Training Plan

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relative to the location of your business and its impact of the labor market (The U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.). Additionally, a demographic needs assessment can help you better understand employee turnover. Some may leave as a result of job dissatisfaction, a better job, or family concerns, but in some instances, a conflict in culture or an inability to fit in with others can cause employees to leave (Wikipedia, n.d.).

4. Operational – an operational need assessment focuses on the performance of your employees and the operating costs associated with doing business. The analysis should help you determine whether or not your employees are performing to standard, identify areas that are performing efficiently and effectively, identify areas of redundancy and overrun, and potentially introduce better ways of doing business.

5. Individual – an individual needs assessment will help you identify which employees need training and the type of training needed. This type of assessment looks at how well an individual is doing his/her job and whether or not they have the capacity to take on additional work (Office of Personnel Management, n.d.). An individual’s capacity or aptitude is often measured through some type of personality test such as the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and the Kolbe Index. However, if you do decide to use personality test as part of your individual assessment, we recommend using Kolbe Index because it evaluates an employee’s ability to solve problems independent of intelligence, personality, and educations (Basu, n.d.). The responses to the scenario-based questions indicate how likely an employee will initiate action, respond to needs, or prevent problems (Basu, n.d.). This method is widely used throughout industry because it helps match the right people with the right jobs in order to improve the performance of the organization (Basu, n.d.).

Training methods

Types of media

When selecting the type of media being used for training you need to determine the most effective success in delivering the message that needs to be delivered. In the construction industry the majority of training requirements that are required are either federal or state safety required trainings. According to Training Today, The Most Effective Training Techniques suggests the following different types of media.

Even with the many technological advances in the training industry, traditional formats remain viable and effective.

• Classroom or Instructor-Led Training

This technique makes communication easier since it is nonthreatening with no one right answer. It is cost effective, especially if trainers have their own stories to tell. Instructor-led training remains one of the most popular training techniques for trainers.

• Hands-On Training

Experiential, or hands-on, training, offers several more effective techniques for teaching employees, including:

Cross-Training

Demonstrations

Coaching

Apprenticeships

Drills

• Computer-Based Training (CBT)

Computer-based training is becoming increasingly prevalent as technology becomes more widespread and easy to use. Though traditional forms of training are not likely to be replaced completely by technological solutions, they will most likely be enhanced by them. Human interaction will always remain a key component of workplace training.

Nonetheless, it is a good idea to look more closely at what training technologies have to offer and how they might be used to supplement existing training programs or used when developing new ones. Computer-based training formats vary from the simplest text-only programs to highly sophisticated multimedia programs to virtual reality. Consider the following types:

Text-Only

CD-ROM

Multimedia

Virtual Reality

Online or E-Learning

Web-based training

Tele-or video-conferencing

Audio conferencing

Web meetings or webinars

Online colleges or universities

Collaborative document preparation

Email (trainingtoday.blr.com)

Learning Principles

Training or learning? That is the question. Focus on learning, not training.

’Training’ suggestsputting stuff into people, when actually we should be developing people from the inside out - so they achieve their own individual potential - what they love and enjoy, what they are most capable of, and strong at doing, rather than what we try to make them be.

’Learning’ far better expresses this than ’training’. Training is about the organization. Learning is about the person. Training is (mostly) a chore; people do it because they’re paid to. Learning is quite different. People respond to appropriate learning because they want to; because it benefits and interests them; because it helps them to grow and to develop their natural abilities; to make a difference; to be special. Training is something that happens at work. Learning is something that people pursue by choice at their own cost in their own time. Does it not make sense for employers to help and enable that process? Of course it does.

The word ’learning’ is significant: it suggests that people are driving their own development for themselves, through relevant experience, beyond work related skills and knowledge and processes. ’Learning’ extends the idea of personal development (and thereby organizational development) to beliefs, values, wisdom, compassion, emotional maturity, ethics, integrity - and most important of all, to helping others to identify, aspire to and to achieve and fulfil their own unique individual personal potential.

Learning describes a person growing. Whereas ’training’ merely describes, and commonly represents, transfer of knowledge or skill for organizational gain, which has generally got bugger-all to do with the trainee. No wonder people don’t typically