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A Report to Determine the Benefits of a Good Staff Welfare System

A Report to Determine the Benefits of a Good Staff Welfare System.
A REPORT TO DETERMINE THE BENEFITS OF A GOOD STAFF WELFARE SYSTEM BY MARK ROSS 21ST October 2012 CONTENTS Introduction1 Executive Summary1 Staff welfare and organisational objectives1 Process for assessing staff welfare2 Actions to be taken2 Communicating responsibilities for staff welfare3 Recording and maintaining staff welfare systems4 Conclusion4 Bibliography4 i 1. INTRODUCTION 1. 1 This report has been asked for by my manager to determine the benefits to the company of good and well integrated staff welfare system.
Recent statistics produced by the companies Human Resources department show that the levels of sickness and absenteeism are unacceptably high. 2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2. 1 This Report considers 5 main objectives: Discuss the relationship between staff welfare and organisational objectives. Explain the process for assessing staff welfare. Identify the actions to be taken by the manager in dealing with a staff welfare Issue. Describe how to communicate responsibilities for staff welfare to then team. Discuss records that may be maintained to demonstrate that staff welfare is supported. . Discuss the relationship between staff welfare and organisational objectives. The relationship between staff welfare and organisational objectives can be can be a bit of a balancing act but there are many basic requirements we all expect when we go to work: Safe working conditions / work environment (risk assessments carried out) Safety from any kind of harassment e. g. bullying, sexual, racial. Good employee relations with people being treated with dignity and respect. Equal opportunities. Adequate induction into the company and ongoing training.
Some of these process’s come at a cost and given the current economic downturn many companies may want try and make cutbacks in certain areas namely ongoing training which can be expensive. If we are able to show our staff that we really care about there interests and personnel development it has been shown in studies to increase the overall feeling of well-being in the work place, this is proven to increase productivity and reduce rates of sickness and absenteeism which in-turn leads to a positive effect on bottom line profits. A study by Dr Kerstin Alfes of Kingston University Business School found that:

Keeping staff happy might not be a high priority for employers in the economic downturn. But a report from Kingston University argues that a contented workforce can help an organisation to succeed and can even make the difference between whether or not a struggling company survives the recession. 1 4. Explain the process for assessing staff welfare. The process for assessing staff welfare can be achieved in several ways, all are based on an open and honest flow of communication from front-line staff up the chain of command using well defined process’s.
Making the chain of command clear is also very important so staff know the correct approach to take and who to contact with any given issue/grievance. Here are some of the methods we currently have in place to assess staff welfare: Surveys / Questionnaires. Suggestion Box’s (Anonymous). Regular performance reviews / appraisals. Near-miss and accident reporting. Back to work interviews. All these process’s are based on getting an understanding of how the workforce feel at work and improvements that may be needed to make things run smoother. One process our company hasn’t yet developed fully is a workplace counselling scheme.
This concept originated in the USA and looks at staff welfare not only in the work place but outside it too, it recognises that many problems affecting productivity and welfare are not only work related. This counselling must be confidential and empathetic to the personal needs on the individual employee. 5. Identify the actions to be taken by the manager in dealing with a staff welfare issue. A manager may deal with staff welfare issues in the following ways, closely assessing the information gathered during the processing of a staff welfare issue and also looking into other relevant information is one of the most important step.
We need to get to the bottom of the issue and take a balanced view on all the concerns raised. Actions to be taken: Following of policies and procedures that are in place. Meetings with those concerned with the specific staff welfare issue. Close assessment of information gathered. These actions should lead to a good overall picture of the staff welfare issue and allow use to take the correct approach in rectifying or putting controlling measures in place to minimize the issue. Often policies and procedures may need to be updated to incorporate things we have learnt from individual issues.
This can be seen to be good management tool also as it shows our employees that as a company we are always open to continual improvement. 2 6. Describe how to communicate responsibilities for staff welfare to the team. Staff welfare responsibilities can be communicated to staff via newsletters regular meeting appraisals Notice boards eg last accident/near miss currently our company collects data on accident reports/nears misses but it only used as a tool to pass onto higher management and isn’t made freely available to staff, In previous jobs this information has been made public knowledge and published on notice board.
I feel this can be used as a good tool to show that we’re striving to reduce these figures, the same approach could also be taken with sickness and absenteeism. Publishing information such as days lost due to sickness and cost to the company in having to pay for overtime to cover time could show how important we take this issue. 7. Discuss records that may be maintained to demonstrate that staff welfare is supported. There are several ways in which records can be maintained to support staff welfare such as 8. Conclusion 9. Bibliography http://www. kingston. ac. uk/pressoffice/news/59/26-01-2010-a-happy-workforce-is-good-for-business. html

A Report to Determine the Benefits of a Good Staff Welfare System

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Hire the Right Employees to Staff Your Salon and Spa

Hire the Right Employees to Staff Your Salon and Spa.
In , the staff at Entrepreneur Press and writer Eileen Figure Sandlin explain how you can launch a successful full-service hair salon and day spa, a business that can be personally rewarding, makes a lot of people happy and can be very lucrative. In this edited excerpt, the authors outline the type of employees you’ll need to help make your salon/spa a success.
One of the more challenging aspects of being a salon owner will be hiring and retaining good employees. This can seem like a daunting task, not just because both of these responsibilities can be very time-consuming but also because there’s so much riding on employees’ skills. Their ability and talent, as well as their attitudes and work ethic, will influence every aspect of the business, from client retention rate to the bottom line, so you’ll need to choose your employees very carefully.
The whole issue of hiring is further complicated by one sticky little problem: There’s a lot of competition out there for qualified salon personnel. It’s not uncommon for rival salon owners to try to lure away talented stylists from each other with promises of more money and better working conditions. Then there’s the issue of walk-outs: when salon staff—usually stylists—decide they can do better on their own and leave a salon en masse to start their own businesses. Not only does the original salon lose its qualified staff, but it also then must compete for new staff members with the turncoats who left.

