Onlinelearning lendlease com building orientation part a

Orienting and Onboarding New Employees

Learning Objective 8-1 Summarize the purpose and process of employee orientation.

Carefully selecting employees doesn’t guarantee

they’ll perform effectively. Even high-potential employees can’t do their jobs if they don’t know what to do or how to do it. Making sure your employees do know what to do and how to do it is the purpose of ori‐ entation and training. The human resources department usually designs the orientation and training programs, but the supervisor does most of the day-to-day orienting and training. Every manager therefore should know how to orient and train employees. We will start with orientation.

The Purposes of Employee Orientation/Onboarding Employee orientation (or onboarding) provides new employees with the basic background information (such as computer passwords and company rules) they need to do their jobs; ideally it should also help them start becoming emotionally attached to and engaged in the firm. The manager wants to accomplish four things when orienting new employees:

1. Make the new employee feel welcome and at home and part of the team.

2. Make sure the new employee has the basic information to func‐ tion effectively, such as e-mail access, personnel policies and benefits, and expectations in terms of work behavior.

3. Help the new employee understand the organization in a broad sense (its past, present, culture, and strategies and vision of the future).

4. Start socializing the person into the firm’s culture and ways of doing things. For example, the Mayo Clinic’s “heritage and cul‐ ture” onboarding program emphasizes core Mayo Clinic values such as teamwork, personal responsibility, integrity, customer service, and mutual respect.

The Orientation Process

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The length of the orientation program depends on what you cover. Most take several hours. The human resource specialist (or, in smaller firms, the office manager) performs the first part of the orientation by explain‐ ing basic matters like working hours and benefits. Then the supervisor continues the orientation by explaining the department’s organization, introducing the person to his or her new colleagues, familiarizing him or her with the workplace, and reducing first-day jitters. At a minimum, the orientation should provide information on matters such as employee benefits, personnel policies, safety measures and regulations, and a fa‐ cilities tour; new employees should receive (and sign for) print or Inter‐ net-based employee handbooks covering such matters. At the other extreme, the beauty company L’Oreal’s onboarding program takes about 2 years. It includes special training and roundtable discussions, meetings with key insiders, on-the-job learning, individual mentoring, and special experiences such as site visits. You’ll find a variety of ori‐ entation checklists online.

Supervisors should be vigilant. Follow up on and encourage new em‐ ployees to engage in activities (such as taking breaks with colleagues) that will enable them to “learn the ropes.” Especially for new employees with disabilities, integration and socialization are highly influenced by coworkers’ and supervisors’ behavior.

THE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK Courts may find that the employee handbook’s contents are legally binding commitments. Even apparently sensible handbook policies (such as “the company will not retaliate against employees who raise concerns about important issues in the workplace”) can backfire without the proper disclaimers. The handbook should include a disclaimer stating “nothing in this handbook should be

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taken as creating a binding contract between employer and employees, and all employment is on an at will basis.” Say that statements of company policies, benefits, and regulations do not constitute the terms and conditions of an employment contract, either expressed or implied. Do not insert statements such as “No employee will be fired without just cause” or statements that imply or state that employees have tenure.

ORIENTATION TECHNOLOGY Employers use technology to support orientation. For example, at the University of Cincinnati, new employees spend about 45 minutes online learning about their new employer’s mission, organization, and policies and procedures. IBM uses virtual environments like Second Life to support orientation, particularly for employees abroad. The new employees choose virtual avatars, for in‐ stance, to learn how to enroll for benefits. ION Geophysical uses an online onboarding portal solution called RedCarpet. It includes a streaming video welcome message, and photos and profiles of new colleagues. With Workday’s iPhone app, users can search their com‐ pany’s directory for names, images, and contact information; call or e- mail coworkers directly; and view physical addresses on Google Maps. Some employers place scannable QR codes along the orienta‐ tion tour’s stops, to provide information about each department and its role. Other companies “gamify” onboarding, for instance, by offering rewards and recognition for new hires’ contributions.

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Employee Engagement Guide for Managers: On‐ boarding at Toyota

Learning Objective 8-2 Give an example of how to design onboarding to improve employee engagement.

In many firms today, orientation goes well beyond providing basic infor‐ mation about things like work hours. Onboarding at Toyota Motor Manufacturing USA illustrates this. While it does cover routine topics such as company benefits, its main aim is to engage Toyota’s new em‐ ployees in the firm’s ideology of quality, teamwork, personal develop‐ ment, open communication, and mutual respect. The initial program takes about 4 days:

Day 1: The first day begins early and includes an overview of the program, a welcome to the company, and a discussion of the firm’s organizational structure and human resource department by the firm’s human resources vice president. He or she devotes about an

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hour and a half to discussing Toyota history and culture, and about 2 hours to employee benefits. Managers then spend several hours discussing Toyota’s commitment to quality and teamwork.

Day 2: A typical second day focuses first on the importance of mu‐ tual respect, teamwork, and open communication at Toyota. The rest of the day ​covers topics such as safety, environmental affairs, and the Toyota production system.

