Activity Areas of HRD

Introduction
Human Resource Development is a continuous process and comprehensive system
by itself. So every management has to develop its workers in order to develop the
organization. HRD in its turn, not solely but almost entirely is dependent upon
workers training. Every organization, big or small, productive or non-productive
economic or social, old or new, should train all the workers irrespective of their
qualification, skill, knowledge suitability of job. Thus, no organization can choose
whether or not to train workers of shopfloor level.
HRD mechanisms with different focus and purpose
S. No Activity Area Focus Purpose

1 Training Learning of present job Improved performance on

the present job of the
workers

2 Education Learning of other related Preparation of the

job workers for related jobs in
not too distant future

3 Development Learning – of not related to General growth of the

any specific present or workers.
future job
Three broad areas in which training may be imparted are technical behavioral
and conceptual. It is commonly believed that the rank and file workers need
training in the technical area only. Training in other two areas is not very useful
for them. But recent experiences of many Indian Companies, have shown that
behavioral training to workers produces several useful results such as:
1) improvement in workers behavior with their superior and peers.
2) Development of “we” feeling instead of “I”.
3) Decrease in the habit of hiding one’s own mistakes and highlighting others’
mistakes.
4) Increased interest in suggestion scheme.
5) Increased awareness of family needs and more interest in family affairs.
 Significance of HRD activities
The significance of HRD arises from the basic principle that, people
constitute the active resources of every organization, indeed of every
nation who really determine the efficiency of utilization of all other
sources- physical and financial.

The HRD activities are also important because –

i) It helps in the integrated growth of workers.
ii) It helps workers to know their strength and weaknesses and enable
them to improve their performance and that of organizations.
With liberalization of the Indian economy, changes are taking place in the
corporate sector. There is a pressure on Indian industry to produce quality
products and provide quality services. With increased competition, there is a
need to become cost effective and efficient. There is also a need to improve
technologies both in manufacturing and services. Organizations therefore, have
to upgrade their work methods, work norms, technical and managerial skills and
workers motivation to face the challenges of globalization. This can be achieved
by ‘training programme’ under HRD activities.
 Training
According to L.L.STEINMETZ “TRAINING is short term process utilizing a
systematic and organized procedure by which non managing personnel learn
technical knowledge and skill for definite purpose”.

The efficiency of an organization depends directly on the capability and talent of

its personnel, and how motivated they are. Capability of a person depends on
his ability to work and the type of training he receives. While his personal
capability is evaluated through proper selection procedure, his training is taken
care of by the organization after he has been employed by the organization.
• Since training inputs may vary from on-the-job experience to off-the-job
training, most of the organizations undertake some kind of training for their
employees. In Indian organizations, training and development activities have
assumed high importance in recent years because of their contributions to the
achievement of organizational objectives.

• Training is a tool to improve effectiveness; it is a plan deliberate learning

process in broader sense. Training is thus an avenue for the growth of the
organization.

• Training is a process of attitudinal change that integrates with life work and self
development. It could be a useful aid in improving the transformation process
that takes place in an organization in terms of the processing of inputs to
outputs.
 Employee Development
• By focusing on effective development activities, managers and leaders
can tap into their employees' talents and strengths. While this sounds
easy, think about this quote from Marcus Buckingham: "Most people do
not use their talent, at work, at all." Pause and think about that statement
for 10 seconds.

• Many companies provide access to e-learning on topics including project

management, software training and technical skills. Some will also
provide reimbursement for their employees to attend professional
conferences or certifications externally. While these are important and
can be effective in some aspects of development, I often remind leaders
that on the job development accounts for up to 75% of effective learning.
Whether you are in any type of leadership role and have responsibility for a
team or are looking to take charge of your career growth, here are 7
approaches to development that will deliver the best growth and impact:

Stretch assignments and projects: Think about what special

assignments might exist in the coming months and who on your team
would benefit from serving on a cross functional team while developing
additional skills.

Job Enrichment: These opportunities typically exist internally that will

benefit an employee's current role, while creating additional ways to
develop. Examples could include presentations at team meetings, joining a
diversity committee or volunteering.
Mentoring or Coaching: Whether or not your company has a formal
mentoring program, start small. Mentoring and coaching provides
demonstrated benefits around quality of work, problem solving and
communication skills.

Job Shadowing: Job shadowing can be a great way for your employees
to learn critical elements of other jobs, while further developing in their
own. It is also a great way for employees to more formally explore
potential career opportunities internally, yet outside of their current job.

Job Rotation: Providing an opportunity for your team to move and rotate
through one or more positions is another great strategy in employee
development. Rotations can last for days, months, or even a year or two.
Lateral move: Typically with a lateral move an employee takes on a
different position with the same salary grade and similar level of
responsibilities. In addition to retaining employees longer, the real benefit
of a lateral move provides new challenges and skill development.

Promotions: When executed with the right plan, promoting your

employees into a new position is another way to reward great
performance, develop skills and increase motivations.
Developing individual leaders Traditionally, leadership development has
focused on developing the leadership abilities and attitudes of
individuals.

Different personal trait and characteristics can help or hinder a person's

leadership effectiveness and require formalized programs for developing
leadership competencies.

Classroom-style training and associated reading for leadership

development may ail from the possible divergence between knowing w
hat to do and doing what one knows; management expert Henry
Mintzberg is one person to highlight this dilemma. It is estimated that as
little as 15% of learning from traditional classroom-style training results in
Sustained behavioral changes within workplaces.
• The success of leadership development efforts has been linked to three
variables:

Individual learner characteristics

Quality and nature of the leadership development

program

Support for behavioral change from the leader's

supervisor
For Example: Military officer training academies, such as the Royal
Military Academy Sandhurst, go to great lengths to accept only
candidates who show the highest potential to lead well. Personal
characteristics that are associated with successful leadership
development include leader motivation to learn, a high achievement drive
and personality traits such as openness to experience, an internal focus
of control, and self-monitoring.

In order to develop individual leaders, supervisors or superiors must

conduct an individual assessment.
 Education
Individuals may enhance their academic and professional knowledge by studying
in formal educational institutions for various degrees and diplomas. These should
be relevant to and necessitated by the organisations growth. The organisation will
decide on the person(s) to be going through formal education.

Future is always changing, it many a times is unpredictable and hence become

more challenging. We must develop each individual who will be able to cope with
the change, who will be flexible and will be adaptive. Education is an effective
weapon in preparing such people.