Introduction
In the dynamic competitive market environment, human capital is the asset that differentiates great organizations from good ones. The development of human resources tends to be the surest way of updating and addressing matters of Attitude, Skills and Knowledge (ASK). This is a key intervention in the dynamics of profitability and organizational effectiveness. Training hence stands as the development instrument that supports human capital in navigating their adroitness and ensures optimum returns on their investment.
For organizations to retain market command, they must have employees that have the capability of adjusting to swift dynamic business environments. Workforce with market intelligence creates a reliable competitive advantage in high-risk markets whose dynamics require informed adjustments. Skills learned earlier become obsolete over time and staff hence need to be equipped with relevant knowledge and skills for current market demands. Such requirements translate as the basic capital that triggers development and hence organizations must invest continuously in employee training and development. A study of 3,100 U.S. workplaces by the National Centre on the Educational Quality Workforce revealed that an increase in workforce education by 10%, would lead to an increase in productivity by 8.6%.
The success or failure of organizations depends majorly on the quality of its human capital. They struggle when workers make mistakes while performing their tasks hence affecting the quality of products and services offered to customers and consequently the image and the brand of the organization. In most cases, managers react differently to these mistakes because they are unaware of the solutions that could be offered through training and development. Some managers who do it end up missing out on the required nature of training and the subsequent development skills that translate to the organization’s economic success. In such instances, an organization may require to seek the help of consultancy firms such as CORETRA LIMITED responsible for developing training strategies for leading national, regional, and global organizations with great success. Training and staff development will enhance personnel performance which in turn reflects on organizations short term and long-term productivity.
Employee Development and Employee Productivity
Training is an organized systematic approach of learning by organizations to advance workers' development and enhance their value. This involves a sequence of activities embarked on by organizations to expand knowledge and skills acquisition for growing purposes and hence the wellbeing and performance of human capital. Training is an intervention to improve the quality of the organization’s goods and services to address stiff competition that famous strategists, Prahalad, and Hamel, once described as hyper-competition.
As a result of effective training and development, employee productivity can have a positive impact to an economy. This productivity can be defined as the measure of output per unit of input economically; the log of net sales over total employees. Productivity can be valued by an employee's output against a span of time. If he/she works 8 hours a day, are those hours of work productive? Training today provides employees with an opportunity to learn their jobs virtually and increase the productivity of their organizations. As they learn and acquire new skills, employee’s confidence is enhanced. When they know what to do and how to do it better, they feel more prepared for the tasks ahead.
Appropriate training and development lead to workforce efficiency and productivity. It enhances the commitment of employees as well as maximization of their potential. By training, an organization is able to communicate its goals effectively as well as invest in employee's skills in problem-solving, decision making, teamwork, and interpersonal relations. Apart from the unreplaceable benefit of enhanced performance, training is the most effective way of motivating and retaining high-quality talent within an organization. It is an instrument that fundamentally influences the successful accomplishment of an organization’s priorities.
Investing in employee development programs is an intervention used by most successful organizations to continually increase the employee’s competence, satisfaction, commitment, and morale hence reducing the turnover rate of employees. Assured organizational sustainable development and sustainable competitive advantage can only be supported by on-going training and development of employees to quickly adapt to an ever-changing world market as we are witnessing today largely because of Covid-19.
Role of Research and Development (R&D)
It is crucial for organizations to carry out research in order to gain information and knowledge of changing dynamics in the market space. Changing dynamics call for new or improved skills, creativity and innovation, and a new mindset for management and employees. Before embarking on employee training forward-looking organizations begin by asking the simple question of what skills gaps are apparent. Basic and simple research should lead to the preparation of a Training Needs Analysis (TNA). The TNA should be a good beginning point for addressing urgent skill gaps before engaging in a detailed job evaluation and review exercise.
Maimuna, Muhammad & Nda, & Yazdanifard, Assc. Prof. Dr. Rashad. (2013). THE IMPACT OF EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT ON EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY. 2. 91-93.
