5.5 Employee training

By Peter Wright

For years, employee training was viewed as a necessary evil something unpleasant but needed. However, with time it was realized that training could be used to the advantage of the company. When used effectively, training provides the employee with skill and knowledge with relation to the job tasks, which then creates a competitive advantage for the company (Pfeffer&Viega, Putting People First for Organizational Success, 1998).

Training is generally defined as the act of teaching a skill or behavior. However, what does this mean in business terms? Simply put, training in business is the investment of resources in the employees of a company so that they are better equipped to perform the tasks of their job. The type of resources invested may include time to learn, money to create programs and develop training materials, training effectiveness evaluation systems, etc. (Fukami, Strategic Human Resources: Training, 2007). There are many training methods from which a company may choose; these will be covered in the Training Methods section of this article.

Benefits of training

Training can be a source of a competitive advantage for a company. The primary benefit to the company is the result of an accumulation of smaller benefits. Training provides greater skill and knowledge to the employees, which translate into any number of improved job performances. The belief is that providing employees with training will result in increased profits—the improved performance or error reduction of the employees results in cost reduction for the company (Pfeffer&Viega, Putting People First for Organizational Success, 1998). The company is not the only beneficiary of employee training; the employee benefits quite a bit as well.

The well-trained employee creates an advantage for him or herself. By attending training sessions, employees can deepen their existing skill set, increase their overall skill set and increase their understanding of the organization. Additionally, the trained employee becomes more marketable in the event that he or she searches for another job—more and better skills will often lead to better or higher paying jobs (Kulik, 2004).

These are not the only benefits that the company and employee enjoy as a result of utilizing a company’s training systems. Below is a list of other benefits that both may enjoy: