Effective Training & Development (Edexcel GCSE Business)

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Lisa Eades

Written by: Lisa Eades

Reviewed by: Steve Vorster

How Businesses Train & Develop Employees

  • Businesses need to make sure that new and existing staff are trained and developed appropriately

    • Training is the teaching of new skills

    • Development is the improvement of existing skills

  •  A well-trained workforce is important for several reasons

    • Well-trained staff are likely to be more productive

    • Staff may feel valued if a business invests in training and development

    • Staff are more likely to be flexible and resilient in the face of change

Formal & Informal Training

  • Businesses have a range of formal and informal training options for employees

  • The type of training employees undertake will depend upon the finance and timescale available as well as the specific needs of the business and employee

Formal and Informal Training

Type of Training

Explanation

Benefits

Drawbacks

Formal

  • Training that is structured and has specific objectives

  • Examples include certificated courses and apprenticeships

  • It is likely to be delivered outside of the business by experts

  • Experts are likely to deliver high-quality training

  • Employees can focus on learning if they are away from the workplace

  • It is likely to be expensive

  • A member of staff is taken away from the workplace

Informal

  • Training that is less structured and takes place as and when required

  • Examples include observing or shadowing other employees

  • It is usually delivered during working hours within the business by colleagues

  • It is focused on the specific skills needs of the business

  • It is quick and inexpensive to implement

  • Trainees are able to ask questions and ask for demonstrations to be repeated

  • It relies on the expertise and communication skills of the trainer

  • Productivity of both the trainee and the trainer is likely to be lower during training

Self Learning

  • Improvements in technology and the increasing availability of vocational courses has made self learning an attractive option for businesses

  • It involves workers studying or practising skills without the presence of a teacher of trainer

  • It can take place outside of normal working hours and if online it can be undertaken anywhere

  • Workers can learn at their own pace

  • Feedback is unlikely to be immediate and trainees cannot easily ask questions

Induction Training

  • Induction training is usually delivered as soon as possible after new workers join a business and can involve several elements

2-5-3-how-businesses-train-and-develop-employees

Common elements of induction training  

Ongoing Training

  • Ongoing training is provided to workers throughout their career and is a key way to continuously improve productivity as they understand how to fulfil their job roles effectively

    • It ensures that workers stay up to date with working practises

    • It allows skills to be improved

    • It reminds employees of business priorities

Target Setting & Performance Reviews

  • Training and development is usually linked to targets for employees to aim for and is a key part of the performance management process

    • Targets may be negotiated between an employee and their supervisor who ensures that training targets support business objectives

    • Progress towards targets and further training needs are discussed during performance review meetings which are usually held annually

    • The successfully completion of training can support a worker's application for promotion or increased pay

Why Businesses Train & Develop Employees

  • Businesses invest time and money into training and developing workers for several sound business reasons

2-5-3-reasons-for-training

Reasons for training and development

  • As technology develops, ongoing training is essential to ensure workers are able to use it effectively

  • Specialist staff may attend technology-specific external courses some of which may be provided by the supplier of the technology

  • Employees may be encouraged to keep up to date by following technology news and blogs, attending conferences or joining industry groups and forums

Training, Motivation & Retention

  • Businesses use training and development to motivate their employees and improve retention of workers

  • The staff retention rate is calculated using the formula and is expressed as a percentage

begin mathsize 14px style Staff space Retention space r ate space equals space fraction numerator Number space of space employees space remaining space in space the space business space during space the space period over denominator Total space number space of space employees end fraction space cross times space 100 end style 

  • A high percentage indicates that a business is successful in retaining its workers

Worked Example

B&G Fabrics has a total workforce of 1,020 employees, of whom 68 are expected to leave in 2024. Calculate B&G's expected staff retention rate for 2024. (2)

Answer:

Step 1 : Calculate the number of employees remaining during the period

equals space 1 comma 020 space minus space 68 space equals space 952

Step 2: Divide the number of employees remaining during the period by the total number of employees

952 space divided by space 1 comma 020 space equals space 0.9333               (1 mark)

Step 3: Multiply the outcome by 100 to find the percentage

begin mathsize 16px style 0.9333 space cross times space 100 space equals 93.33 percent sign end style                   (1 mark)

93.33%

  • Well-trained employees are likely to be motivated because they recognise that their employer is spending money on their development

  • Motivation theory (Section 2.5.4) suggests that employees work more enthusiastically at the things they’re good at 

    • For example, if employees are trained in managing quality they are more likely to think about how to improve the standard of the goods they produce

  • If motivation is improved through better training, labour retention is also likely to increase

    • If an employee feels they’re becoming better at their job, they are far more likely to stay with the business even if another employee is offering higher rates of pay because they want to keep developing in the job they have

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Lisa Eades

Author: Lisa Eades

Expertise: Business Content Creator

Lisa has taught A Level, GCSE, BTEC and IBDP Business for over 20 years and is a senior Examiner for Edexcel. Lisa has been a successful Head of Department in Kent and has offered private Business tuition to students across the UK. Lisa loves to create imaginative and accessible resources which engage learners and build their passion for the subject.

Steve Vorster

Author: Steve Vorster

Expertise: Economics & Business Subject Lead

Steve has taught A Level, GCSE, IGCSE Business and Economics - as well as IBDP Economics and Business Management. He is an IBDP Examiner and IGCSE textbook author. His students regularly achieve 90-100% in their final exams. Steve has been the Assistant Head of Sixth Form for a school in Devon, and Head of Economics at the world's largest International school in Singapore. He loves to create resources which speed up student learning and are easily accessible by all.