Investing in employee training and development makes them more productive and effective in their jobs, which directly contributes to the bottomline of an organization. The training programs are often focused on team or individual performance. In order to be fully effective, there is need for training and management development programs adopted by an organization to factor in that the employees are adult learners (Wentland, 2006). This necessitates the application of adult learning theory in training of employees. This paper is about how a Human Resource Manager can effectively integrate the theory of adult learning in training employees on a new payroll system adopted by the organization.
The theory of adult learning is based on five principles: (i) adults need be in the know of the reason they learning something, (ii) adults must be self-directed, (iii) adults would bring more work-related experiences into the present learning situation, (iv) adults come into a learning situation with a problem-centered approach, and (v) adults are inspired to learn through both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators (Wentland, 2006). A problem-centered approach implies that employers would learn much better in instances where the advantage of the learning to their performance is evident.
A number of changes would be necessary to make the HRM training session on the new payroll system more effective and appreciable by the employees. First, I would take the initiative to establish any prerequisites that the trainees require so as to successfully complete the training program before embarking on walk them through the working mechanism of the payroll system (Wentland, 2006). In this regard, I would first strive to acknowledge the unique attributes of the adult learners so as to be in a better position to integrate the necessary principles of adult learning when designing the tutorial instructions of the new payroll system.
In addition, there would be need to explain to the adult trainees the reason why they are being taught the new payroll concept and the direct relevance or application to their current situation at the company. This translates that the orientation of the entire learning experience would be problem-centered as opposed to subject/content-oriented. Given that adults learn through experience, I would provide sufficient opportunities to the trainees to experience the new payroll system and discuss or thoroughly review the training materials basing on their own experiences. I would take care to appreciate the different learning levels and experience of the adult trainees. As such, it would be paramount to afford the trainees sufficient reflection or think time to practice, critique, and offer feedback during the training session itself as opposed to designating the question-answer session at the end (Wentland, 2006). The adults would enough time to contemplate the consequences of the new payroll system to their own experiences and responsibilities at the company.
In conclusion, the adult learning theory is best-placed to teach employees about introduction and mechanism of the new payroll system within the organization. Therefore, training would be based on valid needs of the adult workers. Reasons for learning would be provided along with the perceived benefits of the learning situation. All activities would be based on real work experiences as relates to the problems the employees meet during pay time at the company, which has necessitated the adoption of the new pay system.
Reference:
Wentland, D. (2006). Strategic Training of Employees. United States: Human Resource Development.
