On-the-Job Company Culture, History, Mission & Outlook Training

Jenae Kain

OJT- Company Culture, History, Mission, &  Outlook

Overview:

During on the job training, possibly in the orientation portion, it is highly beneficial to set a new employee with the culture of the company, history, mission statement, and business outlook. These give the employee an idea of the environment they will be working in and provide them with ease as they transition into their new position. These key points demonstrate to the new employee the values and goals of the company and how each individual contributes to the culture and outlook of the business. New employees feel valued when they are presented with information that helps them better understand their new work environment and feel less lost once they are finished with their training and working on their own.

Relevance:

Companies strive to obtain a low turnover rate for many reasons. “High employee turnover hurts a company’s bottom line. Experts estimate it costs upwards of twice an employee’s salary to find and train a replacement. And churn can damage morale among remaining employees,” (Wall street journal, 2009). Turnover rate can be directly related to job satisfaction and wellbeing because the more satisfied an employee is with their job the more likely they are to continue long term. ­­Lowering turnover helps to keep valued employees, who contribute the most to the company’s positive culture.

Key Points:

Culture: A positive atmosphere and accepting culture present in a workplace promotes long-term employees and growth within the company. As employees play a large role in the culture of the company, one of the ways to develop a positive work environment is to obtain employees of good fit for the company. Employees of good fit will have similar knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, and ethics that fit in to the company’s needs. Other aspects of positive company culture include trust, integrity, leadership, innovation, adaptability, communication, and supportive employees. These factors add value to the culture and environment of the workplace and encourage employee’s job satisfaction, keep turnover low, and help to minimize costs. Including key points on the culture of the business for a new employee during on-the-job training helps to develop their character to fit in with the rest and gives the new employee a warm welcome.

History: Providing new employees with historical background can validate the company’s dedication to success, pride in their progress, and expresses value in employees. Describing the birth of the company and maturing process can indicate the value the company puts on success and the hard work they are willing to put forth. This sets expectations up for the new employee to be just as hard working and driven as the company is. Discussing any negative events from the past and reviewing how the company handled those challenges demonstrates the  growth and knowledge the company contains as a whole.

Mission Statement: A mission statement defines the company and its motives, values, goals, and reason for existence. It often states the company’s competitive advantages, framework, and philosophies. Some mission statements go further into details of specific products or services, customers, geographical locations, and community. “An effective mission statement defines the fundamental, unique purpose that sets a business apart from other firms of its type and identifies the scope of the business’s operations in product and market terms,” (David & Pearce, 1987).  As the mission statement is included in on-the-job training or orientation, the new employee uses the statement as an introduction to the job and structure of the company. The recognition employees receive in the mission statement is perceived by the new employee and in turn they develop passion and commitment to fulfill the mission statement.

Business Outlook: Offering insight to the new employee on future projections and expectations of the company can promote enthusiasm, hard work, and dedication in order to meet those goals. When an employee is introduced to the business outlook they tend to feel held accountable for the future and will strive for success. Sharing this information that some companies would consider private opens the door for communication and shows a trusting relationship between employer and new employee. By building this relationship the employee feels valued, which increases job satisfaction.

Relative & Take away points:

To start on-the-job training introducing the new employee to the company culture, history, mission statement, and business outlook can provide the new employee with great insights to their new company. An employee who understands the culture of a company feels more comfortable in the new environment and can also contribute positively to the culture. The history of the company provides a sense of dedication to growth and the new employee will be motivated to help the company continue to mature. The mission statement sums up all aspects of the company for the new employee and the business outlook sets goals in which the employee wishes to obtain. “The most important principle to convey during an orientation is your commitment to continuous improvement and continual learning. That way, new employees become comfortable with asking questions to obtain the information they need to learn, problem solve and make decisions,”(Brown, p.2). One of human resource management’s main focuses as discussed in class, is employees long-term development. Each and every one of these key points ensures that the employee understands the company’s values and goals, welcomes them kindly, and shows acceptance, but also motivates them to reach their full potential and continue to grow with the company. Job satisfaction from day one is present when all employees understand and work together to meet common goals. All contributing factors and employees themselves create a positive work environment, which helps to develop long term employees and aid in the growth of the company. As students soon to begin careers, we must focus on meeting the goals and expectations we have set for ourselves and creating our own personal mission statement in which our future will carry out.

