Plan on Training Program for Telstra Employees
Executive Summary
This report presents the training program being planned for employees at Telstra. The objective of the training program is to make the employees more customer-focused. The objective behind increasing customer focus is to improve competitive positioning. As part of the training plan, mentoring is recommended for technical employees and coaching is recommended for non-technical employees. The rationale behind the above is that the roles and responsibilities of technical and non-technical are different. In addition, as two different methods are recommended, there are different resources needed and barriers as well, which are discussed in this report as well.
Introduction
Employees are a key resource for any organization to achieve competitive advantage and therefore it is necessary that the employees have the necessary skills and attitude toward achieving the organization’s goals. The above can be ensured by providing necessary training as suggested by Ennis and Otton (2015), as presented in the below plan for the case organization, Telstra.
About the Organization
As mentioned in the need assessment, the company being analyzed is Telstra which is the largest telecommunication company in Australia and is involved in building and operating telecommunication network and promoting mobile, internet, and other products (Telstra, 2019). Davis et al. (2016) argued that the telecommunication industry is highly competitive as the price is a strong driver of the competition. The intense competition in the industry has impacted the company’s performance as highlighted by Duke (2018), an example being an 8% decline in profitability in 2017. In order to remain competitive, the organization must utilize its workforce in an effective manner so that the skills and competencies of the employees are effectively utilized.
Based on insights from Cekada (2011), a need assessment was conducted to identify any discrepancy in competency level of the workforce- It was found that the company has recently undergone corporate restructuring and has established a new business unit. The rationale behind the restructuring is to improve the customer approach of the organization (Telstra, 2019). However, the need assessment highlighted that there is a need to update the skills and knowledge of the employees in line with the changed approach for which training plans are prepared and presented below.
Participants
The management of the organization has identified the need for the organization to become more customer-focused in order to improve its competitive positioning and therefore a new business unit was established. The employees in the organization can be broadly divided into two categories- ‘technical' and ‘non-technical'. In comparison to the technical employees (who have a more technical role and less customer interaction), the non-technical employees have more interaction with customers, vendors, and other employees. Although the technical employees carry out main operational activities, the non-technical people ensure that the business is conducted smoothly- understanding the demands and needs of the customers, ensuring coordination between different employees and teams, and building a strong association with different vendors.
Although the roles and responsibilities of both technical and non-technical employees are different, there is a need to increase the customer focus for both categories, so that the company can improve its competitive positioning.
Program Plan
Despite the need for an increased customer focus across the organization, it needs to be understood that the roles and responsibilities of all the employees are not same, therefore different training programs are recommended for technical and non-technical employees- For the technical employees, the mentoring method is recommended and for non-technical employees, the coaching method is recommended, as presented below.
Mentoring Method
Plan: The rationale behind recommending the mentoring for technical employees is that the customer focus may not be a key area for these employees, however, it is necessary to develop the soft skills of the employees so that they can develop their expertise and also expand their professional network internally as well as externally (Lakshminarayanan et al. 2016). Lapointe and Vandenberghe (2017) argued that mentorship improves the performance of the employees in the following manner- When an employee is mentored by a senior manager, then the employee feels that he is valued by the organization and the organization is giving importance to the development of the employee. This motivates the employee to perform and also become loyal to the organization.
The mentoring program has been developed based on the insights from the US Department of Energy (2014).
Objectives: The objectives of the mentoring program are:
- To understand the concerns of the employees and resolve them (Cekada, 2010)
- To enhance the leadership and management skills of the employee (Cekada, 2010)
- To develop long-term commitment and loyalty towards the organization in the employees (Fleming & Taylor, 2018)
Schedule and Planned Activities: The lack of customer focus in technical employees is not a skill gap, so there might not be a need to bring in professional mentors as it can be done by the senior managers in the organization (Dhaenens et al., 2018). The mentoring session should be done on a weekly basis and should be scheduled for 30 minutes. The session can be organized as per the mutual availability of the mentor and mentee. So, it can have a flexible schedule. In addition, if there is a situation where the mentee needs urgent mentorship, then the mentor should ideally be available. The official mentoring will continue for three months, however, if the mentor and mentee are of an opinion that more mentoring is needed, they can continue the process in an informal manner. The rationale behind the above is to build a strong bond between mentor and mentee.
