Planning, Designing and Evaluating Human Resource Development Program - Assignment Example

Planning, Designing and Evaluating Human Resource Development Program Name Institution Course Date Table of Contents Introduction ..........................................................................................................03 Development Programs.......................………………………………………….03 Current Organisational Situation/Issues.............................................................04 Assessment of Organisational Needs...................................................................04 Issues Addressed in Needs Assessment/Analysis................................................06 Objectives of the Program.....................................................................................07 Overview of HRD Program Process....................................................................07 Rationale and Objectives of HRD Program Plan…………………………......10 Methodologies and Approaches......................................................…………….09 Designing HRD Programs....................................................................................10 Implementing HRD Program..............................................................................10 Evaluation of HRD Program.................................................................................12 References.................................................................................................................16 Introduction Today, competition has significantly increased and organisations have been forced to devise ways to maintain their competitive advantages. Human resources are important to achievement of this objective. They should be carefully managed and developed as they are an important part of organisational overall strategic direction. Deployment of organisational resources to maximum use can only be achieved if people responsible for human resource development (HRD) provide a clear organisational strategies and priorities regarding human resources. Traditionally, development has been a functional unit of human resource department concerned with carrying out identification of organisational development needs, plan, design and evaluate HRD. This is the most widely accepted systematic approach to training and development of HRD programs by practitioners (Balderson 2006). HRD is about enhancement and widening of employees skills through training. It also entails assisting people grow within the organisation and enable them to better utilise their skills and abilities. Planning, designing and evaluating HRD Program that will be used in the organisation I currently work for is carried out in this project. Development programs Like any other organisation, this organisation implements various programs to ensure provision of its products and services to customers is achieved. The major programs include HRD programs, HRM programs, training programs, monitoring and evaluation programs. These programs require employees that have knowledge and skills in areas such as recruitment, personnel relations and customer service. Human resource systems are also required to ensure that right people are recruited and sufficient incentives and capacity development are in place to ensure that employees do not leave their organisations and they possess capabilities of productively contributing to organisational mission and vision at all times. Current Organisational Situation/Issues The ability to manage plays a significant role to organisational success (Sims 2006, p. 250). The ability of an organisation to adapt to change is largely influenced by its human resource. In the modern organisational environment, change is necessary due to increased competitiveness that demands improvement of day to day organisational activities. Employees’ skills become obsolete with time whereas organisational efficiency should be maintained at all times. Currently, there are a reduced number of experienced employees who have experience to direct other employees due to retirement of some senior managers. Development of employees is thus required to help the organisation adapt to the recent changes by developing the available human resources with regard to their skills and capabilities. Motivation is also low and HRD is a process that will be used together with other organisational programs to impart skills in order to improve employees’ performance and possibly improve motivation. Assessment of Organisational Needs Before a formal HRD program is designed or implemented, extensive needs assessment should be conducted first in order to determine whether the program is required. Moreover, this step will also provide the needs it will address. Needs assessment involves systematic examination of the current organisational circumstances and the manner in which activities should be in the organisation (Allen, Finkelstein, & Poteet, 2011). Indeed, assessment of needs entails analysing current organisational position and its desired position. This step is very important when planning any organisational intervention, including HRD program. It plays a critical role in the first phase of any model or program as part of a planned changed. On the other hand, diagnosis is the second step carried out as part of planned organisational change. Cummings and Worley (2013, p. 89) assert that diagnosis is the process of understanding how the system is currently functioning. It is conducted immediately after needs assessment is completed. Assessment of needs is carried out to achieve various purposes. Needs assessment provides information that is critical in customisation of the program to meet the needs of the organisation. In designing a HRD program, needs assessment is important in ensuring that the program is designed in a manner that solve the current organisational issues. Criteria for measuring success are provided by needs assessment (Allen et al., 2009). The success of a HRD program should be determined after it has been implemented through evaluation. Needs assessment provides parameters for evaluation hence the success or otherwise of an implemented program is known. Any organisational program is designed to suit the organisation and the objectives it should achieve. Needs assessment provides information used in designing an organisational program (Royse 2009, p. 119). The manner in which this HRD program will be designed is informed by the different needs this organisation requires. In order to ensure that a program is important to an organisation, aligning it with the overall corporate strategy and other organisational initiatives is