Back To Course
Professional in Human Resources - International (PHRi): Exam Prep & Study Guide11 chapters | 101 lessons | 8 flashcard sets
Steve holds a Ph.D. in Education and works as the Regional Training Director for Airgas, LLC and Adjunct Professor at Western Washington University.
Today's companies utilize traditional methods of training employees, like through live instruction and mentoring, while leveraging technology through online education.
Those online methods include the learning management system (LMS), which is giving information and education to employees through online learning. This training might be similar to the online studying you're doing now!
The two traditional methods discussed in this lesson are mentoring, and instructor led training (ILT). The ILT provides in-class instruction through hands-on activities and one-on-one or group-based dissemination of information. The blended learning method is a mix between the LMS and the ILT.
Mentoring is the most classic technique, with its roots in apprenticeship programs. Mentoring gives the learner on-the-job training and knowledge that the mentor passes on to the less experienced employee.
When deciding on the training or learning method, one should consider the quality and availability of a learning program, the time allowed to learn a particular job or task, and cost factors required to educate the learner into their new position. A company may use a combination of these, and more strategies, to ensure newly hired, repositioned, or promoted employees have the depth of knowledge and understanding necessary to do their jobs.
The learning management system also known as the LMS gives an organization a source of education available at any time an employee needs it, since we all know access to a computer is pervasive in the workplace! Many organizations do not own the LMS; they purchase a license from a source that operates and maintains the learning management system for them. The company utilizing an LMS offers online instruction to the employee on topics like safety, administrative requirements, or job-related education using a laptop or computer terminal.
An example of a course an employee can take through the LMS is an annual requirement to recertify their knowledge about safety protocols. The successful completion of the online course provides the employee with a certificate of completion to be placed in their employee training record. Assuming the quality of the online courseware and its ability to communicate information and processes adequately, the LMS is a more cost-effective method of training, allowing the employee access to instruction at work using their company computer.
The LMS has captured the attention of companies wanting to save money training employees due to costs related to training time, plus potential expensive travel and food costs.
Instructor led training had been the primary method used for teaching employees in the workplace long before the LMS came along. While the LMS is certainly useful, the ILT gives employees the necessary hands-on activity required for many critical tasks performed in the workplace.
For example, assume a new employee needs to learn how to drive a forklift. Driving a forklift is considered a critical task for most organizations. The new employee will be paired with their supervisor or a peer who is certified to drive the forklift, and they will give the new employee the hands-on experience necessary to drive the forklift safely.
Instructor led training is not just for teaching physical skill like this. The seminar style that often characterizes ILT may allow for group discussion, classroom learning activities, and even fun activities like role playing, related to any work topic.
There is one more method that an employee could use for learning how to drive a forklift, the blended learning method. This method uses the best parts of both online learning and hands-on training. Continuing with our forklift training example, an employee would first take the online forklift course and follow it up with a hands-on training activity led by an experienced forklift operator. The blended learning method has proved to be an efficient and cost-effective method of education and learning for organizations requiring employees to learn critical tasks.
Mentoring today is much the same as the apprenticeship programs of old. For example, the silversmith or blacksmith would teach the younger apprentice their craft through an on-the-job learning experience. Although age or gender is not necessarily applicable in many cases, mentoring operates pretty much the same way as an apprenticeship program. The purpose of the mentoring relationship is to pair a more skilled person, called the mentor, with a lesser skilled person, known as the mentee, guiding the mentee toward obtaining the specific skills and abilities demonstrated by the mentor.
An example today in the workplace includes new hires being on-boarded into the organization and paired with an experienced employee. A similar example might be an employee who receives a job change or promotion requiring a mentor to guide them through the various programs or processes essential to their new position.
Organizations today enjoy a variety of efficient and cost effective methods to deliver knowledge and hands-on learning to their employees. While the learning management system (LMS) will provide online education offering a dependable and relatively inexpensive method to give knowledge to the employee, utilizing the instructor-led training (ILT) and mentoring style of instruction delivers the needed hands-on activity crucial for learning critical tasks. However, the organization that makes use of the blended learning method, including both online and live instruction, will give their employees a higher quality and more cost-effective method of learning for those who are newly hired, promoted, and require recertification.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Already a member? Log In
BackAlready registered? Login here for access
Did you know… We have over 160 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level.
To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page
Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Study.com has thousands of articles about every imaginable degree, area of study and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you.
Back To Course
Professional in Human Resources - International (PHRi): Exam Prep & Study Guide11 chapters | 101 lessons | 8 flashcard sets