It needs to be accepted that the number of senior leaders in the organization will be lower than the number of employees who need mentoring, therefore there is a strong possibility that each mentor will have multiple mentees- So, either the mentor can have individual sessions with each employee or involve two-three employees in each session, which will also create peer to peer learning as employees can also learn from one another. Irrespective of the selected method, it is suggested that the maximum number of mentees per mentor should be limited to five so that the mentor can give adequate time to each mentee. The tentative plan is to develop 100 mentors in the organization who will mentor a total of 500 employees.
Method of Delivery: The need is to conduct the mentoring session in an informal manner so that the employees are comfortable and are open to telling about their concerns. It can be in a conference room where there is no third-party interference or in an informal location where everybody can relax and talk.
Instructions for the trainer: Dhaenens et al. (2018) argued that the effectiveness of mentoring depends on the relationship between the mentor and mentee. Therefore, it is necessary for the trainer (mentor) to develop a cordial relationship with the mentee. Therefore, the mentor must take a step to make the mentee comfortable in his presence. The mentee being comfortable is crucial for mentoring to be successful as the proposed mentors are senior leaders in the organization.
Feedback/Evaluation: For any training program, it is necessary to have a feedback process so that the effectiveness of the program can be understood and corrective actions can be taken to increase the effectiveness of the program. The above is applicable to the mentoring program as well- the mentors and mentee may meet and discuss every week, however, if the performance of the mentee is not improving then there can be concerns about the effectiveness about the mentor or the mentoring program.
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Therefore, the following feedback/evaluation is recommended for the mentoring program-
- First, the performance of the employee must be monitored by the mentor and the HR Manager to evaluate the impact of the mentoring program on employee performance.
- Second, the HR manager must discuss with the mentor about the mentor’s opinion about his mentees in terms of their strengths, weaknesses, and how their overall performance can be improved. Although the mentor can directly share the opinion with the mentees, however, it could create a situation where any mentee may feel that he is being judged. This could possibly create a situation where the mentee is not completely honest with the mentor, thereby failing the purpose of mentoring.
- Third, there also needs to be a system to evaluate the effectiveness of mentoring provided by the mentor. This is tricky, considering the fact that the mentor is a senior leader and negative feedback could create problems for the mentee as the mentor may not be open to negative feedback. So, the HR manager must develop a system which allows any mentee to give honest feedback. A recommended method is by asking all the mentees of a particular mentor to share their feedback on a piece of paper so that there is no electronic trail. The mentees must also ensure to not mention their names or anything personal, which can lead them to being identified.
The above program for technical employees is expected to benefit the employees in improving their management and leadership skills.
Coaching Method
Plan: The rationale behind recommending the coaching method for non-technical employees is that the customer focus and interaction with employees, vendors, and customers may be a key area for these employees. So, there is a need for dedicated coaches to provide the training. Lehmann et al. (2015) argued that in comparison to mentoring, coaching is a more active training strategy as the engagement level of the employees is usually high. Based on the insights from Lapointe and Vandenberghe (2017), it can be further added that the coaching program will not only improve the skills and knowledge of the employees but will also help in encouraging the desired behavior from the employees. Jones et al. (2016) argued that the coaching can help to bridge minor gaps in the employee performance- the gaps may be considered to be minor from the perspective of the employee however, these gaps can have huge implications for the organization. Thus, there is a need to align the individual performance of the employees with the organizational goals for which there is a need to achieve the desired behavior from the employees. The underlying concept behind coaching is to motivate the employees to take ownership of their work (Fleming & Taylor, 2018).