Day 3: Given the importance of working in teams at Toyota, this day begins with 2 ½ to 3 hours devoted to communication training, such as “making requests and giving feedback.” The rest of the day cov‐ ers matters such as Toyota’s problem-solving methods, quality as‐ surance, hazard communications, and safety.

Day 4: Topics today include teamwork training and the Toyota sug‐ gestion system. This session also covers what work teams are re‐ sponsible for and how to work together as a team. The afternoon session covers fire prevention and fire extinguisher training. By the end of day 4, new employees should be well on their way to being engaged in Toyota’s ideology, in particular its mission of quality and its values of teamwork, continuous improvement, and problem-solv‐ ing.

The bottom line is that there’s more to orienting employees than intro‐ ducing them to new coworkers. Even without a program like Toyota’s, use the onboarding opportunity to start instilling in the new employee the company values and traditions in which you expect the person to become engaged.

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Overview of the Training Process

Learning Objective 8-3 List and briefly explain each of the steps in the training process.

Directly after orientation, training should begin. Training means giv‐ ing new or current employees the skills that they need to perform their jobs, such as showing new salespeople how to sell your product. Train‐ ing might involve having the current jobholder explain the job to the new hire, or multi-week classroom or Internet classes. In one recent year, employers spent about $1,208 per employee on training.

Training is important. If even high-potential employees don’t know what to do and how to do it, they will improvise or do nothing useful at all. Furthermore, by one estimate, about three-fourths of 30-something- aged high achievers begin looking for new positions within a year of starting, often due to dissatisfaction with inadequate training. Em‐ ployers also increasingly capitalize on the fact that training fosters en‐ gagement. For example, Coca-Cola UK uses employee development

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plans, training, and leadership development to attract and retain the best employees and inspire their engagement.

Important though it is, training can’t work miracles. To paraphrase Google’s head of “People Operations” (HR), there are two ways to build a great workforce. One is to hire top performers (what he calls “90th percentile performers”), and the other is to hire average performers and then use training to try to make them 90th percentilers. He found the former approach worked best for Google.

Know Your Employment Law

Training and the Law

Managers should understand the legal implications of their train‐ ing-related decisions. With respect to discrimination, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related legislation requires that the employer avoid discriminatory actions in all aspects of its human resource management process, and that applies to se‐ lecting which employees to train. Employers face much the same consequences for discriminating against protected individ‐ uals when selecting candidates for training programs as they

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would in selecting candidates for jobs, or for promotion or other related decisions.

Inadequate training can also expose the employer to liability for negligent training . As one expert puts it, “it’s clear from the case law that where an employer fails to train adequately and an employee subsequently does harm to third parties, the court will find the employer liable.” Among other things, the employer should confirm the applicant/employee’s claims of skill and ex‐ perience, provide adequate training (particularly where employ‐ ees work with dangerous equipment), and evaluate the training to ensure that it is actually reducing risks.23

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Aligning Strategy and Training The employer’s strategic plans should govern its training goals. In es‐ sence, the task is to identify the employee behaviors the firm will need to execute its strategy, and then from that deduce what competencies (for instance, skills and knowledge) employees will need. Then, put in place training goals and programs to instill these competencies. For example, with the health-care landscape in America changing fast, the Walgreens chain had to reformulate its strategy. It broadened its offer‐ ings, and today is the second-largest dispenser of flu shots in the Unit‐ ed States. Its in-store health clinics provide medical care. It purchased drugstore.com.

Strategic changes like these affected the skills that Walgreens employ‐ ees ​required, and therefore its training and other staffing policies. For example, Walgreens ​established Walgreens University. It offers more than 400 programs that Walgreens employees can take to build their skills (and even get college credit in pharmacy-related topics). For ex‐ ample, some programs develop assistant store manager skills, and Walgreens in-store health clinic nurse practitioners can take courses that expand their medical care expertise. The bottom line is that Wal‐ greens reformulated its

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Implementing the Training Program

Learning Objective 8-4 Explain how to use five training techniques.

HR in Practice at the Hotel Paris As Lisa and the CFO reviewed measures of the Hotel Paris’s cur‐ rent training efforts, it was clear that some changes were in or‐ der. Most other service companies provided at least 40 hours of training per employee per year, while the Hotel Paris offered, on average, no more than 5 or 6. To see how they handled this, see the case on pages 266–267.

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On-the-Job Training

We’ll see that much training today takes place on‐

line or uses other digital tools such as iPhones or iPads. However, much training is still in-person and interpersonal, as on-the-job training notably illustrates.

On-the-job training (OJT) means having a person learn a job by ac‐ tually doing it. Every employee, from mailroom clerk to CEO, should get on-the-job training when he or she joins a firm. In many firms, OJT is the only training available.

TYPES OF ON-THE-JOB TRAINING The most familiar on-the-job training is the coaching or understudy method. Here, an experienced worker or the trainee’s supervisor trains the employee. This may involve simply observing the supervisor, or (preferably) having the supervisor or job expert show the new employee the ropes, step by step. On-the-job training is part of multifaceted training at Men’s Wearhouse, which com‐ bines on-the-job training with comprehensive initiation programs and continuing-education seminars. Every manager is accountable for de‐ veloping his or her subordinates. Job rotation, in which an employee (usually a management trainee) moves from job to job at planned inter‐

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vals, is another OJT technique. Special assignments similarly give low‐ er-level executives firsthand experience in working on actual problems.