Works Cited:
Brown, J. (n.d.) Employee orientation: Keeping new employees on board. Retrieved from   http://www.digicast.com.au/Portals/59176/docs/Employee%20Orientation.pdf

David, F., Pearce, J. (1987, May). Academy of management executive. Corporate mission statements- the bottom line. 1(2), 109. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/4164734?uid=3739728&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21102047369681

Unknown Author. (2009). The wall street journal. How to reduce employee turnover. Retrieved from http://guides.wsj.com/management/recruiting-hiring-and-firing/how-to-reduce-employee-turnover/

Structured v Unstructured On-the-Job Training

By Mary Van Pamel

Overview of the Topic

On-the-job training (OJT) is one of the oldest forms of training. Workers can gain useful skills to use from one job to another and specific skills to use at a particular job. OJT can involve verbal coaching, written coaching, demonstration, observation, or face-to-face interaction, usually with a supervisor or an experienced employee.

The two types of OJT are known as unstructured and structured training. Although both types of OJT have many differences which make them each favorable to specific companies, many companies have recently started to favor structured OJT. Bruce McDonald believes that “if you can have structured OJT with a performance checklist that shows that the guy learned these skills and this knowledge, and was signed off by his supervisor or the instructor at that particular level of competence, my God, what a perfect thing that is” (as cited in Filipczak, 1996).

Relevance of Topic to Organizational Performance

Until recently, most OJT programs have been unstructured in the way it is implemented in the work setting (Jacobs, 1999). According to Jacobs, 1999, the “OJT occurred when an employee received an impromptu explanation or demonstration from another employee, through an individual employee’s trial-and-error efforts or simply by having employees observe and then imitate the behaviours of others.” This was one of the main reasons that authors began to break OJT into structured or unstructured parts (Jacobs, 1999).

As said in the previous section, unstructured and structured forms of OJT lead to different outcomes within each workplace. For example, Jacobs said that when compared to unstructured OJT, structured OJT was four times more efficient and surrendered almost twice the financial benefits (as cited in Jacobs, 1999). Along with Jacobs’ findings that there had been substantial decreases in re-work costs in a manufacturing organization due to structured OJT, Jacobs and McGiffin also found that structured OJT created a decrease in training time (as cited in Jacobs, 1999). Decreasing training time from twelve weeks down to two weeks, along with the accumulating experiences between employees, suggest that there is great value within companies to use structured OJT over unstructured OJT (Jacobs, 1999).

Unstructured OJT

According to David Kucera, unstructured OJT refers to loose OJT training programs that involve a new employee working with an experienced employee or supervisor who serves as a mentor in an observe-and-imitate training process. The new workers learn by trial and error while receiving feedback from their mentor (Kucera). Unstructured OJT is designed based on work requirements, not by the specific skills needed for that particular job; therefore, it may often fail to include needed skills because experienced employees are unable to clearly explain the proper methods for performing a task (Kucera).

Lacking structure, unstructured OJT produces inconsistent training outcomes, for example (Jacobs, 2003):

• The desired training outcome is rarely achieved, and when it is, trainees rarely achieve the same outcomes.
• The training content is often inaccurate or incomplete, and may represent an accumulation of bad habits, misinfor­mation, and possibly unsafe shortcuts on which employees have come to rely over time.
• Experienced employees are seldom able to communicate what they know in a way that others can understand.
• Experienced employees use different methods each time they conduct the training, and not all of the methods are equally effective.
• Many employees fear that sharing their knowledge and skills will reduce their own status as experts and perhaps even threaten their job security, or they may not be given adequate time away from their duties to deliver the training to others.
• Unstructured OJT leads to increased error rates, lower productivity, and decreased training efficiency, compared to structured OJT, and is less effective at reaching the training objectives.

Structured OJT

In contrast to unstructured OJT, structured OJT involves a program designed to teach new employees what they need to know in order to successfully complete a task (Kucera). According to William J. Rothwell and H.C. Kazanas in Improving On-the-Job Training, OJT represents a significant investment since 30 percent of a new employee’s time is spent in OJT during the first 90 days of employment and new employees often make expensive mistakes (as cited in Kucera). Dinkel, 2010, believes that the only way to a successful structured OJT program, companies must follow these steps:

• Select trainers who are technically proficient at the job.
• Develop a list of tasks for the job.
• Determine what constitutes proficiency for each task.
• Train the trainers to properly perform the tasks and evaluate performance.
• Establish a timetable for progress.
• Implement the training program.
• Assess outcomes.

