Workforce Training and development is one of the tools that human resources (HR) managers use to improve the performance of the company. Along with other practices, this strategy ensures the long-term and sustainable development of the company and the maintenance of competitive advantage. Companies constantly need to attract more talented and skilled workers who can not only deliver productivity but also drive growth.
However, training and development programs allow managers to expand the competencies of employees, which ensures the achievement of business objectives. Additionally, this strategy plays an important role in increasing job satisfaction and employee engagement. In turn, these aspects allow ensuring the achievement of goals and expanding innovative potential. Overall, workplace training and development are key to ensuring the sustainable and long-term development of the organization.
Workplace training and development is the main approach for achieving both the short and long-term goals of an organization. Rodriguez and Walters emphasize that this tool provides not only the skills necessary for high-quality performance of work but also increases the level of employee satisfaction (208). This factor is because employees feel more involved in achieving a common goal and see work as a means of self-improvement.
It is also important that employees are aware of the company’s contribution to their growth and tend to be more loyal, which increases the company’s stability. Moreover, continuous training creates a culture of learning within the organization, which influences the willingness of employees to experience new roles and responsibilities constantly. Taken together, these factors increase the performance of employees as they develop competencies and broaden their knowledge for quality activities.
Increased employee performance is the main positive outcome of the realization of training and development programs within the organization. Younas et al. conducted a study and found that companies that invest in the development of the skills of their employees acquire significant output (22). In addition, employee development allows for increased involvement in work and job satisfaction, which in turn increases performance (Chaudhry et al. 46).
It is also important that training has a positive influence on the working environment by reducing turnover and increasing organizational performance (Chaudhry et al. 46; Sandamali et al. 16). Thus, training and development play a key role in creating a comfortable working environment and higher productivity.
At the same time, the training and development programs provide several benefits not only to employees but also to organizations. The American Society for Training and Development notes that there is “a relationship between financing in employee training and development programs and higher revenues from the stock market” (as cited in Rodriguez and Walters 208). According to the data, companies that invest at least $ 1,575 in developing the skills of each employee receive a 24% rise in gross profit and a 218% growth in revenue indicators per employee (as cited in Rodriguez and Walters 208). These factors are a result of workplace training enabling companies to attract and keep talent, increasing their competitive edge in the marketplace.
Additionally, expanding the knowledge and skills of workers may be associated with a higher chance of successful innovation implementation. Børing argues that training and skills development has an indirect positive impact on the innovation capability of companies (14). The researcher notes that brainstorming sessions and the creation of work teams, to a great extent, stimulate the creativity of employees and the generation of new ideas (Børing 14). These findings identify that although other HR practices have a direct positive impact, training and development can play an integral part in their implementation. Thus, brainstorming sessions and building work teams are impossible without working to improve the communication skills of employees.
This factor is associated not only with broader competencies but also with employees’ openness to new experiences and readiness for development. Sung and Choi emphasize that training and development have a positive effect on the commitment of employees, which increases the innovative potential of the company (1349). However, increased productivity is associated with the application of a system for evaluating the results of training and development, which allows employees to positively perceive the programs and volunteer to participate in them (Sung and Choi 1350). Thus, evaluation is a necessary step that will maximize the benefits of this strategy.
Evaluation of the effectiveness of development programs can be conducted based on a review of the individual performance. Rodriguez and Walters suggest that “performance outcomes may be determined on personal, organizational, environmental, motivation, skill level, aptitudes, or role perceptions factors” (209-210). The process of evaluation allows managers not only to identify the development of employees, but also to realize the strengths and weaknesses of training, and later transform the program. The performance assessment process involves direct communication between the supervisor and the employee to obtain feedback.
This activity allows the manager to also identify high potential employees and improve communication. In general, the evaluation process allows managers to understand the current skill status of human resources and build a strategy based on the received data. Gomez and Noroña identify that aligning strategies to improve employee behavior and skills following future strategic business objectives is the key to the sustainable and long-term development of the company (10). Thus, the process of evaluation plays a decisive role in the use of training and development programs.
Workplace training has several non-obvious positive effects that can be beneficial not only for organizations but for society as a whole. Specifically, Beier explored the correlation between employee development programs and lifelong learning culture (2). The study notes that older people learn more effectively when new information and skills are linked to their previous competencies (Beier 12).
Thus, the workplace environment is the most effective context for developing and maintaining relevant skills with aging. Beier emphasizes that it is much more difficult for people to learn new tasks in an open environment, while task-specific learning maintains motivation and focus (6-8). Workplace training and development provides both employees and organizations with the opportunity for joint development when the employee’s knowledge is constantly expanded following the needs of the company. This concept provides a life learning culture that allows employees to remain in demand and companies to maintain the skills they need in human resources.
Workplace training and development provides both workers and organizations with several critical benefits. In addition to improving overall productivity, improving employee skills has a positive impact on job satisfaction, commitment, and turnover. These indicators must be also indirectly associated with increased innovation potential. The process of evaluating training and development programs provides managers with the opportunity to assess human resources and adjust the learning strategy following current needs. In general, employee development ensures the long-term development of the company and the preservation of the competitive edge.
Works Cited
Beier, Margaret E. “Life-Span Learning and Development and Its Implications for Workplace Training.” Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol. In Press, 2021, pp. 1-6.
Børing, PĂĄl. “The Relationship Between Training and Innovation Activities in Enterprises.” International Journal of Training and Development, vol. 21, no. 2, 2017, pp. 1-22.
Chaudhry, Naveed I., et al. “Impact of Working Environment and Training & Development on Organizational Performance through Mediating of Employee Engagement and Job Satisfaction.” European Journal of Training and Development Studies, vol. 4, no. 2, 2017, pp. 33-48.
Gomez, Maritess P., and Marvin I. Noroña. “A Competency-Based Management Approach to Employee Training & Development: A Strategic Business Unit Case for Mergers and Acquisition.” Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial & Mechanical Engineering and Operations Management Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 26-27, 2020, pp. 1-20.
Rodriguez, Joel, and Kelley Walters. “The Importance of Training and Development in Employee Performance and Evaluation.” World Wide Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, vol. 3, no. 10, 2017, pp. 206-212.
Sandamali, J. G. P., et al. “The Relationship between Training and Development and Employee Performance of Executive Level Employees in Apparel Organizations.” International Invention of Scientific Journal, vol. 2, no. 1, 2018, 12-17.
Sung, Sun Young, and Jin Nam Choi. “Effects of Training and Development on Employee Outcomes and Firm Innovative Performance: Moderating Roles of Voluntary Participation and Evaluation.” Human Resource Management, vol. 57, no. 6, 2018, pp. 1339-1353.
Younas, Waqar, et al. “The Impact of Training and Development on Employee Performance.” Journal of Business and Management, vol. 20, no. 7, 2018, pp. 20-23.