Do not take the on-the-job training effort for granted. Instead, plan out and structure the OJT experience. Train the trainers themselves (often the employees’ supervisors), and provide training materials. They should know, for instance, how to motivate learners. Because low ex‐ pectations may translate into poor trainee performance, supervi‐ sor/trainers should emphasize their high expectations.

Many firms use “peer training” for OJT. For example, some adopt “peer to peer development.” The employer selects several employees who spend several days per week over several months learning what the technology or change will entail, and then spread the new skills and values to their colleagues back on the job. Others use employee teams to analyze jobs and prepare training materials. They reportedly conduct task analyses more quickly and effectively than do training ​ex‐ perts. Figure 8-1 presents steps to help ensure OJT success.

Apprenticeship Training Apprenticeship training is a process by which people become skilled workers, usually through a combination of formal learning and long-term on-the-job training, often under the tutelage of a master craftsperson. When steelmaker Dofasco (now part of ArcelorMittal) dis‐ covered that many of its employees would be retiring within 5 to 10 years, it decided to revive its apprenticeship training. New recruits

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The U.S. Department of Labor’s National Apprenticeship System pro‐ motes apprenticeship programs. More than 460,000 apprentices partic‐

ipate in 28,000 programs, and registered programs can receive federal and state contracts and other ​assistance. Figure 8-2 lists popular recent apprenticeships.

Figure 8-2 Some Popular Apprenticeships

Source: From Available Occupations from www.doleta.gov/OA/occupations.cfm, accessed August 30, 2015. Those offering or seeking apprenticeships will find pro‐ grams at this site by city and state.

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Informal Learning Surveys estimate that as much as 80% of what employees learn on the job they learn through informal means, including performing their jobs while interacting every day with their colleagues.

Employers can facilitate informal learning. For example, one Siemens plant places tools in cafeteria areas to take advantage of the work-re‐ lated discussions taking place. Even installing whiteboards with mark‐ ers can facilitate informal learning. Sun Microsystems implemented an informal online learning tool it called Sun Learning eXchange. This evolved into a platform containing more than 5,000 ​informal learning items/suggestions addressing topics ranging from sales to technical support. Cheesecake Factory uses VideoCafé, a YouTube-type plat‐ form, to let ​employees “upload and share video snippets on job-related topics, including customer greetings and food preparation.”

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Job Instruction Training Many jobs (or parts of jobs) consist of a sequence of steps best learned step-by-step. Such step-by-step training is called job instruction training (JIT) . First, list the job’s required steps (let’s say for using a mechanical paper cutter) each in its proper sequence. Then list a corresponding “key point” (if any) beside each step. The steps in such a job instruction training sheet show trainees what to do, and the key points show how it’s to be done—and why, as follows:

As another example, the “exit” steps UPS teaches drivers include: Shift into the lowest gear or into park; turn off the ignition; apply the parking brake; release the seatbelt with left hand; open the door; place the key on your ring finger.65

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Lectures Lecturing is a quick and simple way to present knowledge to large groups of trainees, as when the sales force needs to learn a new prod‐ uct’s features. Here are some guidelines for presenting a lecture:

Don’t start out on the wrong foot, for instance, with an irrelevant joke. Speak only about what you know well. Give your listeners signals. For instance, if you have a list of items, start by saying something like,“There are four reasons why the sales reports are necessary…. The first….” Use anecdotes and stories to show rather than tell. Be alert to your audience. Watch body language for negative signals like fidgeting or boredom. Maintain eye contact with the audience. Make sure everyone can hear. Repeat questions that you get from trainees. Leave hands hanging naturally at your sides. Talk from notes or PowerPoint slides, rather than from a script. Break a long talk into a series of short talks. Don’t give a short over‐ view and then spend a 1-hour presentation going point by point through the material. Break the long talk into a series of 10-minute talks, each with its own introduction. Write brief PowerPoint slides, and spend about a minute on each. Each introduction highlights what you’ll discuss, why it’s important to the audience members, and why they should listen to you.

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Practice. If possible, rehearse under conditions similar to those un‐ der which you will actually give your presentation.

Programmed Learning Whether the medium is a textbook, iPad, or the Internet, programmed learning is a step-by-step, self-learning method that consists of three parts:

1. Presenting questions, facts, or problems to the learner 2. Allowing the person to respond 3. Providing feedback on the accuracy of answers, with instruc‐

tions on what to do next

Generally, programmed learning presents facts and follow-up questions frame by frame. What the next question is often depends on how the learner answers the previous question. The built-in feedback from the answers provides reinforcement.

Programmed learning reduces training time. It also facilitates learning by letting trainees learn at their own pace, get immediate feedback, and reduce their risk of error. Some argue that trainees do not learn much more from programmed learning than from a textbook. Yet studies gen‐ erally support programmed learning’s effectiveness. In addition to the usual programmed learning, computerized intelligent tutoring systems learn what questions and approaches worked and did not work for the learner, and then adjust the instructional sequence to the trainee’s unique needs.

