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Chapter 7
Training Employees
This chapter describes how to plan and carry out an effective training program. As in the last
chapter, this may be some of the more recognizable content to students and thus presents the
opportunity to leverage such experiences. It begins with a discussion on how to develop effective
training in the context of the organization’s strategy (i.e., its needs). The Best Practices vignette
as well as Figure 7.1 may help demonstrate LO 7-1 to students. As this is discussed, it may be
best to discuss the content in LO 7-2, specifically how needs assessment helps HR practitioners
align training with strategic needs.
Chapter Outline
Training Linked to Organizational Needs
• Organizations need to establish training programs that are effective, teach skills and
behaviors that will help the organization achieve its goals, and ensure readiness for
training.
Needs Assessment
• Organizations create such programs through instructional design, which begins with a
needs assessment.
• Effective training communicates learning objectives, presents information in distinctive
and memorable ways, and helps trainees link subject matter to jobs.
Readiness for Training
• Organizations can ensure readiness for training by providing an environment that
encourages learning so employees are able and eager to learn.
Planning the Training Program
• Planning begins with establishing objectives for the program. Based on the objectives, the
planner decides:
• Who will provide the training?
• What topics the training will cover?
• What training methods to use?
• How to evaluate the training?
Training Methods
• Classroom instruction
• Computer-based training
• On-the-job training
• Simulations
• Business games and case studies
• Behavior modeling
• Experiential programs
• Team training
• Action learning
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Implementing the Training Program
• The training program must be implemented in a way that applies what is known about
how people learn. It should also enable employees to transfer what they have learned to
the workplace.
Measuring the Results of Training
• Evaluation of training should look for transfer of training by measuring whether
employees are performing tasks taught in training.
Applications of Training
• Organizations should provide orientation because, people feel shock and surprise when
they start a new job, and they need to learn the details of how to perform the job.
• Diversity training is designed to change employee attitudes about diversity and/or
develop skills needed to work with a diverse workforce.
Learning Objectives
LO 7-1: Discuss how to link training programs to organizational needs.
LO 7-2: Explain how to assess the need for training.
LO 7-3: Explain how to assess employees’ readiness for training.
LO 7-4: Describe how to plan an effective training program.
LO 7-5: Compare widely used training methods.
LO 7-6: Summarize how to implement a successful training program.
LO 7-7: Evaluate the success of a training program.
LO7-8: Describe training methods for employee orientation and onboarding and for diversity
management.
Society for Human Resource Management Body of Competency &
Knowledge
This chapter contains content, which may be identified within the following content areas:
• Learning & Development
• Organizational Effectiveness & Design
• Workforce Management
• Diversity & Inclusion
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 8e Instructor’s Manual
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• Business & HR Strategy
• Talent Acquisition & Retention
• Employee Engagement
Human Resource Certification Institute’s A Guide to the HR Body
of Knowledge
This chapter contains content, which may be identified within the following content areas:
• Business Management & Strategy
• Workforce Planning and Employment
• Human Resource Development
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Question Guidance to Vignettes and Discussion Questions
Did You Know?
Many Service-Sector Workers Lack Basic Skills
1. Suppose you are a store manager. Would it be important for your company to offer
training in foundational skills? Why or why not?
HRM Social
LinkedIn Learning: Today’s Corporate Training Center
1. Why might an employer encourage its people to take advantage of learning on a social-
media site like LinkedIn?
2. Why might an employer prefer that its people rely more on learning from resources
provided by the employer?
HR How To
Using Wearable Technology to Support Training
1. Identify two possible risks and two possible advantages of using wearables in a training
program.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 8e Instructor’s Manual
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Hill Education.
Answer: Risks may include employee privacy concerns, company data breaches, cost to
replace lost or broken wearable devices, costs associated with updating and replacing
wearables, and supporting software/hardware due to technological advances. Advantages
may include real-time data collection and usage, increased employee motivation, and
immediate feedback to improve learning and training effectiveness.
2. How might wearable technology be part of an electronic performance support system for
training repair technicians at a company that sells and services machinery?
HR Oops!
