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Questionnaire to identify shortcomings in staff training. Methods and procedures for diagnosing the needs for training and development of human resources of the organization. Methods for identifying training needs

Aksenova O.A.

Organizations of any type cannot do without constant training of employees, their development is the imperative of the times. The industrial economy is being replaced by a knowledge-based economy. In such an economy, intellectual assets (not only R&D, trademarks, licenses, patents, etc.) play a decisive role, but also human resources, the level of staff development, management qualifications, corporate culture, and corporate ethics.

World experience economic development shows the close relationship of dynamics financial indicators companies that characterize its sustainability, success (marginal profit, share return, revenue per employee) with investments in innovative projects for the transfer and attraction of new knowledge through staff training.

A look at a person, an employee of an organization as a valuable resource in a new way forms an idea of ​​the tasks of managing this area. There is a need to take into account new factors, such as the compliance of human resources with the long-term development of the organization, their ability to adapt and flexibly adapt to the changing needs of the market and business environment.

One of the main and permanent tasks of HR management is to assess the state and efficiency of the use of human resources, analyze the feasibility of investing in human resources and evaluate the effectiveness of investments. The sequence of solving these problems, as well as the general factors that must be taken into account, are presented in Fig. 1.

With this approach, the diagnosis of training needs, a clear formulation of goals and the preparation of a training plan, the choice of programs and sequence training modules become part of the overall human resource management process of the organization. Of course, this not only raises the status and importance of personnel services, but also significantly complicates the functions of this unit, which requires highly qualified employees from them.

Diagnosing the needs for training and development of personnel makes it possible to formulate the goals of the upcoming training in order to reasonably choose both programs and the amount of investment in training, that is, to be able to answer questions - why, whom and what to teach. This allows you to create a training plan that works to improve the efficiency of the company as a whole. Of course, the collection of information for diagnosing the state of human resources and its analysis require time and effort, but without this stage, any training will be useless. Unfortunately, to solve this problem, rather general recommendations are most often offered or the most unpretentious and unrepresentative method is chosen (for example, self-diagnosis). Sometimes companies outsource workforce diagnostics (including assessment of training needs) to specialized Assessment Centers. At the same time, one must be aware that in this case the company transfers such important human resource management tools as comprehensive assessment human resources and building a management system for these resources, identifying the causes of existing problems and issuing recommendations to bring the human resource management system in line with the goals of personnel assessment centers. As for the latter, their services are quite expensive - simplest analysis the results of a standard survey of one employee costs more than 30 thousand rubles.

Next, we propose to consider methods for collecting information to determine training needs, identify the most priority areas, drawing up a plan and, ultimately, substantiating the budget for the upcoming training. The most popular method of collecting information - through questionnaires is not considered here. The organization and procedures associated with this method are described and analyzed in detail in.

Let us dwell in more detail on the description of other, less common, but accessible and at the same time reliable methods of collecting information that can be carried out by both HR service employees and invited consultants.

observation. An indispensable source of information at the stage of general intelligence; allows you to identify the features of the structure of the organization, its organizational culture, real (and not declared) values, the general level of management, adaptation to the surrounding business environment. This is an excellent method for diagnosing the state of labor resources, it allows you to identify groups (divisions) of people, possible areas and directions that need development.

Table 1

Suggested Observation Contexts

Region, observation direction

Availability of training programs, professional development schemes; duration and frequency of programs; coverage of workers with programs

Qualification assessment

Availability of a procedure for individual evaluation of performance; frequency, impact of assessment results on remuneration

Organization of labor, jobs. Working conditions

Absence (presence) of monotony; pace of work; sanitary and hygienic working conditions (light, temperature, noise, etc.); organization of breaks; rational / irrational use of working time; safety and labor protection

Presence of conflicts and labor disputes, their resolution; dominant behavior, coordination, awareness; the nature of relations with managers, subordinates, colleagues; dominant leadership style

General value orientations

organizational culture; code of Conduct; unacceptable behavior and sanctions; values ​​(declared and real)

informal structure

informal groups; informal leaders, the direction of their influence (compliance with the goals of the organization)

Socio-demographic structure of the labor force

Structure of personnel by age, gender and marital status

Social and personal component

Energy / passivity; initiative/indifference; benevolence / aggressiveness; liability/negligence; susceptibility to new / conservatism; honesty/manipulation, etc.

Personnel qualification

Methods, technologies, procedures; compliance with technological requirements; violations of technological discipline; product or service quality

Organization image

Public perception of the organization and the results of its activities (influence on environment, infrastructure development, etc.); resistance/support; actions taken

The use of a combination of techniques makes it possible to make this observation structured. The main steps are as follows:

1) identification of the contexts (contents) of observation, which are determined by the purposes of collecting information. In table. 1 are given possible options contexts of observation to identify training and development needs;

2) defining the role of the person (HR employee or consultant) who collects information. For example, he may act as a participant in some training programs or meetings held on this topic. Although in these situations, he can choose the role of an observer. Both roles can be useful at certain stages of the work, and in some situations the consultant simply does not have a choice;

3) fixation/registration of the results of observation. Of course, immediate fixation of all observations is preferable. But this most often violates the natural course of events: a person who constantly writes down something “gets on the nerves” of others. Therefore, most of the results of observations must be reproduced from memory, and during the observation, only brief notes should be taken, using a pre-prepared “framework” to fix important points, which will also facilitate the process of recreating the observed picture.

Observation as a method allows one to compose general idea about the organization, business environment, organizational culture, shared values, identify problem areas and main cause-and-effect relationships in the process of human resource management. In table. 2 shows a fragment of fixing the results of the observation and comments on them.

Interview. Information collected from observations is used to prepare and conduct subsequent information collection through several interviews. It is advisable to use semi-formalized interviews related to the so-called focused type.

Interviews with leaders. First of all, interviews should be conducted with managers who act as the customer of training programs. That is, with those leaders who are empowered to make decisions and are responsible (bear responsible) for problems related to general level performance quality. Therefore, initial interviews should not be conducted with lower or middle level “line” managers, as they do not have the right to make decisions on the introduction of new training systems.

table 2

Results of Structured Observation*

Contexts of observation

Observed characteristics

Possible problem areas

Development areas

Company position in the market

The market is very dynamic, conditions change, new companies appear; the company operates in a highly competitive environment (there are four major players in this market); the production cycle is short, brands change frequently; the company is not a monopolist in the regional labor market

As the dynamism and variability increase organizational structure should approach the "organic type"

Specialists and managers of all levels need teamwork skills, skills of effective business interaction, discussions and discussions, collective decision-making methods

Working conditions

Large differences in working conditions in different industries: high level noise, vibration, dustiness, temperature is not regulated; office premises are modern, remote from production, equipped with air conditioners

The status of office workers is perceived by workers in production services as unfairly higher

Rapprochement of working conditions. Leveling the status of divisions

Labor organization, discipline

Groups of people smoking or talking in corridors and smoking rooms outside of regulated breaks; long phone conversations

Irrational use of time; insufficient workload; poor distribution of work; overpopulation

Basic management skills. Time Management

Contexts of observation

Observed characteristics

Possible problem areas

Development areas

Leadership style

Two types of leadership dominate: directive (“act strictly within the instructions”, “strict control”, “initiative is punishable”, “do as I say”) and empowering (“decide for yourself”, “you are responsible for this”, “I I hope you"), regardless of the situation and the degree of "maturity" of the staff

Lack of teaching and consulting style leads to staff development stagnation

situational leadership. Counseling and coaching skills

Dominant attitudes in interaction

Frequent responses: “I don’t know who is doing this”; “this is not my responsibility”; "It's your problems"; "can't you see, I'm busy." In statements about the leadership team, “we” and “they” are most often used. There are many conflicting rumors circulating about the upcoming changes.

