ORIENTATION AND TRAINING

1. ORIENTATION AND TRAINING

2. Entry Issues • Realistic Job Preview (RJP) and The Psychological Contract • Developing commitment in the new recruit • Understanding Culture/Climate • Orientation • Socialization

3. What is Socialization? • Process by which an employee begins to adapt to the values, norms, and beliefs of the organization and its members • Focus on a long term program • Involves learning the organization’s climate and “learning to fit in” • Foster links between employees and organization

4. Strategic Importance of Socialization • Sets the tone of employment relationship • Clarifies expectations / how things are done • Reduces anxiety for new employees • Will I fit in? Will I enjoy the job/coworkers/etc? • Effects employee attitudes and behaviour • Job satisfaction, commitment • Job performance

5. Socialization vs Orientation • Socialization • Process of employees adapting to organization • Long-term process, often informal • Orientation • Program that informs new employees about their job and company • Short-term, often formal • Examples of Tim Hortons employee orientation and socialization techniques

6. Stages of Socialization • Anticipatory (Pre-Arrival) • Employees begin with certain expectations about organization and job • May be unrealistic – if unmet, result in dissatisfaction, turnover, etc. • Realistic Job Preview (RJP) may be helpful • Info about job demands and working conditions – both positive and negative aspects

7. Stages of Socialization • Encounter • Employee has started new job • Inconsistencies between expectations and reality emerge • Needs info re: policies, procedures, etc. • E.g., via Orientation program • Organizational issues, policies, etc. • Benefits • Introductions • Job Duties

8. Stages of Socialization • Encounter (cont’d) • Benefits of a good orientation program • Shows organization values to employee • Reduces employee anxiety and turnover • Reduces start-up costs • Clarifies job and organizational expectations • Improves job performance

9. Stages of Socialization • Change (Settling in) • Inconsistencies start to get worked out • Employee begins to identify with organization • Transition from being an “outsider” to feeling like an “insider” • Often involves taking on new attitudes, values, and behaviours to align with organization’s • Misalignment = dissatisfaction and turnover

10. Summary • New employees face many challenges • Realistic job previews and employee orientation programs can: • Reduce stress • Reduce turnover • Improve productivity

11. The challenge? • Information overload • Information irrelevance • Too much “selling” of the organization • No evaluation program • Lack of follow up

12. Training and Development • Training vs Development • Both refer to the learning of job-related behaviour • Training • Focuses on job performance • Emphasis is on acquisition of specific KSAs needed for present job • Development • Focuses on personal growth, longer-term development • Emphasis is on acquiring KSAs needed for future job or organizational need

13. Trends Affecting Training • Low unemployment = tight labour market • T&D opportunities to attract & retain employees • Alternatively, high unemployment , or economic recession • T&D opportunities to create more and better work opportunities • However, some companies may offer less T&D to cut costs • Globalization • Training for employees with international assignments • New and changing technology – new KSAs • Mergers, acquisitions, restructuring • Jobs change, employees need new KSAs

14. Training Process Model • Needs assessment • Design training objectives • Develop program content • Implement training program • Evaluate effectiveness of training program

15. Step 1: Needs Assessment • Needs Analysis • Proactive or Reactive • Diagnosis of problems and future challenges that can be met through training & development • Organizational analysis • Culture, values, mission, goals, strategy • Job / task analysis • KSA requirements • Person analysis • Consider pre-training states: predicted by individual (e.g., age, anxiety, cognitive ability, etc.) and situational characteristics (e.g., organizational climate) (Colquitt et al., 2000). • Gaps between employee KSAs and KSAs required by jobs • E.g., performance evaluations, self- or supervisor identification

16. Step 2: Develop Training Objectives • Must include: • The desired behaviour • The conditions under which it is to occur • Performance criteria • E.g., “By the end of this week, you will be able to list and define the 5 main steps involved in the development of a training program, without referring to your notes” • Objectives are standards that allow the success of training to be measured

17. Step 3: Develop Program Content and Learning Principles • Issues to consider • Needs assessment • Training objectives • Audience • Class size • Time availability • Cost • Training format • Learning principles

