Human Resource Development (HRD) is a practice that combines training, organizational development, and career development efforts to encourage improvement of individual, group, and organizational performance.  Its purpose is to enhance employee performance and productivity, which leads to employee and customer satisfaction and an increase in the profitability of the organization.

At all levels of human resource development, the importance of training and development cannot be ruled out. Human resource development professionals are necessary to carry out programs dealing with instructions and professional development for workers. The attitude of management towards training has been changing over the years. Today training is viewed as an important and effective mechanism which helps in raising the quality of the workforce. This helps in the achievement of the organization’s strategic objectives. Training is seen as a service to the worker. However, since it gains benefits for the organization itself, its importance as a strategic tool cannot be discarded.

Training and developing the employees, keeping them motivated to propel and advance further and updated with the industry and the upcoming and present technologies, is essential to achieve the organization’s plans and goals.

Bridging the Gap with Training and Development

Organizations usually engage in training and development in order to bridge the gap between actual work and expectations as identified by performance appraisals. Other reasons may include developing an internal benchmark for desired performance levels, continued professional development, to mitigate succession risk, to serve as a tool for testing performance management, or to provide valuable operating instructions with regard to a business activity.

Reasons Employees Require Training

Usually, employees require training with respect to certain key areas. These include Communications (to overcome linguistic barriers), Computer skills (for effectively managing office responsibilities), Customer service (to help employees understand the needs of the client and discover ways to solve them), Diversity (to encourage the acceptance of varying ideas and/or values), Ethics (to ensure the highest possible code of conduct) Human relations (to encourage a better perspective with regard to coping with work pressures), Quality initiatives (to provide guidance on ideal standards for products, processes and procedures), Safety (to guide on the measures to be taken to help prevent work and product hazards) and Sexual harassment (to ensure responsive, modest behavior). (Beeby and Rathborn, 1983)

A Proactive Human Resource Development Department

It is essential to have a proactive human resource development department in any organization to help the organization provide healthy, vibrant, ethical and intellectual human capital which uses the other resources (physical and financial) available in the best possible manner thus achieving corporate objectives and goals. Human resource development needs to be part of the overall corporate strategy (strategic human resource development) as the long term growth prospects of any organization are dependent upon the quality of its labor, which can be greatly enhanced through the use of training and development.

By Shirley J. Caruso, M.A., Human Resource Development

References 

Beeby, J.M., and Rathborn, S. 1983. “Development Training – Using the Outdoors in Management Development” Management Education and Development 14 3, 170-181.