In business transactions, the "parent-child" prevails and, as a result, an aggressive-passive style of behavior. Employees lack reliable information

Assertive behavior and attitudes that support it. Open communications

valuable

orientation

Values ​​declared at the highest level of leadership: cooperation, team, shared responsibility. Among the majority of employees, the emphasis on the difference “management” - “production; emphasizing the difference "we are ordinary" - "they are leaders"

Lack of idea about common goals desired future, the role and place of each in their achievement

Formation of common ideas about the goals of business and organization. Mutual role expectations

Development, training, promotion

There is a training program related to work on the existing and updated fleet of equipment. A number of programs for mastering technical skills (computer work), technical control. There is no plan for the development of performing skills and managerial competencies. Separate programs are conducted in the form of lectures or trainings

Programs are formed on the basis of applications from departments. The process of learning managerial and executive skills is not controlled by the HR department, thus falling out of the overall process of managing the workforce of the organization

Formation of a long-term training plan based on needs diagnostics

Qualification assessment

Once a year, an individual performance assessment procedure is carried out. The impact of evaluation results on additional remuneration is very weak

Unsupported by actions to create additional motivation, performance evaluation loses its meaning

Linking assessment and motivation for performance

Personnel qualification

The qualifications of the staff are high, most of them have a specialized secondary higher education. For the technologies and technical means used, this is even “over qualified” (a forklift operator with a higher humanitarian education). Among office workers in one department, there is a large variation in the level of education (in the personnel department: a graduate high school, a graduate of a military school, candidate of philological sciences). Lack of qualified management personnel

Failure to use the skills and knowledge available to a person leads to a decrease in his motivation. Large differences in education and skills make communication and management difficult

"Enrichment" of labor. Differentiated approach to management. Involvement of qualified employees in consulting and training. Developing Coaching and Learning Skills in the Workplace

* General understanding of the organization, business environment, problem areas related to the organization's human resources.

The interviews of the above type provide only a list of basic questions, and the information obtained serves to clarify information about training needs. The main questions that need to be answered as a result of these interviews, examples of answers and comments are given in Table. 3.

Table 3

The results of the interview with the head-customer

(Director of Human Resources)

Answer examples

Comments

Why was there a question about the need for training?

The company is going through a crisis - the decline in production is 20%. Two production facilities had to be closed due to changes in legislation that make the business unprofitable; production had to be urgently deployed in new regions. The composition of managers and specialists has almost completely changed, a shortage has formed good specialists with managerial and executive competencies

A new, unfinished management team; undeveloped organizational culture

What are the signals that people need training?

Poor coordination, misunderstandings between departments, inconsistency in actions, conflicts, problems with discipline; the work of subordinates is not organized properly


What exactly should the training be aimed at?

Many already have a high level of technical and special education. Technical training is well established: there is a technical training center for the development of technical skills for those working on industrial equipment. Need to develop managerial and executive skills


How many people do you think need training?

About 200 people of middle managers, specialists and office workers working at new production facilities in different regions

Need to clarify training needs

How will they be selected?

First of all, it will be newly hired employees


What effect do you expect?

Coordination between departments should improve, there should be a common understanding of the goals and current tasks of managers, their role in management


How can it be determined?

Improvement general position management situations


What signs (qualitative or quantitative) will indicate that the training has been successful and people have acquired the necessary skills?

Decisions being made are implemented faster, conflicts and mutual complaints are reduced, a team of leaders appears, performance discipline improves


What needs to change in their behavior, level of performance?

Heads of different services and specialists should be able to take part in the discussion important issues: collect and analyze information, argue your point of view and operate with facts, look for new solutions, plan and choose the main thing, maintain discipline and control, motivate people, infect them with enthusiasm


Has there been such training?

At the parent company, classes were held on the basics of management (lectures, practical classes) for heads of services, as well as several psychological trainings

No plan, information integration

Was it successful? If not, why not?

People were not very satisfied with the training: lectures seemed too theoretical, and psychological trainings were interesting, but not related to their practical activities.

Disappointment in the training conducted reduces the motivation for training, work is needed in this direction

Interviews with line managers can clarify the relationship of training to existing problems in the organization, as well as enlist their consent to training and support. These informal interviews make it possible to clarify whether the existing problems are really related to insufficient qualifications of employees and the lack of certain competencies, and not caused by any other reasons. Therefore, as a result of the interview, the following questions should be clarified:

  • How does the manager evaluate general situation in the department?
  • Are the implementers provided with sufficient resources?
  • Is the existing information support sufficient to support a high level of performance?
  • how effective is the reward and compensation system?
  • Does the burden on employees match their capabilities?
  • Are employees motivated enough?
  • what can be improved?
  • What skills (knowledge, skills) are missing?
  • what kind of training do employees need?
  • what form of education is most appropriate?
  • if the decision to train is made, is the manager ready to provide support?
  • What information about the upcoming training would the manager like to receive?

Interviews with ordinary employees. These interviews make it possible to understand how people are motivated to learn. Here are the main questions to be answered:

  • Tell us about the nature of your work, what does it consist of?
  • your activities, terms of reference, who are your subordinates? If there are no subordinates, then with whom do you work in cooperation?
  • what are you working on now?
  • is this your regular job?
  • how is it common/unusual?
  • In the job you are currently in, how important is the skill?
  • How do you feel about the opportunity to take part in the training program...?
  • do you support.? If “yes”, then why, if “no”, then why?

Conducting an interview. When conducting interviews, it is necessary to take into account all the rules for conducting interviews and, first of all, the conditions (environment) in which they are conducted.

An unfavorable environment is characterized by the fact that there is no separate room (the interview is conducted at the workplace), the respondent occasionally returns to his duties/occupations, third parties are present, someone interferes in the interview, repeatedly interrupting with extraneous conversations, phone calls, etc. In an unfavorable environment a long interview is generally impossible, and a short, standardized one (answers to prepared questions) is quite acceptable.

Document analysis method. The method is a set of techniques and procedures associated with the analysis of text documents. The most accessible for analysis are the following documents:

  • according to individual performance evaluation;
  • job descriptions;
  • professional standards.

