Needs assessment
A needs assessment was done to identify the organizational goals and objectives, how to manage the resources effectively, and how to implement the business plan to achieve Atwood and Allen Consulting Company’s business goals and objectives. The results showed that the need to train workers in different areas on how to execute the roles and tasks assigned them with high levels of efficiency were established after a need assessment was the drone.
In addition, the needs assessment was done to determine the gap in skills to be filled to ensure that the training program targeted at the employees to impact in them the right skills to improve their productivity and performance to meet the organizational performance requirements. The gaps identified include the need to build strong teams and encourage teamwork, training on marketing skills, personal relationship skills, improve individual and team performance, improve functional competencies, and behavior (Cascio, 2013).
The results led to the conclusion that if some problems could not be solved using the newly acquired skills, it could be the responsibility of the top management to formulate new policies, procedures, and practices by a continual revision to achieve the training and development needs to improve employee productivity and performance. In addition, the needs assessment revealed different conditions under which the training program could be implemented based on various assessment elements that were used to evaluate the training plan (Cascio, 2013). A diagnostic approach in identifying the problems to be solved was used to identify the specific areas of training to be addressed when formulating the training program.
Environmental analysis
Atwood and Allen Consulting Company’s target market was analyzed by scanning the internal and external environments to collect the necessary information required to enable the key people within the organization to use to make the right decisions on the right training plan to implement.
In addition, an analysis of the business environment revealed that Bradley Stonefield targeted net annual net revenue for the first year of $50,000 and a 5% growth rate. An analysis of the business environment showed different competing firms existed within the location where the company intends to establish its business operations that offer equally competitive limousine services. However, to offer services that are comparable to limousine services in the market in Austin, TX, it is necessary for the company to make a SWOT analysis of the business environment and develop a strategic plan to gain a competitive advantage against the rival companies as shown the SWOT matrix in table 2 below.
Table 1: SWOT analysis.
The macro-environment consists of supplies that are already available to provide the products and services in the motor vehicle business. When compared with the services offered by the companies that offer similar services, it was necessary to ensure that the new company offers services that could be equivalent to those offered by the Limousine services organization. On the other, hand the income levels of the people and the target customers in the Austin, TX market were investigated and established to be able to afford the services offered at lower prices.
However, the new business organization would present a serious threat to those companies that are well established in the market. There was a need to address the competition that would arise because the threat of entering the new market compelled the organization to develop a training plan to equip the employee with the requisite skills necessary to execute the tasks and roles properly to make the company competitive in its service and product offerings.
However, based on business intelligence reports, it was established that different companies operating in the motor vehicle industry were well established and have a significant market share. To compete for the market share of the well-established companies, it was necessary to train the human resources to be able to apply their skills and knowledge to improve the productivity and company competitive advantage to be able to create a niche in the market.
On the other hand, it was established that the current business organization does not need any intermediaries in any of the categories that include financial, service delivery, physical distribution, and marketing agencies because eliminating them could reduce the cost of running the business drastically and increase profits. In addition, most of the marketing and service delivery will be done by employees after they have undergone the training to improve their business skills.
Organizational analysis
The investigation revealed that there was a need to train the employees based on the training and development needs and conditions that were established under the training plan. In addition, it was necessary for the organization to establish good pay compensation and employee recruitment and performance management practices to ensure that the organizational employees provided better services. The results showed that there was a need to improve employee skills because most of them lacked the knowledge and skills required to execute the tasks and responsibilities assigned them properly.
It was established that each department needed a training and development program for each employee based on their knowledge and skills. In addition, the areas of training that were identified include installation of new equipment, learning affirmative action issues, understanding new changes in procedures and performance management standards at the place of work because changes in the performance requirements and skills occurred quite often. It was necessary for workers to develop and work in teams to enhance team performance. To attract quality employees, it was necessary to reward performance and encourage retention by offering parks and financial rewards.
Demographic analysis
A demographic analysis of the training and development needs of the employees to determine the distribution of skills among the workers was conducted and it was established that the demographic profiles consisted of employees aged between 20 years and 48 years old of the 25 employees working for the organization. In addition, it was realized that the older employees were more experienced than the younger employees, but each group members were in need to improve their skills for better performance.