Here’s a rundown of the employees you’re likely to need for the day-to-day functioning of your new business, along with some typical salary ranges (which may vary depending on which part of the country you’re in):
Owner/Operator. You’re an employee, too, so you’re first on the list. Your day-to-day responsibilities will include overseeing operations, ensuring customer service is a top priority, making financial decisions, checking salon product and retail product inventory, handling personnel matters, hiring new staff, and assessing employee performance. All this is in addition to providing salon services if you’re a licensed, practicing cosmetologist. If you’re providing salon services as well, you can expect to spend up to 60 hours a week or more in the salon, depending on your bookings.
Salon Manager. Unless your salon is extremely small, the price you’ll pay for a manager’s salary is worth it. The manager can handle myriad tasks like paperwork, recordkeeping, employee scheduling, and purchasing. They’ll also oversee salon maintenance and handle facility management issues. This person should have the authority to act on your behalf in your absence. PayScale.com says that the median salary in a city like Indianapolis  for a hair salon and spa manager with less than a year of experience is $34,000, while a manager with five or more years of experience earns a median salary of $38,000.
Hairstylist/Cosmetologist. Your stylists are the heart of your salon staff. Every state requires stylists to be licensed cosmetologists, so you’ll want to check their credentials when they apply for a job. A cosmetology license typically allows the holder to cut and color hair, and give manicures and facials. Ordinarily, additional licensing is necessary for services such as massage therapy, but it’s possible your cosmetologist will be permitted to give hand and foot massages without extra licenses. Check with your state’s board of cosmetology to see what the requirements are.
Hairstylists usually are paid in one of two ways: on straight commission or on a salary basis. Commission-based stylists usually earn 35 to 50 percent for each service they provide. Salary-based compensation is becoming more common and is actually easier to calculate since wages are typically paid on an hourly basis. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says the median salary for hairdressers, hair stylists and cosmetologists, all of whom are lumped into a single statistical category, is $22,770, or $10.95 per hour.
A third compensation method, salary plus commission, is now fairly common. This arrangement can help increase business since the hairstylists are guaranteed a salary but earn a premium (commission) for every customer they serve.
Shampoo/Salon Assistant. This is the person who shampoos clients’ hair while the stylist is finishing up another client. He or she may also fold towels, sweep up hair clippings, and provide other general assistance around the shop. Often these assistants are newly minted cosmetology graduates who are looking for experience in the industry, or licensed assistants who haven’t yet completed enough hours to become a fully licensed stylist. Salon assistants earn minimum wage or a little more. Recruiter.com says the median annual income for a shampooer is $17,900.
Receptionist. In addition to greeting customers, the receptionist answers the phone, books appointments, gives directions, cashes out customers, and performs various other customer service duties like making coffee or even hanging up coats for clients. You should put this person in charge of the salon sound system, and make sure they’re extremely knowledgeable about the salon products you sell. A receptionist is usually paid a median wage of $12.49 per hour, according to the BLS.
Manicurist. This professional provides services like manicures, pedicures, and acrylic nail application and tipping, and must be a licensed cosmetologist. According to the BLS, a manicurist earns a median salary of $19,220.
If you’re going to be running a spa in addition to a hair salon, you’ll need the following staff:
Aesthetician. Aestheticians hold a special license from the state so they can provide services like facials, waxing, massage and other specialty body-care services. Often this person also does makeup consultations and application, especially if there’s no room in the budget to hire a dedicated makeup artist. The BLS reports that skin-care specialists like aestheticians have median annual earnings of $28,640.
Massage Therapist. Although an aesthetician can provide massage services, a massage therapist has a higher level of training and additional expertise. Most states require these professionals to hold a massage therapist license. According to the BLS, the average wage for a massage therapist is $35,970.
Electrologist. This person provides hair removal services and needs an electrologist license in many states. According to Salary.com, an electrologist is paid a median salary of $21,709.

Hire the Right Employees to Staff Your Salon and Spa

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The Staff Development

The Staff Development.
This paper will review the characteristics of a teaching program for a critical care department in a local community hospital. This will include a review of teaching strategies that focus on the adult learner based on their development stage.
A teaching program for the critical care department would entail small group and student-centered teaching strategies that focus on communication enhancement and core skill competency development among learners. This teaching approach emphasizes more autonomy in the clinical care setting and encourages the teacher to consider learner characteristics among clinical and professional workers. The educational program described will be offered in hospital and other generic health care organizations where proactive team building skills and communication skills development are necessary to ensure a multi-disciplinary approach to learning and care giving. The teaching program provided will include a team approach to healthcare education encouraging participants to learn and adopt strategies for conversing and communicating with diverse populations including other professionals, students, clinical workers, patients, families and community members.
Teaching Program for Critical Care Department Foundation