The most effective from the point of view of diagnosing the state of the organization's labor resources is the analysis of documents related to the results of an individual assessment of the activities of employees. Of course, in the event that such a procedure exists and is regularly carried out in the organization. Usually this document is quite large and has several sections, therefore, to simplify and further work with it, it is recommended to transfer the data for each employee to an intermediate form (see Table 4).

Table 4

Summary of performance evaluation

Competencies

Importance

Efficiency

Comments

Very important

Corresponds

Improvements needed

Basic subordinate management skills








1. Preparation and issuance of orders






2. Control and correction






3. Evaluation of work






Interaction skills








4. Open communications








5. Assertive behavior






6. Conflict management






Leadership Skills








7. Goal setting






8. Motivations








9.Team building






10. Authorization






Strategic Thinking Skills








11. Systematization of information






12. Determine the cause of the problem






13. Evaluation of alternatives






14. Assessing the consequences of decisions






Subordinate Development Skills








15. Constructive Feedback






16. Mentoring






17. Coaching






Business meeting skills








18. Organization of meetings (preparation)






19. Presentation






20. Leading the discussion






Planning Skills








21. Definition of tasks






22. Definition of resources






23. Prioritization






24. Monitoring and control






The processing of this information using modern computer statistical data processing programs (SPSS) makes it possible to identify existing problem areas:

  • departments in which individual performance scores are the lowest;
  • specific performers with the lowest ratings;
  • important competencies that received low marks.

If a regular assessment of the individual level of performance in the organization is not carried out, then the content analysis of job descriptions or professional standards can serve as a source of information about the importance or demand for certain skills, the sequence of procedures for content analysis of documents is as follows:

  1. selection of parameters (required competencies) that interest us;
  2. selection of text indicators that characterize these parameters;
  3. selection of documents (job descriptions, professional standards);
  4. selection of a group of people (division, certain positions, specialists);
  5. conducting a content analysis for the presence in the texts of a professional standard for these positions or job descriptions of selected text indicators:
    • calculation of the total number of considered documents;
    • determination of the frequency of mention in the considered documents of these indicators.

When processing a large number of texts, you can use a special computer program QDA Miner (WordStat application).

In table. 5 shows the results of processing job descriptions and professional standards (twenty-seven documents) for middle managers of an enterprise that is part of an international concern.

Table 5

Results of content analysis of documents*

Text indicators of strategic thinking

Frequency of mentions in the text

1. Collect information, structure information, analyze information

2. Identify causes, problems, analyze the situation

3. Make an informed decision, thoughtful decision, best decision, sound decision

4. Consider alternatives, possible options, analyze solutions

5. Set clear goals

6. Define success factors, criteria, effectiveness

7. Set priorities, determine their importance, agree on goals

8. Consider the consequences of your decisions

9. Find new opportunities, promote new ideas (invention, innovation)

10. Anticipate and remove obstacles, anticipate problems, anticipate consequences

* The total number of considered documents is 27.

The results of processing the above data showed that the most mentioned indicators related to complex knowledge (competence), defined as "strategic thinking", are:

  • item 10 - the ability to foresee possible problems (22);
  • item 1 - the ability to collect, structure and analyze information (20);
  • p. 3 - make thoughtful decisions (19);
  • item 5 - set clear goals (17).

Such an analysis makes it possible to identify the competencies most frequently mentioned in the documents and, consequently, the competencies most in demand for these positions, which can serve as a rationale for diagnosing and determining the needs for the necessary knowledge.

Summarizing the above, we can conclude the following:

  • conducting structured observation allows you to get a general idea of ​​​​the organization, the surrounding business environment, highlight problem areas and the main cause-and-effect relationships;
  • information that is collected through interviews with managers who have the right to decide on the conduct of training, line managers and ordinary employees should clarify the overall picture;
  • observations and interviews are supplemented by another method of collecting information - document analysis (according to individual performance assessment, job descriptions, professional standards).

The processing of this information makes it possible to more clearly identify existing problem areas: departments in which individual performance ratings are the lowest; specific performers who received the lowest ratings; competencies that received low marks. The use of content analysis allows you to identify the most frequently mentioned in the documents, and therefore the most relevant competencies for these positions, which can serve as a rationale for determining the need for new knowledge.

The templates of the above methods make them much easier for HR employees to use even without the involvement of external consultants.

In the future, the information collected using the above methods can be combined into a "Report on the diagnostics of the organization's human resources" with the main sections:

  1. Results of structured observation (general idea about the organization, business environment, problem areas related to the organization's human resources);
  2. The results of the analysis of the documents "Individual assessment of activities" (departments / divisions with a large percentage of employees who received "unsatisfactory" ratings according to the list of competencies are indicated);
  3. Recommendations on the use and development of human resources;
  4. Learning and development plan

Thus, the work of diagnosing the state of the labor force and determining the training needs ends with the preparation of a preliminary plan, including short description necessary programs, their sequence and the time period during which they should be carried out, as well as their summary, the number of people with indication of units and recommendations for the formation of groups. Subsequently, this plan, its implementation, must be supplemented by monitoring procedures.

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Identifying the need for training in the hospitality industry is of particular importance for the following reasons:

1. Staff turnover. The hospitality industry has traditionally had a high turnover of staff, many employees are students and get a part-time job, not a permanent job. Due to the large recruitment of workers for line positions, the need for training arises constantly.

2. Lack of work experience. In restaurants and hotels, many line positions (waiters, maids, etc.) are hired by people without work experience, graduates of colleges and universities.

3. Lack of specialized education among employees. At restaurants in this moment a very small percentage of employees have specialized education, mostly kitchen employees. Works at the hotel a large number of technical staff in low positions, often with no professional education at all.

4. Training in connection with the sale of an individual product. Each restaurant chain or restaurant has its own unique dish or drink, each hotel has its own approach to service or offers a unique set of services..

5. Staff development for career advancement. The hospitality industry encourages the growth of managers from a linear position, training for the promotion of an employee usually takes place directly at the enterprise.

Identification of training needs is a complex of research and analytical activities. This complex allows you to identify gaps in the system of competencies required by personnel for the effective implementation of the strategic and tactical goals of the organization. Identification of training needs is a technique that allows you to clearly and clearly determine who and what in the company needs to be taught. The presence of this stage in the learning process allows you to optimize the cost of effort and resources. Only on the basis of the results of this stage it seems possible to develop clear goals and objectives for all participants in the corporate training process.

An example of a training needs analysis process.

Assessment of training needs and planning of training programs are integral parts of the process of organizing staff training.

In order to determine the content and methods of training that can help achieve the goals of the organization and the goals of training, it is necessary to establish the qualitative and quantitative need for training of the main categories of employees. Qualitative (what to teach, what skills to develop) and quantitative (how many employees of different categories need training).

Identification of training needs can be operational and strategic. Assessing the need for training at the level of the whole organization is strategic. Traditionally, this task is carried out with the help of personnel appraisal. Operational assessment of training needs consists in continuous monitoring of the knowledge, skills and abilities of employees, primarily in order to constantly maintain their competence at the proper level and adhere to the initially chosen course. The arsenal of operational assessment methods is quite wide.


