Determinants of successful training practices in large Australian firms

Purpose of the research

The major purpose of this study was to examine the determinants of successful training practices in large Australian firms and the factors that have influenced these practices in recent times.

Collection of information

The study was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 comprised a review of the existing literature on training and learning in the workplace, the factors which influence enterprise training, the development of a training or learning culture, and how the success of training is measured.

Phase 2 comprised a meta-analysis of case studies that had already been conducted for previous studies by other researchers. Fourteen industry sectors were included in 49 case studies of large Australian firms (those employing 100 or more employees) from recent publications. These firms included 18 firms from the 14 industry sectors examined in the last two years and 31 firms from five industry sectors examined in the mid-1990s.

The analysis focussed on the impact of globalisation, the use of accredited training, demographic changes, new technology and changes in industrial relations which may have influenced the integration and development of training and learning practices in these firms. Other relevant factors, for example, the development of career structures within the firms, the recruitment of existing skills as opposed to developing skill sets within these firms and the evaluation of their training, were also investigated.

Phase 3 comprised an update of these findings by comparison with five follow-up case studies from four industries which included wine production (Southcorp) and packaging (BRL Hardy), tourism (BridgeClimb™), electrical accessories manufacturing (Clipsal™) and government (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation [CSIRO]).

What are successful training practices?

Success in any activity can be thought of in terms of the extent to which an activity achieves its desired objectives. In this respect successful training practices are strategies which provide tangible and intangible benefits for organisations (for example, increased skills and knowledge, required corporate values and attitudes, increased competitiveness, improved employee morale, and more effective employee-manager relations). This study focussed on training and learning strategies which had demonstrated benefits to firms over a period of time.

Key findings

The further analysis of the 49 case studies identified ten major elements which contributed to successful training practices. The follow-up case studies also supported these findings. The three most important elements included:

• having in place an organisational culture which supports learning
• linking training to the major features of a business strategy
• responding to change within the organisation or external to it.

An organisational culture in which there was respect for all individuals, a willingness to share knowledge and expertise was essential to successful training and learning. ‘Open communication’ and, in particular, cross-functional team consultations, also stimulated learning which led to innovative solutions.

Individual development was also encouraged through supportive human resource practices, such as providing training and learning opportunities for all workers, promotion opportunities within the organisation and individual performance feedback.

The linking of training to the business strategies, by conducting training needs analysis for the skills required to implement these strategies, also ensured its relevance to individuals and corporate objectives. Current enterprise training focussed on maintaining a competitive advantage through increasing efficiency in production, developing innovative solutions, products or services, and exceeding customer expectations.

Responding to workplace change was another major element behind training which achieved its desired objectives. Whether the stimulus for change was new technology, new management, new government legislation or new competition, it remained the major driver of enterprise training. When training was related to current work practices, it became more relevant to individual workers and this increased their motivation to learn. In addition, training was often part of the changemanagement process.

Other elements that contributed to successful training practices include increasing diversity of training and learning approaches used in large firms. Formal training was sourced from within the organisation itself or imported from a range of external training providers. Firms tend to work closely with the external providers to develop the courses and learning materials to meet their workers' needs. Often the training providers delivered the training in the workplace or provided facilitators on site to support employees' learning. Other firms preferred to have their own staff qualified as workplace trainers and assessors and be registered as training organisations in their own right.

Large firms were increasingly providing training towards externally recognised qualifications in order to attract and retain high-quality staff. Using the industry-specific competency standards contained in training packages had assisted firms to implement training towards national industry qualifications for their workers.

Current business practice was market-driven and so these firms believed that listening to their customers was paramount and stimulated creativity and innovation in the firm. Informal training also occurred in functional and cross-functional team meetings and project-based activities. Selfmanaging teams were common practice in large firms and this had increased the importance of learning within the team and from both mentors in the workplace and professional or business networks.

Although ‘training co-ordinators’ were responsible for developing the firm's training plan, in general, training delivery was decentralised within large firms. Supervisors were increasingly taking on the role of workplace trainers and coaches for their teams.

Increasingly, individuals had been able to help to identify their own particular training needs through the completion of individual training and development plans. While team-building, computer skills, workplace safety and quality training were generally required to implement the firm's business strategies, other training for multi-skilling and personal development undertaken by employees were influenced by the individual's career goals and interests.

Another indication of successful training practices in large firms was the formal evaluation of training. In the main, training co-ordinators sought verbal feedback from employees and line managers or collected information from formal feedback sheets to evaluate the effectiveness of training. In other firms, surveys of customers and/or staff members were regularly conducted to measure satisfaction with staff training. In reviewing training, firms were able to modify training and increase learning to ensure that the needs of the employees and the company were met.

Increasingly, large firms had established a performance management system where, at half-yearly or yearly intervals, formal appraisals of individuals' performance were conducted by line managers and individual training plans were modified or developed.

Only one firm in this study had a return on investment in training evaluation model in which the value of training to the company's profitability was identified. This model required a range of measures to be developed which linked directly to the cost of specific training. The lack of this type of evaluation of training in most firms was considered to be related to accounting systems where training costs were treated as an inseparable part of labour costs and not as an investment from which a return was expected.

Conclusions

This study of large Australian firms found that ten elements were fundamental for best practice in enterprise training and learning practices. Three elements, in particular, are the most important factors in contributing to successful training practices. These are to have in place:

• an organisational culture that supports learning
• mechanisms to link training to the business strategy
• mechanisms to link training to workplace change.

The other elements contributing to successful training practices relate to the customisation of training for enterprises and individual workers and include:

• increasing the diversity of training and learning approaches
• sourcing formal training from within the organisation itself
• adopting accredited training, often linked to the National Training Framework
• increasing the use of informal training
• decentralising the training within the organisation
• responding to the needs of the individual
• evaluating the training.