Outdated training and management approaches constrain competitiveness
Outdated training and management approaches constrain competitiveness
Keywords: Employee development, Motivation, Training techniques
Employers won't get the self-motivated, responsible employees that they need until they ditch their outdated training and management approaches, according to a study published recently by the Institute of Personnel and Development (IPD).
Managing Learning for Added Value, the new report written by David Guile of the Institute of Education and Nickie Fonda on behalf of IPD-sponsored think-tank New Learning for New Work, encourages employers to focus on the potential of their junior level staff, but advises them to rethink their management and development strategies first.
The report identifies the management and development changes that need to be made if all members of the organization are to take responsibility for corporate performance. Managers are first asked to challenge and leave behind four common
All that counts is the performance that top management can see.
People's future employability is of little or no concern to management.
People are like computers.
Managers decide what people need and trainers/educators implement.
In their place the report argues for: A new relationship between front-line staff, managers and development specialists that values the viewpoint of people in the workplace as highly as the views of customers. A new focus for the development of people: on tomorrow's employability as well as today's performance. The creation of work environments that both support and challenge.
Nickie Fonda, co-author of the report, says: "Companies taking a long-term view of their competitive strategies have realized that expanding their market share depends increasingly on the ability of every single member of staff to satisfy the customer.
"While managerial responsibility for customer satisfaction is well established, it is the front-line staff who now make the difference between keeping and losing customer loyalty. These staff need to be given the authority to make important decisions and even take risks in the interests of the customer."
Co-author, David Guile, of the Institute of Education's Post-16 Centre says:"Many organizations recognize the truth of this, but their command and control management style inhibits the development of employees' creativity and assertiveness".
The report also criticizes the fundamental principles behind the design of training and development in organizations, arguing that these do not recognize and respond to the fact that the employer and individual must rely on each other in new and often unfamiliar ways. Fonda says: "Traditional views on learning and development see people as empty vessels, who need to be filled up with relevant knowledge or given access to relevant skills, which they simply store, retrieve and modify as and when required, but the new behaviours required of employees need to be developed, not taught".
Managing Learning for Added Value follows on from an earlier study entitled Performance Management through Capability. Copies of the report are available from Plymbridge Distributors on 01752 202 301 at a cost of £11.95(£10.76 to IPD members).