The first group of methods - all kinds of blank forms: a questionnaire, questionnaires, applications from managers, tests to identify professional skills. This is the simplest and cheapest method actively used by HR departments of many companies. Its advantage is the ability to obtain information for enough a short time. The main disadvantage is the low reliability of the information received.

An example of a questionnaire for an employee

FULL NAME________________________________________________________________

Job title: ______________________________________

Subdivision name: ___________________________________

What knowledge and skills do you need to perform your job duties more successfully?

What areas (topics) of study do you need and are interested in?

Indicate the events in the areas of interest in which you want to take part (mark "+")

Sample application for training

I ask you to send an employee for training _______________________________

Structural subdivision ___________________________________________

For training on the topic _________________________________________________

from "______" _________ to "_______" _______ 20__

The need for training for this employee is due to

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Expected learning outcomes

The second group of methods - different kinds interviews and interviews. The interview is very effective method, however, requires a certain skill from the one who conducts it. The interviewer must be able to ask the right questions - the manager conducting the interview must correctly understand and respond to the emotional state of the interviewee, be able to "read between the lines" to identify moments when the interviewee consciously or unconsciously distorts information.

An example of an interview form with the head of the department

1. Name of department: _______________________________

2. Are the employees of the unit interested in promotion or development of a related profession?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What gaps do employees have in skills, knowledge, personal qualities to perform work tasks?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What areas (topics) of training are necessary and relevant for the employees of the unit?

The third group of methods for assessing the need for training is various forms of observation. This is the most effective and reliable method, since in this case it is possible to evaluate an employee in the conditions of his real activity.

Methods for identifying training needs

In the hospitality industry, the main methods for identifying training needs are:

1. Analysis of the results of the assessment of the candidate when applying for a job.

essence this method is to identify areas for development and training of an employee who is hired. In this case, the requirements are divided into mandatory and desirable. Mandatory requirements are the minimum qualification and behavioral characteristics (competences) that allow a new employee to immediately start performing job duties. Desirable requirements - full list personal and professional competencies.

Enterprises have their own application forms, which the applicant must fill out, even if he already has a resume of a standard form (for example, compiled on the SuperJob or HeadHunter portal). Each employer has its own idea of ​​the mandatory and desirable requirements. Such questionnaires allow you to understand what qualifications the applicant already has and what areas of development of desirable requirements will increase the efficiency of the employee in the position. A restaurant or hotel, by presenting the desired requirements to the applicant, may, in the absence of such requirements, allow them to be acquired after some time through on-the-job training, attending trainings, or self-study and work.

The interview or interview is the most primary method of identifying the need for training. The selection of applicants for the position of a line employee in the hospitality industry is quite loyal, thus employers and the management company imply further training of employees. At the interview, the current level of knowledge and preparation of the candidate for the future position held is clarified, thereby starting to determine the subsequent training, its method and need.

2. Analysis of the performance of new employees during the trial period.

The probationary period, which is set for an employee, allows him to join the work of the restaurant. During the probationary period, shortcomings in the knowledge and skills of the employee are identified that prevent him from carrying out effective work in a new place.

Based on the results of the probationary period, two options are possible:

- the employee is allowed to work until the end of the probationary period, and then he is fired as not suitable for this position;

− organize training for the employee.

This method allows you to get an idea of ​​what difficulties new employees most often face, therefore, in what areas it is worth strengthening or organizing training for newly hired employees.

The complexity of this method lies in the degree of documentation of the adaptation stage and the availability of information for those responsible for training, especially when it comes to a restaurant. The restaurant industry as a whole is characterized by a high turnover of staff, therefore, the constant documentation of the process of adaptation of a new employee is associated with an increase in document flow.

3. Questioning of department heads and employees.

The use of this method is advisable when identifying the need for training groups of employees. The questionnaire is designed in such a way that it is possible to obtain an unambiguous and adequate assessment of the need for training. Based on the results of the survey, the need for training of each specific employee in each of the areas of his activity is established.

The questionnaire should contain an expected list of questions of the training plan (for a quarter, half a year, a year), or a list of topics for a training program in a particular area. Employees' answers to the questionnaire will indicate the need for new areas of training or help organize homogeneous groups of employees to conduct their training in the chosen area. Based on the results of the survey and interviews, preliminary lists of topics for corporate training events and external training are compiled. Thus, as a result of a well-designed questionnaire, those who plan training will get an idea of ​​which areas are the most problematic (service, sales, team communications), what skills are needed incremental development what prevents employees from being most effective

4. Interviewing managers and employees.

The scale and speed of changes occurring in the enterprise can be different. Major changes and transformations do not happen all that often. Basically, there are changes that relate to trends in the work of individual employees. And at the restaurant level, they are sometimes quite difficult to track. Therefore, the key technology for identifying the need for training is to conduct systematic meetings and conversations of the training manager with managers, managers, directors. Interviewing can be aimed at identifying those problems that are encountered in the work of line employees and management staff.

The basis of this technique is to build a specific working situation and offer the employee undergoing testing to find a solution to this situation. Case studies can also be conducted to test specific knowledge and skills. In this case, the correct answers are written in them. As a result of comparing the received answers of the person being tested with the correct ones, a zone for learning is revealed.

Cases can also be used to identify various individual and personal characteristics of the tested person, his behavior patterns. There are no correct answers to such cases. The responses of the tested employee, obtained as a result of the case, show the degree of his compliance with the corporate culture of the restaurant, its values, goals and mission. Based on the results of the case, the area of ​​development of the employee is revealed.

6. "360 degrees".

The 360-degree method consists in obtaining information regarding the actions of employees in real work situations and the business qualities that they have shown. At the same time, information is received from people communicating with the tested employee on different levels(bosses, colleagues, subordinates, visitors).

This method is widely used by the Arpikom company, which, thanks to the established democratic corporate culture and trust in the HR service and management, gets the maximum effect from the method.

The maximum efficiency of the method is achieved by Arpicom as a result of regular (once every six months), planned studies, based on the results of which training, career changes are planned, i.e. practical changes are taking place.

The "360 degrees" method is carried out in the company "Arpikom" in several stages:

At the first stage - preparatory, the Regulations on the study are being developed, questionnaires are being compiled. The composition of the assessed and evaluating is determined. At the second stage, information concerning planned activities is communicated to employees in order to minimize negative emotions and stress. This happens through explanatory seminars and presentations. This applies mainly to new employees, since the personnel who have already undergone this procedure know that the results will be used only for development, and not for punishment. The next step is the research itself, which is carried out in in electronic format, the results are processed and a report is generated. And at the last stage - the final one, to provide feedback to the subjects, "coaching sessions" or interviews with direct supervisors are held. As a result, organizational conclusions are developed and management decisions are planned, as well as measures to develop the necessary competencies.

7. Assessment.

Assessment is a procedure aimed at organizing the participation of restaurant employees in a series of exercises and tests in the presence of observers. The result of such a procedure is expressed in the evaluation of participants in accordance with predetermined criteria.