Learner characteristics for employees in a critical care work setting are unique. Adult learners generally have specific characteristics that require use of effective strategies for learning and teaching the adult learner (Huttly, Sweet & Taylor, 2003). Studies suggest that multiple approaches may be more effective for helping critical care staff develop, including a “team healthcare approach” which educators can adopt and simulate in an educational setting “through interprofessional education and vertical integration of student years” (Huttly, Sweet & Taylor, p. 5).
Teaching strategies must be based on learner characteristics and the place of employment students intend to pursue their career to be successful. Teaching strategies that are varied are most likely to be successful, and may include information technology training in skills development and writing genres and education about working in a multidisciplinary health care setting where a depth and range of activities and problems solving skills are nurtured among future healthcare practitioners (Biggs, 1999; Huttly, Sweet & Taylor, 2003).
Teaching strategies must incorporate multiple aims including improving adult critical care workers perceptions and experiences of their education and learning environment and supporting learners at varying developmental levels (Curzon, 2000). Among the skills necessary include improving communication skills in a patient centered manner; this may require that educators focus on assessing the student practitioner and providing information based learning in small groups that emphasizes problem based and problem solving learning (Huttly, Sweet & Taylor, 2003).
Many support teaching strategies that incorporate good communication, skills and core competency training and specialist options that are student based and emphasize group study skills to support ongoing learning at each development stage among adult learners; further research suggest that the ability of adult learners to discover information and understand subject matter in a clinical setting depends in part on their ability to uncover information about subjects important to them and their professional careers (Huttly, et al. 2003; Wilby, 2001). It is important that teachers adopt strategies that allow them to act as “agents of change” in the classroom, drawing on their own educational experience to provide students with a learning environment that is “condensed but focused” (Huttly, Sweet & Taylor, 150).
The clinic provides an adequate learning environment for all medical students, and teaching strategies in this environment should focus on providing students with skills, knowledge, expertise and professional ability to treat patients correctly and efficiently (Huttly, Sweet & Taylor, 2003). Teaching strategies that tend to work well in a clinical environment reflect learner characteristics, are generally subject-centered, consider student’s pre-clinical ability and education and enable students to tackle “problem-oriented, practical experiences” geared toward their developmental level (Townsend, et al. 1997; Huttly et al. 2003).
Small group learning is also considered “the most meaningful learning experienced by adult learners” and useful for all curricula including medical, particularly when characterized by “active participation of all group members” (Huttly, Sweet & Taylor, 101). Further small group experiences can enhance learning by involving them in various processes including “relating, applying, generating ideas and recognizing and resolving problems” (Huttly, Sweet & Taylor, 101).
It is a more active than passive form of teaching that provides students with more stimulating methods of interaction and developing, enabling better responsibility for learning among students, helping develop generic clinical skills and promoting all adult learning characteristics and styles (Biggs, 1999; Huttly, Sweet & Taylor, 2003). Particularly in clinical education student centered modes of teaching including small group work allow students to adopt more active and autonomous roles better preparing them to function as team members in their medical communities at later dates and times (Huttly, Sweet & Taylor, 2003).
There is ample evidence supporting the role of active learning in the clinical environment. There is also ample evidence suggesting that student centered approaches to teaching help clinical student learn to communicate better in a team environment and help develop more comprehensive communication and problem solving skills, important attributes within the medical profession (Huttly, Sweet & Taylor, 2003). This compared with more teacher centered approaches, strategies that in the past have proven less successful among adult learners with varying learning characteristics, particularly those learning in a clinical environment where it is important that students adopt transferable and generic skills (Huttly, Sweet & Taylor, 2003).

The Staff Development

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Category of staff within BIFHE

Category of staff within BIFHE.
The CEO and department Managers of BIFHE would use strategic information in making decisions that affect the whole organisation and its future. These decisions will tend to be long term, with reference to sales and budget history and may involve large amounts of money being spent. They may include issues like investment, new markets, suppliers or products and expansion of facilities. The senior management team of BIFHE would chiefly be concerned with sales and budget performance reports showing profitability for each department, with a view to forecasting future trends etc.
In an organisation like BIFHE the information would probably need to be accurate to the nearest i?? 1000. This information would need to be highly secure as it would be very useful for competitors, and if corrupted could cause the business to collapse. Therefore only those who need access to this information should be able to run reports on it. Section Managers (Sales, Marketing etc) The Section Managers of BIFHE would use tactical information to make decisions, which affect the day-to-day running as well as the short-term future of the organisation.
These decisions would be based on information that comes up from the operational level of the business and external sources, such as competitor activity etc. Section managers would be primarily concerned with their own department and how it was performing. For example, the Warehousing section manager would require information about stock levels within the warehouse. Items, which are constantly ‘out of stock’, could be flagged, and if it was deemed to be the suppliers fault then the manager could decide to use a different supplier. This would probably be a weekly report and should be accurate to the nearest case.

