What is training? What are the objectives of the training department?
Training is defined as a continuous learning process in which the employees will acquire knowledge, enhance professional skills and improve attitudes and behaviours to excel well on the job.
The objectives of the training department are to identify the required training needs of an organization and fill the gap with a host of training methods for the welfare of the organization and employees as a whole.
What is the difference between training and development?
The basic difference between training and development is:
Training helps to make the employee of a company more effective and efficient in the present role and responsibilities of the job i.e. fulfilling the short-term needs of any company but development helps to improve the overall personality dimensions of an employee to take up any future assignments if any and better equipped to handle any critical situations might occur i.e. fulfil long term needs of any company.
What is on and off-the-job training?
On-the-job training is a type of learning process that usually occurs in an actual work environment i.e. an employee will be learning the new job roles and responsibilities while undergoing this training.
Off-the-job training is a type of learning process that usually occurs outside of an actual work environment. This involves case analysis, lectures, presentations, simulation games etc. to imbibe the concepts and brainstorm ideas effectively.
How would you ensure that the training is effective for an employee within the company?
The training is effective in all means if it
- Imparts new skills
- Inculcates new ideas, knowledge and concepts
- Is practical oriented
- Not an information dump
- Aligns the training needs to fulfil the organizational short and long-term goals
- Conducts the post-evaluation to ensure the satisfaction levels to refine the future training needs.
What are the different methods you could use in training employees?
There are different training methods like on-the-job techniques, off-the-job techniques, role-playing, simulation, internship, apprenticeship, lectures, case analysis, laboratory training methods etc.
What are the key issues that should be addressed in the design, conduct, and evaluation of training programs?
The following are the key issues to be addressed for a successful training program:
- Place (indoor/outdoor)
- Audio visual aids
- Relevant training materials
- Facilities
- schedule
- Non-visual aids
- Trainer
How do you keep current with the latest developments and ideas about business training?
Focus on your motivation for professional development and learning. Do you attend seminars, subscribe to relevant publications, research on the internet etc.
What qualities does a company expect in a trainer?
- Methodical and well-planned
- Highly knowledgeable and competent enough
- Possess relevant industry experience
- Good in communication/presentation and
- Be practical enough to make the overall training session fruitful for the trainees.
As a trainer, what are the steps you would undertake to make the long training session not boring to the employees?
The following are the steps to be undertaken to make the long training session not boring to the trainees/employees:
- Give appropriate breaks to refresh
- Use both audio-visual aids as and when necessary
- Keep avoiding mano dialogue sessions; make the session highly interactive
- Includes management games like ice breakers etc. to energize the whole team
- Introduce different learning principles like showing live industry examples and case study analysis.
How would you end your training session?
The well-experienced trainer would end the training session with a summary of the whole session/story/real-life business example/ feedback mechanism to evaluate the usefulness of both the training session and the trainer as well.
What specific skills do you bring to the trainer position?
Refer to the essential skills and behaviours that every successful trainer needs. These include technical skills such as knowledge of adult learning principles, business core competencies such as knowledge and understanding of basic business principles and organizational behaviour and personal competencies such as planning and organizing skills, information gathering and analysis, communication and presentation skills, coaching skills, adaptability, creativity and resilience. Support your answer with work-related examples.
Give me an example of a learning intervention you implemented that was successful. Why do you think it worked well?
Take the interviewer through each step of the training process from identifying the training needs to designing the right learning intervention, to presenting the training program and evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention. Highlight the key skills you used from problem assessment to decision-making to presentation skills to evaluation skills.
What has been the most difficult training situation that you have had to deal with and what did you do?
Training employees can present many challenges. Some common difficulties include lack of manager or supervisor support, disinterest and lack of motivation from the employee, lack of engagement from participants and poor learning transfer to the job. The key to answering these trainer interview questions is to explain how you analyzed why the difficulty occurred and what actions you took to improve the situation from redesigning the training to conducting feedback workshops with participants and supervisors.
How have you gone about identifying employee training needs in the organization?
Finding out training needs includes communicating with managers and supervisors, conducting surveys, talking to the employees and observing job performance. Analyzing performance management feedback and organizational, departmental and operational needs.
Describe a recent on-the-job training activity you facilitated?
On-the-job training presents its challenges including distractions, lack of structure and nervousness from the employee. Take a specific example and discuss how you managed the difficulties.
How are training needs identified?
The training needs can be identified in several ways, they are:
- During interviews
- By talking feedback from the employee’s colleagues, business partners or clients
- By conducting competency or knowledge tests
- While conducting performance appraisals
- If the employees have demanded training from the management
- Based on industry-specific research, for example, due to new additions in the industry.
How are performance appraisal and training need assessment-related?
One of the ways to identify the need for training is through performance appraisal. The motive of performance appraisal is to not only judge the performance of the employee but also the skills of the employee. While conducting a performance appraisal you not only check whether the employee has been able to achieve his targets but also 360-degree feedback is taken from his colleagues, clients as well as other business delegates with whom he is interacting daily. Based on the evaluation of the performance appraisal as well as the feedback forms his colleagues and other people involved for business purposes you can identify the area in which the employee needs training.
How would you evaluate the results of the training?