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Behavior Modeling Behavior modeling involves (1) showing trainees the right (or “mod‐ el”) way of doing something, (2) letting trainees practice that way, and then (3) giving feedback on the trainees’ performance. Behavior model‐ ing is one of the most widely used, well-researched, and highly regard‐ ed psychologically based training interventions. The basic procedure is as follows:

1. Modeling. First, trainees watch live or video examples showing models behaving effectively in a problem situation. Thus, the video might show a supervisor effectively disciplining a subordi‐ nate, if teaching “how to discipline” is the aim of the training program.

2. Role-playing. Next, the trainees get roles to play in a simulated situation; here they are to practice the effective behaviors demonstrated by the models.

3. Social reinforcement. The trainer provides reinforcement in the form of praise and constructive feedback.

4. Transfer of training. Finally, trainees are encouraged to apply their new skills when they are back on their jobs.

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Audiovisual-Based Training Although increasingly replaced by Web-based methods, audiovisual- based training techniques like DVDs, films, PowerPoint, and audiotapes are still used. The Ford Motor Company uses videos in its dealer training sessions to simulate problems and reactions to various cus‐ tomer complaints, for example.

Vestibule Training With vestibule training, trainees learn on the actual or simulated equip‐ ment but are trained off the job (perhaps in a separate room or vestibule). Vestibule training is necessary when it’s too costly or danger‐ ous to train employees on the job. Putting new assembly-line workers right to work could slow production, for instance, and when safety is a concern—as with pilots—simulated training may be the only practical alternative. As an example, UPS uses a life-size learning lab to provide a 40-hour, 5-day realistic training program for driver candidates.

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Electronic Performance Support Sys‐ tems (EPSS) Electronic performance support systems (EPSS) are computer‐ ized tools and displays that automate training, documentation, and phone support. When you call a Dell service rep, he or she is proba‐ bly asking questions prompted by an EPSS; it takes you both, step by step, through an analytical sequence. Without the EPSS, Dell would have to train its service reps to memorize an unrealistically large num‐ ber of solutions. Aetna Insurance cut its 13-week instructor-led training course for new call center employees by about 2 weeks by providing employees with performance ​support tools.

Performance support systems are modern job aids. Job aids are sets of instructions, diagrams, or similar methods available at the job site to guide the worker. Job aids work particularly well on complex jobs that require multiple steps, or where it’s dangerous to forget a step. For example, airline pilots use job aids (a checklist of things to do prior to takeoff).

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Computer-Based Training (CBT) Computer-based training refers to training methods that use interactive computer-based systems to increase knowledge or skills. For example, employers use CBT to teach employees safe methods for avoiding falls. The system lets trainees replay the lessons and answer questions, and is especially effective when paired with actual practice under a trainer’s watchful eye.

Computer-based training is increasingly realistic. For example, interac‐ tive multimedia training integrates the use of text, video, graphics, pho‐ tos, animation, and sound to create a complex training environment with which the trainee interacts. In training a physician, for instance, such a system lets a medical student take a hypothetical patient’s med‐ ical history, conduct an examination, and analyze lab tests. The student can then interpret the sounds and draw conclusions for a diagnosis. Virtual reality training takes this realism a step further, by putting trainees into a simulated environment.

Simulated Learning and Gaming “Simulated learning” means different things to different people. A sur‐ vey asked training professionals what experiences qualified as simulat‐ ed learning experiences. The percentages of trainers choosing each ex‐ perience were: Virtual reality-type games, 19%; Step-by-step animated guide, 8%; Scenarios with questions and decision trees overlaying ani‐

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mation, 19%; Online role-play with photos and videos, 14%; Software training including screenshots with interactive requests, 35%; and Oth‐ er, 6%.

Virtual reality puts the trainee in an artificial three-dimensional environ‐ ment that simulates events and situations experienced on the job. Sensory devices transmit how the trainee is responding to the comput‐ er, and the trainee “sees, feels and hears” what is going on, assisted by special glasses. Facebook’s recent purchase of virtual reality glasses maker Oculus VR Inc. highlights virtual reality’s growing potential.

Employers also increasingly use computerized simulations (sometimes called ​interactive learning) to inject realism into their training. Orlando- based Environmental Tectonics Corporation created an Advanced Dis‐ aster Management simulation for emergency medical response trainees. One simulated scenario involves a plane crash. So realistic that it’s “unsettling,” trainees including firefighters and airport officials respond to the simulated crash’s sights and sounds via pointing de‐ vices and radios. Cisco embedded the learning required to train thou‐ sands of Cisco trainees for Cisco certification exams within a video game–like program that includes music, graphics, and sound effects. A Novartis pharmaceuticals division runs about 80 or so clinical trials per year, and must be sure each trial team is trained for this. Novartis uses a custom-made simulation*. For example, the simulation shows trainees “how their decisions affected the quality of the trial and whether their decision saved time or added time to the process.” The Cheesecake Factory uses a simulation that shows employees how to build the “perfect hamburger.”