The Sales section manager will require information about sales history of goods within the store. Fast and slow moving items should be flagged so that decisions can be made about possible promotions or items which need to be ‘reduced to clear’ with a view to de-listing them. A report like this could be produced monthly and would again need to be accurate to the nearest case. The Finance section manager will need reports on the general performance of each of the other departments i. e. how much money is the sales department making in comparison to how much money the purchasing department is spending, a profit/loss report.
This would also need to be monthly and should be accurate to the nearest i?? 100. This information would also need to be very secure but access would most likely be granted to a wider range of employees including all management and some operational staff. Clerical Staff The clerical staff of BIFHE will use varying amounts of operational information to do their jobs each day. It is the data which they process each day that provides the management teams with the information they need to make decisions about the future of the organisation.
To best illustrate the different levels of information each operational employee will use I will take two examples, a checkout operator and a warehouse stock controller. The checkout operators main concern is scanning items through the till system and ensuring the correct amount of money is taken for each transaction. The till system therefore processes all the info and the operator has little involvement. The stock controller however will need to access information from the system about stock levels so they can reconcile their daily/weekly stock counts and process any orders for low stock items.
This involves a high level of information processing. Whichever level of information a BIFHE clerical employee needs access to it would be required daily, be relevant to their individual role, highly detailed and very accurate. This information should be secure within the organisation but available to all staff. Security of Information The growing use of computerised systems in business has inevitably made information held by companies much more vulnerable, as telecommunications networks can be accessed by hackers who may want to corrupt or destroy that information.
This can best be overcome by the use of suitable security measures such as user access restrictions and installation of firewall software etc. However, these measures do not guarantee the security of your information. These systems can still be hacked, and there is still the more likely risks of fire, flooding, electrical problems and user errors causing hardware and software failures. The best course of action therefore is to use ‘Backup’. Information should not only be backed up on site for fast recovery but should also be stored at a second or third location depending on its sensitivity.

Category of staff within BIFHE

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Sustaining effective staff training and development in the workplace

Sustaining effective staff training and development in the workplace.

I Introduction
a)What is then training and development?
Training and development is a concept in management which allow the organisational activity to be aimed directly at performance of individuals, groups and the organization (Landale, 1999). There are three main activities under the guise of training and development which are interlinked – training, education and development. It is not just the role of the employer to identify training and development needs, the employee also needs to be able to identify their role in the organization and how they can effectively develop themselves (Landale, 1999). Van der Bossche et al (2010) acknowledge that due to the rapid advancements in technology and knowledge require the individual to participate in personal and professional development. The development of talent within the organization is necessary for competitive advantage to exist, it is also necessary for the retention of employees. The organization needs to identify talent and to support the individuals through all their training needs.