Evaluating training is a continuous process. You need to keep evaluating the process right from analysing the training need to the completion of training.
1). Participant satisfaction as well as reaction
2). How much knowledge has been acquired from the training
3). Behavioral application
4). Business improvement
Explain the following job training methods.
1). Coaching- The goal of coaching is to improve the performance of the employee. Coaching focuses on the individual needs of an employee and is considered to be less formal than any other type of training.
2). Mentoring– There is a very thin line to differentiate between coaching and mentoring.
3). Job rotation– job rotation is usually done to give an enlarged perspective of the business or to give global opportunities to the employees.
4). Job instruction technique- This training method focuses on knowledge, skills and attitude development. It consists of 4 steps,
- Plan- Making the trainer aware of the kind of work you carry.
- Present- The trainer presents a synopsis as well as the different aspects of the work.
- Trial- You step into the shoes of the other person and perform the chores to gain practical experience before taking over completely.
- Follow up The trainer follows up with the employee to avoid any kind of mistakes made by the trainee.
What do you know about following computer-based training?
1). Intelligent tutorial system- This system makes use of artificial intelligence in training. In this, the system acquires through the rejoinders of the trainee.
2). Programmed instruction– Programmed instruction is the technique of guiding the accomplices deliberately through the information in a way that expedites the most operative and effective learning.
3). Virtual Reality- As the name suggests, this method puts the trainee into a
3-D environment, wherein the environment stimulates situations that an employee can face while on the job- front. With this kind of training, the employee can learn about the potential dangers or situations that he could face on the job front.
How can better communication help in effectively implementing change management?
Communication plays an extremely important role in the process of implementing change. Resistance to change occurs because of:
- Fear of change
- Not being a part of the change process
- People moving away from their comfort zones
- Low level of trust in being able to manage change
- Wrong information about the need for change
However, all these problems can be better managed with open and clear communication.
What is the role of the Hr department in internal communication in an organization?
In small to medium size organizations usually, it is the HR department that initiates and establishes the process of internal communication. The HR department is the one that lays down various employee-related policies and has complete information about their implementation. So, the HR department plays a vital role in the implementation of an internal communication system in an organization.
What are the various tools that can be used for effective internal communication?
Various tools which can be used for effective internal communication are:
- Small group meetings
- Big group meetings
- Open house
- Notice boards
- E-mails
- Internal newsletters
- Intranet
- Blogs
- Videos
- Targeted desktop messages
- Effective screen saver messages
What makes effective internal communication difficult?
The major difficulties faced by the organizations in the implementation of an effective internal communication system are:
- Gap in receiving the information
- Geographically divided workforce
- Using ineffective and inefficient ways of communication
- message falling on deaf ears and blind eyes.
What tools do you propose to use for communication with the virtual workforce?
Tools that you can use to communicate with the virtual workforce include:
- E-mails
- Instant messengers
- VOIPs
- Telephones
- Blogs
- Forums
- Intranet
- Videos
- Online document management systems
10)Virtual private network.
Which tools do you propose should be used for communication during a crisis?
Tools that you can use for communication during the crisis are:
- Internal/external social media- depending on the issue
- Executive blog
- Forums
- Addressing large groups of employees
- Press conference
What training methods have you used and which have proven the most effective in your experience?
Professional trainers use a variety of methods including role-playing, simulation, lectures, and case studies. Assess the training needs of the employees, determine which skills and knowledge need to be learned and then decide on the most appropriate training method for imparting these specific skills, abilities and knowledge. The method must match the participant’s profile and needs and the learning material.
What is the role of a trainer in a company?
The role of a trainer is to develop competency and skill sets in an individual to perform his/her effectively and efficiently in the workplace. The trainer should communicate to the trainees about what is expected out of training simply and professionally.
The trainer plays a pivotal role from start to end of the training including the following:
- Training plan
- Timing of different training sessions
- Choosing the relevant training methods
- Preparing the training materials and aids
- Conducting training sessions and
- Evaluating the post-training session.
What is the importance of communication within an organization?
Communication within an organization is one of the key elements responsible for its success and congenial atmosphere. Better communication in an organization brings the following results:
- Better employer-employee relationship
- Lesser confusion within the employees and with the management
- Better productivity as the goals are clearly stated and conveyed with a clear work path
- Better communication helps in implementing changes easily
- It boosts the confidence level of the employees
- The employees in an organization with clear communication are better motivated
- Employees will have lesser grievances in a clear communication environment.
What do you know about following traditional methods of training?
- Demonstration- The trainer demonstrates the way an employee can perform his regular chores at the workplace while avoiding any complex situation.
- Discussions- In this, both the trainer as well as the trainee discuss the problems an employee faces on the job front and the trainer then provides a solution to deal with the problems.
- Lectures- It is the oldest form of imparting training. No training can be complete without a part of a lecture in it.
- Management development- Management development plays an imperative role in making the organization more competitive.
What do you consider the key criteria for training to be effective?
When answering trainer interview questions about effective training relate it to actual examples. Effective training means the employees are engaged in the training and learn new skills, ideas and knowledge. The process enhances employee self-esteem and confidence and motivation. The participants can transfer effectively what has been learned into the work environment. The training meets the employee’s development and training needs and helps fulfill the organization’s goals and objectives.
