Employee Training

Introduction

This paper discusses the impacts of technological development on the training of employees across the globe in different areas of the economy. Training employees on using modern methods of solving straightforward problems at work is the main idea behind employee training. This issue has been a matter of concern for many managers across the world.

Many companies and non-governmental organizations in the world have given the priority to technology. They have done this in order to improve their performance and stay competitive in the global market. This paper discusses various technological methods of employee training in different fields of work. It aims at discussing technological methods and exploring current issues in the sphere of employee training technologies and market demands. In this sense, the paper discusses a topical state of affairs in the field of employee training.

A Brief History of Employee Training

In the past, employees did not get training the way they do it today. The training they received was based on elementary education in their given field of study. For example, employees in a field similar to business management were only trained to operate some theoretical information and got the basic knowledge necessary in their fields of work. With the changing times and increasing levels of competition, this has proved to be insufficient for securing a job in a reputable organization. Also, employees did not get training on social issues, such as customer satisfaction. In fact, employees of the past have been found to be poorly equipped in terms of professional knowledge, which prevented them from excellently serving customers in business organizations (Longstreet & Winkley, 2011). Their performance was seriously dysfunctional and negatively influenced the overall performance of these organizations. In terms of detecting fraud and other malpractices in their areas of work, employees faced challenging times. That was because at that time the systems which may be used to detect malpractices in organizations had not been created.

With the developing technological innovations, the foregoing situation has changed immensely considering that employees today get trained on how to operate possible machines to detect some of these malpractices in their field of work. In the past, the employees working in the field of accounting had a lot of work to do. A mere task like compiling salaries for people working in an organization was tiresome, and it took a lot of time. Executives of numerous companies did not spend money on employee training. Those funds were spent for other activities that could benefit the organizations.

The change that took place in the recent past, resulted in organizations’ spending money on seminars and classes for employees to be technologically enlightened. This change is thought to be tremendously prominent and companies that do not consistently improve the technological skills of their personnel suffer a lot. Such employees are likely to fail and act worse than companies with technologically developed staff.

The author’s response to the findings of the training of employees in the past is decidedly antagonistic. This is because in the past employee energy was not fully utilized in organizations. They lacked accuracy in their working parameters and could hardly achieve the goals of those organizations. The employees were not capable of developing ideas that would be beneficial for these business organizations. This is because they lacked the full understanding of the basic issues that surrounded their working environments (Pangarkar, 2005). The training on modern methods has led to the increased performance of employees in many organizations. It is also arguable that training of employees is a demanding activity. The capital used to finance such projects may equal or be less than the returns expected from the training of these employees.

Employee Training Today

Today, employee training has become a basic necessity in order to improve companies’ performance. Training is extremely relevant considering that technology changes every single day. This means that technology has made employee training a systematic and consistent routine. For example, if employees get trained on how to use a machine to solve a problematic issue in the office today, there will be a need to train them again on a better way to end the same problem, five years down the line. This is because technology is so dynamic and it requires employees who are interested to learn. Employees with a rigid mind do not fit in technological changes that come with the increasing rates of scientific innovations.

The technological improvements in the field of information technology have influenced to a great extent the training of employees. When employees get the required training, it has become a fundamental condition that they should have computer skills. These skills are prominent in employee work. The new approach has resulted in a change in the working mannerisms of many employees (Holley, Jennings, & Wolters, 2009). It has lessened the work of cashiers and improved levels of accuracy. This is because employees in this field are now getting trained on the possible ways to reduce workloads using computers instead of calculators alone. Employees also get training on how to use scientific calculators, which have exceptional commands relevant to their field of work.

The way employees in fields such as Criminal Justice get trained has also changed today. Police investigators get trained to be able to use distinct technologically invented methods to solve problems around them. For example, investigators are not only trained to judge a person by the looks, but also through the use of various devices and computer programs, such as data recovery software. This helps to improve their performance. Therefore, the training of employees within the Criminal Justice system has to differ from training that had been spread before the development of these programs. Also, the nature of their training has changed considerably and has become technologically oriented unlike practices of the past that were based on theories. Therefore, technology has incorporated various discoveries such as mobile tracking, prisons management computer programs, and intelligence software. In fact, there is a new career line that has developed along with the developing rate of technology. It is called computer forensics.

Employees working in telecommunication have also been trained differently . In particular, they are educated on methods and techniques used to maintain large networks. In addition, technology has come up with a marvelous invention of wireless networks instead of wired ones . For this reason, it has been necessary for technological innovations to be taught to workers that deal with this kind of work . Namely, employees are taught on possible ways to configure wireless networks, which usually requires solving some mathematical equations and doing cognitive tasks.