b) Training and Development is described as
the necessity to cover the essential skills used in the everyday work situation. Within the promotion of training and development, the individual needs to be focused on the goal of developing their skills, knowledge and understanding of how the organization exists within its environment (Jerling, 1996). If the manager can motivate the employee in their work and can encourage development then the employee will see it in a positive light and will work towards the goals.I I Background
Having effective employees is instrumental to the success of any business organization. This is the case because of the high employee turnover rates and high unemployment rates evident in most countries. Since the 2008 recession in the U.S, other countries of the world have experienced the ripple effects as the world largest economy struggles to recover. The European nations have suffered under the current debt crisis that has shrunk economies in Europe. Other countries in African and Asia have also felt the impact, as their economies are most dependent on both the U.S and European markets for trade. The subject of having effective employees has therefore, gained relevance as employers look for ways to sustain their workers. In an effort to keep their most important asset, organizations are heavily involved in the training and development of employees (Hung &Wong 2007). Training and development has been a tool used by organizations to mitigate the risks of losing employee to other organizations. It has also been used to groom future leaders of the company, as well as assist organizations in saving time and money. This essay shall discuss two theories that discuss employer support and training, as well as the impacts of employee performance in relation to training and development of employees.III Development
Humphry Hung and Yiu Wong have come up with two theories that discuss the relationship between the employer and the workers when it comes to training, continuing education and work study performance (Hung and Wong, 2007). The theories were introduced because of a case study of Hong Kong students who were in school and worked at the same time. The authors then came up with the theories to help explain the student or employee’s performance in relations to their employees and employer relationship (Hung and Wong, 2007). The first theory was the psychological contract theory while the second one was the expectancy disconfirmation theory. The researchers realized the need for employees to have an education so that they are able to move up the ladder as far as the work force is concerned. The researchers used the employee and employer relations as the subject of research, and came up with a model to explain how training and development can be effectively used in the workplace (Hung &Wong2007).
Psychological contract theory
According to the psychological theory, the employer and the employee have a set of beliefs, promises and obligations that go beyond the formal contract between the two. This psychological contract theory is attributed to the second wave of research in this subject, namely where the basis is a mutual loyalty between employees and organization (Hall and Moss, 1998). The elements of the third wave of research on the psychological contract, which measures the attitudes and perpceptions of employees towards organization are demonstrated below (Robinson, 1996). In other words, once an employer hires an employee, the employee has to abide by certain rules while the employer is obligated to behave professionally. This means that the employees expect to exchange their loyalty and productivity for wages and other forms of compensation (Kimberly 2009).
This theory may be regarded to be limited in delivery of depth of investigation of relations between organization and employees (Robinson and Morrisson, 1995). This suggests that recent research has failed to acknowledge the fact that psychological contact theory is more multi-dimensional as opposed to what has been presented in the research (Trunley and Feldamn, 1999a).
As a result, there were two kinds of contents presented, namely transactional and relational. Transactional content involves measurable economic exchanges between the two parties. For instance, an employee works 40 hours a week for a paycheck at the end of the week. Relational contents are based on trust and long-term relationships. In such a case, an employee can delegate a certain role to the employee based on trust (McConnell 2004). In the study, three principles can emerged. First, there is interaction at an individual level, mutual relationship between the two parties and finally tactical exchanges. Most people believe that the relationship between the employee and the employer is based on personal ties because the employer is an embodiment of the organization, and the experience of their interaction dictates the success of an organization (Hung &Hing 2007).
On the other hand, some believe that there has to be a mutual relationship between the employer and the employee for organizations to succeed. The mutual obligation is based on the belief that the employer is obliged to the employee in return for a commitment. Finally, the tactical exchanges occur between the workers in which case, the employee insists on a mental connection between the two parties (Kimberly 2009). The significance of the psychological contract theory is that it attempts to explain the employee’s behavior in regards to how he is treated by the employer. In other words, the employee relationship to the employer is imperative to matters regarding how employees react when subjected to training by organizations. The development of the employee dictates the performance of the employee in the continuing work-study. The research found that students who had a good working relationship with their employer performed well in their training and education compared to those who had a bad relationship (Hung &Hing 2007).
Another limitation is attributed to the assumption, that psychological contact theory fails to address the specifics of individual work behaviour (Robinson, 1996a). From methodological perspective, this theory was developed on the basis of employee’s self-appraisals. As a result, it failed to include the actual supervisor’s appraisals, which are perceived to be quite crucial in delivery of objective opinion on the subject of job performance (Keeney and Svyantek, 2000).
Expectancy disconfirmation theory
The expectancy disconfirmation theory is similar to that of consumer dissonance. Only that in this case, it deals with the employee, as opposed to the consumer. The theory was brought about from the comparison of a worker and a consumer when dealing with their products. An employee is believed to have positively disconfirmed their role in the organisation when their perceived performance exceeds their expected performance (Roughton&Mercurio 2002). The opposite is true and referred to as negative disconfirmation. Negative disconfirmation occurs when an employee believes that their expectations exceed their perceived
The ability for the organisation to be able to sustain effective staff training and development in the workplace is a necessity in the global market. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on training and development in the workplace (Venkatesh and Goyal, 2010). Other considerations which must be taken into consideration when discussing this topic are in relation to the culture and structure of the organisation as well as the importance of communication and the impact of the leadership styles on the overall behaviour of the organisation (Venkatesh and Goyal, 2010). The global market has allowed the transfer of skills and knowledge through migration and the internationalisation of organisations.
Training and development are important to how the organisation can compete in the market, if the organisation can sustain their employees through training and development they will be able to compete in the market. The effectiveness of employees will prove to be a valuable asset to the organisation and it is important that the organisation holds on to their employees (Klein, 1998). It has been argued that the resources of an organisation are the key sources of competitiveness. There is a need to examine the background of the organisation – culture and structure to see how these can determine how the organisation perceives training and development opportunities within the organisation.
This theory has also proved to have some limitations attributed to it. This implies that it has been a subject to limitations imposed on the methodlogical approach. This implies that there have been some concerns reported in relation to the measurement of expectations that have been met (Irving and Meyer, 1999). This implies that direct measurement which is utilized in prediction of the disrepency between the expectations in relation to the job and actual behavioural intentions (Irving and Meyer, 1999).
Strategic Management
Strategic management is an essential process which needs to be considered in any organisation. Thompson & Martin (2005) explain the process as being concerned with organisational actions and activities which identify and deal with threats, opportunities etc in both the internal and external environment. How strategic management is managed shows how well the organisation can adapt to change and how training and development will be welcomed in the organisational context. Lamb (1984) states that strategic management assesses competitors of the organisation and sets goals and strategies which can be seen in the context of training and development and how the organisation views the importance of its employees.
One of the most important strategic processes is the practice of retaining employees. It is best practice to keep the skills and knowledge available to the organisation to remain competitive and to be able to recruit the most talented individuals in the market. If an organisation has the pick of the talent through their recruitment process they can sustain their competitive advantage which will allow them to compete consistently. The type of culture is reflected through the recruitment and selection processes as well the organisational structure and culture. If an organisation can effectively train and develop their workforce as well as retain their employees. Performance management and a competitive incentive programme can enhance the ability of the organisation to select and recruit the individuals they want to recruit to positions and not just because they have to fill the position (Phillips & Pulliam Phillips (2002).
Lambin (2000) defines the strategic process as allowing management to identify advantages and disadvantages. It will be important to identify the advantages and disadvantages of training and development further on in this paper but it is extremely necessary that these are identified so that the organisation can identify the skills and knowledge which they require in their organisation. The human element to the resources of the organisation are extremely important, Armstrong (2006) cites that the skills and competencies identified within the human resources process need to meet the future demands and challenges of the organisation and the environment. It will be necessary for the organisation to meet the pressures from the competitive environment and it should be prepared for this. Most organisations would not be able to function effectively in their environment without sustaining effective training and development in their workplaces. It is important that employees can be motivated into performing and target meeting.
Organisational Culture
The culture of the organisation is an integral factor of organisational activity. Holbeche (2006) believes that there are issues linking corporate social responsibility, accountability and the stakeholder environment. The culture of the organisation will impact on the behaviour of the employees in reference to how they behave, their work attitudes, the ability to embrace change and how the organisational objectives are achievable or not. Motivational theory is extremely important (Alderfer, 1969, Vroom, 1964, Maslow, 1943, Herzberg, 1966) link the goals of the organisation to the performance and achievement of personal goals which in turn can be fuelled by how skilled and knowledgeable the individual is. The culture of the organisation can be linked to success through the achievement of the competitive advantage. Deal & Kennedy (1982) believe that the most important factor for the success or failure of the organisation is the culture.
Culture by its very nature is implicit of behaviours within the organisation. Leadership and management are also essential to the understanding of culture and how it affects all mechanisms within the organisation (Rabey, 2003). This is also essential to the concept of training and development within the organisation as the development of management within the organisation, as the leadership role needs to grow both personally and professionally thus the impetus is on the development through training and development. The leader plays a role in the development of the organisation and if this individual is in tune with the development and training of the human resources, the organisation will embrace this concept. Schein (2004) reflects that the leadership and culture are inseparable. Structure is also important to the training and development environment within an organisation. The more rigid the hierarchical structure the less likely the culture will embrace training and development practices. While many organisations realise the need for progressive training and development it should be noted that not every organisation is a learning organisation (Schein, 2004).
Leadership