essential. Needs assessment provides information on how the program can be aligned with the overall strategy of the organisation (Allen et al., 2011). This ensures that the objectives of the program are in line with organisational mission, vision, goals and objectives. Increased competition and scarce resources demands that any organisational investment is necessary if it helps an organisation gain some form of competitive advantage. Although a program may be immensely beneficial to an organisation, its adoption may not be making be the right choice for the business. Needs assessment will justify investment in a program (Royse 2009, p. 118). In other words, it assists in making the business case for the program. Needs assessment can be conducted at personal and organisational levels. Organisational analysis of needs assessment in regard to HRD program involves organisational examination of system-wide components that may have effects on a HRD program. HRD program is embedded within the larger system of the organisation. Organisational analysis involves determining if a HRD program is appropriate after organisational business strategy has been considered, available resources to invest in the program and support bestowed by organisational members towards the program. Therefore, creation of HRD program starts with a review of long-term organisational strategic goals and objectives. Indeed, a successful HRD program is one that has been intentionally aligned with organisational overall mission (Allen et al., 2011). Specifically, integration of HRD components and its specific direction with organisational mission, vision and values should be carried out. Personal analysis of HRD program involves identification of individuals who will be targeted by the program. The protégés of the program and the mentors should be carefully thought out at the person level. HRD programs should be capable of meeting the needs and expectations of both the program protégés and mentors or trainers. Issues Addressed in Needs Assessment/Analysis There are several issues that are addressed in the need analysis phase. Analysis of the HRD program is provisionally undertaken to determine whether human resource development is needed to achieve organisational objectives. Moreover, the ways in which HRD will support the business strategy are evaluated (Royse 2009, p. 118). Organisational problems that can be solved by the program are identified and the available resources that can be devoted to formal process of planning, designing, implementation and evaluation of the program. Environmental constraints that may hinder successful implementation of the program are addressed by carrying out organisational needs analysis/assessment. The potential beneficiaries of HRD program and the target group are dealt with at this stage. In order for this organisation to carry out its strategies, capable and efficient employees together with a more responsive and relevant HRM and HRD systems is needed to fortify organisational bureaucracy. Objectives of the Program After organisational management development needs have been completed, objectives of the program that meet those needs are established. These objectives should be measurable (Sims 2006, p. 250). The following are some of the objectives of this program: Improve competencies of employees Support development of employees both in the current environment and in the future Identify performance gaps in the organisation Improve leadership skills of employees Provide ways of improving motivation of employees To enable continued success of organisation The objectives of the program signal the importance of HRD and in particular, benefits accrued by HRD programs. Indeed, HRD leads to improved employee performance. By developing employees to increase their on-job skills and knowledge, organisational performance is likely to increase due to new and improved capabilities. Organisations that continually focus on training and improving their employees’ knowledge, skills and attitudes are likely to retain most of their best talents which they can utilise in achieving their full potential. Moreover, organisations will have committed people that tirelessly work to improve the organisation. Indeed, organisational individuals that have satisfied personal and development are committed to the organisation as compared to individuals whose needs have not been met. Productivity of these employees are high emphasising the importance of HRD. This means that organisational effectiveness is improved. HRD and its related programs focus on motivating and improving competencies of employees on a continuous basis. It involves development of positive attitudes that are needed by all organisational members. Integration of employees’ personal goals with organisational goals can be achieved through HRD. This integration ensures that an organisation is working towards achievement of its objectives while at the same time ensuring that personal objectives are realised. Additionally, improved communication will be achieved in the process. This is because HRD programs commits to measuring and improving the culture of the organisation. It also enhances teamwork and improves involvement and participation of organisational members towards various organisational activities. Effective organisations are required especially in times of increased competition and globalization. Organisations should be effective at all times and ensure that customers are always satisfied with their products and services. HRD can be used to train employees to be focus on delivering the best customer service to its customers and provision of high quality products and services. Overview of HRD Program Process A HRD plan is essential in order to ensure that development programs are implemented in the right manner and organisational services are delivered in manner that is both timely and efficient. This is crucial step because it ensures that organisational members, systems, structures and leadership styles match the requirements of HRD program that is to be implemented. The HRM and development departments of the organisation are always confronted with critical issues and challenges. The main issues faced by these departments include the following: Does the organisation get the right people? Does the organisation place people in their appropriate jobs? Does the organisation treat people fairly? Does the organisation allow employees to grow? Does the organisation develop employees? Does the organisation encourage people to achieve their own objectives/ The HRD plan will address issues and challenges faced by the organisational members in terms of