Trevor Murray, ambulance driver of the Shipping Association of Jamaica, demonstrates the correct way of administering the 'kiss of life' under the watchful eyes of Zayne-Ann Parkes of the Heart Foundation of Jamaica. This is part of the Basic Life Support training programme currently under way at the offices of the Shipping Association of Jamaica in Newport West. - Contributed Ilsa H. duVerney, Contributor

If training plays an important role in increasing productivity and competitive-ness, why are many companies not focusing more on this function?

Best practices dictate that three to five per cent of payroll expenditure should be spent on training. In the more successful organisations, top management supports training and development and there is a direct link between training and the strategic business goals and objectives. Attention is paid to the instructional design and these companies benchmark their training programmes against other organisations.

BEST PRACTICES

Training has delivered results to international companies such as FedEx Express whose goal is to be the number one overnight express carrier in the world! In the early 1990s, FedEx Express won the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige Award because they were able to measure customer satisfac-tion. This was achieved through intense staff training. Some of the things which FedEx focuses on are:

Training for their customer contact staff: New customer service staff members are given five weeks of intensive training before they begin work.

Leadership development for managers via an institute.

Quality processes and tools.

The foregoing should make it clear that if companies want to gain, then they need to attain competitive advantage. Staff training should not be just a nice thing to do, but rather becomes an essential activity which can transform organisations using this high-leverage strategy.

TRAINING DEFINED - What then is training?

Training may be defined as the process of systematic and continuous development of attitudes, skills and knowledge in order to attain behaviour patterns required by an individual to adequately perform a given task or job. This definition triggers the big question as to whether it is possible to train attitudes. Attitude makes us psychologically prepared to perform.

Training, as shown above, enables us to do something specific. Although changing attitude can be a time-consuming activity, through effective communication such as interaction, and the application of learning principles, it is possible to change thinking which ultimately will change an attitude. Some find that it is much easier to change how someone behaves when the individual makes the decision to change their attitude.

Our own Sandals hotel chain has gained many awards and they advocate that they hire for attitude and train for skill - knowing fully well that with the right attitude half the battle is won in attaining performance excellence.

When individuals' attitudes are changed, then it is possible to change the culture of an organisation one employee at a time.

Some organisations have come to realise that a culture change is required to turn their organisations around. Unearthing a new, more effective culture requires a very systematic, methodical and skilful coordination of the change process.

When organisations reach this point, they sometimes experience numbness and denial. Very often there is blindness to problems and frequently there is a concentration on the individuals', rather than on the organisation's, response to the change, which leaves this side of the change management untouched.

It is imperative that training be given to enable leadership to recognise what is happening so- that appropriate action may be taken and the change process not aborted.

THE GAIN

The competitive advantage is achieved when an organisation outperforms its competitors, that is, their business processes are relatively more efficient and effective than the competition. This requires developing a competitive edge. In this information age, it is required that companies work smarter. In short, it is the age of the knowledge worker, and in this new world of work, it is the knowledge worker who will win the day. Successful companies will recognise that to achieve the gain, they need to train, train, train!

Ilsa H. duVerney, an HRD/process consultant, is managing director of Productivity Plus Ltd. Email: ppl.hrd.duv@cwjamaica.com.

Taken from The Daily Gleaner, August 30, 2006