The Violet Group, Marketing and Management

Group members:
Gundars Riekstiņš, Insurance company “Rigas Slimokase”;
Daiga Kamerāde, Riga University of Pedagogy; Ivars Kauss, Lattelekom Assessment centre; Sandra Pallo; Lattelekom Assessment centre

How to Increase the Effectiveness of Training

Organizations usually decide about training because:

• There is a large supply of different courses and seminars from outside and the management just cope with the demand and choose appropriate courses;
  
• Employees want to learn something new;
  
• The management believes that training will improve motivation and job performance.

When organisations decide about training, there are usually some questions which need the answer: who? how? The third and the most important question sometimes is missed – why?

The question “Why?” is the main issue in decisions about training, because without an answer to the question, training will not be so effective as it should be.

Some suggestions why companies need training in order:

• To train and adapt new employees for the workplace;
  
• To improve performance;
  
• To introduce new policies, procedures, legislation etc.;
  
• To find new leaders;
  
• To achieve the organisation’s goals and objectives.

To fulfil their needs the organisations use different types of training:

• Internal training;
  
• External training;
  
• Formal and non-formal education;
  
• Self-education.

Suggestions how to increase the effectiveness of training:

• Set training objectives;
  
• Compare training objectives with company’s goals;
  
• Set criteria for training;
  
• Choose appropriate training methods;
  
• Measure the training effectiveness.

Our group visited two companies in Denmark, which have well-developed and effective training procedures.

Insurance Company CODAN
The company has a well-structured training scheme, which allows employees to be trained effectively.

Training for New Employees
Selection of employees. The company makes a careful selection of new employees in order to avoid later problems. This gives an opportunity to select the right people, who identify themselves with the company.

Intro-seminar. Once every two months the company organises a seminar for the new staff and introduces them to the company’s history, corporation’s partners and private insurance. This is a two-day seminar.

Basic insurance training course – for beginners. After this course they start to work in the private insurance sector. If necessary, somebody helps the new employees to use the Phone handling service. The content of the training programmes is based on the questions to Phone handling service and Claims by phones.

Training Process

• Training materials are given before (on the INTERNET) the training course (usually 1–2 months) and participants are able to prepare.
  
• Before the actual seminar participants should carry out one or two tests.
  
• Participants coming to the seminar are prepared and the seminar trainer knows the issues and questions that are still unclear to the participants.
  
• After the training course there is a test with 36 questions or analysis of a situation lasting 3–4 hours. If participants do not pass the test, they have to repeat the training. The programme consists of 3 courses (length 3 –5 days):
  Private insurance;
  Sales;
  Life insurance & PC.

Appraisal Interview
Once a year the employees have an appraisal interview. All managers who evaluate their subordinates have to attend a one-day seminar about the appraisal interview.
The structure of the interview is as follows:

• Retrospect (fields of responsibility / tasks, job development, training and education);
  
• Evaluation (All managers must evaluate the employees on the bases of the set of central management competences which support the core values of the company);
  
• Planning (a job development plan, a training plan, personal development plan);
  
• Management;
  
• Your workplace (questions relating to the workplace in general);
  
• Appendix (Training information, management competences);

How to Measure the Effectiveness of Learning and Teaching

TDC Services (Tele Denmark Company)
The emphasis at the company is on its employees. Having proud and responsible employees is one of the central values at TDC and further training is seen as a means of reaching that objective.

Main Learning Points:

• Extensive use of internal trainers;
  
• Training of internal trainers;
  
• Needs-based training of employees;
  
• Effective measurement of learning and teaching.

Internal Trainers
There are approximately 18,000 employees working for the company. TDC has developed a training system which encourages its employees to work as a trainers. Approximately 600–700 employees are internal trainers. For 80% of their work time they work at their basic workplace, 20% – as internal trainers. The salary for the training time is slightly higher than for basic work-place activities.

Training of Internal Trainers
Before the selected employees start as trainers they have extensive training. The company pursues the following skills model:

• To know about;
  
• To be able to;
  
• To master, have control over;
  
• To instruct.

The content of the training modules is based on the results of analyses of the participants’ satisfaction with the training courses.
Trainers are trained in 3 modules:

• Presentation skills (3 days);
  
• Psychological and pedagogical elements (2 × 5 days), preparing one’s own teaching session;
  
• After 3–4 months the follow-up training module – how to use one’s own experience and education in the training process (2 days). Participants then carry out their own training session.