their development, leadership skills and capabilities, motivation and recognition. The planning process of the HRD program plan will provide the necessary ‘tools’ for achieving strategic objectives of the organisation and links and networks to be used in development of HRD program. Rationale and Objectives of HRD Program Plan The challenge of achieving the objectives of HRD program is a sufficient reason to review the current HRM and HRD plans and create and update the current plan to respond to organisational changes. There is a leadership vacuum in the organisation since retirement of three senior managers who have been instrumental to the organisational for the last 15 years. Moreover, motivation and morale has since the gone down since the organisation merged with one of its competitors six months ago. This plan is hence carried out to achieve the following objectives: Enhanced the skills and capacities of employees in their new roles to achieve the current structured mission and vision. Management of human resources in order to assist them to contribute positively towards achievement of program objectives. This plan is intended to sharpen organisational succession planning policies, rewards and incentives given to employees as a way of motivating and retaining them Methodologies and Approaches In preparation of a HRD program plan, the following are methods and approaches that will be used: Inventory of employees’ knowledge and skills. The HRD department and the department responsible for training will carry out staff and skills inventory of all organisational members to determine strengths and more importantly weaknesses of employees that need to be improved. This exercise is expected to be finalised within three months. Gaps Analysis. The results of employee and skills inventory have been significantly important in identification of gaps in the organisation. HRD personnel will identify various gaps and analysed the reasons behind their existence. Workshops. Workshops will be carried out in order to prepare HRD planning team to prepare and write HRD program plan. Among issues that are expected to be undertaken are analysis of competency gaps, employee/skills inventory, capacity development and finalisation of HRD program plan. Collection of data, encoding and analysis. Once questionnaires have been fully filled, they will be encoded using Excel formulas by a team tasked with this responsibility. Collation will then be carried out to encoded data and used in creation of graphs and tables in order to be easily analysed by HRD and training development personnel. Dissemination of plan. Communication of the plan to organisational management and employees is the last activity to be carried out once the above processes/activities have been finalised. Designing HRD Programs HRD is focused development that responds to requirements of both an individual and the organisation through improvement of their performance. Indeed, the core features of an HRD program are change management and leadership development (Hughes & Byrd 2015, p. 35). They represent functionality of organisation HRD department. They must be managed in order not to overwhelm those responsible for its management. In designing HRD programs, managers have several tasks to play. They must develop instructional materials that meet the needs of both internal and external stakeholders. HRD programs are required to bridge the gaps that will overcome various constraints and make strategic decisions. Implementing HRD Program The performance of employees is only improved when HRD programs are implemented. The objective of assessment and design phases is to implement effective HRD programs (Kumar, Mahatab, & Kumar 2013, p. 37). This means that delivery or implementation of the program must be carried out using the most appropriate methods. In implementing any HRD programs, problems such as creating an organisational environment that enhances learning and executing the program as it is in the plan are often witnessed. It is therefore imperative to choose training methods that best suits the organisation. Indeed, objectives of the program significantly influence design and implementation of the program as well as the training methods used in conducting or implementing training (Sims 2006, p. p. 250). In implementation of HRD programs, technological initiatives have been increasingly used instead of traditional classroom delivery method. The following are training methods that will be used in implementing the program. On-the-job Training Due to amalgamation of the two companies, it is important to have on-the-job training in order to have employees become aware of the new organisational structure. Experienced workers and supervisors will guide junior employees by learning through actual performance of the job. Through advice and suggestions, supervisors will teach other employees effective working methods based on the program objectives. This method fits this organisation because of the nature of how activities flow throughout the organisation. Employees are expected to provide feedback to their supervisors while they are still being trained. Classroom Lecture The program is intended to improve leadership skills of employees and their motivation as well as their morale. The conference room in the organisation is the most appropriate place to conduct this classroom lecture. It has audio-visuals technologies which will enhance presentation and make it more interesting to both trainers and trainees. Trainers will provide manuals to the participants on information on effective leadership and how to improve a person’s leadership skills. Two experts on the subject will talk to the participants on their experiences and how they have improved their leadership skills. At the end, participants will be offered the opportunity to ask questions and clarifications about the topics covered. Business games and Simulations In implementing a HRD program, business games and simulations are often important techniques. In order to become a good leader in an organisation, a person should have good decision making skills. Business games and simulations assist in development of individual decision-making skills. The focus of this method is on organisational management decisions and one of the objectives of the program is to improve one of the organisation’s management decisions- leadership. Evaluation of HRD Program The last phase of HRD process is evaluation. Werner and DeSimone (2012) defined HRD evaluation as a ‘systematic collection of descriptive and judgemental information necessary to make effective HRD decisions’. HRD evaluation is conducted