Assessment can be used:

- when applying for a job;

− in the training and development of personnel;

− when employees are promoted;

- to make a decision on the compliance of the employee with the position held;

- to determine the possibility of performing new functions;

− when planning further training of employees and determining their development potential.

The difference between assessment and testing is to test not so much the employee’s theoretical knowledge as his skills that are important for practical work, which gives a more objective picture, since the participant in the assessment can hide their true skills to a much lesser extent.

Due to the rather high cost of this method, it is mainly used by large networks. Moreover, if earlier the assessment was used mainly in the selection or diagnosis of managerial personnel of the middle and higher levels, then today this method is often used when hiring ordinary employees.

For example, in the network restaurant "Il Patio", using this method, the need for training waiters in active sales was identified, as a result of which they were trained on the topic: "Waiter - seller. Active sales in the restaurant. During eight academic hours, a training was held, and the staff worked out the skills of active sales in a restaurant.

8. Analysis of changes in the state of human resources within the enterprise.

The personnel department conducts periodic analysis of the state of human resources in terms of turnover, reductions, headcount optimization, etc.

In addition, an enterprise that cares about its future development manages the movement of employees, building certain stages of a career plan for them. Career plans should take into account the allowable movement of employees horizontally and vertically. Each move must be accompanied by appropriate training.

9. Analysis of special external information.

Special external information in this context is any information concerning changes in the external environment (social, economic, legal, etc.). It can be obtained from any official sources, information and analytical publications, materials of conferences and seminars.

You can use the following resources:

Book of reviews and suggestions;

Reviews on the company's website;

Reviews on the Internet on various resources;

Table-visit: personal communication with guests during their visits;

Conflict situations with guests.

Observation is possible both when visiting the company's employees for audit purposes, and when interacting directly with the guest, "in the fields", by the method of double visits. A variant of the field assessment of training needs can be "Mystery guest" (Mystery guest) - a technology in which specifically trained person under the guise of a guest or client, that is, anonymously, evaluates the quality of customer service, the work of staff, its honesty, verification of compliance with standards, etc. It also uses such an assessment option as a "Mystery call" - it helps to identify problem areas in communicating with a guest, etc. In the process of monitoring the activities of employees, a checklist is used - an assessment form containing core competencies, behavioral indicators illustrating them , and rating scale.

Based on the results of the analysis of information and the conclusions drawn, changes may be made to the work of the enterprise, which, in turn, may cause the need for training. It is the responsibility of the training manager to keep track of the main sources of information in order to keep abreast of all important changes. Analysis of external information allows the restaurant to adjust the training plan throughout the year. The non-compliance of personnel work with established standards and requirements of job descriptions revealed as a result of observation may be an indicator of the need for appropriate training.

10. Analysis of technology changes.

It is necessary to constantly monitor changes in the technologies used in production and service processes in terms of the potential need for staff training. The introduction of an electronic menu or kitchen displays in a restaurant, as well as a system of electronic locks or check-in terminals, requires training of staff in new working methods.

11. Analysis of the results of personnel certification.

Attestation is a procedure for a systematic formalized assessment of the compliance of a particular employee's activity with the standard of work performance at a given workplace in a given position. The assessment given during the certification accumulates the results of the work of a particular employee for a specific period. It is very important to understand that during certification, there is not a comparison of employees among themselves, but a comparison of "employee - work standard". You can only compare how one employee more or less meets the standard of work than another.

Certification at most enterprises in the hospitality industry takes place for employees without work experience after completing training and provides for determining the professional suitability of the position. Usually includes comprehensive testing of knowledge of the product and service standards, as well as the implementation of work procedures under supervision.

For certification, a circle of participants is determined: waiters or cooks, head waiters or bartenders. After that, the areas of knowledge and practical skills that are most in need of assessment and correction are indicated.

For example, in Wabi-sabi restaurants for employees who work for a long time, certification is always preceded by training. The assessment process clarifies the needs of employees in training to ensure that their qualifications meet the established requirements and standards, as well as for their further development.

The results of the attestation are communicated to the participants immediately.

Certification is usually carried out no more than once or twice a year.

Such an assessment of an employee helps to identify:

Level of knowledge: menu, service, table setting, dish serving, serving standards, cooking technology, and so on;

The level of professional competencies: customer focus, focus on increasing sales, focus on competent service, compliance with etiquette, and so on;

Level of professional growth and development: how much the current assessment differs from the previous one.

As a result of such certification, it is possible to assess the gap between the actual and required qualifications of employees, identify gaps and plan their elimination

In the practice of applying this or that method, everything depends on the priorities set: efficiency, resources, cost of the method, etc. For example, at the stage of forming an annual plan for the training needs of restaurant employees, it is advisable to use the methods of questioning and clarifying interviews, since in this situation efficiency and coverage of all restaurant employees are of particular importance. Such work, as a rule, is carried out by the internal forces of the restaurant, without attracting additional resources. If you need expensive training for employees, you can order an assessment.

Companies live in a dynamic market environment surrounded by competitors. Constantly changing external conditions require constant internal adjustment of the company according to market requirements. Some employees are on the rise, others are just starting to join new team, someone replaces a colleague on vacation ...

Very often there is a situation when the company's management understands that there is a need for personnel development, sales training for personnel training, but does not know what exactly to teach the personnel. Identification of training needs is a technique that allows you to clearly and clearly determine who and what in the company needs to be taught.

The sources of the need for training, as a rule, are:

Changes in the external environment (economic, legal);

technological changes;

Changes in the strategy, business plan, structure of the firm, as well as goods and services provided by the firm; movement of personnel within the firm.

Training needs typically arise at the level of the organization, department, and individual employees. The subjects that identify the need for the development of the company's personnel are not only the management of the organization, but also the personnel manager (training manager), department heads and employees.

Ways to Identify Training Needs

This method should be used to quickly identify the needs for training large groups of specialists on professional topics. The questionnaire should be designed in such a way as to unambiguously and adequately assess the training needs. The results of the survey should be the basis for determining who and what needs to be trained.

The requirements for the content of the questionnaire follow from the above. It formulates the main criteria that determine the necessary and realistic existing knowledge. In fact, the content of the questionnaire should be nothing more than a proposed list of questions for the training program. The answers to the questionnaire will help to form groups of employees that are homogeneous in terms of level and needs for training in this area.

Interviewing department heads and employees

The changes taking place in the company may have a different "scale" and different speed. Major Change Driven by Decisions governing bodies companies don't happen very often. Much more often there are changes within individual departments and areas of work. These changes are difficult or even impossible to track at the organizational level. In this regard, one of the most important technologies for identifying training needs is holding regular meetings and conversations between the training manager and the heads of departments. These meetings can also serve to prepare decisions of the company's governing bodies.

To increase the effectiveness of conversations with managers and employees, it is advisable to use questionnaires specially designed for this purpose.

Analysis of special external information

Special external information here means any information about changes in the external environment (for example, economic and legal). This information can be taken from official sources, information and analytical publications, materials of conferences and seminars.

