Influence Decision-Makers

  If an organization considers its employees to be human assets, training and development represents an ongoing investment in these assets and one of the most significant investments an organization can make. Training involves employees acquiring knowledge and learning skills that they will be able to use immediately; employee development involves learning that will aid the organization and employee later in the employee’s career. Many organizations use the term learning rather than training to emphasize the point that the activities engaged in as part of this developmental process are broad based and involve much more than straightforward acquisition of manual or technical skills. Learning implies ongoing development and continuously adding to employees ‘skills and knowledge to meet the challenges the organization faces from its external environment. A focus on learning, as opposed to training, emphasizes results rather than process, making such an approach more palatable to senior executives. Any kind of employee learning that is not reinforced by the organization’s reward system has little chance of impacting employee behavior and performance. Respond to two or more colleagues, “See listed below” in the following way: • Propose two suggestions on something your colleague can do in the future to positively change the behavior they identified. • Provide a rationale for your suggestions based on your experience and the Learning Resources for the week.