Later additional training courses for trainers are:

• Course development and evaluation (2 days);
  
• IT tools (3 days);
  
• Company brands – E-learning.

Needs-based Training of Employees
Vision of the company
All activities at TDC focus on the company vision. All training of employees is organised so as to attain the company’s vision and main objectives.

Competence development and training
The main educational activities at the company focus on the development of the competences necessary for achieving the company objectives.

Employee development interview
Regular activity which allows competences of an employee to be assessed, indicate gaps in skills and knowledge, and suggest improvements.

Evaluation & Effect Measurement
The company policy is to secure a steady, structured and measurable knowledge of results, and effects of educational activities. The goal is:

• To secure the intended training quality;
  
• To secure, and develop a high level of learning, and growth of knowledge;
  
• To secure a high degree of relevance concerning the training and the contents of training;
  
• To secure a high degree of relevance concerning the contents of the job situation;
  
• To secure a profitable transfer of knowledge into change of job behaviour;
  
• To secure a top quality of training from the external vendors;
  
• To provide Tele Denmark Instructors with an optimum of evaluation possibilities.

Assessment
Assessment is based mostly on testing participants’ knowledge before and after the training by filling in the same test. The biggest challenge in the process is convincing the participants not to guess in order to avoid the paradox of showing better results before training than after it. The second test is done slightly before the end of the seminar. It allows the trainer to recognise the unclear topics and to explain them once more before the end of the seminar.

Learning Histogram
The answers to both tests are compared and the learning histogram is designed. The two main points – the effect of learning and index of teaching – are calculated. “Effect” shows how much has been learned (as a percentage). “Index” shows how much knowledge (from the 100% possible) has been obtained by participants and is used to assess the trainer. TDC also uses a questionnaire to assess the process of training, for example, satisfaction with a teacher, accommodation, food, topics of training, relevance to work situation, etc.

Feedback
Feedback is given to each participant and shows the participant’s progress. It is an individual feed-back without a group comparison. This is a trade union requirement.

How to Use Adult Education

As a mean of social rehabilitation for unemployed persons and people who risk losing their jobs?

Study visit and discussion at AOF Denmark, Workers Study Association, meeting with John Steen Johansen. The discussion on adult education programmes for work–places, at work–places, further training programmes.
New experience:

• Teaching methods are very important for Adult educators and they should be trained for that;
  
• General training courses must be linked to real work (example of the language training linked to participants’ real environment needs);
  
• It is important for adults to increase their basic general level of education, especially for low-skilled workers.

Transferring the Acquired Knowledge to Project Group and AE Organisations

The Marketing and management (Violet) group prepared a presentation for the project group and the representatives from Latvian AE organisations. This took place on 17–18 December, 2002 in Riga. The marketing group together with AE representatives visited Lattelekom’s call centre and were introduced to the selection procedure of the new employees and the training process of call operators.
The Marketing plan for the Latvian Adult educators training programme was presented to the group.
Main learning points from the seminar:

• It is possible to make use of international experience in Latvia. Lattelekom assessment centre has already introduced the main principles of the measurement system implemented at TDC Denmark;
  
• Careful selection of employees provides a good basis for effective training.

Conclusions

For larger organisations it is useful to establish an internal training centre. This contributes to the reduction of training costs. It also raises the motivation of employees who work as internal trainers on a part-time basis and raises the overall level of knowledge in the company. Having one’s own training centre contributes to the increased effectiveness of training.
The selection of employees is the first step towards effective training, because by selecting the right people further training will be more effective.
The employees’ appraisal interviews, if correctly used, are a valuable source of information for necessary training.
If possible, it is useful to prepare the information for participants and test their knowledge before the seminar. This can increase the effectiveness of training.
Sophisticated measurement systems should be used (if possible) to provide measurable quality of training and knowledge.
Adult Education organisations can provide help to companies regarding the training of employees, especially those employees who risk being made redundant.

The group has its first meeting – 26–30 June, 2002 in Lithuania, Druskinenkai, arranged by the Lithuanian Adult Education Association and with Vidutė Ališauskaitė as a coordinator.

All the members of the group took part in the session. Each one made a presentation of a subject for the Lithuanian background-group and themselves and got analysed video feed-back on their own work with an audience, from background group, own group and tutors. The method that was used for analysis is called the Delta video feedback method.

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