It is necessary to understand leadership as a concept before attempting to evaluate training and development. The development of the leader, according to Pedlar et al (2003), is that the concept is based on unexamined assumptions. There is no single definition of a leader, however, there are many attributes attached to leadership such as an ability to adapt, to make decisions, to be flexible and to be able to recognise skills within themselves and within others. The ability of the strategic manager is to be able to create an environment where employees want to participate and make a significant contribution to their role in the organisation. It is through this communicative process that the leader can identify the development requirements of the employee. The employee should be able to trust the judgement of the leader to allow them to participate in any programmes for development and learning within the organisation (Rabey, 2003).
It is also necessary that the leader can identify any developmental needs in their own career progression. If the leader is forward thinking they will bring the organisation into line with the requirement of the selection and recruitment process to enhance the competitive nature of the organisation. The performance of the individual is impacted by the authority figure in the organisational relationship and can be highly influenced by the use of incentives.
One such incentive which can be used to motivate the employee is that of training and development opportunities. These types of incentives are extremely important in today’s global environment with the internationalisation of organisations and the free movement of the workforce. The more skilled the workforce, the more ability the employee has to dictate their position within the organisation. This position allows the employee to hold some power over the authority figure as they can determine where they want to go in terms of their career and their development. Communication is key to this process so that the employee knows what kind of training is available to them and for the leader to be able to communicate the type of training which may best suit the employee. It is important that the leader can apply self development to themselves before they apply it to the individuals within their organisation and there should be an ethos throughout the organisation on lifelong learning.
Learning Organisation
In today’s global environment the concept of lifelong learning is extremely important and it is necessary for all employees to keep their development and learning up to date. The availability of learning to employees should be a pre-requisite to any organisation who profess to be a global leader. It is necessary for all employees to keep their skills, resources and knowledge updated so that they can compete in their business market. The markets while very dynamic and complex are also extremely competitive, and organisations are always looking for the right individual to take up a position within the organisation, who will ultimately enhance their competitive advantage (Lambin, 2000).
Lifelong learning as a concept is not new, however, the concept of learning within the organisational context is very new. This allows the individual to learn around their own experiences. Both the organisation and the individual should be in synch with each other to allow their goals to be achieved. The service which the individual can apply to their customer greatly leaves a mark on the organisation as to how proficient it is in dealing with its customer. The ability of the organisation to provide professional training for their employees will successfully promote the organisation as well as the role of the employee. It is necessary that lifelong learning should be promoted more readily in today’s global markets due to the expansion of business and the free movement of employees to other countries.
Lifelong learning can be provided throughout the organisation and does not necessary mean that it must be formal, it can be on the job training, but it should be used to encourage and motivate the individual. It is important to understand that the concept of lifelong learning is not without it disadvantages and within many organisations the facility is very much available. However, it is up to the individual to decide that they wish to partake in any programme, and also up to the manager to put the employee forward for training and development. This is very much about communication. Depending on how free flowing communication is, depends on the availability of these facilities. If the employee does not push for these opportunities they can hardly be expected to be handed the opportunity. However, the manager must communicate that these opportunities are available to the employee and explain the positive features for the employee.
It is also necessary that the vision and politics of the organisation match the service and opportunities which can be given to employees. The need to preserve the abilities of employees within the organisation has become increasingly important, especially for the organisation to retain the skills, knowledge and resources which it currently holds. Lifelong learning can in effect change the labour market and the direction which the organisation is heading. Smith (2001) identifies the need of an organisation to be progressive, to allow the individual to gain more knowledge throughout their career and to persuade the individual to use the resources available to them for educational and growth purposes.
Benefits of Training and Development
Training and development is a particularly helpful feature to the organisation as well as the individual. The process allows both the organisation and the individual to grow alongside with the global market. It allows the individual within the organisation to recognise that they should be motivated to perform their job to the best of their ability because they can feel more valued by the incentives which they can receive from the organisation. There are many benefits to the organisation and the employee but it should also be recognised that there are also disadvantages to this.
Lifelong learning does not necessary mean that the employee has to go off site on participate in in-house training, it also means a variety of opportunities within the organisation such as job rotation, secondment etc. These types of roles allow the employee to try out the role but also it means that they can avail of training in other positions within the organisation. This type of training can also motivate the employee as it can be seen as a performance reward for their hard work. It would seem in today’s environment, the emphasis would be very much on a culture of performance equals rewards. Other types of training and development include attending classes and online courses.
Advantages and disadvantages of Training and Development
The advantages which can be beneficial to the organisation is the retention of the current employees who are competent in their positions and have the ability to take on new roles within the organisation. If the employee can be trained in other positions it will benefit the organisation when it comes to employees leaving, thus the need for an urgent replacement for the position is no longer made a priority as the organisation can often promote or second from within. This allows the organisation some time to proceed with the recruitment and selection process to allow for them to find the right candidate. This also allows the employee to try other positions within the organisation and to decide if they wish to apply for these positions. With these types of training and development opportunities, the employee gets an opportunity to experience other roles and they may also provide a monetary incentive such as a pay rise while they are in the position. The ability of the organisation to provide these types of roles will also allow the organisation to retain their workforce and the skills and knowledge which come with that. It also enhances the skills of the employee.
While there are advantages to training and development, there are also disadvantages. These disadvantages are predominately to the organisation but those which are important factors to the employee are the amount of time they would have to spend on the training and they may not be fully aware of the training opportunities which are afforded to them. This could be due to a lack of communication within the organisation or that the organisation is not overly interested in the development of their employees. One major reason that an organisation may not provide training and development would be down to cost in time and money. It may not be convenient for the organisation to spent time and money on an employee when the end result could be that they lose the skills and knowledge of the employee to another organisation due to the training and development they received. This has become more common as employees are more empowered and acknowledge the freedom to move to another job, even to move to another country.
How Training and Development is Changing
Garrison & Anderson (2003: p.i) state that
‘The growth of e-learning is being described as explosive, unprecedented, and above all, disruptive.’ E-learning is associated with providing a framework for understanding the application and to goal set. This method of learning has become increasingly adopted as technology is evolving and transforming work practices. Many organisations have acknowledged the need to change according to reviewing the values and culture of their organisations. It has become increasingly important for organisations to adapt to the new learning environment.
Training and development has changed rapidly due to global expansion. The employee no longer needs to take time off work to participate in training. Along with on the job training, it has become cost effective for employees to educate themselves through online and DVD/ CD’s. Technology has afforded organisations and employees easier ways to participate in training and development. Study can take place at the workstation or at home rather than the traditional format where the employee had to leave the workplace and travel to a destination where they could be facilitated. This has become extremely cost effective for the organisation as they are not losing man hours when the employee is studying/ on their course and it also means that workloads are not high because the work is still being completed.
Along with the rise in popularity of the Internet and its main feature, namely interactivity, the human resource managers have found out that this may be used to the advantage for training and development purposes (Venkatesh and Goyal, 2010). The internet, as an interactive and communication medium provides wider access to the information and enables distance learning for knowledge transfer purposes. This suggests that it is much easier to engage in learning programs from any location in the world, if an individual has an Internet connection (Venkatesh and Goyal, 2010). Additionally, it has been estimated that the Internet is associated with lower costs, imposed on the training and development strategies. This implies that the main costs are reduced in the areas of physical distribution of training and development programs and the need for hiring a specific staff in order to maintain those. Online training allow the individual to manage the training program by himself, where he is regarded to be in control over the situation (Venkatesh and Goyal, 2010). Van Dam, (2002) suggests that online training is utilized in combination with the offline channel, suggesting that in the majority of cases, the users of the online training system tend to maintain an offline contact whilst receiving the necessary instructions. The online training system is mainly utilized for the development of computer skills, job-related skills and technical competencies.
Recently, there has been an emergence of economic recession that has affected the planning and implementation process of training and development programs. This implies that economic recession has made the companies to reconsider their costs and thereby plan the cuts, where necessary. CIPD, (in EWCO, 2009) has estimated that the performance of the majority of companies in the previous 12 months has been worsened. With regard to training and development, it has been estimated that 32 % of surveyed companies have reported cuts in the training and development budget in the previous 12 months. However, in the light of recession, despite the imposed cuts in budget, the majority of companies has estimated that training and development has not been viewed as an expendable commodity. This implies that the management of the companies still view training and development programs as the key priority for company’s achievement of organizational objectives (CIPD in EWCO, 2009; Bourke, 2009). This suggests that there is a great potential for further investments in training and development programs, given its significance in the corporate world.
Methods used in Training and Development
This type of training also encourages the employee as they can do all their study with the use of a pc and can do it during working hours at their workstation. It also allows the employee to have more say in their development and to enhance their skills. The use of IT has allowed the development of more globalised skills which are transferrable. It is also appropriate for the organisation to provide the employee with the information about training and development opportunities which is extremely easy compared to how the traditional methods had been. The employee and the organisation can research the courses/ training and development opportunities. The manager has the ability to distinguish worthwhile courses/ training opportunities according to the need of the employee with the use of IT. This is where the ability to communicate and identify the individual needs of the employee as well as their own needs.
V References
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Sustaining effective staff training and development in the workplace