Therefore, technology has changed methods and approaches to training of employees in IT field. While today it is rather a a scholarly issue that depends more on brains, in the past employees only had to deal with wired networks and running network cables. Today employees in this field of specialization have to be trained on the security of networks and security of private information of various organizations. In the context of the technological revolution, which requires experts in the telecommunication field to learn numerous new skills, protecting information in computer systems from hackers by the use of passwords and firewalls seems especially important. This is a strong deviation from the way in which information was stored in the past. That was in locked rooms, so many documents were exposed to possible theft or damage by fire.

With the developing rates of technological innovations, a need has arisen to train employees on security measures to be taken in organizations to prevent disasters and fraud-related criminal cases. For example, technology has enabled mobile money transfers, which have so many loopholes that may lead to criminal cases if employees do not take caution during these transactions. Employees are then getting trained on possible precautionary measures to enhance security during these operations (Ozaki, 1992). Accountants get training on response to troubles that are likely to arise during transactions that use the highly modernized means of money transfer. The nature of cases that these employees responded to before the development of this mobile money transfer system appears to differ from the cases these employees have to tackle. Therefore, these employees get new training on the technical basis within which mobile networks operate.

At the moment, training of employees occurs in various sophisticated ways which are shaped by technology. In the past, employees were trained by enrolling in school programs to advance their educational levels. This has changed by the use of the Internet and social networks in learning. The use of social networks such, as Twitter and Facebook, has enhanced employees to learn and communicate appropriately with their tutors. For example, Twitter, which is a free social network, keeps people connected to others through status updates and tweets. This site is used in organizations to facilitate communication between different people. However, it requires training, and this is the reason why technology is applied to training employees. The training of these employees has developed a new bearing with development of online curriculums.

The training of employees in education has also been impacted substantially by technology in the sense that fast-developing rates of technological innovations in the education sector have greatly changed, which has caused a necessity to change the training of employees in this field. Science and technology have led to development of highly sophisticated laboratories for learning of sciences. This has changed the way in which teachers, tutors and lecturers are trained to make them conversant with the current systems used in education. Other practitioners working in the field of education such as cashiers, caterers and storekeepers have been trained differently with the increased technological innovations. Their training enables them to use appropriate computer programs to store records in the school. This training leads to an improved performance of educational institutions and their service delivery improves at a considerable rate. People have different ways of learning, and these methods have been incorporated into these technological methods.

Technology has also impacted training of employees in the field of agriculture. These employees are nowadays being trained on technological ways of developing the agricultural sector. The employees in this sector are trained on modern methods of food production, such as greenhouses. These employees translate the same knowledge to farmers, and this results to bumper harvests in farm harvests. This technological training takes place during seminars for personnel, e.g. agricultural extension officers. Therefore, it is clear that employees get different training with the development of technologies that ease farming. The employees may also be taught issues such as new machinery for farming. The farming techniques developed by technology should be trained to agricultural employees so that they impact the same skills to farmers. Employees of this sector which vastly supports economies also need to be trained on methods of keeping farm records. One of the best ways to keep these records is by storing them as data in computers. Therefore, the nature of training of these personnel has changed with incorporation of technological techniques in the field of Agriculture.

Criticism

As much as employees require training on ways to incorporate technology in their working environment, it is also vital to consider the laws governing the training of employees. For example, these laws stipulate that the trainers should not take advantage of the employees little knowledge and consider harassing them sexually. Therefore, an organization trains all employees on basic issues surrounding their employment. The understanding of laws surrounding the organization’s training of employees is extremely beneficial.

Technology changes rapidly, and this develops the need to train employees every time a certain product becomes outdated in the market. Therefore, it is noteworthy that organizations should consider adjusting to the changes that occur in technological development. For example, if an organization installs software to help manage its office matters, this program may require updates in case a new version of the same software is created by the same company. This translates to employees receiving the same nature of training in order to equip them with the knowledge to continue using these systems (Jeffe, 2005). Sometimes, the learning of software usage requires that the employees should receive training from the vendors of these programs who should train them in classrooms. This may be understood as a misuse of office hours for the employees being trained.

Conclusion

From the foregoing, it is so evident that technology has plays a significant role in changing employee training. Technology changes the ways in which employees get their training, and reliable incorporation of technology in business organizations enhances them to perform better. The recent approach to training of employees has included in its scope the enormous sector of information and technology. In fact, the analysis done in this paper allows stipulating that employee training and technology are two inseparable factors. In the future, various organizations should consider offering employment to youthful people. This is because young people have a lot of energy, skills and willingness to get trained, which may be used to achieve success. . The challenges that come along with employee training should also be looked into with special concern. Rapid developments in technologies have transformed employee training in the recent years. Blogs, social networks, blogs, wikis, webcasts, web conferencing and online courses appeared. To enhance the best performance from technology in business, it is indispensable for employees to understand the importance of these technological tools in the functioning of an organization. A possible intensification in enhancing awareness of employee training and technology should be the dream of all organizations.