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Training simulations are expensive to create, but for large companies the cost per employee is usually reasonable. In general, interactive and simulated technologies reduce learning time by an average of 50%. Other advantages include mastery of learning (if the trainee doesn’t learn it, he or she generally can’t move on to the next step), in‐ creased retention, and increased trainee motivation (resulting from re‐ sponsive feedback).

Specialist multimedia software houses such as Graphic Media of Port‐ land, Oregon, produce much of the content for these programs. They produce both custom titles and generic programs such as a $999 pack‐ age for teaching workplace safety.

Lifelong and Literacy Training Techniques Lifelong learning means providing employees with continuing learn‐ ing experiences over their tenure with the firm, with the aim of ensuring they have the opportunity to learn the skills they need to do their jobs and to expand their horizons. Lifelong learning may thus range from ba‐ sic remedial skills (for instance, English as a second language) to col‐ lege. For example, one senior waiter at the Rhapsody restaurant in Chicago received his undergraduate degree and began work toward a master of ​social work using the lifelong learning account (LiLA) program his employer offers. Somewhat similar to 401(k) plans, LiLA plans ac‐ cept employer and employee contributions (without the tax advantages

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of 401(k) plans), and the employee can use these funds to better him‐ self or herself.

LITERACY TRAINING By one estimate, about 39 million people in the United States have learning disabilities. Yet today’s emphasis on teamwork and quality requires that employees read, write, and under‐ stand numbers.

Employers often turn to private firms like Education Management Cor‐ poration to provide the requisite education. Another simple approach is to have supervisors teach basic skills by giving employees writing and speaking exercises. For example, if an employee needs to use a manual to find out how to change a part, teach that person how to use the index to locate the relevant section. Some call in teachers from a local high school.

Diversity training can be important, as in the following feature.

IMPROVING PERFORMANCE: HR PRACT ICES AROUND THE GLOBE

Diversity Training at ABC Virtual Communications, Inc.

Diversity training aims to improve cross-cultural sensitivity, with the goal of fostering more harmonious working relationships among a firm’s employees. Such training typically includes im‐ proving interpersonal skills, understanding and valuing cultural differences, improving technical skills, socializing employees into

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the corporate culture, indoctrinating new workers into the U.S. work ethic, improving English proficiency and basic math skills, and improving bilingual skills for English-speaking employees. For example, IBM has online programs to educate managers re‐ garding diversity, inclusive leadership, and sexual harassment. Training materials include interactive learning modules that en‐ able trainees to practice what they’ve learned, testimonials from IBM executives, and self-assessment tools.

Most employers opt for an off-the-shelf diversity training pro‐ gram such as Just Be F.A.I.R. from VisionPoint productions. It includes streaming video, a facilitator discussion guide, partici‐ pant materials and workbook, a DVD with print materials, Power‐ Point slides, and two videos (the purchase price for the program is about $1,000). Vignettes illustrate such things as the potential pitfalls of stereotyping people.

ABC Virtual Communications, Inc. (www.abcv.com) is a Des Moines, Iowa, provider of customized software development and other solutions. It therefore requires qualified personnel, particu‐ larly software engineers. Recruiting such employees is particu‐ larly difficult in Iowa, where many recent graduates move away.

ABC therefore recruits foreign-born individuals. However, hiring these skilled employees wasn’t enough: ABC needed a diversity management training program that could turn these new em‐ ployees—and the firm’s current employees—into productive colleagues.

Its program consists of several courses. New ABC employees, representing 14 countries and 45 ethnic groups, take a manda‐

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tory 8-hour orientation overview for new employees on the “American workplace.” All ABC employees take an “effective communications” training course. Conversational English and accent reduction classes for employees and their families are available through Rosetta Stone language learning software. The company also partnered with Des Moines Area Community Col‐ lege to create specialized classes for individual needs. At ABC Virtual, a globally diverse workforce was the key to improved performance, and diversity training helped the firm manage its diversity.

Source: Based on Matthew Reis, “Do-It-Yourself Diversity,” Training & Develop‐ ment, March 2004, pp. 80–81.; www.prismdiversity.com/resource/diversity_train‐ ing.html, accessed June 1, 2011.; Jennifer Salopek, “Trends: Lost in Translation,” Training & Development, December 2003, p. 15; www.visionpoint.com/training- solutions/title/just-be-fair-basic-diversity-training, accessed June 17, 2011.; Paraphrased from “Best Practice: Workforce Diversity Training,” The Manufactur‐ ing Practices Center of Excellence, www.brmpcoe.org/bestpracticea/inter‐ nal/abev/abcv_15.html.

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If your professor has assigned this, go to the Assignments section of mymanagementlab.com to complete this discussion.

Talk About It 2: List five competencies that you believe such a di‐ versity program should cultivate.

Team Training Teamwork does not always come naturally. Companies devote many hours to training new employees to listen to each other and to cooper‐ ate. For example, a Baltimore Coca-Cola plant suffered from high turnover and absenteeism. The new plant manager decided to ad‐ dress these problems by reorganizing around teams. He then used team training to support and improve team functioning.

