You Manage It! 1: Technology/Social Media Social Media and Workplace Training
As discussed in the Manager’s Notebook, “From Removing Deficiencies to Improving Capability: The Changing Nature of Training,” the use of social media has the potential to significantly change the delivery of training in organizations. Traditionally, training has been focused on delivering a structured experience to employees so that all know how to properly perform tasks. The traditional approach grew out of the typical workplace in which jobs were defined and repetitious, and there was an identifiable right way of doing the tasks. A job on a production line provides an example of such a job.
Today, jobs can be more dynamic and involve less repetition. In a customer service setting, for example, it can be difficult to anticipate what complaint or problem a customer may confront an employee with. It may not be possible to identify every possible scenario and then train employees on the exact steps to follow in each situation. Additional examples of more dynamic workplaces include jobs that are project-based and workplaces that experience fast-paced change due to factors such as changing technology or changes in the marketplace.
As discussed in the Manager’s Notebook, the more dynamic the workplace, the more it may make sense to deliver training when it is needed by employees. In a dynamic environment, rather than providing structured training aimed at removing present or anticipated deficiencies, the use of technology such as social media can provide helpful direction to employees precisely when they need it.
Critical Thinking Questions
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8-13. The traditional training approach is meant to remove a deficit. The use of social media in training can shift the impact of training to supporting performance. Which approach do you think is better? Explain.
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8-14. The use of social media allows training to be on demand and available when needed. Can you still apply the four levels of training evaluation (reaction, learning, application, and financial return) to this type of training? Describe.
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8-15. Can both the traditional deficit-reduction approach to training and the social media style of training be useful in the same organization? Describe.
Team Exercise
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8-16. Join your teammates and develop your approach to using social media to deliver training. What features would your approach have? For example, would you use a collaborative Facebook-like approach? Why or why not?
Experiential Exercise: Team
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8-17. As a team, consider the following two situations:
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1. You are the manager of a business unit in which the jobs are production oriented, workers are not highly skilled, and the strategic focus is on reliability and quality.
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2. You are the manager of a business unit in which the jobs are customer-service oriented, workers are carefully selected and fairly skilled, and the strategic focus is on competing through innovation and customer service.
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a. As a manager in each of these situations, describe the approach to training that you think would be best. Why do you think your approach would be best?
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b. Describe the steps you would take to develop effective training in each situation.
Share your recommended approaches and steps with the rest of the class.
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c. Do your training approaches in the two situations differ in purpose/goals? Do they differ in how the training is delivered? Describe.
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Experiential Exercise: Individual
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8-18. A workplace situation may be dynamic, but deficiencies in performance can still occur. For example, a selection error might occur and a worker may not have a needed skill. Or, equipment or procedures may be substantially changed.
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a. Identify basic causes for deficiencies in performance. Which of these deficiencies can be improved or eliminated through training?
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b. Finally, given a dynamic environment, how would you approach the deficiencies that can be reduced through training?
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