So Far, Anti-Harassment Training Has Not Ended Harassment
1. What are two ways an organization can ensure that social support is in place to promote
transfer of anti-harassment training?
2. What goal might an employee set to apply skills from anti-harassment training on the
job?
Best Practices
Verizon Ensures Training Adds Business Value
1. In the examples given, what training outcomes were measured? What economic
measures?
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2. Of the measurement examples given, which would you say was the most accurate
measure of training success? Why?
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End of Chapter Questions and Cases
Thinking Ethically
Are Internships Opportunity or Exploitation?
1. Suppose a publishing company wants to hire an intern to help the company catch up with
its paperwork over the summer. Who would be affected by this decision? What would be
the benefits or harm to each person?
2. How could a well-designed training program help make this idea meet ethical as well as
legal standards?
Review and Discussion Questions
1. “Alicia!” bellowed David to the company’s HR specialist, “I’ve got a problem, and
you’ve got to solve it. I can’t get people in this plant to work together as a team. As if I
don’t have enough trouble with our competitors and our past-due accounts, now I have to
put up with running a zoo. You’re responsible for seeing that the staff gets along. I want a
training proposal on my desk by Monday.” Assume you are Alica. (LO 7-1)
a. Is training the solution to this problem? How can you determine the need for training?
b. Summarize how you would conduct a needs assessment.
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Hill Education.
2. How should an organization assess readiness for learning? In Question 1, how do David’s
comments suggest readiness (or lack of readiness) for learning? (LO 7-2)
be discovered before a viable solution is possible.
3. Assume you are human resource manager of a small seafood company. The general
manager has told you that customers have begun complaining about the quality of your
company’s fresh fish. Currently, training consists of senior fish cleaners showing new
employees how to perform the job. Assuming your needs assessment indicates a need for
training, how would you plan a training program? What steps should you take in planning
the program? (LO 7-4)
4. Many organizations turn to e-learning as a less-expensive alternative to classroom
training. What are some other advantages of substituting e-learning for classroom
training? What are some disadvantages? (LO 7-5)
07-9
5. Suppose the managers in your organization tend to avoid delegating projects to the
people in their groups. As a result, they rarely meet their goals. A training needs analysis
indicates that an appropriate solution is training in management skills. You have
identified two outside training programs that are consistent with your goals. One program
involves experiential programs, and the other is an interactive computer program. What
are the strengths and weaknesses of each technique? Which would you choose? Why?
(LO 7-5)
6. Consider your current job or a job you recently held. What types of training have you
received for that job? What types of training would you like to receive? Why? (LO 7-5)
7. A manufacturing company employs several maintenance employees. When a problem
occurs with the equipment, a maintenance employee receives a description of the
symptoms and is supposed to locate and fix the source of the problem. The company
recently installed a new, complex electronics system. To prepare its maintenance
workers, the company provided classroom training. The trainer displayed drawings of
electrical system components and posed problems about the system. The trainer would
point to a component in a drawing and ask, “What would happen if this component were
faulty?” Trainees would study the diagram, describe the likely symptoms, and discuss
how to repair the problem. If you were responsible for this company’s training, how
would you evaluate the success of this training program? (LO 7-6)
8. In Question 7, suppose the maintenance supervisor has complained that trainees are
having difficulty troubleshooting problems with the new electronic system. They are
spending a great deal of time on problems with the system and coming to the supervisor
with frequent questions that show lack of understanding. The supervisor is convinced that
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employees are motivated to learn the system and they are well qualified. What do you
think might be the problems with the current training program? What recommendations
can your make for improving the program? (LO 7-7)
9. Who should be involved in onboarding of new employees? Why would it not be
appropriate to provide employee orientation purely online? (LO 7-8)
10. Why do organizations provide diversity training? What kinds of goals are most suitable
for such training? (LO 7-8)
Taking Responsibility
Training Helps Keep Goodyear’s Workers Safe
1. Based on the information given, how did Goodyear link its ergonomics training to its
business needs?
2. What aspects of Goodyear’s training would contribute to successful transfer of training?
What principles of learning did it apply?
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Hill Education.
the job. This helped ensure transfer for training. In their responses, students should be
able to link these observations with the principles found in Table 7.4.
