6.4 Training Framework

A very important step in the training process is to create a training framework that will help guide the training program. Information on how to use the framework is included in this section. Aligning the learning priorities with the organizational strategy ensures the employees are being taught the appropriate knowledge and skills.

Training Program Development Framework and Identifying Priorities

When developing a training plan, there are a number of considerations to keep in mind. Training is a process that should be planned and developed in advance.  Involving and having support from key stakeholders in the organization is important to help training programs move forward and be implemented.  HR Managers need to prioritize learning needs and outcomes that align with the business strategy. They report to stakeholders through the framework described below.

The framework for developing a training program are as follows:

1. Needs assessment and learning objectives. Articulating specific and measurable learning objectives will in turn guide you in determining the learnings required – and specific areas for training.
2. Learning Strategies. Determine the right learning strategies best suited to the learning styles of your employee audience to ensure the training is successful.
3. Delivery mode. What is the best way to get your message across? Is web-based training more appropriate, or should mentoring be used? Can simulation training be used for a portion of the training while job shadowing be used for another part of the training? Most training programs will include a variety of delivery methods.
4. Budget. How much money do you have to spend on this training?
5. Content. What needs to be taught? How will you organize and sequence the information and course materials?
6. Timelines. How much time is required for the training – is it one-time only, are there multiple segments, is it repeated annually (eg. safety training)? Is there a deadline for training to be completed?

Needs Assessment

The first step in developing a training program is to determine exactly what the organization needs in terms of training. There are three levels of training needs assessment: organizational assessment, occupational (task) assessment, and individual assessment.

1. Organizational assessment. In this type of needs assessment, we can determine the skills, knowledge, and abilities a company needs to meet its strategic objectives. This type of assessment considers things such as changing demographics and technological trends, and is forward-looking. To perform an organizational assessment, one can look at future trends and the overall company’s strategic plan. HR managers can also see how jobs and industries are changing. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the use of technology much more important for educational institutions. It is likely that many of the technological tools that schools now rely on will remain, and as a whole, schools must take a closer look at exactly how technology will affect teaching in the future. Overall, this type of assessment looks at the types of KSA’s that will be needed for the success of the organizations and whether training can help in developing them.
2. Occupational (task) assessment. This type of assessment looks at the specific tasks, skills knowledge, and abilities required to do the different jobs within the organization. Data for this step can come from a review of performance evaluations that can uncover a pattern where employees in specific jobs are not meeting expectations. As a result, this may provide data as to where your training is lacking. In the example of schools and teaching, the impact of new technology may be the greatest for the teaching staff and less so for the support staff.
3. Individual assessment. An individual assessment looks at the performance of an individual employee and determines what training should be provided for that individual. Continuing with the example of teaching, the analysis would focus on the individual teachers and their level of comfort with the new technology. As a result of this analysis, it may be decided that only teachers with technological fluency below a certain level need to be trained.

Learning Objectives

After you have determined what type of training should occur, learning objectives for the training should be set. A learning objective is what you want the learner to be able to do, explain, or demonstrate at the end of the training period. Good learning objectives are performance-based and clear, and the result of the learning objective can be observable or measured in some way.

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a framework for developing action verbs to skills and knowledge that trainers want their trainees to be “able to do” upon completion of the training program. Within the framework there are a six categories: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Synthesis and Evaluation. Within each category are sub-categories that are similar (simple to complex) expectations of the trainee. Most trainers use Bloom’s Taxonomy to design Learning Objectives, or sometimes called Outcomes (Armstrong, 2010).

Trainers use Bloom’s Taxonomy to deliver effective training, ensure their design is valid, help to create assessments, and ensure the objectives are aligned with the assessment. To learn more about Bloom’s Taxonomy review the Vanderbilt University’s Teaching webpage.

Once we have set our learning objectives, we can utilize information on learning styles to then determine the best delivery mode for our training.

