most effective development strategies involve individualization, learner control, and ongoing support. Training Issues Resulting from the External Environment In an increasingly global workforce, there are a number of challenges that present themselves in the training and development arena. One of the major challenges is an employee who works in different cultures and overseas. We will discuss some of the particulars as we go forward. One of the first steps in training an employee who works overseas is cross-cultural preparation. This involves educating employees (expatriates) and their families who are to be sent to a foreign country. Expatriates are people who work in a country other than their country of origin. They fall into one of the following categories: Parent-country national: An employee whose country of origin is where the company has its headquarters. Host-country national: The employee is from the host country. Third-country national: An employee who has a country of origin different from both the parent country and host country where he or she works. There are a number of things that must be kept in mind when dealing with other cultures. G. Hofstede (1983) identified five dimensions of national culture: 1. individualism-collectivism, 2. uncertainty avoidance, 3. masculinity-femininity, 4. power distance, and 5. time orientation. Working overseas can be extremely rewarding, however, it can it have its challenges as well. To be successful in overseas assignments, expatriates need to be: competent in their area of expertise; able to communicate verbally and nonverbally in the host country; flexible, tolerant of ambiguity, emotionally stable, outgoing and agreeable, and sensitive to cultural differences; motivated to succeed, able to enjoy the challenge of working in other countries, and willing to learn about the host country s culture, language, and customs; and supported by their families. As you can see, the key to successful foreign assignment is a combination of training and career management for employees and their families. BHR 4680, Training and Development 3

Foreign assignments involve the following three phases: UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Pre-departure: Employees and families need to receive language training and an orientation in the new country s culture and customs. This allows them to feel comfortable in their new surroundings. They also need information about the various facilities in the area where they will live. Employees must discuss with their managers how the foreign assignment fits into their career plans and what type of position they can expect upon return. On-site phase: This training involves continued orientation to the host country and its customs and cultures through formal programs or through a mentoring relationship. Expatriates and their families may be paired with a mentor from the host country who helps them understand the new, unfamiliar work environment and community. Repatriation phase: Expatriates need to be prepared for return to the parent company and country from the foreign assignment. Expatriates and their families are likely to experience high levels of stress and anxiety when they return because of the changes that have occurred since their departure. The key is to help expatriates decide not to leave the company because the assignment they are given upon return has less responsibility, challenges, and status than the foreign assignment. Managing Work Force Diversity What are the goals of diversity training? To eliminate values, stereotypes, and managerial practices that inhibit employees personal development and to allow employees to contribute to organizational goals regardless of their race, age, physical condition, sexual orientation, gender, family status, religious orientation, or cultural background. Managing diversity is nothing more than creating an environment that allows all employees to contribute to organizational goals and experience personal growth. This includes access to jobs and fair and positive treatment of all employees. To successfully manage a diverse work force, companies need to ensure that: Employees understand how their values and stereotypes influence their behavior toward people of different gender, ethnicity, race, or religion. Employees gain an appreciation of cultural differences among themselves. Behaviors that isolate or intimidate minority group members improve. Attitude awareness and change programs exist. Focus is on increasing employees awareness of differences in cultural and ethnic backgrounds, physical characteristics, and personal characteristics that influence behavior toward others. The assumption is that by increasing awareness of stereotypes and beliefs, employees will be able to avoid negative stereotypes when interacting with employees of different backgrounds. The question then becomes, how do we accomplish this? There are a number of programs that can be used. Let s discuss one of them. Behavior-based programs: The focus is on changing the organizational policies and individual behaviors that inhibit employees personal growth and productivity. Approaches include: Identify incidents that discourage employees from working up to their potential. Teach managers and employees basic rules of behavior in the workplace. Cultural immersion by sending employees directly into communities where they have to interact with persons from different cultures, races, and/or nationalities. BHR 4680, Training and Development 4

How does training play a role in the external climate? They begin assisting by UNIT partnering x STUDY with some GUIDE of the following programs: School-to-work transition programs: These programs combine classroom experiences with work experiences to prepare high school students for employment. School-to-Work Opportunities Act: This was designed to assist the states in building school-to-work systems that prepare students for high-skill, high-wage jobs or future education. Government agencies: This refers to welfare recipients attending a company-sponsored training program subsidized with money and tax credits from the government, as well as some of the state and local governments providing life and skills training directly to welfare recipients. Training Issues Related to Internal Needs of the Company While we have discussed a number of unique challenges, we have not yet discussed the challenges of training within the company. How does a company meet some of these challenges? Create a Lifelong Learning Account: This is an account for adult education into which both the employee and the company contribute and the employee keeps, even if he or she leaves the company. Work to break the glass ceiling, or the barriers to advancement to the higher levels of the organization. Joint union-management programs provide a wide range of services designed to help employees learn skills that are directly related to their job, and also develop skills that are portable, that is, valuable to employers in other companies or industries. Succession planning is the process of identifying and developing the future leadership of the company. It helps to attract and retain managerial employees by providing them with development opportunities to attain upper-level management as a career goal. Developing managers with dysfunctional behaviors. A combination of assessment, training, and counseling is used to help managers change dysfunctional behavior and increase their ability to become better managers and leaders. The Individual Coaching for Effectiveness (ICE) program is one such program designed specifically to help managers with dysfunctional behavior. Training and pay systems are in skill-based pay systems, where an employees pay is based primarily on the knowledge and skills they possess rather than the knowledge or skills necessary to successfully perform their current job. Based on such a limited view, this is often used to facilitate cross-training which contributes to better use of employees skills and ideas. Managers and/or peers usually serve as trainers to make sure the transfer of knowledge takes place. This action requires periodic evaluation of employees skills and knowledge using behavior and learning outcomes. References Hofstede, G. (1983). Dimensions of national cultures in fifty countries and three regions. Expectations in Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44-52. Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Learning Activities (Non-Graded) Using the CSU Online Library and the Internet, research information about the Big Brother/Big Sister Organization. Find information regarding their mentoring program and their partnerships with corporations and the benefits received from both participants regarding this relationship. Non-graded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information. BHR 4680, Training and Development 5