Role of HR in a Successful Training and Development Process

Viren Kapadia March 02, 2021
Role of HR in a Successful Training and Development Process

It is the workforce that makes an organization run. That fact aside, it is essential to equip the workforce with the necessary tools and equipment they need to do their jobs properly. This, in essence, is what management training and development in human resource management (HRM) encompasses. Providing your employees and staff with the following learnings and opportunities makes up the training and development aspect of your organization:

  • Providing them with lessons and learning material that help them upskill and improve their performance on the job.
  • Providing them with the necessary training required to complete the tasks they encounter on their jobs.
  • Providing them with the necessary tools (software or hardware) that enable them to work productively and measure their performance and results.

The importance of continuous on-the-job training for employees is known to everyone. No business can succeed in a true sense if the core of the organization, i.e., its employees are not productive. The learning and development of employees is vital for their performance improvement as well as their retention. The aim of online training for employees is to positively impact their output while also making the vision and mission of the organization clear to them.

Training and development in HRM are integral parts of an organization. In order to improve its competitive edge, a company should have employees who can learn better and then translate that learning into action more rapidly.

The role of HR is vital for a smooth training and development process. The responsibilities of HR do not end with the successful onboarding of employees; in fact, HR should watch the performance of employees closely throughout their careers. HR is someone who believes that employees are the most valuable assets of the organization. A good HR organization sees the potential in employees and makes them utilize their training hours to the fullest. The aim of a competent HR is not to fill the spot; in fact, he or she helps employees achieve success by arranging effective and efficient training programs for them.

There is no denying the fact that human resource professionals play a key role in employee development. HR professionals offer employees a competent learning management platform so that they can effectively collaborate within the company. It’s a great misconception that human resource professionals only interact with managers and functional heads.

In fact, they ensure that the learning and development needs of employees are met by creating a successful learning path for them. Human resource professionals are not always the leaders; they understand when they should step back and let the employee take the lead. This is one of the most important contributing factors in the learning and development of employees.

History of Training and Development

  • While it may seem that HR training is a new concept, it has actually been in practice - albeit in different forms - since World War II.
  • It began as a labor movement that allowed employees to gain necessary training for on-job tasks, with the training and development aspect becoming quite popular soon after.
  • By the 1900s, there were corporation schools where production workers could gain the necessary skills needed to work at facilities.
  • Today, by way of online training, courseware, and lessons, employees are increasingly upskilling and reskilling themselves to be of better value to their employers.
  • Furthermore, the emergence of interactive learning methods has fuelled the throttle of the training and development trend of late.
  • Let's now understand the objectives behind this process that make it so important for an organization.

HRM Training and Development Objectives

The role of an HR in training and development has been discussed below:

  1. Improving Productivity
  2. Productivity affects the quality and quantity of work that gets done by the end of the day. In order to ensure both of these aspects remain as high as possible, employees need the right combination of knowledge, training, and tooling to achieve high productivity. HR training thus aims to improve employee productivity.

  3. Improving Service Quality
  4. The end products or services that your organization offers are the direct result of the applied knowledge of your workforce. Improve this knowledge through training and development in order to improve the quality and service benchmarks that your brand is known for among competitors.

  5. Reducing Turnover
  6. A study conducted by LinkedIn showed that 94% of employees would not quit their jobs if the company invested in their HR training and career development. By investing in the learning and development of your employees, you would prevent 94% of them from turning over to your competitors.

  7. Reducing Costs of Errors
  8. Employee errors can sometimes cost a company dearly. However, this isn’t something that can’t be managed; effective learning and development can train your employees to handle customer situations correctly, leading to fewer errors and, consequently, lesser losses to the company.

  9. Staying Updated with Trends
  10. HR training enables your employees to stay up-to-date with the latest tools, technologies, techniques, and best practices in their niche. Their methods and results thus remain relevant in the industry for longer when the most recent practices are adopted for completing tasks on the job.

What Are the 5 Processes in Training and Development?

There are five distinct stages of the learning and development process:

  1. Assessments and Setting Goals Stage
  2. This is the stage where the trainers need to identify the goals they must achieve through this training.

  3. Motivation, Engagement, and Encouragement Phase
  4. The second phase deals with motivating the employees to sign up for employee training. The trainers also need to be motivated towards providing quality training.