Learning Principles

Learning Principles are a guideline for trainers to follow to ensure their learners are learning effectively. These include ensuring the training is designed to include:

• Repetition: Learners repeat information and possible memorize it, and practice it in sequences until they can recall the information.  Example:  Addition tables in primary school
• Relevance: Learners will learn best when the information is relevant to their own lives and gives them some type of meaning. Example: Teaching international students about traffic rules in Canada by showing videos of traffic, or going on a driving field trip in traffic.
• Participation: Learners learn quickly when they actively participate in the learning.  Example:  A trainer can show you how to bake a pizza; however, you will learn quicker if you bake your own pizza.
• Feedback: Learners like to get feedback on “how well they are doing.”  If they make mistakes, they can correct them with feedback.  Positive feedback to learners also provides motivation and builds confidence. Example:  “You completed the presentation with ease and professionalism.  Well done.”
• Transfer of Learning: Learners will learn more quickly after they learn the theory if they can apply the skills to the job immediately. As well, they will become more productive, and there are fewer errors in their work.  Example:  Teach learners how to use a digital cash register.  Following the training, the learner is placed at the counter, with a seasoned employee, and waits on customers using the digital cash register.

Content Development

The content that HR managers want to deliver is perhaps one of the most important parts of training and one of the most time-consuming to develop. Development of learning objectives and content development go hand-in-hand. The things you want your learners to know after the training makes for more focused training. Think of learning objectives as goals—what should someone know after completing this training? Here are some samples of learning objectives:

1. Be able to define and explain the handling of hazardous materials in the workplace.
2. Be able to utilize the team decision process model.
3. State the definition of sexual harassment and be able to recognize sexual harassment in the workplace.
4. Explain the company policies and structure.

After the objectives and goals have been developed, HR managers can begin to develop the content of the training. Consideration of the learning methods you will use, such as discussion and role-playing, will be outlined in the content area.

Learning Strategies or the Psychology of Learning

Learning styles refer to individual preferences in how people learn new material. The concept of learning styles has gained much popularity in training circles and a whole industry has been built around this concept. Unfortunately, the research evidence supporting the concept is very weak (Pashler, et al., 2008). However, this is not to say that psychological principles do not play a role in the effectiveness of training. Learning strategies refer to techniques that have been proven to facilitate learning and increase the effectiveness of training programs. These strategies are based on known psychological processes to enhance the retention of learned material.

• Retrieval Practice, or practice testing, is a form of low-stakes or no-stakes quizzing that attempts to force retrieval of material from one’s memory.
• Distributed Practice, or spaced practice, refers to distributing the practice of material over time. This spacing of practice aids in the retention of material much better than cramming. The amount of spacing depends on the complexity of the task and can range from hours to months.
• Interleaved Practice involves shifting the focus of one’s studies among differing topics. This is in contrast to studying and practicing all of one topic before moving on to the next topic of study. While this does make studying more difficult, studies have shown far greater retention of material on summative evaluations with the interleaving of material.

Budget

Training programs can be very expensive and HR managers are often required to have a detailed budget before implementing them. According to the 2017 State of the Industry report from the Association for Talent Development (2017), organizations spend an average of $1,273 per employee for direct learning expenditures. If we extrapolate this figure for a large company like CAE, which is headquartered in Montreal (10,000 employees), you get an approximate training budget of $13 million! Thus, tight budgeting is important for organizations to obtain the maximum value from their investment in training. Budgeting for training programs should include direct costs such as travel, trainers’/programmers’ fee, training material, and catering. It should also consider the time of employees. If employees are in training for two hours, the cost to the organization of them not performing their job is an indirect cost of training. HR Managers need to create budgets that show a Return on Investment to executives.

Timelines

For some types of training, timelines may be required to ensure the training is completed within a specified period of time. This is often the case for safety training. In other words, in what time frame should an employee complete the training?

Another consideration regarding timelines is how much time you think you need to complete the training. Perhaps one hour will be enough, but sometimes, training may take a day or even a week – it may also have to be repeated annually with refreshed content, eg. safety regulations. After you have developed your training content, you will likely have a better idea as to how long it will take to deliver. The time demands of any training must be integrated with the employee(s) work schedule to ensure the least amount of disruption to production and job demands.

From a long-term approach, it may not be cost-effective to offer an orientation each time someone new is hired. One consideration might be to offer orientation training once per month so that all employees hired within that month are trained at the same time. Developing a standard training schedule allows for better better planning and scheduling for employees and managers.

Communicating Training Opportunities

Communication. Many companies have email distribution lists that can relay the message to only certain groups of employees who require training. Communicating training opportunities through email, supervisors, bulletin boards are all important ways to ensure awareness and participation.

“6.3 Training Delivery Methods” from Human Resources Management – 3rd Edition by Debra Patterson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.