and time considerations. Exhibit 8.7 summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of several learning formats.
FAST FACT
An estimated 30% of all company training is now delivered using e-learning technologies.
e-Learning
Note that the three major categories of training and development formats do not depend on using a specific type of technology. Before the computer, Film, and communications industries began to merge, the technology used was often what most clearly distinguished one training format from another. Today, however, technology makes it possible to combine many formats and deliver them as an integrated learning system that combines, for example, Web-based learning, virtual classrooms, computerized learning modules, interactive TV, satellite broadcasts, and other vehicles. When such technologies are used for training and development, they often are referred to as e-learning. Many people are skeptical about e-learning technologies, but recent research shows that such concerns may not be justified. A review of nearly IOO studies that compared classroom instruction to Web-based instruction found that We-based instruction can be more effective than traditional classroom training methods for teaching basic knowledge.
On the Job
On-the-job training (OJT) occurs when employees learn their jobs under direct supervision. Trainees learn by observing experienced employees and by working with the actual materials, personnel, or machinery (or all three) that constitute the job. An experienced employee trainer is expected to provide a favorable role model and to take time from regular job responsibilities to provide job-related instruction and guidance. Assuming the trainer works in the same area, the trainee receives immediate feedback about performance. As described earlier in this chapter, on-the-job training is central to developing the skills of employees who work for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.
One advantage of OJT is that the transfer of training is high. Because trainees learn job skills in the environment in which they will actually work, they readily apply these skills on the job. However, on-site training is appropriate only when a small number of individuals need to be trained and when the consequence of error is low. Also, the quality of the training hinges on the skill of the manager or lead employee conducting it. OJT is most likely to be effective when it is designed carefully and treated as a formal process for managing workforce performance.
Apprenticeships, Internships, and Assistantships. A method for minimizing the disadvantages of on-the-job training is combining it with off-the-job training. Apprenticeship training, internships, and assistantships are based on this combination.
Apprenticeship training is mandatory for admission to many skilled trades, such as plumbing, electronics, and carpentry. These programs are formally defined by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training and involve a written agreement “providing for not less than 4,000 hours of reasonably continuous employment… and supplemented by a recommended minimum of I44 hours per year of related classroom instruction.” The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) allows the 48,000 skilled trade (apprenticeship) training programs in the United States to exclude individuals aged 40 to 70 because these programs are part of the educational system aimed at youth.
Somewhat less formalized and extensive are internship and assistantship programs. Internships are often part of an agreement between schools or colleges and local organizations. As with apprenticeship training, individuals earn while they learn, but usually the pay rate is lower than that paid to full-time employees or master crafts workers. Internships also provide a realistic preview of the job and the organizational conditions in which an employee is likely to work. Assistantships involve full-time employment and expose an individual to a wide range of jobs. However, because the individual only assists other workers, he learning experience is often vicarious. Assistantship programs that combine job or position rotation with active mentoring and career management avoid this problem.
Job Experiences. When development is the objective, employers may put people into jobs to facilitate their learning and development. Job rotation programs involve rotating employees through jobs at a similar level of difficulty to train them in a variety of jobs and decision-making situations. Job rotation programs often are useful for helping employees see the bigger picture. However, usually employees aren’t in a single job long enough to learn very much, and they may not be motivated to work hard since they know they will soon move on.
The philosophy of having employees learn while doing also underlies the use of developmental job assignments. Developmental job assignments are those that place employees in jobs that present difficult new challenges and hurdles. The assumption is that employees develop new competencies by learning to deal with the new challenges. Components of a developmental job assignment include
-Unfamiliar responsibilities.
-Responsibility for creating change (e.g., to start something new, fix a problem deal with problem employees).
-High levels of responsibility (e.g., high-stakes and high-visibility assignments; jobs involving many stakeholders, products, or units).
-Boundary-spanning requirements (e.g., working with important stakeholders outside the organization).
-Dealing with diversity (working with people from multiple cultures or demographic backgrounds).
Supervisory Assistance and Mentoring. Often the most informal program of training and development is supervisory assistance or mentoring. Supervisory assistance is a regular part of the supervisor’s job. It includes day-to-day coaching, counseling, and monitoring of workers on how to do the job and how to get along in the organization. The effectiveness of these techniques depends in part on whether the supervisor creates feelings of mutual confidence, provides opportunities for growth, and effectively delegates tasks.
With mentoring, an established employee guides the development of a less experienced worker, or protégé. Mentoring can increase employees’ competencies, achievement, and understanding of the organization. Usually, mentors counsel their protégés on how to advance and network in the company, and they sometimes offer personal advice.
John Thompson, CEO of Symantec, has mentored dozens of people. As a very successful African American, his mentorship is especially valued by young people of color. Thompson’s mentoring style is described in the feature “Managing the Multicultural Workforce: John W. Thompson, CEO and Mentor.”
Grace Lieblein, a chief engineer at GM, is a mentor who is especially interested in helping female engineers manage their careers. As a mentor, she helps them find assignments that develop their potential for long-term advancement to become either technical leaders or CEOs. “I strongly encourage folks I mentor to get a very strong foundation of experiences that help you find your career potential. I definitely think a broad foundation of experiences is really important,” she said.