Managing Talent
Huntington Ingalls Builds a Workforce to Do “Hard Stuff”
1. What training methods does Huntington Ingalls use, according to the information given?
How do these support its business needs?
2. How might HII evaluate the success of its training?
HR in Small Business
Zeigler Auto Group Drives Growth by Training Its People
1. Imagine you were helping Zeigler and Van Ryn prepare a needs assessment for training.
Using examples from the information provided, what information would you include in
the needs assessment?
2. What training methods is Zeigler Auto Group using? What others, if any, would you
recommend it use? Give reasons for your recommendations.
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Recommended Connect Activities
Choosing Training Methods
Learning Objective: 07-01 Discuss how to link training programs to organizational needs.
Activity Summary: The case analysis gives students a better understanding of how to choose
the best training method for a given outcome.
Follow-Up Activity: Based on content from the course, students should be able to make
suggestions on how the variety of training methods would impact overall success for the issues
surrounding this case. Methods would include in-class training, distance learning, or developing
interactive exercises. Importance should also be placed on defining acceptable outcomes.
Training Readiness
Learning Objective: 07-03 Explain how to assess employees’ readiness for training.
Activity Summary: The goal of this click and drag is to assess the employee characteristics and
work environment for any training program.
Follow-Up Activity: Start students in small groups where they can share issues they have had in
the categories of Social Support, Situational Constraints, and Employee Readiness. The entire
class can then share best examples and best practices for overcoming potential problems.
Sweet Success: Strategic Training and Development
Learning Objective: 07-04 Describe how to plan an effective training program.
Activity Summary: The case analysis engages students in the strategic training and
development process.
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors and/or students can sign visit Glassdoor to read through the
employee reviews of any company. Based on what the case study says about how Just Born
means to operate, students should then compare the results of what employees have to say about
the learning culture they choose to develop.
Blended Learning Goes Better with Coffee and Donuts
Learning Objective: 07-05 Compare widely used training methods.
Activity Summary: The case analysis presents students with a training program that provides a
variety of perspectives.
Follow-Up Activity: Search the phrase “Dunkin Donuts Training Program” online, and you will
find approximately 10 videos that detail how to operate the cash register, job descriptions, how
to make a cup of coffee, and official training videos. This search will also provide you with
orientation presentations and reviews from employees. As a class, in small groups, or as
individuals, students should take this real-world information and align it with the course content
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such as blended learning, face-to-face interaction, or virtual reality. Emphasize the application of
training methods to corporate strategies.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 8e Instructor’s Manual
Classroom Exercises
Students may benefit from exercises that illustrate the concepts of the chapter. Use these along
with CONNECT activities.
1. Needs Assessment and Best Practices Vignette and Figure 7.1
Students may be introduced to the chapter concepts through in-class discussion of the
Best Practices: A Strategic Approach to Learning at ConAgra Foods vignette. Instructors
could use the vignette questions to encourage class discussion, and then review Figure
7.1. For further practice, this approach could be applied to Review and Discussion
question #1.
2. Employee Readiness for Training
Review and Discussion question #2 could be used to illustrate employee readiness and
expand on class exercise 1. Instructors should reference Table 7.1 in discussion to assist
students in their responses.
3. Merits of Differing Training Methods
Instructors may facilitate a discussion on the different training methods. For example,
students may be asked to identify the context in which each of these methods may best be
employed or situations when they may not be suitable. To expand on discussion,
instructors may ask students to respond to Review and Discussion questions #5 and #6.
4. HRM Career Considerations
Instructors may wish to have students identify components in Chapter 5 within both the
Society for Human Resource Management Body of Competency & Knowledge and the
Human Resource Certification Institute’s A Guide to the HR Body of Knowledge.
Discussion could be focused on how these chapter concepts are important to the
development of their careers and potential certification.
5. Vignette Discussions
Any of the vignettes (see above), may be employed for classroom discussion. Students
could be asked to respond as individuals or placed into groups for discussion. Individuals
and/or groups may then be asked to defend their responses and rationale when comparing
and contrasting other responses.