Team training focused on technical, interpersonal, and team manage‐ ment issues. In terms of technical training, for instance, management encouraged team employees to learn each other’s jobs, to encourage flexible team assignments. Cross training means training employ‐

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ees to do different tasks or jobs than their own; doing so facilitates flex‐ ibility and job rotation, as when you expect team members to occasion‐ ally share jobs.

Interpersonal problems often undermine teamwork. Team training here therefore included interpersonal skills training such as in listening, han‐ dling conflict, and negotiating. Effective teams also require team man‐ agement skills, for instance, in problem-solving, meetings management, consensus decision making, and team leadership, and the teams re‐ ceived such training as well.

Many employers use team training to build stronger management teams. For example, some use outdoor “adventure” training such as Outward Bound programs to build teamwork. This usually involves tak‐ ing a firm’s management team out into rugged, mountainous terrain. The aim is to foster trust and cooperation among trainees. One chief fi‐ nancial officer for a bank helped organize a retreat for 73 of his firm’s financial employees. As he said, “They are very individualistic in their approach to their work…. What I have been trying to do is get them to see the power of acting more like a team.”

Internet-Based Training Employers use Internet-based learning to deliver almost all the types of training we have discussed to this point. For example, ADP trains new salespeople online, using a Blackboard learning management system similar to one used by college students. The Italian eyewear compa‐

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ny Luxottica (whose brands include LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut) provides training to its 38,000 employees worldwide via instant online access to information on new products and regulations. Recently, state-owned postal service China Post created a new center to manage its online training college, which now delivers about 9,000 hours of training annually, offering over 600 programs.

LEARNING PORTALS A learning portal is a sec‐

tion of an employer’s website that offers employees online access to training courses. Many employers arrange to have an online training vendor make its courses available via the employer’s portal. Most often, the employer contracts with application service providers (ASPs). When employees go to their firm’s learning portal, they actually access the menu of training courses that the ASP offers for the employer. A Google search for e-learning companies reveals many, such as SkillSoft, Plateau Systems, and Employment Law Learning Technologies.

Learning management systems (LMS) are special software tools that support Internet training by helping employers identify training needs and schedule, deliver, assess, and manage the online training itself. (Blackboard and WebCT are two familiar college-oriented learning man‐ agement systems.) General Motors uses an LMS to help its dealers in Africa and the Middle East deliver training. The Internet-based LMS in‐

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PRINTED BY: Natasha Chalk . Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.

cludes a course catalog, supervisor-approved self-enrollment, and pre- and post-course tests. The system then automatically schedules the individual’s training. Many employers integrate the LMS with the company’s talent management systems. That way, skills inventories and succession plans automatically update as employees complete their training.

Online learning doesn’t necessarily teach individuals faster or better. In one ​review, Web-based instruction was a bit more effective than class‐ room instruction for teaching memory of facts and principles; Web- based instruction and classroom instruction were equally effective for teaching information about how to perform a task or action. But, of course, the need to teach large numbers of students ​remotely, or to en‐ able trainees to study at their leisure, often makes e-learning the logical choice.

Some employers opt for blended learning. Here, trainees use multiple delivery methods (such as manuals, in-class lectures, and Web-based seminars or “webinars”) to learn the material. Intuit (which makes TurboTax) uses instructor-led classroom training for getting new distrib‐ utors up to speed. Then it uses virtual classroom systems (see the fol‐ lowing) for things like monthly meetings with distributors, and for class‐ es on special software features.

The Virtual Classroom

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A virtual classroom uses collaboration software to enable multiple remote learners, using their PCs, tablets, or laptops, to participate in live audio and visual discussions, communicate via written text, and learn via content such as PowerPoint slides.

The virtual classroom combines the best of Web-based learning offered by systems like Blackboard and WebCT with live video and audio. Thus, Elluminate Live! lets learners communicate with clear, two-way audio; build communities with user profiles and live video; collaborate with chat and shared whiteboards; and learn with shared applications such as PowerPoint slides.

Trends Shaping HR: Digital

and Social Media

Mobile learning (or “on-demand learning”) means delivering learning content, on the learner’s demand, via mobile devices like cell phones, laptops, and tablets, wherever and whenever the learner has the time and desire to access it. For example, trainees can take full online courses using dominKnow’s (www.‐ dominknow.com) iPhone-optimized Touch Learning Center Por‐ tal.

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Most large employers distribute internal communications and training via mobile devices. Employees at CompuCom Sys‐ tems Inc. access instruction manuals through mobile devices; the company subsidizes employee purchases of smart phones or tablets to facilitate this. Natural user interfaces such as Apple’s Siri voice recognition system facilitate such training.

Employers use mobile learning to deliver training and downloads on topics “from how to close an important sales deal to optimiz‐ ing organizational change.” IBM uses mobile learning to de‐ liver just-in-time information (for instance, about new product features) to its sales force. To facilitate this, its training depart‐ ment often breaks up, say, an hour program into easier-to-use 10-minute pieces. Some employers use blogs to communicate learning to trainees. J.P. Morgan encourages employees to use instant messaging, for instance, to update colleagues about new products quickly.

