Question

Explain the role that trainability plays in the effectiveness of an HRD program or intervention. Briefly describe the options available to assess the trainability of employees.

Answer 1

The term “Trainability” signifies the ease with which any employee of an organization can learn the new skills for a job or can pick up the job training. Apart from the new employees, the old employees may also be required to master and learn new procedures, responsibilities, and skills that may be specific to a given job role.

By assessing, analyzing, and evaluating the trainability of the employee(s), the Human Resource department can know whether training would be successful or not, and therefore can avoid unnecessary expenditures and wastage of time. Because the training and learning processes never end in a business organization (because of the constant improvement require), trainability helps the managers know which employees will be able to stay in the organization for a longer term. Therefore the department can target the right kind of employees, which can be groomed and trained and who are capable of attaining more knowledge and skills.

Talent versus Trainability

It would be shallow to think that the hiring of talented employees will solve all the purposes. As the studies reveal, talent may not be the sole predictor of performance at a job. All employees, whether heavily talented or not, should be trainable as the business environment changes constantly and there are new things to learn, always, for everybody serving the business. Employees that are trainable are passionate, inquisitive, problem solvers and adaptive. They can be groomed and trained to assume a job role in present and future, and therefore the trainability of an employee is crucial for the development of Human Resources. Employees that are trainable are always ready to learn and have the requisite motivation and ability, which can be aligned with the goals of an organization and the HRD initiative's objectives.

Trainability and HRD

The set of planned and systematic activities, which are designed and implemented by any organization for providing the employees/members an opportunity to learn new skills necessary for carrying out their job responsibilities is termed as Human Resource Development. Learning forms the core element of HRD, and also relates to trainability. Trainability is one of the personal characteristics of a trainee or learner, others being Attitude and Personality. Trainability is the readiness of the trainee towards learning and combines his or her motivation and ability with the perception that the employee has of the work environment. No learning would take place if the trainee does not have an ability to learn or is devoid or deficient in motivation. Therefore evaluation of trainability is critical for an HRD initiative or program to be effective and successful. Trainability also depends on the perception of an employee in the work environment. Little or no learning takes place if the employee does not perceive the work environment positively, as the employees will not be motivated to stay in the organization, perform better, or become a part of it. Therefore trainability is not only a function and characteristic of an individual but also reflects the potency of the work environment towards making an HRD initiative or program successful. Evaluation of trainability will also help the human resource manager improve the work environment and working conditions, and provide for a successful and effective HRD initiative.

Options Available To Assess The Trainability Of Employees

All individuals may not possess each of the mastery traits of his/her personality. Some qualities may be stronger than the others, while an important one may also be missing. It is not possible for a Human Resource department to find an employee who's personality trait matches exactly what is desired for the job role. But finding a candidate whose personality, attitude, and trainability matches the job role is quite possible. For assessing the trainability of the employees, some of the options available to human resource managers are given below.

Psychological Interview and Tests

These tests may try to access the actual performance of the employees through interviews and/or tests. Employees who possess better intellectual level, a higher IQ, creativity, and innovative have greater training potential. A psychological test may also probe aspects including adaptability, flexibility, eagerness, enthusiasm, perseverance, and integrity among others, which also impacts the trainability of the employees.

Age Evaluation

The age of the employees may also be evaluated to know more about trainability capability. Individuals having a younger age are trainable to a greater extent and are also more moldable and transformable.

Evaluating Social And Economic Background

Employees from financially strong backgrounds may lag behind those from economically weaker sections. Employees from deprived sections of the society may value the new opportunities more, and therefore can be more motivated, while those from better sections of the society already have a very these opportunities, and therefore possess lesser motivation. Therefore, the latter section of candidates/employees may not benefit much from training.

Motivation

The degree of motivation a candidate has and the kind of attitude he or she possesses (optimistic or pessimistic) may also impact the extent to which he or she is trainable. A psychological test may also reveal the mindset of candidates and employees.

Characteristics Of The Training Program

The characteristics and design of the training program itself impact the trainability of the candidates, therefore extraction should be evaluated carefully for assessing the trainability. For instance, an employee/candidate will be more trainable when he/she faces a long duration training that is less severe when compared with the highly intense training of short duration. The subject matter and areas around which the training program is developed and its familiarity with the employees, the efficiency or expertise of the trainers and other factors may also impact the trainability of employee.

Employee’s Professional And Academic Background

The academic background of the employees may bring to him/her analytical and other learning capabilities. He may also gain certain skills or personality features during his/her professional tenures. The trainability of the employees can also be assessed therefore by evaluating the academic and professional backgrounds.