Can Training Increase Employee Retention?

With today’s changing landscape employers are looking at retaining their current work force and employees are looking at expanding their knowledge base.   So can offering training opportunities increase employee retention or will the employees take the training and move on to other companies?  This question has plagued employers for years and the answer is not a simple one.

Training can be an important component in employee retention.  I would not say that it is the only component in this complex issue of retention.  According to Training Magazine “The fear for many companies is that they spend time and money developing people, only to see them take those newly acquired skills to another company. However, training actually can increase employee retention, when the training reinforces the value of the employee. In addition, a well-designed training program plays a critical part in nurturing associates’ psyches. Associates want to feel that the job they do is important to the success of the business and that the business is investing time and money in them to have the job done correctly, and at the highest level.

 

Training also allows associates the opportunity to learn new skills and hone existing skills they bring to the job. Being able to grow in a position and feel good about the job they are doing is important to an individual and their view of the organization. By investing the appropriate training in an employee, they will develop a greater sense of self-worth as they become more valuable to the company. The company, too, will gain specific benefits from training and developing its workers, including increased productivity, reduced employee turnover, and decreased need for constant supervision.

We can see that we can increase retention and the knowledge base of our company expediently through training and development of our workforce.  In addition the cost of training can be reduced through web training and automated training courses. 

Kohlberg theory of moral development

Kohlberg theory of moral development interesting in the fact that this is in line with many developmental theorist in Physiological studies.  The six stages of moral development hold an interesting concept of the progression of morality from childhood to adulthood.  I would agree with the theory in describing the progression as selective.  The fact that not everyone reaches all six stages of moral development also correlates with transitional and spiritual leadership.  “Kohlberg developed a six stage theory of moral development, and he grouped these six stages into three, higher-order levels of development: 1) the Pre-Conventional Level, 2) the Conventional Level, and 3) the Post-Conventional or Principled Level. Each level is then further sub-divided into two stages to make a total of six stages.” A. Oswalt (1995) These leaders that lead with this type of leadership must have a high level of moral understanding.  Kohlberg’s theory has some of the same baseline theories as developmental theorist such as Maslow and his hierarchy of needs.   “Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development are based on Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs in his Theory of Human Motivation. As a child grows up, her motivations change from physical (most basic) needs to communal needs and finally to spiritual (highest) needs. Likewise, her moral reasoning changes from pre-conventional to conventional to post conventional.”  Maslow And Kohlberg. (2001)

 

Angela Oswalt (1995) Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Maslow And Kohlberg. (2001, December 01). In WriteWork.com. Retrieved 17:25, June 06, 2013, from http://www.writework.com/essay/maslow-and-kohlberg

Leading Change in a Challenging Marketplace

Change is an everyday occurrence in today's marketplace.  Downsizing, acquisitions and reorganizations are common place to every company and employee.  So how do you keep your workforce motivated in these changing times?  There are several things that you can do to ease the pain of transition.  One of the best known studies on Change Management came from Kotter and Cohen in 2002 in their publication The Heart of Change.  Kotter and Cohen reviewed the 8 steps for successful change.  

The key elements to change are as follows:

1. Increase urgency (stay positive)

When the organization is aware that a change will be occurring it is important to communicate the need for this change.  The need for at least 25% of employees to be convinced that this change is necessary will help create a successful transition.

2. Build the guiding team

Building the team for change is essential to a successful transition.  Proactively supporting and guiding the team to the correct path.  Modeling a path of trust and communication to minimize frustration.

3. Get the vision right

Communicate emotionally moving visions so clear they can visualize a positive change

4. Communicate for buy‐in

Keep communication simple and heartfelt.  Listen, understand what people are feeling before you communicate. speak to anxieties, confusion, anger, and distrust. Repeat, repeat, repeat the message

5. Empower action

Remove as many obstacles as possible.  Find and share “We won, you can, too” anecdotes. Recognition and rewards can inspire and promote optimism and build self-confidence

6. Create short‐term wins

Most people need short‐term proof that their efforts are leading somewhere so make wins as visible as possible. Do not stretch the truth this can lose confidence which is essential in the process

7. Don’t let up

Complacency and exhaustion can set in mid‐process remember that people need rejuvenation.  Make sure to create fresh energy and strengthen relationships

8. Make changes stick

When creating change efforts make a culture that will stick.  Remember culture is the change that sticks.  Incorporate the change in new employee orientation and promote people who act according to the new way. 

Remember that change is a feeling and that you must motivate, evaluate and promote through the feelings of the organization. 

The Future Of Training

The idea of a corporation not having a training department as part of their corporate makeup is unthinkable.  The simple truth is it is happening all over the corporate world. 

How will training be produced and delivered in the future you ask?  Most likely by small, specialized companies focused on training and results.  The corporation or companies are looking to training organizations as contractors when they are in need of training production or a large training need.

The future of training is also moving towards an e-learning base.  No more boarding passes and hotels as expenses.  Now companies can work with training professionals to deliver training via the intranet.  With today’s technology we can bring people together all over the world into one class room.  The savings in this competitive market is necessary to stay competitive. 

I should acknowledge traditional training departments will – at minimum – continue to be downsized and further decentralized.  The future is independent training companies that are focused on performance and are not a permanent expense to the corporation.

Transformational Theory

        Transformational leadership works to enhance motivation, morale and performance of the followers through different psychological tools.  This is achieved by helping the follower or sub ordinate identify with the project and organization.  The leader helps the follower to feel that they are a role model and a point of inspiration for other team members.  This helps to give ownership to the follower.  The leader uses the strengths and weaknesses of the followers to align them with the correct tasks to give the follower the best chance for success.

       James MacGregor Burns (1978) first introduced the concept of transforming leadership in his descriptive research on political leaders, but this term is now used in organizational psychology as well (Bass & Riggio, 2006).  Burns explained that the process is one in which leaders and followers help each other to advance to a higher level of moral and motivation.   He introduced to concepts transforming leadership and transactional leadership. The transforming approach changes the life of both the people and the organization.  This changes the perceptions and aspirations of the followers and the leaders.  The transactional approach is a give and take relationship, this relationship both the leader and the followers take an active role in the formation of success.  This theory supports a leader to live by example and create the traits that they are looking for the follower to display.  

       Bernard M. Bass (1985) continued the studies originated by Burns Theories (1978) by looking at the tools that were inspiring the transforming and transactional leadership.  Bass replaced the transforming with Transformational leadership expanding on the methods by adding measurements to the impact on leaders and followers and their performance.  These leaders are measured by the influence that they have on their followers.  The followers have respect for the leader and work harder towards the goal and the leader is inspired by the followers, which in turn makes the leader work harder toward the goals and objectives.

       This research has been ongoing for the last 30 years and the analysis has shown that transformational and transactional leadership positively predicts a variety of performance outcomes including individual, group and organizational level variables.