On the other hand, the demographic profile of the business in the context of the organization consists of the larger societal forces that include the economic conditions of the people, which best describe the income categories of most of the people in the market in Austin, TX. Here, most of the people come from the middle to high-income groups. The economic policies such as taxation were not hostile and the economic system allows private investments without the stringent conditions that could discourage investors.
Operational analysis
The operational analysis of workers’ training needs was done to determine the operational requirements for the training and development of the employees. In addition, it was established that there were new opportunities in the market that could be optimized by training and developing employee abilities. The goal was to ensure that continuity and company productivity was maintained and enhanced by enabling the employees to be committed to the excellent execution of tasks and roles.
Individual analysis
An analysis of each individual was done to determine how the workers were executing the roles and responsibilities assigned them based on performance review data by the management to determine the training and development needs when creating a training plan. Different tools including interviews, questionnaires, and observations were done to ensure that employees provided the right information about themselves and the areas being assessed. Here, the areas addressed included the problems with the current employee skills, the time required to complete the training, the recommended training methods, the tools used to measure the success of the training and development program, the personnel to conduct the analysis, the budgetary allocations, and the
Training methods
Different training methods were evaluated to determine the one in line with the organizational goals, objectives, mission, and vision statements. The training included conducting it on the job including training sessions that were frequently held within the company. Among the best approaches as necessary to include in the training programs to enable the employees to develop the right skills and competencies required to execute the roles and responsibilities assigned them to include using performance management standards, regularly surveying employee information, a regular preview of the performance of the employee. Other training methods recommended include:
- Orientation
- Coaching and counseling
- Anticipatory
- Lectures
- Supervision
- Seminars
Types of media
Manuals, online training sessions, and presentations were the recommended materials and media used to train the employees. Other training approaches include supervisory training, conferences, seminars, and lectures.
Learning principles
The learning principles include employee motivation to work for the company that directly is linked with the company and employee development plans, transfer learning, reinforcement of the employees, knowledge acquisition and feedback, scheduling of the learning and instructional sessions, opportunities to practice, and recognition of individual differences. Here, the learning was evaluated to determine the changes in attitude, knowledge, and skills, and determine how best the goals and objectives were achieved.
Training for learning skills or facts
The training was done at three levels, namely: education to acquire the theoretical concepts, practical skills to gain hands-on experience, and on the enhancement of practical skills in areas which include team development, organizational culture, sales and marketing, advertising, and to improve employee attitudes.
Effectiveness of methods
Based on the outcomes and the implementation of the training plan, the results could be excellent because my employee skills, knowledge, and teamwork could be improved effectively. The consistency of the training plan with the mission, vision statements, and the goals and objectives of the organization led to the conclusion that the training plan could be a success. In addition, the effectiveness was drawn on the top management commitment to the training program, the training could contribute to the competitiveness of the organization by raising revenue by 5%, create proper linkages of the organization’s operational, and individual training needs was evident, and the adoption of a systematic training and development strategies.
Training evaluation strategies
Criteria
The evaluation criteria were based on the establishment and achievement of clear employee training goals, evidence of continuous training and development, ability to focus and appraise the employees based on productivity, use of objective means and standards to evaluate the training methods, and establishment of realistic training needs. Here, the training validity, transfer validity, inter-organizational, and intra-organizational validity were done to verify the validity of the training.
Pretests
The pretests were done to establish the effectiveness of the training methods by subjecting a few members to the training program to establish effectiveness o the training method.
Monitoring and observing training
Monitoring and observation were done to evaluate the effectiveness of the organization, to ensure a return on investment was achieved, to build employee morale by showing that the organization values the employees, and determine the best future training methods to use (Cascio, 2013).
Collecting feedback
The manager collected feedback by issuing questionnaires and interviews with the employees on their responses on the effectiveness of the training program. Here, the key areas that were investigated include the control component to evaluate the effectiveness and establish how the learning process was linked. It enabled the management to intervene to ensure that the performance outcomes were consistent with the organizational mission and vision statements.
Implementing feedback
It was suggested in the plan that feedback would be implemented by identifying the key jobs or roles, identifying each critical requirement of each input and output based on quality, cost, and performance issues, and documenting the results to make the best decisions on the best methods to implement feedback. In addition, defining the target goals for each measure, creating visual displays of each target over time, and implementing what was the best option was seen as an excellent path in the strategic plan.
References
Cascio, W. F. (2013). Managing Human Resources: Productivity, Quality of Work Life, Profits (9th ed.) Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.