Training Needs Assessment And Development For McDonald's Employees

Training Needs Assessment

Discuss human resouce development Application for Effectivness and Efficiency.

It is highly important for an organization to conduct a need assessment test because in order to understand the purpose of training, identify the personnel involved and then determine the way, in which its performance can be enhanced. Therefore, it can be noted that conducting a training needs assessment is highly essential as it enables the organization to protect its assets and effectively utilize the time as well as resources for addressing the issues related to training. Hence, for an organization to conduct need assessment, it must gather relevant information first and then analyze it, thereby creating an effective training plan to conduct its delivery sessions (Barbazette, 2006). Therefore, this part of the assignment aims at critically analyzing the training plan and training delivery session that is considered in the case of McDonald's. Furthermore, it encompasses brief information about the needs assessment considering its key elements, especially the task and person analyses. Moreover, information regarding the design of the training session, implementation as well as evaluation of the training session plan is also provided in details.

Identification of Training needs

In the case of McDonalds, it has been found in part A that, the company provided only oral training to the newly hired employees. Hence, a proper training and development program has been suggested for the employees of the company. In this context, Kelley (2012) reported that the company has been recently generating negative reputation considering their labor practices. It has also been found that the company makes their employees work even in holidays. Moreover, they do not get fair payment in case of overtime (Kelley, 2012). Additionally, the company hires people of age 21 and above for management purposes, mainly aiming to recruit young people (Business Case Studies LLP, 2018). Therefore, it can be opined that in order to generate optimum quality of services from these young recruits, proper training session plan can mandatorily be implemented, apart from the oral training that they received in their work premises.

Training Objectives

According to Vinesh (2014), the key objective of a training and development program is to create a learning environment in the organization, thereby ensuring that the employees are effectively performing their roles and responsibilities, thereby integrating with the changes in the workplace. This will not only enable the organization to maintain a competitive edge in the market but also enhance growth and productivity in the long run (Vinesh, 2014). In consideration of the training needs of the company, there are various objectives, which must be met by developing a training plan for implementing its delivery session accordingly. One of the training objectives is to train the young employees in such a way, which will build their confidence. Another objective is to make the employees increase the feeling of responsibility towards betterment and profitability of the company. In addition, improving the performance and increasing awareness on the working environment thereby enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of the employees largely.

Designing the Training Delivery Session

Organizational Analysis

According to Noe (2008), there are three elements that need to be considered at the time of needs assessment namely, organizational, person-oriented and task analyses. With regards to the organizational analysis, a detailed examination of strategic direction, support of the personnel in the organization such as managers and training resource availability must be considered (Noe, 2008). Hence, in the context of McDonalds, it has been decided to take strategic decisions to enhance the experience of the employees by creating a favourable environment so that they are satisfied with the facilities such as the provisions of fair wages, trainings and flexible hours (AdFx, 2006). Hence, it can also be stated that it has considered strategic directions for improving the performance of the employees by targeting their satisfaction level and availing them proper training facilities. Considering the resources that are available for the purpose of training, the company usually invested above £36 million every year. In addition, the training activities are generally supported by the employment experts. However, the company considers on-the-job training in the restaurant itself such as apprenticeship and allows the employees to study online for acquiring their educational degrees (McDonald's, 2014). This shows that the company has adequate financial resources, time and human resources to support an effective training program.

Person Analysis

This type of analysis enables an organization to identify the employees, who require training on the basis of the level of performance, changes in the roles or technological advancements (Noe, 2008). In this aspect, McDonalds principally needs to train the newly recruited employees to possess proper knowledge and understanding of the working conditions and the required level of performance.

Task Analysis

This analysis must examine the work activities in the organization so that the performance of the employees can be enhanced in accordance with the requirement of their jobs so that they can carry out their tasks effectively (Noe, 2008). In this context, the company mainly recruits young people at almost every level of the organization structure. Hence, there may be possibilities that they do not have adequate skills or experience to complete their assigned tasks. Therefore, the training plan must target freshers to comply with the needs and requirements of the job roles.

Designing the Training Delivery Session

According to Silber and Foshay (2009), for designing a training session, determining an appropriate practice schedule is a primary requirement. Hence, considering the first principle, it can be stated for initial learning that, blocked practice is the most appropriate, wherein the employees lack motivation, skills and competence to handle their job roles. On the other hand, for retaining and transferring employees, variable or spaced practice would be appropriate. Moreover, for the employees who have high motivation, must be trained through decision practice. It was further stated that explicit instructions must be given to the fresher trainees. Focusing on the trainees by the internal members of the organization is an important principle as well. Furthermore, performance feedback is also essential for developing skills in the early stages of the career. The organizations can also use artificial simulation techniques for the purpose of giving feedback such as verbal comments especially for the beginners (Silber and Foshay, 2009). Understanding all these aspects, an appropriate training plan can be developed. The training plan named ‘Fresher Training’ involved three stages and was estimated to be undertaken within three days, one day for each stage considering the purpose of the orientation, presentation and practical implementation. Head of the franchise store, two superior managers and one trainer was also involved in the team that was responsible for the training activities.