Analyzing information and drawing conclusions from it, leading to changes in work and causing training needs, is, of course, mainly the prerogative of specialists in their respective fields. However, the training manager must also follow the main review sources of information in order to important changes did not come as a surprise to him.

Analysis of technology changes

The core technologies used in the firm's production processes also need to be systematically reviewed for the possible need for staff training. Obviously, training is almost inevitable in the event of a change in the equipment or software used by employees. Changes in technology are not always so obvious. For example, technological changes also include intangible changes, such as changes in workflow, including the emergence of new types and forms of documents.

Analysis of the decisions of the governing bodies of the firm

Any changes in the company's activities are formalized in the form of decisions of its governing bodies (Board of Directors, Management Board, committees, councils, etc.). The training manager should, at a minimum, get acquainted with these decisions in a timely manner, analyze them in terms of possible training needs and make appropriate proposals for correcting the plans and budget of the company.

Even better, if the training manager does not just monitor ready-made solutions, but participates in their preparation - personally or through the HR director. Then the necessary measures to organize training will appear in the decisions of the executive bodies of the company already at the stage of their preparation.

And the most ideal option is when not the training manager or the HR director, but the heads of departments themselves, when drawing up plans and preparing decisions, include personnel training activities that accompany and support the planned changes.

Analysis of expected personnel changes within the firm

Any company that cares about its future manages the movement of key employees, building career plans for them. Each of the movements must be accompanied by appropriate training.

A firm with a high level of career planning may draw up standard plans - something like "career routes", provided with "direction indicators" in the form of mandatory training and other developmental activities. These plans should be known to all employees of the relevant departments. In this case, they will clearly understand what they need to achieve and what training they need to undergo in order to move up the career ladder.

So, we can say that the methodology for identifying training needs is based on the following principles: training is effective only if it has a specific goal. The purpose of training, in turn, can be determined only if the needs for staff training are identified and analyzed.

In this case, you need to analyze:

How the company works and how it should ideally work.

What skills and abilities employees have, and what they should have according to the needs of the company.

What functions does each of the employees perform, and which should they perform according to their position?

Identification of training needs should be carried out:

For the whole company

For groups of employees (for example, employees of the same department)

For each employee separately.

The identified needs should be summarized in order to identify priority areas for learning and forms of learning.

The results of such a generalization will contain the following information:

Number of employees in each group

Number of employees requiring training

Required type of training (training on the job or training outside the company)

Priority tasks for training.

October 13, 2018 Courses for leaders. Sales training. . Training center "Practician"

QUESTIONNAIRE to determine the need for employee training

Dear Colleagues, I bring to your attention a questionnaire to determine the needs for training employees. The questionnaire can be used by the HR department. Based on such a survey, a decision is made to train an internal or invite an external trainer. Also, based on the results of the survey, a individual plan employee development.

QUESTIONNAIRE for evaluation
staff training needs

Full name of the employee

Subdivision

No. p / p

Question

Answer

1. Questions to determine your training needs

What are some of the most challenging tasks you face in the workplace?

What is the reason for the difficulties in performing these tasks, in your opinion?

What do you need to be able to do and know to overcome these difficulties?

Why is it important?

What will be the best learning outcome for you?

What changes do you expect in your work after the training?

Are you ready to study in your free time?

What areas of study would you be interested in? Please tick

  • team building;
  • time management;
  • sales technologies;
  • retail sales;
  • stress management;
  • conflictology;
  • leadership, leadership skills;
  • personal effectiveness of the leader;
  • negotiation;
  • ____________________________________________

2. Questions to determine the training needs of your employees
(to be completed by supervisor only)

What are the most difficult tasks your employees have to solve?

What is the reason for the difficulties in the performance of tasks by employees, from your point of view?

What do your employees need to be able to do and know to overcome these difficulties?

Why is it important?

What will be the best result of training your employees?

What changes in the work of employees do you expect after the training?

Signature ______________

A training need diagnosis should achieve the following goals:
- clarification of the company's development goals - clarification of the strategy ( those. WHY LEARN);
- determining what competencies need to be taught ( those. WHAT to teach);
- identifying categories of employees who do not have the necessary competencies to achieve goals ( those. WHO to teach);
- identification of problem areas of the company (express diagnostics of management quality);
- identifying existing problems and difficulties in the work of employees scheduled for training;
- identifying the degree of compliance of the declared topic of training with a real-life need for training;
- determining the priority in training various target groups of employees based on the results of express diagnostics;
- providing the most accurately developed training programs.