Employers also use social media, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, and virtual worlds like Second Life to communicate company news and messages and to provide training. For example, British Petroleum uses Second Life to train new gas station employees. The aim here is to show new gas station em‐ ployees how to use the safety features of gasoline storage tanks. BP built three-dimensional renderings of the tank systems in Second Life. Trainees use these to “see” underground and ​ob‐ serve the effects of using the safety devices.

Web 2.0 learning is learning that utilizes online technologies such as social networks, virtual worlds (such as Second Life),

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and systems that blend synchronous and asynchronous delivery with blogs, chat rooms, bookmark sharing, and tools such as 3- D simulations. About 40% of learning professionals surveyed said their companies use Web 2.0 learning, and 86% said they anticipated doing so. One large firm uses Web 2.0 to deliver credit card sales training to its service representatives around the country. Collaborative peer forums require teams of six to eight trainees to virtually “sell” their sales problem and solution to an executive.

The accompanying HR Tools feature shows how managers can create their own training programs.

IMPROVING PERFORMANCE: HR TOOLS FOR L INE MAN ‐ AGERS AND SMALL BUSINESSES

Creating Your Own Training Program

While it would be nice if supervisors in even the largest firms could expect their firms to provide packaged training programs to train the new people they hire, many times they cannot. How‐ ever, you still have many options.

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Create Your Own Five-Step Training

Program Remember ADDIE—analyze (is training the problem?), design (including learning objectives, and motivating the trainee), devel‐ op (what specific materials and methods will we use?), imple‐ ment (train the person), and evaluate. For many types of jobs, start by setting training objectives—be specific about what your employee should be able to do after training. Write a job de‐ scription—list of the job’s duties—if not already available. Write (see Table 8-1 , page 238) a task analysis record form showing the steps in each of the employee’s tasks. Write a job instruction training form; here list a key point (such as “carefully read scale”) for each step (such as “set cutting distance”). Finally, compile the objectives, job description, task analysis form, and job in‐ struction form in a training manual. Also, include an introduction to the job and an explanation of how the job relates to other jobs in the company.

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Use Private Vendors The small business owner can tap hundreds of suppliers of prepackaged training solutions. These range from self-study programs from the American Management Association (www.a‐ manet.org) and SHRM (www.shrm.org), to specialized pro‐ grams. For example, the employer might arrange with PureSafe‐ ty to have its employees take occupational safety courses from www.puresafety.com.

SkillSoft is another example (go to http://skillsoft.com and click “Products”). Its courses include software development, business strategy and operations, professional effectiveness, and desktop computer skills. As an example, the course “interviewing effec‐ tively” shows supervisors how to use behavioral questioning to interview candidates.

The buyer’s guide from the American Society of Training and De‐ velopment (www.astd.org) is a good place to start to find a ven‐ dor (check under “Resources”).

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Check the SBA The government’s Small Business Administration (see www.S‐ BA.gov/training) provides a virtual campus that offers online courses, workshops, publications, and learning tools aimed at supporting small businesses. For example, the small busi‐ ness owner can link under “Small Business Planner” to “Writing Effective Job Descriptions,” and “The Interview Process: How to Select the Right Person.” See the site map at www.sba.gov/ sitemap for examples of what it offers.

Check NAM The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is the largest industrial trade organization in the United States. It represents about 14,000 member manufacturers, including 10,000 small and midsized companies.

NAM helps employees maintain and upgrade their work skills and continue their professional development. It offers courses and a skills certification process. There are no long-term con‐ tracts to sign. Employers simply pay about $10–$30 per course taken by each employee. The catalog includes OSHA, quality, and technical training as well as courses in areas like customer service.

Source: Based on Based on Paul Harris, “Small Businesses Bask in Training’s Spotlight,” T&D, 59, no. 2, Fall 2005, pp. 46–52; Stephen Covey, “Small Business, Big Opportunity,” Training, 43, no. 11, November 2006, p. 40; www.themanufac‐

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turinginstitute.org/Skills-Certification/Right-Skills-Now/Right-Skills- Now.aspx, accessed August 24, 2014.

If your professor has assigned this, go to the Assignments section of mymanagementlab.com to complete this dis‐ cussion question.

Talk About It 3: What would you tell the owner of a small restaurant whose employees haven’t been trained properly to do?

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Implementing Management Development Programs

Learning Objective 8-5 List and briefly discuss four management development methods.

Management development is any attempt to

improve managerial performance by imparting knowledge, changing at‐ titudes, or increasing skills. It thus includes in-house programs like courses, coaching, and rotational assignments; professional programs like those given by SHRM; online programs from various sources; and university programs like executive MBAs.

Management development is important for several reasons. For one thing, promotion from within is a major source of management talent,

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and virtually all promoted managers require some development to pre‐ pare them for their new jobs. Furthermore, management development facilitates organizational continuity, by preparing employees and current managers to smoothly assume higher-level positions.

Strategy’s Role in Management Development Management development programs should reflect the firm’s strategic plans. For example, strategies to enter new businesses or expand overseas imply that the employer will need succession plans in place to obtain and/or develop managers who have the skills to manage these new businesses. Management development programs then impart the knowledge, attitudes, and skills these managers will need to excel at their jobs.

