Designing a Training Program Essay
Organizations expect to have high productivity in their field of operation. This productivity is achieved when there is good management and all the workers are coordinating to achieve the commonly set goal. The set goals and objectives should be clear to every employee. Sometimes, an organization needs to provide training to its staff to make sure the tasks are appropriately completed. As explained by Gould, Kelly, White and Chidgey (2004), the trainings might be necessary, in case of low production, or in case there was an introduction of a new working strategy, to motivate employees to work hard towards a given goal. The above mentioned are the reasons that the organization X has decided that 20 employees are supposed to undergo a two days training program. The training will mostly focus on the weak points that have been noted in the employees, in the effort to help them improve on their skills and personal relations during the working period. After the board of directors had a meeting to discuss the parts of the organization that need improvement, it was recommended for the 20 employees to undergo a training program.
There were three major reasons that made the organization opt for training program. One of the reason is that there was weaknesses in general performance. First, it was pointed out that the performance of the organization was reducing and, hence, a training session had to be organized. It was to help the employees increase their performance, which could be done on the first day of the training. The performance training will be an indoor activity, with a tutor who will talk about how to improve the performance of each employee in his/her area of specialization. High performance is usually achieved through setting goals. Brown (2002, p.570) states that “First, one is supposed to set his/her goal and the time limit which he/ she is planning to achieve the set goals. Then, the team is supposed to set their goal as a team which should be in line with the organization’s goals and objectives set and in achieving all those goals high performance will be experienced”. Also in this session, the employees are required to contribute and state the reason that might have caused the low performance of the employees.
The second reason is that the employees needed some training on team work. Teamwork is usually a backbone to the organization’s success. Most of the employees do not co-ordinate with the rest of their co-workers, making teamwork difficult and can easily lead to failure. Every department in the organization should operate as a team because they have a common goal, even though each employee has his or her area of specialization. Proper co-ordination from the team leaders should give a clear way for the employees to follow. Team work training session will be held on the second day. The employees will engage themselves in some games. If one of the members does not complete the task on time, the rest of the team will fail. Such an approach will make the employees work together in order to win.
The third reason is that the employees needed some training on good relation and communication skills. Good relation at the workplace is very important because it cultivates effective communication among the co-workers and between the workers and their seniors (Scott, 1995). Relation among the employees was noted to be poor. This has contributed to poor attitude and may be a factor that should be eliminated among the employees. It can be done through improvement of communication and attitude learning. This will, in return, make the employees motivated. Since this section is broad, it will be offered in two main parts. The first part will be offered in the afternoon of the first day and will be an indoor activity. The second session will be offered in the field, where the employees will engage in some field activities with eyes closed but will need guidance through a maze. The team members will then give instructions to their partners. The exercise will help them know the importance of proper communication.
The organization had certain expectations in mind that the employees had to attain by attending the training session. These expectations are the objectives that were set to be achieved at the end of training. They include: the employees should be fully inspired when the session is over to work and achieve their specific goals that have been set. The training session should also give the employees a platform for them to present the challenges they face when working. These challenges will be focused on and at the end of the session the employee should have the confidence to deal with similar challenges if they come across them in their line of work. The training will also be aimed at making the employees to have a positive attitude, which will help them in relating with others and enjoying their work at all times. The communication training will help the employees gain better skills, as they communicate with their employees and the seniors at the workplace. The major objective of the training is to increase organization’s performance.
The training schedule was starting on the first day by travelling to the place where the event was to take place. There was a change of venue because as Pedder (1999. p. 32) states that “Human mind is structured in such a way that if it does one thing for a long time it gets tired and a change is registered as a rest”. The training activities are aimed to make the mind of the employees to feel relaxed, as they get back to their daily duties after the training. The day’s schedule will be as follows: on an arrival to the place of meeting at 8 a.m., the employees will attend a two hour workshop, where an external speaker will address the performance training. On the two hour session, the employees are expected to make notes that they can refer to in the near future. At 10 a.m., the employees will be free to get some refreshment which will be a cup of tea and some snacks during a break. At 11 a.m., the employees will be back for the continuation of the morning session that will end at 1 p.m. The employees will have a break for lunch and be back at 2 p.m. for the communication skills session by another external speaker. This session will be a little shorter because it will end at 4 p.m. and the employees will have some free time. On the second day, the field events will start at 10 a.m. for team work session. That session will end at 1 p.m., where the employees will break for lunch. On the afternoon session, which will also be field work session, the employees will be trained on the communication skills. At the end of the day, the employees are supposed to be transported back to a common place, where they can easily travel back to their residential places.
Budget will be as follows: the bus fuel will be around $100 because they will be using the organization’s bus, the food and refreshment will amount to around $1,000, since it is incorporated the refreshments and the three major meals. The employees will be spending their night in some tents and hiring the tents for that one night will cost $150. The place of the training will be rented for $250. The tutors will be paid a total of $500. The employees will get some allowance during the training of $50 each, which should sum up to $1,000. The total amount required for the whole training to be successful is $3,000 only.
During training, several methods will be mixed to ensure that the message is properly delivered. There will be tutoring sessions, where the tutor will give a lecture, then there will be the question-answer method, where the employees are supposed to learn from the questions asked by their workmates and take note of the answers given. In this method of question-answer, the answers can come from either the tutor or the workmate. On the second day, it will be just the field work, where the employees will be involved in the field activities. Osseman and Buisman (1985, p. 22) say that field activities have been for long known to create a permanent bond among the participants. They are also more preferred, since one gets to do some exercises, as they learn.
The agenda of activities for the two days comprises of the five main sessions in which three will be indoor sessions, followed by two field activities. Upon arrival on the first day, the employees will get into a workshop, where they will have a session on performance training, then in the afternoon there will be a session on communication skills. On the next day, there will be two practical sessions, one for team work and another one for communication skills.
In conclusion, training program is very important, especially when the organization is experiencing some difficulty in its performance. The training session should be balanced in that it should contain both the field and indoor sessions. The coordinator of the sessions should have great knowledge of the fields to be discussed and should understand the areas, where the employees need help. Even if the training session is expensive, it is more effective than any other way of motivating employees to keep working and achieve organizational goals. The employees should also be dedicated to make the training successful at all circumstances.