The mentoring program has been developed based on the insights from Ennnis and Otto (2015).
Objectives: The objectives of the coaching method are:
- The employees must be encouraged to behave in a desired manner by making them understand the impact of their behavior on the organization
- The overall employee engagement and productivity can be improved
Schedule and Planned Activities: The coaching program will require specialist coaches who will visit the organization and conduct weekly classes. The manner in which the classes will be conducted will be as follows- Each class would comprise of individuals from different teams so that cross-functional coordination can be promoted and the day to day work is also conducted smoothly (as the entire team is not in the class at the same time). However, given the fact that Telstra has over 32,000 employees, it is difficult to select all the employees for coaching. Therefore, it is recommended that classroom training is conducted for mid-level managers (team leaders) who can be appointed by the division/department heads. The rationale behind selecting the mid-level managers is that they have to lead a team and they are usually responsible for managing vendors and customers. Since it will be difficult to include every employee in the classroom, the mid-level managers can pass on the learnings to their team members.
In each classroom session, there could be a knowledge session which can be followed by carefully curated activities which promote the right behavior by the employee. The duration of each class should be approximately 50 minutes and should be completed over a period of three months. The tentative plan is to have five batches of 30 employees. So at any time, there will be 30 X 5= 150 people undergoing coaching.
Method of Delivery: This training program will be conducted in a classroom for which the HR manager will be allocating a conference room which will be prepared and dedicated for three months for coaching only.
Instructions for the trainer: The HR manager will be responsible for identifying the trainer and the HR manager will have to explain the objective behind the training. The HR manager is expected to identify an experienced trainer so that the trainer can be given freedom to conduct the classes as per his will and there is no need for the HR manager to get involved in the day to day functioning of the class.
Feedback/Evaluation: Similarly to the mentoring, there is a need for feedback/evaluation in the coaching program as well as discussed below:
- The HR Manager intends to create a survey on the portal of the organization where the trainees can share their feedback about the classroom on a weekly basis.
- The trainer is expected to observe the behavior of each trainee and share his observations with the HR manager who will share the insights with the supervisor of each trainee so that it can be understood if the behavior improvement demonstrated by the trainee is limited to the classroom or can be observed in the workplace (which is the actual intent behind the training program) as well.
- The HR Manager in association with the trainer will be conducting monthly tests (total 3 tests) to understand the learning of the trainees. It will be a mix of objective and subjective questions to understand the thought process of the employees. Based on the responses of the trainees, the HR manager and the trainer will provide guidance and consultation to the employee for improving his performance.
The above program for non-technical employees is expected to benefit the organization by promoting the desired behavior by the employees.
Resources Required
There are two different training programs which are planned for technical and non-technical employees (primarily because there are different jobs requirement for technical and non-technical roles). The resources which are required for the two programs are also different as presented below:
The resources needed for the mentoring program are as follows-
- There is no specific location needed for the mentoring program as it will involve a maximum of six people (a mentor and five mentees)
- Since this is going to be an informal interaction, there will be no need for any PowerPoints, handouts, or any other material for mentor or mentees.
- At this stage, it is planned that each mentor will be allocated some funds to take his mentees to a casual location so that a stronger bond can be developed. This casual interaction can be in the form of dinner or picnic and will be organised once every month. Over the course of this causal interaction, the mentees can interact with each other and also help each other achieve success in their professional lives.
- It is estimated that every casual interaction between a mentor and the mentees (maximum five mentees) should cost the company around AUD 300 per month. Since there are 100 mentor groups, the total cost will be AUD 300 X 100 X 3= AUD 90,000.