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Sustaining effective staff training in the workplace Argumentative Essay

Sustaining effective staff training in the workplace Argumentative Essay.
Introduction
Having effective employees is instrumental to the success of any business organisation. This is the case because of the high employee turnover rates and high unemployment rates evident in most countries. Since the 2008 recession in the U.S, other countries of the world have experienced the ripple effects as the world largest economy struggles to recover. The European nations have suffered under the current debt crisis that has shrunk economies in Europe. Other countries in African and Asia have also felt the impact, as their economies are most dependent on both the U.S and European markets for trade. The subject of having effective employees has therefore, gained relevance as employers look for ways to sustain their workers. In an effort to keep their most important asset, organisations are heavily involved in the training and development of employees (Hung & Hing 2007). Training and development has been a tool used by organisations to mitigate the risks of losing employee to other organisations. It has also been used to groom future leaders of the company, as well as assist organisations in saving time and money. This paper shall discuss two theories that discuss employer support and training, as well as the impacts of employee performance in relation to training and development of employees.
Humphry Hung and Yiu Wong have come up with two theories that discuss the relationship between the employer and the workers when it comes to training, continuing education and work study performance. The theories were introduced because of a case study of Hong Kong students who were in school and worked at the same time. The authors then came up with the theories to help explain the student or employee’s performance in relations to their employees and employer relationship. The first theory was the psychological contract theory while the second one was the expectancy disconfirmation theory. The researchers realised the need for employees to have an education so that they are able to move up the ladder as far as the work force is concerned. The researchers used the employee and employer relations as the subject of research, and came up with a model to explain how training and development can be effectively used in the workplace (Hung & Hing 2007).