to determine whether HRD programs have achieved their objectives. Moreover, it establishes the value of these programs based on their benefits, value and success in improving the organisation. Evaluation process can be carried out by using different frameworks and models. Here, Kirkpatrick’s approach will be utilised. It is the most popular model of evaluation and it proposes four level of evaluation. Purpose of HRD Evaluation There are many purposes of carrying out evaluation of HRD program. They include the following: Determines if the objectives have been accomplished Determine appropriateness of the program Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the program Identify the biggest beneficiaries and those who should participate Kirkpatrick model of evaluation will be used to evaluate the success of the program. The focus of the model is to measure four kinds of outcomes. In other words, Kirkpatrick’s model utilised four levels of outcome evaluation. They are reaction, learning, behaviour and results. Level 1- Reaction The goal of this step is measurement of participant’s reactions about the program (Kirkpatrick 1979, p. 119). There will be people responsible for measuring reactions of the participants after the program has been implemented. The attitudes of the participants towards the instructors, presentation and topics covered by the training will be measured. Questionnaires will be specifically administered and questions such as did you like the program; do you think the program has helped you in achieving your objectives among others will be asked. In general, level one evaluation measures the overall satisfaction of participants towards the program. Depending on the reactions, the program will continue as part of organisational programs or it will be eliminated if it is unpopular and detriment to achievement of organisational efficiency. This objective can be achieved by asking the target audience of the program to list the weaknesses and strengths of the program in the questionnaires. Level 2- Learning The objective of this level is determination of extent of learning accrued by the participants. Specifically, learning outcomes such as changes in knowledge, skills, and attitudes of participants are the main focus of this level. Improvement of attitudes of participants towards the issues currently facing the organisation will be determined. Immediately after training, level- two evaluation will be carried out to find out if the participants gained any knowledge, skills, or attitudes. Achievement test is the main method to be used to measure knowledge and skills. For attitudes, questionnaires will be used in measuring it by requiring participants to rate various items by parameters such as strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree. Open-ended questions will be included to allow the target audience respond on how they felt about the program in their own words. Level 3-Behaviour Level- 3 aims at determining the changes of employees’ on-the-job-behaviour as a result of HRD program. Behaviour changes are monitored and the reasons for their occurrence are determined at this level (Kirkpatrick 1979, p. 132). In particular, level-3 evaluation involves measurement of knowledge, skills and attitudes transfer to the organisation. Favourable conditions in the workplace will lead to transfer. Level-3 evaluation will be accomplished through use of a control group and allowing some time for behaviour changes to occur. Furthermore, evaluation before and after the program has been implemented will be conducted in practical circumstances. Level 4-Results This is the last step of evaluation process when using Kirkpatrick model of evaluation. The objective of this level is to determine whether the program achieved its objectives. It entails changes to organisational processes and operation. The kinds of level-4 outcomes include higher productivity, improved quality of work, high worker morale and greater job satisfaction. Time will be allowed for results to be achieved and potential results will be measured before and after the program has been implemented. Evaluating HRD programs is very important and there are many ways that can be used. There are many constraints placed on HRD efforts but six steps can be followed to ensure that the program is effective. These steps were recommended by Grove and Ostroff (Werner & DeSimone 2012, p. 236). The following are the six steps that will be adapted in evaluation of this HRD program: 1. Performance of needs analysis 2. Development of explicit evaluation strategy 3. Focusing on specific training objectives 4. Obtaining participants reactions 5. Development of criterion instruments to be used in measuring valued outcomes 6. Planning and executing the evaluation study These steps should be followed for any type of program whether HRD program or training program. However, not all the programs demand the same extent of evaluation (Werner & DeSimone 2012, p. 236). Proven programs should be evaluated less frequently while new programs and those which have consumed a lot of expenses as well as those programs with high visibility should be evaluated more thoroughly. The key is having a well-planned evaluation strategy that provides the steps for carrying out evaluation process and the extent of this process. References Allen, T. D., Finkelstein, L. M., & Poteet, M. L. (2011). Designing Workplace Mentoring Programs: An Evidence-Based Approach. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Balderson, S. (2005). ‘Strategy and Human Resource Development’, in Wilson, J.P (Eds.), Human resource development: Learning & training for individuals & organizations. London [u.a.: Kogan Page. Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2013). Organization development & change, 10th edn. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Hughes, C., & Byrd, M. Y. (2015). Managing human resource development programs: Current issues and evolving trends. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Kirkpatrick, D. L & Kirkpatrick, J. D 2010, Evaluating training programs: The four levels, 3rd edn, Accessible Publishing Systems, Sydney. Kumar, V., Ali., M., Kumar, S. (2013). ‘Framework for implementing human resource development programmes in higher educational institutions’, International Journal of Engineering and Management Sciences, vol. 4(1): 36-39. Royse, D. D. (2009). Needs assessment. New York: Oxford University Press. Sims, R. R. (2006). Human resource development: Today and tomorrow. Greenwich: Information Age. Werner, J. M., & DeSimone, R. L. (2012). Human resource development. Mason, OH: South-Western. Read More