Feature

Aligning training with business goals

Companies that would earlier consider training as a ‘cost’ are now aligning it with their business strategies and see it as a vital retention tool. Vinutha V on the new mindset.

We provide an environment to build and advance. Training and professional opportunities can make the company a great place to nurture careers Rahul Varma HR Director Accenture India

Changing technology is an essential aspect of knowledge-based industry. The lifespan of a technology, which was four years earlier, has now reduced to two. This shift is compelling IT professionals to keep themselves abreast of the ever-changing technologies to continue to be effective on the job. In order to contribute to building more effective software, they need to embrace the innovations in technology. Constant learning is the only option. For professionals, training is listed— along with remuneration and brand—as one of the top three considerations while joining a company; they consider training as a personal development opportunity.

Integrating management and technical skills training is the need of the hour. From the perspective of growth, even the first step of the career ladder from a programmer to a project manager re-defines the role of the individual and the skills required for a better performance. Typically, programmers work individually, but as they become project managers, there are demands on their team, communication, motivation, planning, organising and leadership skills; these skills can be acquired only through training.

Training as a business strategy

Once viewed as a cost to the company, training has now become an integral part of business strategy. For good performance grades, a company needs to improve its employees’ skills. Training is now a part of the quality orientation in most IT companies. “Indian IT companies are today innovating processes for efficient output in building software solutions. Most CTOs are devising ways in which they can bring about effective solutions in aggressive timelines. Hence, training has been prioritised in organisations,” says Harish Bhattiprolu, Director, Sales, Kenexa Technologies.

“We are witnessing a growing investment by companies in the development of their staff through training and upgradation of skills. While training on technical skills to keep abreast of new technologies has always been essential, the best-of-class companies are investing more in the development of the managerial skills of their employees,” says Pallavi Jha, Managing Director, Dale Carnegie Training India. Companies have started allocating specific man-hours and budget for mandatory training programmes. Typically, about 3-5 percent of a company’s total revenue is set aside for training needs. Tata Elexi spends as much as 7 percent of the company’s overall revenue, while Accenture allocates 3 percent of its global revenue. Says Rahul Varma, HR Director, Accenture India, “Learning is a necessity to be able to serve our clients who are from rapidly changing industries. We therefore provide an environment to build and advance careers. Training and professional opportunities can make the company a great place to nurture careers.”

Training beyond classrooms

Mostly, training needs are identified at an individual level through the performance management system or appraisal process. Potential skills are further harnessed for the employee’s future growth. Also, the need for training comes out of business decisions. In case an organisation decides to offer a new service or product to a customer as part of its portfolio, it has to ensure that related skill sets exist in the workforce. Some of this can be through external hiring but mostly it would require re-skilling and training. “Training is not just confined to the classroom. Various components of learning opportunity also come under training—such as mentoring, coaching and job rotation,” says Hemant Sharma, Head, HR, Sun Microsystems India. If certain attributes of a leader are recognised in a trainee engineer, those skills are given an impetus through coaching. Under mentoring, the senior people act as role models for juniors to add value to their work. Through job rotation, one can have multiple job profiles and the company gets an efficient employee who can handle multiple responsibilities. The diagnosis of training requirements is done in-house or through consultants.

Need to match

Most CTOs are devising ways in which they can bring about effective solutions in aggressive timelines. Hence, training has been prioritised in organisations Harish Bhattiprolu Director, Sales Kenexa Technologies

Says M Thangarajan, General Manager and Head of Operations, Tata Elexi, “To make training successful, the training requirements of the company and the aspirations of employees should match. The training needs should be in accordance with business needs.” The chief objective of any training initiative is performance enhancement and achievement of the business goals of the company. “Training therefore must be strongly linked to the business strategy of the organisation. Especially in the IT sector, we see training being used as a business tool rather than a nice-to-do activity,” notes Jha.

If a company needs to enter a new domain or introduce a new product, it might not hire fresh people. Instead, it can opt to train existing employees. Training can vary from in-house and external programmes to Web-based training. Certain standardised factors, which are knowledge-based, are conducted through Web-based training. Skills are offered through internal training programmes. When the number of trainees is large, external training programmes give cost benefits.

Training may not be effective if not monitored correctly. It is equally important to do follow-ups later; these can be achieved through feedback systems. Training modules should take a scientific approach. The training life-cycle is always evolving, and encompasses the identification of needs; the creation of plans, schedules and feedback mechanisms; and continuous improvement and re-training, observes Bhattiprolu.

Learning centres

The largest IT companies have fairly evolved training processes in place, and they have gone to the extent of having their own learning centres. Many companies have their own learning management systems. Sun has a dedicated training management system—ASK (Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge). Sun University has the ability to recognise training needs across all business divisions. Accenture uses an Internet-based tool called ‘myLearning’ through which it offers access to its vast learning resources while recommending a personalised curriculum based on the role of the employee and the bu-siness practice he belongs to.

Additional benefits

Training is increasingly becoming a retention tool and the industry veterans echo this view. Especially in the BPO sector, it is a tool to retain employees. People working in this sector face many challenges from odd working hours, job stress and the lack of a human context. This often results in disorientation and demotivation. Additionally, the average age of the professional is very young, and hence he is not prepared enough to handle the job challenges. BPO companies are striving hard to provide the right kind of work environment for their employees. Well-structured and planned training and development with a clear tangible growth path is necessary for young professionals to feel more satisfied at work and become effective in the shortest possible period. Training encourages organisational learning through knowledge-sharing and collaboration as well. It drives companies to become a high performance business; sometimes it relates to enhancing motivation, energy and enthusiasm across all levels of hierarchy.

Harvard Business Review recently published a research paper that shows a direct link with the market capitalisation of companies with the levels of those companies’ training. Companies with higher training investment had higher market capitalisation. This shows that the companies which have implemented training initiatives seriously have been able to deliver better results. It reinforces the premise that good training results in performance enha-ncement of individuals, thereby helping the company achieve its business goals, adds Jha. “When done prudently, training is a strategic weapon that companies can harness to increase competitive advantage and shareholder value. Training has a direct correlation to the growth of the organisation in increasing the productivity and identifying potential of employees,” concludes Sharma.

vinutha@expresscomputeronline.com