Compare and Contrast

Although structured and unstructured OJT programs are different ways to train people, the selection strategies that we discussed in class could be related to these training processes. In OJT, workers gain useful skills that will help them in their present or future careers. Selection strategies used by organizations help improve the manner in which employees are hired and increase the completion of strategic objectives. This means that the selection process is used by employers to help them find applicants that they believe would be successful through structured OJT. Therefore, in order to pick and choose successful applicants to complete OJT, employers use the selection process as an amazing tool to help guide them to acceptable applicants.

Using the Information

Although unstructured OJT programs were used in companies for years, structured OJT seems like the new path for companies to travel. Structured OJT helps employers to select employees who are proficient at the job, develop a list of tasks for the job, establish a timetable for progress, and implement the training program. From my research, students can use this information within their future careers. Many students may even have to complete a structured OJT program and my research will help them truly understand what structured OJT is and what activities they may be involved in.

References

Dinkel, A. M. (2010, May 1). On the job training revisited. ALN, Retrieved from http://www.alnmag.com/article/job-training-revisited

Filipczak, Bob. (1996). Who owns your ojt?. Training, 33(12), 44. Retrieved from

http://web.ebscohost.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/ehost/detail?vid=5&sid=f3493f6c-e1c6-4122-8492-55423af677cb5%40sessionmgr14&hid=11&bdata=

JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bsh&AN=9708214217

Jacobs, R. L. (2003). Structured on-the-job training: Unleashing employee expertise in

the workplace. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Jacobs, R.L., Osman-Gani, A.A. (1999). Status, impacts and implementation issues of

structured on-the-job training. Human Resource Development International, 2(1),

17. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/

ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f3493f6c-e1c6-4122-8492-5423af677

cb5%40sessionmgr14&vid=4&hid=11

Kucera, D. (n.d.). On-the-job training. Retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/job-

training-reference/job-training

On-the-Job Product & Service Training

Jenae Kain

OJT- Product & Service Training

Overview:

Employee training is a large topic human resource professionals strive to perfect. The difficulty of measuring training effectiveness, choosing between several training methods, and applying effective training to each unique company, type of work, department, or individual employee is a challenge of human resource professionals. One important portion to be covered in on-the-job training is specific to products or service depending on the type of business conducted by the company.

Relevance:

“While training needs and problems undoubtedly vary between companies, there are, nevertheless, principles and concepts which are applicable to all business and industrial concerns.” (Planty, McCord & Efferson, 1948). Effective product or service training is deemed important in all companies because it helps to maintain high standards; influences constant education of new products, services, and technology; establishes knowledgeable employees who are able to think critically in the context of their products or service; and reduces mistakes, which minimizes costs to the company. Each of the previously listed in one way or another reduce costs, lessen turnover, and increase employee well being.

MANUFACTURING

Relevance:

There are several manufacturing companies out there that specialize in just a few products, which the employees are aware of, but other manufacturing companies, for example a small machine shop may have several individual jobs that they produce or perform only a portion of the work. Here, most often the employees are given a blueprint of the product, but never learn what the product is or what it is used for.

In on-the-job training and continually with every new product, it is smart to provide employees with the knowledge of the product in which an employee is working on. This allows them to think critically in the context of the product and company to solve issues that may arise. If an employee obtains enough education relative to the product, they can make simple decisions, perform equipment maintenance or fix minor flaws on the product themselves, rather than stopping production and waiting for a response from someone who is knowledgeable on the product. This can reduce costs by minimizing delays in production and also reduce mistakes by allowing educated employees to make decisions or changes.

Key Points:

What factors are included when training a manufacturing employee on products?

In a manufacturing company many of the employees are directly involved with the production of the tangible products, while other employees are involved in the process management. “Technological changes have advanced so rapidly that it has been impossible to keep pace with developments as they have occurred. The unfortunate result has been that more emphasis has been placed upon machines, materials, and methods than upon the worker himself,” (Planty, McCord & Efferson, 1948). Whether an employee directly working on the physical product or managing the employees who do, thoroughly educating employees on the products they are involved with is more beneficial than placing all the emphasis on the product itself.

Specific on-the-job product training includes what the product is, what it is used for, terminology for the job, materials used, the steps and processes, the tools and equipment needed for production as well as maintenance training on machinery, and specifications of quality products. Yes, this takes extra time, but in the long run educating manufacturing employees through on-the-job training keeps costs down by decreasing pauses in production and can also promote productive, reliable workers because they will understand the importance of their job in relation to each specific product they work on. They also have a sense of accountability because they understand how their role affects the entire process and production of the product as well as the company as a whole.

