Key Elements of Training and Development
William Grocery is a store located in the city of East Orange, New Jersey, the United States of America. The business is ranked as a small enterprise. Some of the elements of change that are relevant to the corporate strategies of William Grocery are as follows. One of the components is the identification of an issue that necessitates change at the premise. The other one is the development of the objectives of training and development for the business. The other element that follows is the development of the training design that is meant to bring about change (Jones, 2014). The other component of training and development is access to resources, which is followed by the development of the education materials regarding training. The last element, according to Jones (2014), is the evaluation of the already implemented training and development.
Challenges in Addressing Organizational Performance
One of the most significant setbacks in the addressing of organizational performance is ineffective leadership (Alasadi & Al Sabbagh, 2015). The leaders of William Grocery may have disparities in their administration, which leads to the creation of a poor example and the derailment of the operations of the store. The other challenge is the lack of cooperation among the employees (Alasadi & Al Sabbagh, 2015). Devoid of the support of the employees in the determination of the organizational performance, the administration of William Grocery may find itself at crossroads in an attempt to establish the performance. The other challenge is the use of improper metrics in the determination of the organizational performance of William Grocery. The correct measures of corporate performance have to be put in place to ensure that the actual results of the performance are seen.
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Effects of Detecting Organizational Gaps in Small Businesses
One of the most undoubted implications of the detection of gaps in the small businesses is that the management will actively look for a solution that covers the disparity that has been observed (Alasadi & Al Sabbagh, 2015). Taking an example of William Grocery, the small business has an issue with marketing its products across East Orange. The managers of the business will ensure that they have set up the most constant marketing efforts that are meant to increase the number of customers coming to the grocery store. That can be done through the training and development of competency in employees. The other effect of detecting the gaps is that it necessitates the training of the employees, which is conducted to ensure that they develop the skills that are going to make sure there are no gaps left unfilled as they serve their customers.
Competitive Training Strategy to Improve the Position of the Business in the Market
Training Activities
William Grocery has arranged of business training activities that it can choose from to increase its position in the market. They are as follows.
Our Badge
The employees at William Grocery will be divided into teams, and each team instructed to develop a badge that they think best represents the team (Cook, 2016). The colors used on the badge will be varying with the various participants of the teams explaining to the rest of the employees what their colors mean for their team. That will prepare the employees for the training and development session.
Where We've Been
This strategy is used to ensure that the employees are conversant with the various challenges and breakthroughs that William Grocery has had for the last years of operations (Cook, 2016). The knowledge of the story is critical to the employees as they embark on their plan to be involved in the training and development to better the position that the grocery store has in the market both in East Orange and in the rest of the state of New Jersey.
Task Simulations
Task simulations follow a technological approach to training and development (Cook, 2016). For instance, the cashier at William Grocery who needs to learn how to use the acquired software and hardware may find it essential to learn the various methods of going about it by having a simulated version of the training.
Real World Case Studies
The real-world case studies offer a benchmarking kind of approach in the training and development for the employees (Cook, 2016). The knowledge of the real-world case studies by the employees who work at William Grocery will motivate them to work more diligently in their roles as they approach to change in the business that is expected to stabilize the position of the grocery store in the market.
The Use of Games
The use of games in training has increasingly become famous as the various companies have simulation games designed for them to offer a simplified training in the various fields at the workplace (Cook, 2016). For instance, the customer service representative at William Grocery may find it necessary to play a game that prompts them to deal with simulated scenarios of clients with various issues that they are given a period to solve.
Instructional Strategies Used in Training and Development
Micro-Learning
Generally, micro-learning is the practice of breaking down large chunks of information into bite-sized and easily digestible for the employees. Ideally, the human brain is wired to accommodate three to five pieces of new information on short-term memory before being pushed out by the incoming information (Clark & Mayer, 2016). Thus, only a few of the targeted topics are pushed to the long-term memory. Microlearning simplifies the information concerning training for the workers of William Grocery to ensure that they have all the facts they need regarding development on their fingertips. Constant reminders on what the employees have been taught and the development of acronyms for the same improves the memory of the employees.
Interactivity
The theory of training is dependent on the practical part of it to ensure that the employees can comfortably apply what they have been trained on in their work. Interactivity ensures that learning among the employees do not feel like the traditional learning as the employees learn to apply the various tactics that they have previously understood in the theory parts of the training and development (Clark & Mayer, 2016). The employees, rather than just attending to the various questions that are preinstalled in the eLearning systems, can also create their questions and answer them or have the other employees attending to them.
Gamification
Gamification is interactivity at a more advanced and simplified level. It is correct to say that the use of simulation games for training and development of the employees have replaced the traditional pen and paper forms of learning that have been critiqued as time-consuming and less efficient (Clark & Mayer, 2016). Typically, games are considered as fun and competitive. The same idea is used in the simulation games that are meant to boost training at William Grocery. The business can have less expensive simulation games explicitly developed to match the corporate setup of the company. Moreover, the players can be allowed to compete online to build up the same spirit of internal competition, which will be a foundation for the external competition.
Peer Learning
Due to the formulaic nature of the training conducted by facilitators, the employees subjected to the form of learning have changed their attitude towards training and development over time. Peer learning has, thus, overtaken the need for the facilitators. The employees have been fully aware of the organizational culture and practices (Clark & Mayer, 2016). The workers at William Grocery can learn from one another on the various levels, which will speed up the training and development practices. The competitiveness created by peer learning will also be an essential factor in the development of the other forms of learning such as mobile learning and the placement of the company on a competitive position that boosts its image in the market thus stabilizing it.
Return on Investment (ROI) to be Gained
Training and development at William Grocery are expected to increase the return on investment (ROI) of the business in the accounting periods. Proper training and development of the workers at William Grocery will reduce the employee turnover rates (Nemec, 2018). Most of the employers in the twenty-first century believe that the training and development programs are essential in the retention of the employees. The inclusivity of technology in the training and development has made it more convenient for employers to retain their employees. The retention of the employees reduces the possible costs of hiring new employees, which saves the companies money. The profitability of the businesses is therefore improved.
Training and development boost employee productivity at work (Nemec, 2018). The competitiveness of William Grocery in the East Orange market depends on the motivation levels of the employees. The productivity of the employees indicates that they are engaged and job satisfaction is at its peak. From that, William Grocery will benefit from the training and development, which will motivate the employees to work more and more (Nemec, 2018). The establishment of a productive workplace motivates the employees while at the same time ensuring that they are challenged to be better at their work than they have been before.
Training and development lead to the identification of future leaders in business (Nemec, 2018). The training and development system at William Grocery will equip the workers with some of the skills that they may need if they were to work for the company in a management position. Constant training sharpens the skills of the employees more which leads to the retention of the employees with an ability to lead themselves as well as the assumption of the various positions that are crucial to the position of William Grocery in the market (Nemec, 2018). Such employees will be an important factor in boosting the performance of the company, which will, in turn, increase the ROI.
References
Alasadi, R., & Al Sabbagh, H. (2015). The Role of Training in Small Business Performance.
International Journal of Information, Business and Management , 7 (1), 293.
Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2016). E-learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven
Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning . John Wiley & Sons.
Cook, P. J. (2016). Leading Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise. Industrial and Commercial
Training , 48 (6), 294-299.
Jones, G. (2014, July 16). 8 key elements of an effective training program | Canadian Occupational Safety . Retrieved from https://www.cos-mag.com/personal-process-safety/columns/8-key-elements-of-an-effective-training-program/
Nemec, P. B. (2018). Is There a Return on Investment for Training? Psychiatric Rehabilitation
Journal , 41 (2), 160.