  5. Design and Development of Modules Phase
  6. The third phase involves creating training modules that align with the goals set for the training.

  7. Delivery Phase
  8. In the fourth stage, the organization must decide the mode of delivery of these training modules—online, offline, remote, etc.

  9. Evaluation and Follow-up
  10. This is the stage where the trainers and educators assess the performance of the candidates who were enrolled in the course.

Contribution of Human Resource Professionals in Successful Training and Development of Employees

  1. Building a Personal Connect with Employees
  2. One of the greatest qualities of an HR is that he or she recognizes the individual needs of employees and develops various programs to meet them. When HR sits with employees and discusses the challenges they regularly face in their workplace, they feel more valued and motivated.

    HR recognizes the skill set of the individual employee and helps or her strengthen his or her quality of work. A good learning and development process facilitated by HR makes sure employees recognize their weaknesses and work on them until they reach perfection.

    This can only happen when employees get the personal attention they need. HR identifies the learning pace of each and every employee and develops various learning and development programs to let them learn as per their own requirements.

  3. Providing an Efficient Orientation Program to New Employees
  4. A good orientation is the foundation of a successful career for employees with their organization. One of the most important roles of HR in the training and development of employees is to introduce them to their jobs and provide them with competent initial job training.

    This training involves familiarizing employees with the company’s culture and goals, as well as the company’s expectations from its employees and what employees expect from the company. In addition to this, employees are also motivated to participate in various hands-on learning activities and other employee training courses. When new employees are provided with efficient orientation programs, they feel more comfortable in their job and adapt themselves to the new work culture faster. Also, a good employee training program lets new employees communicate freely with their superiors without any hesitation.

  5. Organizing Ongoing Training Activities
  6. There is a difference between providing training to employees and providing continuous training to them. The role of HR is to ensure that the employees get training on a regular basis to enhance their skills and work quality.

    There are a number of activities to ensure the continuous learning and development of employees, including regular one-on-one meetings, seminars, surveys, online learning and demonstrations, behavioral assessments, and much more. Human resource professionals ensure that the talent of employees does not remain hidden, and they keep organizing the aforementioned activities to uncover their talent and boost their morale.

  7. Motivating Employees throughout their Career
  8. Sometimes a lack of motivation keeps employees from participating in various development activities. HR's being a good leader and guide motivates them from time to time and makes them feel valued. Everyone believes that an organization cannot reach success without the efforts of employees, but only a few can actually give them the same. It is the responsibility of human resource professionals to make employees realize that they are indispensable resources for the organization.They motivate employees to keep participating in learning and development programs and identify their weak and strong areas.

  9. Ensuring the Delivery of Quality Content
  10. Conducting training just for the sake of it is not enough! One of the most important responsibilities of HR is to make sure that the content of the employee training program is useful and qualitative. Everyone knows that the traditional lecture method is of no use to modern learners, and they usually feel forced to attend them. Because of the recent training and development trend, meaningless fuelled the throttle. Let’s now understand the objectives behind this process that make it so important for an organization.

Conclusion

Whether it be mentorship programs, skill assessments, or onboarding processes, the human resources department administers all kinds of learning and development activities at an organization. The modes and methodologies differ; however, the objectives remain the same. The HR manager is, therefore, responsible for imparting meaningful training and development practices to an organization's employees, which will synchronize the growth of the individuals and the company as well.

Gyrus is one of the most popular and valued platforms that offers competent learning management systemscompetent learning management systems for your employees to enhance their learning abilities and skills. With the help of this platform, human resource professionals can provide a number of hands-on experiences to their employees, and in this way, they strengthen their relationship with them.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is L&D in HR?
  2. L&D stands for learning and development. Assessments are the process by which the employer provides resources and courses to the employees for career development.

  3. What are the four training and development activities?
  4. The four major types of training and development activities are:

    • Soft skills training
    • Technical skills training
    • Team and leadership training
    • Product, service, and quality training

  5. What Are the Three Main Responsibilities of Human Resources?
  6. The three main responsibilities of human resources are:

    • Administrative responsibilities
    • Change management
    • People management

  7. What Are the Four Major HR Functions?
  8. The four major functions of human resources are:

    • Planning
    • Directing
    • Organizing
    • Controlling

  9. What Are The 4 C's of HRM?
  10. The four Cs of HRM are:

    • Catalyst
    • Coach
    • Conductor
    • Consultant