SERVICE

Relevance:

A service is the distribution of an essentially intangible benefit. Services can either contribute to a particular product, or are a stand-alone benefit, but all services are meant to satisfy a need or offer a solution. Services include consulting with clients on products for specific purposes, providing advice or expertise, training, manual labor, and much more. In the service industry it is important for an employee to be educated on the service they offer and the best way to offer that service. The more training an employee receives, the more reliable employees become for the company. An educated employee feels more ownership in their role in the company and strives to exceed all expectations for personal gratification and overall well-being. On the other hand, an employee who lacks training becomes careless and unmotivated, which heightens costs and turnover, which every company wants to avoid.

Key Points:

What factors are included when training a service employee on customer service?

Its critical for an employee to have a thorough understanding of the specific service and all the details in which the company offers, but looking at training in the service industry on more general terms, it is the customer service, character, and presentation of the company that matter most, even before the specific service they are offering. Richason of Demand Media says, “Customer service is perhaps the most vital part of conducting business as it reflects directly on the company and how it is able to meet the needs of patrons,” (Richason, para 1). An interested client will first consider the business and how it is presented before even considering the details of the service and if it meets their needs, which is why extensive training for customer service is more crucial when developing new clients. A client must trust the company and the employee they are working with before considering the service. To build that trust the company should provide on-the-job customer service training to teach employees to focus on understanding the customer’s needs before anything else. Other methods of providing good customer service and forming trust as Caizeta states are, responding quickly to clients, keeping clients updated, going the extra mile, fix your mistakes fairly, listen to your clients’ needs and concerns, keep your promises, don’t confuse clients with jargon, be patient, know everything you should about the service, put yourself in their shoes, (Caizeta, 2011). One may think these are common sense, but customer service training teaches employees the professional way to identify the customers needs, then exceed those needs, handle problems, as well as develop and maintain trust with the client throughout the life of the service. With thorough training, the employee then will be able to apply their knowledge of the specific service offered and modify the presentation to meet all the needs and expectations of the client.

Relation:

On-the-job training of products and services provides many benefits for businesses. Although a manufacturing company may be able to function without educating employees on the products they are producing or working on, the training can be beneficial in lowering costs, increasing efficiency, holding employees accountable, and increasing morale in the workplace. In a service company training is mostly dedicated to knowledge pertaining to the service offered, but customer service training strategizes how the company and the details of service are presented to the client, which develops long-term success for all involved. In class we often discussed wellbeing in the workplace and that a combination of knowledge, comfort, and accountability equate to job satisfaction or wellbeing. These can be achieved through proper training on products or services and in turn reduce the turnover rate and lower costs, which help to develop a positive morale and successful business.

Take Away Points:

Although the jobs of manufacturing and service vary significantly they each play large roles within each other. In a manufacturing company, training in service can help to work with and meet the needs of other businesses, customers, and employees. In the service industry, mostly when an offered service is associated with products, knowledge of the product, material, terminology, manufacturing processes, tooling, etc. is all beneficial to understand when trying to meet a clients needs. Zack says, “To reflect the full range of explicit organizational knowledge, repositories should strive to record significant and meaningful concepts, categories, and definitions, (declarative knowledge), processes, actions and sequences of events (procedural knowledge), rationale for actions or conclusions (causal knowledge), circumstances and intentions under which the knowledge was developed and is to be applied (specific contextual knowledge), and the linkages among them,” (Zack, 1998). As we begin our careers, training in each product manufacturing and service will contribute tremendously to our success in whichever career path we follow. The more educated we are of our complete surroundings, the more we can continue to build a platform and make use of that knowledge as it applies to us and our careers.

Works Cited:

Caizeta, R. (2011, Jan 28). 10 tips for providing great customer service to your clients. Retrieved from http://sixrevisions.com/project-management/10-tips-for-providing-great-customer-service-to-your-clients/

Efferson, C., McCord, W., Planty, E. (1948). Training employees and managers for production and teamwork. Retrieved from http://www.library.wisc.edu/selectedtocs/ca1774.pdf

Richason, O. (n.d.). How to implement customer service training with employees. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/implement-customer-service-training-employees-1119.html

Zack, M. (1998, Sept.). Managing codified knowledge. Sloan management review. 40(4), 45-58. Retrieved from http://web.cba.neu.edu/~mzack/articles/kmarch/kmarch.htm