Orientation

Orientation

According to McArdle (2015), orientation is the basic and preliminary stage of any training program, which is usually provided by the companies. This may involve verbal explanations of the company and its environment (McArdle, 2015).In the McDonalds context, the first step in the training session is orientation, wherein a group of 10 participants are selected at a time to provide a brief knowledge about the organization. The main aspects to be conveyed in this step are regarding the working culture and procedures in the company. Besides, the organizational representatives have the potential to know more about the newly hired recruits in this stage of the training session.

Field Visit

For effectively designing the training session, the organizations must avoid over planning and enable flexibility in the process such that necessary changes can be implemented as and when required (McArdle, 2015). Therefore, in the second day of the training session, managers and trainers provided basic information about the operations and functioning of the daily activities in the company. During this session, skills such as delivering effective customer services, communication and handling the customers in crucial conditions were taught. However, at the end of the session, the trainees were allowed to visit the workplace for observing the daily scenario. This session not only developed specific skills within the trainees but also provided them with the real scenarios, in which those skills could effectively be used in the workplace itself.

Practical Experience

In accordance with Simmonds (2003), it is vital for an employee to tackle all the difficulties that may be faced in the workplace. Hence, practical intelligence and the ability of a person to act smartly at the time of any difficult situation is an important attribute (Simmonds, 2003). Therefore, keeping this aspect into consideration, the trainees are exposed to real scenarios, wherein the trainers and the managers can understand the development of the trainees. In this session, the practical application of the theories learned must be executed by the trainees, thereby showcasing their work efficiency, skills, capabilities and knowledge in the workplace. This session is the final stage wherein the theoretical understanding and practical application of the trainees will be put to test.

Time Allocation

In the design stage, it was evident that the session lasted for 3 days but the time allotted for each group of trainees for every activity has been further discussed. In the first stage i.e. orientation, questions about the company is asked within one hour. Then their ability is assessed within the next two hours of training, followed by providing them information on the working procedures in the preceding two hours. It can thus be noted that each step has been carried forth within 5 hours. Thereafter, the second step i.e. field visit is initiated by providing basic information about the menu, orders customer services and situation handling, which needs to be completed within one hour each. This is followed by the final activity that comprises the trainees getting to know their workplace through a short tour. The last and final step of the process entails the practical one, which is completed in the next day itself. In this step, the trainees are provided with an opportunity to showcase their skills while practically working for two hours in the workplace. Thereafter, trainers and the organizational representatives evaluate the performance of the trainees, while they showcased their work efficiency by applying their capabilities and theoretical knowledge gained from the training sessions. At the end of the session, the trainees gather practical knowledge about the issues and difficulties that they face within the workplace.

Resources

The resources available for this training plan comprise financial, time and human resources. Considering the financial resources, the budget allocated for this plan was £1 million with the human resources who are engaged in the plan are the trainer, two managers and the head of the workplace. These were the personnel who collaboratively put their efforts to plan, develop and implement the training session for the freshers of McDonalds. In the context of time, 5 hours each day was allocated for completing the entire plan.

Evaluation Criteria

There are various evaluation criteria for a task of motivation in a training session. These may be satisfaction level of the trainees, complaints and their dedication. Moreover, enhancement of confidence among the trainees can also be one of the evaluation criteria (Kirkpatrick, 2009). In the Fresher’s Training context, the most appropriate criteria for evaluation were the dedication, satisfaction, confidence levels of the trainees according to which the new employees were selected for the company.

Evaluation Design

Evaluating the effectiveness of training is an important aspect considered in New World Kirkpatrick Model of ADDIE. It can thus be suggested that evaluation must be carried forth after every stage of the plan rather than implementing only at the end. In every stage i.e. in analysis, designing, development and implementation, the evaluation must be done so that necessary changes can take place immediately (Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick, 2016). Therefore, in the McDonalds context, evaluation was considered in every stage of the plan, wherein the evaluators were the two managers and the Head of the Store was the supervisor. Feedback of the trainees was taken into consideration after every stage so that they could effectively perform for the organizations’ profitability.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Therefore, it can be concluded that for McDonalds to improve the efficiency of the company, the employees must be trained not only in the verbal context but also through rigorous training as well as theoretical and practical sessions. Hence, it can be recommended that considering evaluation at every stage is mandatory and only with the availability of proper support of finances, time and human resources, a training session can be effectively planned, designed, developed and implemented for the betterment of the organization.

References

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Barbazette, J. (2006). Training needs assessment: Methods, tools, and techniques (Vol. 1). US: John Wiley & Sons.

Business Case Studies LLP. (2018). Recruiting, selecting and training for success: A McDonalds restaurants case study. Retrieved from https://businesscasestudies.co.uk/McDonaldss-restaurants/recruiting-selecting-and-training-for-success/training-at-McDonaldsrestaurants-limited.html

Kelley, L. (2012). The 7 worst things about McDonalds. Retrieved from https://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/7-worst-things-about-McDonalds

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McDonald's. (2014). What kind of training do you provide?. Retrieved May 28, 2018, from https://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/whatmakesmcdonalds/questions/work-with-us/training/what-kind-of-training-do-you-provide.html

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