18. Learning Principles • How do people learn most effectively? • Participation • Participants are actively involved • Repetition • Repeated review of material • Relevance • Material is meaningful • Transference • Application of training to actual job situations • Feedback • Information given to learners re: their progress

19. Bandura’s Social Learning Theory • High self-efficacy • Belief one can achieve a behaviour • High outcome expectancy • Belief that behaviour will lead to an outcome of value Higher level of learning

20. Organizational Influences on Transfer of Training • Relates to trainee’s outcome expectancies • Will the behaviour lead to desired outcomes? • Rewards, pay, & promotion • Are there rewards for demonstrating the new behaviour? • Environmental constraints / obstacles • Is equipment, time, etc. avail. for person to use skills? • Supervisory and peer support • Is the training reinforced / encouraged / rewarded on the job? • Train coworkers together – reinforce each other • Organization’s learning climate • Learning is encouraged, supported, rewarded, etc.

21. Step 4: Deliver Training Numerous methods to choose from: On-the-job Off-the-job • Job instruction • Job rotation • Apprenticeships • Coaching • Lectures & videos • Vestibule training • Role-playing/Cases • Simulation • Self-Study & Programmed • Computer-based (CBT) • Virtual reality • Internet/Web-based/Intranet • Video-conferencing

22. Strengths and Weaknesses of various Methods

23. Step 5: Evaluating Training Effectiveness • 5 Criteria - Kirkpatrick’s 4 levels plus 1 • Reaction • Are participants satisfied with training? • Learning • How much has been learned? • Attitude Change (not 1 of Kirkpatrick’s 4 criteria) • Did training result in attitude change? • Behaviour change • Did the learning transfer to the job? • Results criteria • Was the training worth the cost to the company?

24. Evaluating Training • Evaluation method used should assess all important training objectives • Typically, focuses on whether change has occurred • If possible, use an evaluation method that will allow you to draw accurate conclusions about the program’s effectiveness

25. Training Evaluation Designs • Reaction measures • Important, but don’t refer to effectiveness • Measure behaviour post-training • Can’t determine whether change occurred • Pre-test – Post-test Design • Measure → Training → Measure • Allows you to see if change has occurred • E.g., # of items produced before training = 10/minute • # produced after training = 16/minute • But, what if other employees who did not receive training average 15 items/minute? • Is training effective?

26. Training Evaluation Designs • Mere passage of time or task experience could also influence post-test performance. • Could not necessarily attribute post-test scores to training • Should also use a control group • Employees who did not receive training – often called a “waiting list” control group • Control group post-test could also be influenced by time and experience – therefore, the only difference between the groups would be training

27. Cost benefit analysis at Fed Ex Canada • 2 week training program for new courier van drivers • Costs of accidents: • $ 399 for a trained driver compared to $1920 for an untrained driver • Annual cost of all accidents for trained drivers was $2492 and $4833 for untrained drivers • Value of the training course: • Difference between trained and untrained driver which is $2341 • Costs of training was $1890 • Thus net benefit was $451 ($2341-$1890) • ROI is 1.24 ($2341/$1890). Thus training program resulted in a return of $1.24 on every dollar spent on training!

28. Does training increase turnover? • Debate: Do employers see a return on investment in tuition reimbursement? • 2 sides of the debate: • Employee development leads to positive employee attitudes and motivates them to stay • Employee development increases employees’ employment options outside the organization and results in increased voluntary turnover (as per human capital theory) • Which do you think is true?

29. Does training increase turnover? • Study: Benson et al. (2004) AMJ, 47(3), 315-331. • In this study, 9543 workers whose company provided full tuition reimbursement were studied • Results • Turnover is very low while participants are taking classes or pursuing a degree • When participants complete advanced/graduate degrees, turnover increases dramatically • However…

30. Does training increase turnover? • When these participants (who completed advanced degrees) were promoted, turnover was less • 56% less than participants who earned degrees but were not promoted • 55% less than participants who were promoted but did not take part in tuition reimbursement • Conclusion – tuition reimbursement can be an effective retention strategy, provided attention is paid to job-skill match after someone has received an advanced degree