Some management development programs are company-wide and in‐ volve all or most new (or potential) managers. Thus, new MBAs may join GE’s management development program and rotate through vari‐ ous assignments and educational experiences. The firm may then slot superior candidates onto a “fast track,” a development program that prepares them more quickly for senior-level commands.

Other development programs aim to fill specific top positions, such as CEO. For example, GE will spend years developing, testing, and watch‐ ing potential replacements for CEO Jeffrey Immelt.

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Succession Planning Management development is often part of the employer’s succession planning process. Succession planning involves developing work‐ force plans for the company’s top positions; it is the ongoing process of systematically identifying, assessing, and developing organizational leadership to enhance performance.

Succession planning programs involve several stages. First, an orga‐ nization projection is made. Here, based on the company’s strategic and business plans, top management and the human resource director identify what the company’s future key position needs will be. The em‐ ployer anticipates its management needs based on factors like plant expansion or contraction. Next, HR and management review the firm’s management skills inventory to identify the management talent now employed. These inventories, you may recall, contain data on things like education and work experience, career preferences, and perfor‐ mance appraisals. At this stage, management replacement charts may be drawn (see Figure 5-3 , page 132). These summarize potential candidates for each of your management slots, as well as each per‐ son’s development needs. As in Figure 5-3 , the development needs for a future division vice president might include job rotation (to obtain more experience in the firm’s finance and production division), execu‐ tive development programs (to provide training and strategic planning), and assignment for 2 weeks to the employer’s in-house management development center. At this stage, management may decide that one or more outside candidates should be recruited as well.

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Management then turns to the development stage of the succession planning process. This means providing possible candidates with the developmental experiences they require to be viable candidates. Em‐ ployers develop high-potential employees through internal training and cross-functional experiences, job rotation, external training, and glob‐ al/regional assignments.

Finally, succession planning requires assessing all these candidates and selecting those who will actually fill the key positions.

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Improving Performance

Through HRIS: Succession Systems At Dole Foods, the new president’s strategy involved improving financial performance by reducing redundancies and centralizing certain activities, including succession planning. Web tech‐ nology helped Dole do this. Dole contracted with application service providers (ASPs) to handle things like payroll manage‐ ment. For succession management, Dole chose software from Pilat NAI. The Pilat system keeps all the data on its own servers for a monthly fee. Dole’s managers access the program via the Web using a password. They fill out online résumés for themselves, including career interests, and note special consid‐ erations such as geographic restrictions.

The managers also assess themselves on four competencies. Once the manager provides his or her input, the program notifies that manager’s boss, who assesses his or her subordinate and indicates whether the person is promotable. This assessment and the online résumés then go automatically to the division head and the divisional HR director. Dole’s senior vice president for human resources then uses the information to create career development plans for each manager, including seminars and other programs.

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Candidate Assessment and the 9-Box Grid Some high-potential managers fail in their jobs, while some apparently low-potential managers excel. How then does an employer choose who to send through an expensive development program?

The 9-Box Grid is one tool. It shows Potential from low to medium to high on the vertical axis, and Performance from low to medium to high across the bottom—a total of nine possible boxes.

The grid can simplify, somewhat, the task of choosing development candidates. At the extremes, for instance, low potentials/low perform‐ ers would not move on. The high-potential/high-performance stars most assuredly would. Most employers focus their development re‐ sources on high-performance/high-potential stars, and secondarily on those rated high-potential/moderate-performance, or high-perfor‐ mance/moderate-potential. Other employers focus development re‐ sources on the company’s “mission-critical employees”—those central to the firm’s success and survival. We’ll see how later in this section.

In any case, individual assessment should always precede develop‐ ment. At frozen foods manufacturer Schwan, senior executives first whittle 40 or more development candidates down to about 10. Then the program begins with a 1-day assessment by outside consultants of each manager’s leadership strengths and weaknesses. This assess‐ ment becomes the basis for each manager’s individual development

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plan. Action-learning (practical) projects then supplement individual and group training activities.

We’ll look at some popular development activities next.

Managerial On-the-Job Training and Rotation Managerial on-the-job training methods include job rotation, the coach‐ ing/understudy approach, and action learning. Job rotation means moving managers from department to department to broaden their un‐ derstanding of the business and to test their abilities. The trainee may be a recent college graduate, or a senior manager being groomed for further promotion. In addition to providing a well-rounded training expe‐ rience, job rotation helps avoid stagnation through the constant intro‐ duction of new points of view in each department. It also helps identify the trainee’s strong and weak points. Periodic job changing can also improve interdepartmental cooperation; managers become more under‐ standing of each other’s problems; rotation also widens the acquain‐ tances among management. The accompanying HR Practices feature illustrates this.

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IMPROVING PERFORMANCE: HR PRACT ICES AROUND THE GLOBE

Global Job Rotation

As firms expand globally, job rotation takes on a new meaning. At firms like Shell and BP, rotating managers globally is a primary means through which the firms maintain their flexibility and re‐ sponsiveness even as they grow to an enormous size.

An advantage of global job rotation (rotating managers from, say, Sweden to New York) is that it builds a network of informal ties that ensures superior cross-border communication and mutual understanding as well as tight interunit coordination and control.