CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Training is the organised way in which organisations provide development and enhance quality of new and existing employees. Training is viewed as a systematic approach to learning and development that improves the individual’s, group’s and/organization’s mode of performance (Ekpenyong, 1984). Thus it is the series of activities embarked upon by organisations that lead to knowledge or skills acquisition for growing purposes, thereby contributing to the well being and performance of human capital, organisation, as well as the society at large. Simpson (2002) viewed training as an act of intervention to improve organisation’s goods and services quality in stiff competition by improvements in technical skills of employees.
Thus the success of organisations is dependent on its knowledgeable, skilled as well as experienced workforce. Therefore in order to maintain sustainability, organisations must see continuous employee training and development as valuable ingredient. Training which actually brings about employee performance is very essential and needs utmost attention at all employee levels, due to the reason that skills erode and become obsolete over a period of time and has to be replenished (Afshan et al 2012). However, Goldstein & Ford (2002) viewed training as an instrument that fundamentally affects the successful accomplishment of organizations’ goals and objectives. That is, the optimum goal of every organization is to generate revenue and maximize profit as well as having a vital tool to realize an efficient and effective workforce. Thus a workforce is only efficient and effective if the appropriate training and development is provided for such and therefore leading to productivity.
In employee development, which directly implies acquisition of new knowledge and skills for purpose of growing, organisations must provide employees with development programmes in order to enhance their capabilities, since employee development is gaining an increasingly critical and strategic imperative in organizations in the current business environment (Bartram and Callinan, 2002). Thus organisations need to invest in continuous employee development in order to maintain employees as well as the organisation’s success (Chay and Norman, 2003). That is, training has been invaluable in increasing productivity of organizations. It does not only enhance employees resourcefulness, but also provides them with an opportunity to virtually learn their jobs and perform more competently, thereby increasing not only employees’ productivity but also organizations’ productivity as well as performance. In other words, researches of different kinds indicate the positive impact of training on employees’ productivity. Training as a process is one of the most pervasive methods to enhance the productivity of individuals and communicating organizational goals to personnel (Ying Chu, 2004).
Investing in training employees on decision making, teamwork, problem-solving and interpersonal relations has beneficial impact on the organizations’ level of growth, as well as impacting on employees’ performance. Training affects employees’ behaviours and their working skills which results, into employees enhanced performance as well as constructive changes (Heyes & Stuart, 1996). However, training is the most effective way of motivating and retaining high quality human resources within an organization (Bartram et al 2002). Thus, one major area of the Human Resource Management function which is of particular relevance to the effective use of human resources is training. In order to sustain economic growth and effective performance, it is important to optimize the contribution of employees to the aims and goals of the organization.
The importance of training as a central role of management has long been recognized. In order to contribute uniquely to expected vision, ability and performance of organization, training is necessary to ensure an adequate supply of staff that is technically and socially competent and capable of career development into specialist departments or management positions. Therefore for continual staff development, training fulfils an important part of this process. That is, training should be viewed as an integral part of the process of total quality management.
However, we may add that technological developments and organizational change have gradually led some employers to the realization that success lies in the skills and abilities of their employees through considerable and continuous investment in training and development, but many organizations meet their needs for training in an ad hoc and haphazard way. These type of organizations are more or less unplanned and unsystematic. To avoid this, training must be systematically posed in the organization. This study empirically investigates staff training and employee performance in Guinness Nigeria plc, Edo State to determine the weakness and proffer necessary recommendations. It has been observed that from the last decade Guinness has been one of the fastest growing sectors in Nigeria. This is the result of increasing demand for well trained workforce. The study focuses on staff training and employee performance. That is, for performance, innovativeness and competitiveness to be actualized, the most vital ingredient is workforce’s knowledge and skills. If an organization wants to remain competitive then it has to maintain continuous improvement of its workplace through education, training and technological development. Invariably, employer should know that to attain success demands the enhancement of employee skills and abilities, and this required uninterrupted investment in training and development.