Methods for collecting information when identifying training needs:
- interviews or individual consultation sessions with the customer (usually the HR manager);
- interviews with students;
- pre-training questionnaire or questionnaire;
- analysis of the structure, in particular, analysis of the text of job descriptions of students;
- "field studies".
In order to accurately determine, for example, WHAT learn, enterprises in advanced economies, with the help of consultants, create and implement the so-called corporate competency model. In the corporate competency model, position profiling is strictly tied to the company's development strategy. That is, first a strategy is developed, an image of the desired future is created, and only then the competencies necessary to achieve this future are identified. The corporate competency model changes along with the change in strategy.
Russian companies, unlike Western ones, do not have a hundred years to evolve, to "try on" themselves different approaches and management models. They follow the path of "catching up development". Most do not have a formalized strategy and do not yet have funds for consultants. Therefore, for companies where there is no strategy or it exists only in the heads of managers, such an element of management consulting as diagnosing the need for training becomes critical in terms of saving the company's funds so that the company's funds allocated for training do not turn into "money". thrown into the wind."
The results of the diagnosis of learning needs:
- the most accurate development of training programs;
- changing the topic of training in accordance with the identified need;
- shifting priority in training from one target group to another.
In the process of providing a service for diagnosing the need for training, interacting with the customer company at different levels, analyzing the materials provided, trainers-consultants, voluntarily or involuntarily, but always carry out express diagnostics of control quality. The very event of conducting a training or seminar turns into a diagnostic stage. In particular, trainers-consultants see and analyze the following information lying “on the surface”:
- efficiency of personnel motivation;
- effectiveness of corporate culture (leadership style, in particular);
- efficiency of information circulation within the company;
- the effectiveness of the organizational structure and its compliance with the goals of the company;
- the effectiveness of the organization of various business processes, their compliance with the strategic goals of the company, if any, and formulated in the company at least in a general form in the form of a mission.
It is a pity if, after the training, the information collected by the trainer-consultant about the problem areas of the company is taken away by him and not brought to the attention of the manager. Meanwhile, it can be competently and skillfully transferred to company executives, depending on the cost of one day of training in oral or writing(). For this purpose, it is provided Report on the results of the training, which acts here as a management consulting tool.
The report on the results of the training may contain the following information:
- analytical information based on the results of express diagnostics and diagnostics of training needs;
- analytical information based on the results of "field studies" with an assessment of the effectiveness of the work of personnel and the level of motivation;
- personnel development program in the form of a package of training programs for various target groups of employees with their detailed study, taking into account the specifics of the company;
- providing recommendations in the form of methodological materials.
Types of methodological materials provided in the report:
- teaching materials for conducting digital "measurements", for evaluating the effectiveness of training using a formula that displays the index of assimilation of knowledge by a group;
- provision of a Learning Contract form, a non-legal document;
- provision of another form of contract - Follow-Up Contract - on the methods of monitoring the application of the acquired knowledge with a description of the procedure for its use, etc.
Disadvantages of the report on the results of the training as a management consulting tool:
- the trainer-consultant, with his conclusions and recommendations, motivates the client for changes, innovations, but does not monitor them;
- the report, as a rule, is provided within the framework of the contract for the provision of training services and does not imply feedback.
Therefore, quite often a simple event for conducting a training “poured out” into the beginning of an extensive consulting project with the conclusion of an agreement for the provision of consulting services. That is why way goes formation of demand for consulting services in Russia.
Since in the process of diagnosing the need for training, the largest number of "pitfalls" arise when identifying the degree of compliance with the declared, ordered training topic, really the existing need for staff in training, in this article I would like to give some of the most striking examples of such a discrepancy.
The author of the article had a chance to conduct a one-day seminar "Project Management" in a well-known telecommunications company. However, the analysis of training needs - a pre-training questionnaire and individual interviews with trainees - showed that the company does not have project management in the classical, scientific understanding of this stable phrase as a term. Project management as a special form of management with a certain structure is just emerging in Russia.
In the client company, the term "project management" was used in the following senses:
1) execution (implementation) technical project;
2) fulfillment of a certain type of work or task type placed in front of the employee;
3) project = client.
The group of students on the topic "Project Management" was formed in such a way that out of ten people it included only three manager in the classical sense of the meaning of the word: a manager is a leader who has the right to make managerial decisions and has at least one person in subordination. Among them, only one project manager basically a manager technical project, not a project in the classical sense.
Diagnostics of the need for training - interviews and a questionnaire - showed that project planning, determining the necessary resources, including financial ones, and writing a business plan were not the responsibility of most of the students. Therefore, these topics were excluded by the trainer-consultant from the original program already approved by the company's management.
Diagnostics of training needs also showed that employees had problems in interaction, communication between different departments of the company working on the same technical project.
Ultimately, the original training program was revised and a workshop on management, whose program combined the two most important topics for this group: (technical) project management(decision making, control over implementation, work with information) and communications. That is what really the company needed. The participants of the seminar were ready to learn “something”, according to Pushkin, and “for the future”.
Another company held a seminar on "Stress Management". It was an international, non-profit organization providing information and educational services.
The workshop, designed by a trainer-consultant, was designed to “arm” the trainees:
1. techniques for coping with stress;
2. knowledge on effective communications;
3. knowledge on time management.
However, during a meeting with the customer, a certain “hope” for getting rid of stress only through a seminar was revealed. Question effective organization of work, question management quality did not rise and was not considered.
Meanwhile, the analysis of pre-training questionnaires of students to identify the causes of stress, as well as discussions organized by the trainer during training, revealed such causes of stress, sources of negative emotions at work,
How:
unclear development prospects;
lack of understanding of our problems on the part of British colleagues (managers);
change in corporate culture, poor feedback from management, the introduction of standards that make it difficult to take the initiative, make decisions promptly;
noise, lack of air;
inconvenient location of the workplace, table.
And:
Insufficiently clearly defined job responsibilities for some related groups of employees;
Insufficient involvement of ordinary employees in the company's decision-making process;
lack of effective circulation of information in the company;
· rush jobs at the workplace (insufficiently effective organization of labor).
That is, something that did not depend on the training, the provider company and the personality of the trainer. This means that the expectations of the management that training, like a “magic wand”, will remove all the fatigue and stress of employees, was not destined to come true.
In writing report on the results of the training the management of the organization was given a list of recommendations that may need to be done:
1. hire an additional worker for a specific area;
2. establish a more efficient circulation of information within the company;
3. Carefully introduce new standards, taking into account the opinion of the team, with the intention to “sell” any innovations to the team;
4. “finish” the Rules for using the fund for visitors, describe in more detail what kind of damage to the fund is meant in the Rules, which would help to avoid discrepancies, remove some of the conflict situations and, thus, reduce stress.
The information presented in the report was necessary for management to familiarize and decision making changing situations and solving problems.
It must be admitted that the information is not always used and the recommended decisions are made. Often decisions are made only when the company is critical "necessary". As a rule, such managerial decisions are made in a "fire" situation and are reactive in nature.
"Pushing through" decision-making largely depends on the degree of motivation of the customer, the head of the personnel department of the enterprise. But is it always enough to want to "move". The customer can be driven by various types of motivation: professional(desire to take responsibility, interestingness, meaningfulness of the work), patriotic(“root” for the cause, for the department), master's(putting the employee in the position of the owner) and instrumental(monetary forms of remuneration). If the customer does not have enough motives, then he does not become an advocate for changes, after training there are no changes, which means that investments in training turn into only a costly part, they become money “thrown away”.
Let's go back to the Stress Management seminar. Conduct analysis role play in the block "Working with an irritated client" confirmed correctness, i.e. maximum accuracy in the development of the proposed training program. Communication with the clients of the organization, visitors to the fund was a continuous source of negative emotions and tension. The reason for this was the staff's lack of the necessary knowledge and skills to use psychological techniques for communicating with a client, as well as knowledge of the basics of the "philosophy" of business, which was not realized by either the company's managers or the students.
It was difficult for the learners to accept some ideas and values, for example:
1. the easiest way to lose a client (to set him against himself, to cause emotional resistance - resentment, irritation, protest, dispute) is defend and attack;