Psychological contract theory
According to the psychological theory, the employer and the employee have a set of beliefs, promises and obligations that go beyond the formal contract between the two. In other words, once an employer hires an employee, the employee has to abide by certain rules while the employer is obligated to behave professionally. This means that the employees expect to exchange their loyalty and productivity for wages and other forms of compensation (Kimberly 2009). In the psychological contract, there are two kinds of contents, transactional and relational. Transactional content involves measurable economic exchanges between the two parties. For instance, an employee works 40 hours a week for a paycheck at the end of the week. Relational contents are based on trust and long-term relationships. In such a case, an employee can delegate a certain role to the employee based on trust (McConnell 2004). In the study, three principles came emerged. First, there is interaction at an individual level, mutual relationship between the two parties and finally tactical exchanges. Most people believe that the relationship between the employee and the employer is based on personal ties because the employer is an embodiment of the organisation, and the experience of their interaction dictates the success of an organisation (Hung & Hing 2007).
On the other hand, some believe that there has to be a mutual relationship between the employer and the employee for organisations to succeed. The mutual obligation is based on the belief that the employer is obliged to the employee in return for a commitment. Finally, the tactical exchanges occur between the workers in which case the employee insists on a mental connection between the two parties (Kimberly 2009). The significance of the psychological contract theory is that it attempts to explain the employee’s behavior in regards to how he is treated by the employer. In other words, the employee relationship to the employer is imperative to matters regarding how employees react when subjected to training by organisations. The development of the employee dictates the performance of the employee in the continuing work-study. The research found that students who had a good working relationship with their employer performed well in their training and education compared to those who had a bad relationship (Hung & Hing 2007).
Expectancy disconfirmation theory
The expectancy disconfirmation theory is similar to that of consumer dissonance. Only that in this case, it deals with the employee, as opposed to the consumer. The theory was brought about from the comparison of a worker and a consumer when dealing with their products. An employee is believed to have positively disconfirmed their role in the organisation when their perceived performance exceeds their expected performance (Roughton & Mercurio 2002). The opposite is true and referred to as negative disconfirmation. Negative disconfirmation occurs when an employee believes that their expectations exceed their perceived performance. The expectancy theory was a catalyst to the employee’s job satisfaction and was believed to be a key element in explaining employees moral. Employees that surpassed their expectations felt more satisfied with their role and were more motivated compared to their counterparts who experienced negative disconfirmation. The subject was also duplicated in training of the workers and played a major role in the development of employees in the organisation (Hung & Hing 2007).
Employee evaluation was also a subject of discussion in regards to employee training and development. Managers who engaged in employee appraisals realised good results as compared to those who did not carry out employee evaluations. Employee evaluation is a tool that if used efficiently can yield positive results on employees especially when it comes to training (Roughton & Mercurio 2002). Evaluations are a tool used by management to give their workers a sense of directions in relation to the company’s goals. During evaluations, the managers usually explain the organisations goals and try to align them with the employee’s goals. This way, the employer and the employee are in a win-win situation. A constant feedback or communication with the employees also makes them feel valued and helps them know what the organisation expects of them. Well-executed performance evaluations have been used to not only sustain efficient employees but also groom future leaders. Evaluation schedules usually assist employees to become more efficient in the organisation (McConnell 2004).
Conclusion
In essence, employee’s behavior and performance at work depends on the relationship with the employer. Workers feel valued when other roles are delegated to them because it gives the perception that their employers trust them. In addition, perception and expected performance also plays a huge role in satisfying a worker’s performance. Workers feel more satisfied when they exceed their expectations at work. Finally, evaluations have to be conducted at work because employees need to have feedback on their impact to their company. Employees who get a feedback usually work hard to achieve their organisational goals.
References
Hung, H. & Yiu Hing, W. 2007, ‘The relationship between employer endorsement of continuing education and training and work and study performance: a Hong Kong case study’. International Journal of Training & Development, 11, 4, pp. 295-313.
Kimberly, W. 2009, Value Initiatives Improving Performance in the Workplace. NY: GRIN Verlag
McConnell, C. R. 2004, ‘Managing Employee Performance’, Health Care Manager, 23,3, p. 273, Supplemental Index.
Roughton, J. & Mercurio, J. 2002, Developing an Effective Safety Culture: A Leadership Approach. NY: Butterworth-Heinemann

Sustaining effective staff training in the workplace Argumentative Essay

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