The resources needed for the coaching program are as follows-
- There is a need for a dedicated conference room which can accommodate around 30 people
- Since the training will be conducted in the classroom, there will be a need for a projector and computer so that a presentation can be given
- There will be a need for the handouts, for which the source material will be prepared by the trainer. Once the source material is developed then the copies will be distributed to the trainees
- There will also be a need to provide stationary (notepads and pens) in classroom
- Unlike mentoring, the cost associated with classroom training will be precise- there will be two components of the cost:
First, the trainer will charge a fee per classroom session, it can be assumed that the trainer’s fee per session is AUD 500. There will be 5 sessions in a week. The program will last 3 months (12 weeks), so trainer’s fee will be 500 X 5 X 12= 30,000 AUD
In addition, a budget of AUD 5000 will also be allocated as well to take care of the stationary expenses. So the total expenses for coaching are expected to be around 35,000 AUD.
Possible Barriers
It is the first time that this type of training program is being conducted at the organisation, so there could be several challenges and barriers which could impact the effectiveness of the training program as discussed below:
Management Support: The training program will not be facing any issues due to the lack of management support as the management has been actively involved in the identification of need for the training and the program would only be initiated after getting necessary approvals.
Perception and Participation: For an employee, being customer-focussed may not be crucial, however, it is crucial for the organization. Therefore, the HR manager must communicate about the significance of the training program to the employees, so that they have a positive perception of the training program and are excited to participate in the program.
Finance: As discussed earlier, the total cost of training (mentoring and coaching) is AUD 120,000 for three months. It is a significant amount, however, if the benefits of the training (as characterised by improved performance) outweigh the cost of training, then the training would be justified. Therefore, the initial training has been scheduled for three months and if it benefits the organisation, then it will be conducted again at a much larger scale.
Conflicting Priorities: This training can create conflict for the employees as they have to allocate time from their working time, which may delay their work. The above conflict has been addressed while designing the training as mentoring is flexible and coaching is only 1 hour a week, for which an employee can easily allocate time.
Conclusion
Considering the importance of employees as a key resource for any organization to achieve competitive advantage and therefore fulfilling the organization’s goals, this training program has been planned for employees at Telstra. The objective of the training program is to make the employees more customer-focused. As part of the training plan, mentoring is recommended for technical employees and coaching is recommended for non-technical employees. The rationale behind the above is that the roles and responsibilities of technical and non-technical are different. In addition, as two different methods are recommended, there are different resources needed and barriers as well, which were discussed in this report as well.
References
Cekada, T. L. (2011). Need Training? Conducting an Effective Needs Assessment. Professional Safety, 56(12), 28.
Cekada, T. L. (2010). Training Needs Assessment: Understanding what Employees need to know. Professional Safety, 55(03), 28-33.
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Dhaenens, A. J., Marler, L. E., Vardaman, J. M., & Chrisman, J. J. (2018). Mentoring in Family Businesses: Toward an Understanding of Commitment Outcomes. Human Resource Management Review, 28(1), 46-55.
Duke, J. (2018). Enormous Challenge for Telstra. Retrieved from; https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/enormous-challenge-and-change-telstra-posts-8-9-percent-fall-in-profit-20180816-p4zxqy.html.
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Lakshminarayanan, S., Pai, Y. P., & Ramaprasad, B. S. (2016). Competency Need Assessment: A Gap Analytic Approach. Industrial and Commercial Training, 48(8), 423-430.
Lapointe, É. & Vandenberghe, C. (2017). Supervisory Mentoring and Employee Affective Commitment and Turnover: The Critical Role of Contextual Factors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 98-107.
Lehmann-Willenbrock, N., Meinecke, A. L., Rowold, J., & Kauffeld, S. (2015). How Transformational Leadership works during Team Interactions: A Behavioral Process Analysis. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(6), 1017-1033.
Telstra (2019). About Telstra. Telstra. Retrieved from https://www.telstra.com.au/.
US Department of Energy. (2014). Mentoring Guidance. US Government. Retrieved from https://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/11/f19/DOE_Mentoring%20Guidance%20%20Pgrm%20Plan2_0.pdf/.