2 the official duties of employees do not include “educating” the client and “putting him in his place”;
3. employees do not have the right to evaluate visitors personally, and it is in this sense that “the client is always right!”, no matter how wrong he is
4. Common sense is to accept visitors as they are, and stop with them "fight" on an emotional level.
The participants of the seminar, working in small groups, failed to cope with the task of "quenching" the client's irritation. In some cases, a sharp, "attacking" intonation did not allow them to do this, in others - the use in the vocabulary of the word-conflictogen "no", did not contribute to the elimination of the conflict situation and the establishment of contact with the visitor and closed posture- crossed arms on the chest (communication barrier), - and the absence of friendly eye contact (a look of "frowning" - a communication barrier), such a psychological technique of communication with the client as sympathy. All this did not allow simply and conflict-free take a fine from the client.
Another example. At a car dealership that has several "sites" in Moscow, the head of personnel department insisted that SPIN equipment be included in the training program for car dealership salesmen, although it was obvious that this category of employees did not need to be trained in such company equipment. The very nature of the work did not allow its application.
In another company, a bank, management allocated considerable funds to train several groups of facilitators on the topic "The Art of Negotiation" with a business game. The business game was designed for managers, loan officers, whose responsibility was to make financial decisions. In the process of studying the need for training, when analyzing the information provided by the bank on the job responsibilities of the bank curators, the trainer-consultant revealed that the job descriptions of the curators did not empower the curators negotiate with the right to make financial decisions.
The very term "negotiating", widely used in the vocabulary of middle managers, often meant simple informing existing and potential customers of the bank about the services provided, clarification of the procedure for conducting banking operations, the content of instructive documents or sales.
Bank managers, on the one hand, were dissatisfied with the fact that curators were not working efficiently enough, were not able to accept independent solutions, on the other hand, they demonstrated a lack of understanding that the framework in which the curators are placed does not allow them to take the initiative and take any responsibility.
Therefore, the trainer-consultant recommended either to give the curators authority, which means to change their job descriptions, and for this to make a managerial decision, which is both risky and troublesome, or to exclude this topic- "Negotiating" - from the training program. Learn bank curators "for the future"- was not rational use bank money.
Of course, it would be possible to conduct negotiation training for bank handlers, but it would not be expected that learning outcomes affect performance companies. The training would only help personal growth of curators and, perhaps, could be useful to some curator at a new workplace, somewhere in another bank, in a new position. Then one could talk about professional growth , but an employee of another bank.
A "field" study of the quality of customer service by the bank's supervisors by phone revealed that not all bank supervisors fully share the values ​​of a client-oriented approach in sales. It was found that the curators had no basic knowledge of the "philosophy" of business:
1. the client is the most important person in company. He is a key figure in any business;
2. the client is the basis of the well-being and prosperity of everyone, it is on the money from his pocket that the company exists and develops, jobs are created, everyone eats, dresses and organizes their leisure time;
3. The customer comes to the company not only to buy. In the process of rendering services to him, he has the right to count on the satisfaction of his most diverse needs. He wants "the whole Maslow pyramid" to buy in addition;
4. Responsibility for maintaining the balance of the needs of the client lies with the employee;
5. criterion quality service delivery and purpose service is a satisfied customer.
The bank's management was presented in writing with a short list of mistakes made by the bank's curators in the process of servicing customers by phone:
- revealed the phenomenon of lack of joy to the client on the phone.
There is no smile, no enthusiasm in the voice. The service is sometimes rather tired than enthusiastic. Such a sales technique as creating a pleasant first impression is underestimated;
- inactive use positive words, words with a positive emotional connotation: “Thank you”, “Please”, “With pleasure”, “Of course!”, “We will be glad”, “There is good news (message) for you”;
- inactive application of knowledge on elucidation techniques, needs research client.
The trend is to talk about the service, and not ask, listen, showing true interest in the client, his problems and requests;
- inactive use of open questions.
Curators either do not ask any questions, or ask them inconsistently, without setting themselves the goal of identifying, investigating the client's problems, the solution of which can be undertaken by the bank;
- misunderstanding of that identifying customer needs is a key step in selling.
In a situation where the client himself has a vague idea of ​​what he wants, does not know how to “communicate” his thoughts to the curator, does not know how to formulate them, the curator must be able to do this using the technique of asking questions and the technique of effective listening. In the understanding of curators, the goal of interaction with a client is to tell, inform, and an “active” seller of services is telling. In fact, "active" means interested, ready to help, actively entering into a relationship with a client, able to inspire trust and talk to the client;
- poor knowledge of construction techniques a story about the product / service in the language of the client.
Curators focus more on properties And benefits product / service than on a specific benefit and benefit for a specific client.
Based on the results of "field" research, the bank's management was offered a program on sales techniques ( selling skills), which also included customer focus, sections on awareness of the importance customer-centric approach in sales and psychological techniques impact on the client.
Participation in a training that combines the two most important topics - sales techniques and customer orientation (customer focus), is an opportunity for sellers of any company to rethink their attitude to the client, understand how attitude can influence the image, create loyal customers, adherents of the company's products and services, increase sales.
The vagueness of the text of job descriptions for bank curators created uncertainty and a certain threat for them, which affected the relationship between curators and bank managers, caused mutual dissatisfaction and tension. This also affected during the training, the curators were afraid of the video camera.
Indicative and unusual in the practice of the author of the article was the fact that the evaluation questionnaires at the end of the training were returned to the trainer and stacked face down, so that it was impossible to identify who wrote what. And the fact that, according to the group, the business game was difficult, but no one noted this in the assessment questionnaires, could be interpreted as a fear of openly expressing one's opinion, and a passionate desire to learn how to negotiate.
It is possible that among some bank managers there is an aggressive-pressing style of work, forcing curators to refrain from initiative, hence the “inability” of curators to bear responsibility, which means that a new need for training in the program “Human Resource Management for Line Managers”, “Psychology of Management” is revealed. or Leadership.
It should also be noted that the bank was not efficient enough to circulate information, which gave rise to anxiety and rumors among curators. Thus, the bank's management did not consider it necessary, after the completion of the "field" research, to openly inform the curators about what goals persecuted "field studies. After all, the goal was not to “grab the hand”, to punish, but identify the need(problem) and solve it by compiling the training program as accurately as possible.
Materials based on the results of the "field" research were reproduced for curators so that the part of the text of the report, which contained the evaluation of the curators and reported on the "compliance in general" of the bank's curators with the qualification requirements of their position, was omitted. And the curators could get the impression that the leadership was starting a campaign of persecution, tightening management in the form of certification, “field” research, control exercises, video and audio tape recording.
That is why the trainer decided not to conduct control exercises for the group with video recording, as it was supposed earlier, in order not to cause resistance, which would make it even more difficult to achieve the goals of the seminar.
The ideas and values ​​proclaimed at the seminar would have been perceived much easier if, even before the training, some resistance had not arisen in the group, caused by reasons of an emotional nature, prejudice. The group perceived the coach as a person carrying some kind of threat. Only after an open conversation (an open model of behavior - Assertiveness Work) and the regret expressed by the trainer that the curators voluntarily or involuntarily ended up in the position of testees, was it possible to restore trust in the trainer.
Why was it important to restore trust? The coaching practice of the author of the article shows that most people are not capable of learning, positive, adequate perception of information, creativity and initiative in the face of unfriendly criticism or threats.
For this reason, it is important for customers of training programs to decide not only on the choice of a provider of training services, it is important to decide on the choice of a trainer. To do this, before the start of training, you need to get to know the trainer, make sure that he himself has the skills of effective communication: in no case does he pose a threat, he is fully able to satisfy basic human need for emotional security(according to A. Maslow).
The above examples have also been given here to illustrate how closely intertwined training and advisory services are. We are convinced that the diagnosis of training needs and a written report on the results of the training can act as full-fledged elements of management consulting. It is no coincidence that in the last decade, consulting theorists have singled out training consulting as a separate type of management consulting.
So, if at expert counseling the consultant offers the client ready-made solutions to existing problems, with process consulting-solutions are sought and developed by the consultant together with the head and staff of the client organization, then educational counseling trainer-consultant prepares the basis for making managerial decisions, providing the client with relevant theoretical and practical information in the form of trainings, seminars, seminars, meetings, teaching aids and reports on the results of the training.