Effective Training & Development (Edexcel GCSE Business): Revision Note

How businesses train and 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 and 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

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

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 and 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 and develop employees

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

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 and 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

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

• 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