Career Development Plan Part 2 – Training and Mentoring Program Kendra W. Boyd HRM – 531 Human Capitol Management June 14, 2010 Brian Frank – Facilitator/Instructor InterClean-EnviroTech Training and Mentoring Program Training and Mentoring Needs As stated in the memo that was distributed to the management staff on May 31, 2010, it is the responsibility of our management team to make sure this merger continues to take place as smoothly as possible. Management is also responsible for making sure we give this sales team every possible resource and tool to be productive, efficient, and successful.
To make sure this is accomplished, we will conduct a needs analysis to ensure we are offering training in the most pertinent areas. We will address all four levels in our analysis; Organizational, Demographic, Operations, and Individual (Cascio, 2006). Organizationally, will help us identify where training is most needed in the sales team. Our demographic analysis will help us to determine the needs of our sales staff at all levels, whereas our operations analysis identifies the content of our training – what an employee must do to perform competently.
Finally, our individual analysis will help us determine, after training has taken place, how well each employee is performing the tasks that make up his or her job (Cascio, 2006). In the very near future, we will have a list of training being offered along with individual forms, we are asking for those forms to be completed and turned in within five business days, so we can begin planning our training schedule. We are no way saying that we don’t have the utmost confidence in the abilities of our sales force, but as we merge, we want to make sure to merge the strengths of both sales teams into one dynamic sales force.
We want to capitalize on the areas of expertise that each person brings to this team and we want to enhance the knowledge of our newly expanded product line made available through the merger. We will be training our entire sales team, seven associates, to include our management team. A corporate training as well as specified training for all management will be conducted. We will begin with a general training session to make sure all sales representatives have the background information and product information about the company and also address any questions or concerns anyone may have.
Subsequent training sessions will be offered quarterly to make sure all sales representatives are abreast of products and services offered as well as other information as deemed necessary by the needs analysis. We will have in-house training as well as facilitators that will be contracted from the outside, to come in to offer training for more specific training as needed. Objectives for Sales Representatives Training Our main objective as stated in our job analysis, is to produce a dynamic, knowledgeable, customer service oriented sales team.
Our objectives will address both task-work and teamwork skills (Cascio, 2006). We will make sure each sales representative will be knowledgeable in the following areas; •The sales team must be knowledgeable about the company, its products and services as well as to apply properly the knowledge to understanding and diagnosing client problems while offering feasible solutions. •All representatives will learn how to utilize the information systems made available for properly managing appointments, schedules, necessary paperwork: e. g. eekly reports, expense sheets, effective presentations, demonstrations, etc. •We will aggressively train all associates on sales techniques, negotiating, and, closing the deal. •The sales team will learn the importance of building relationships with customers which will aid in the retention of customers and establishing a strong customer base. •Sales representatives will enhance knowledge in the areas of locating prospective customers, obtaining and following up on inquiries from interested and prospective customers while creating opportunities to present company products and services. Team building exercises will be implemented to strengthen the sales force. •Managers will receive diversity training as well as tolerance training and strategies for effective leadership in organizations. •All training is subject to review and will be updated as needed to ensure our sales force remains knowledgeable and competitive in this global market. Performance Standards Standards identify a baseline for measuring performance. From performance standards, supervisors can provide specific feedback describing the gap between expected and actual performance (UCSF Human Resources, nd).
The sales representatives will have the following performance standards: •All sales representatives will make 15 personal contacts with prospective customers per day. •All inquiries must be contacted within 48 hours upon receipt. •All necessary forms will be properly logged in the computer for the data base and for follow-up which will increase efficiency and reduce waste. •Any sales representative that doesn’t meet his or her sales quota will receive a written warning and offered assistance via mentoring or additional training as deemed necessary by the management team. Performance standards will be updated and reviewed as deemed necessary by management. Delivery Methods Training methods can be classified in three ways: information presentation, simulation methods, or on-the-job training (Cascio, 2006). The method of choice for our training will be a combination of all three methods. We will conduct lecture style presentations as well as making available conferences for networking and product development. We will encourage teamwork, strengthening negotiations, and closing deals through role playing and business simulations.
As our product line increases and our sales team grows, we will incorporate orientation training and on-the-job training through coaching. We believe that by offering different types of training, we will be better able to prepare our sales force to move forward and we will meet the demands of different learning styles. Our training will provide our representatives with corporate learning as well as individual training. For those in need of additional training, mentoring, and intranet training will be made available on an as needed basis. Training and Mentoring Content
Our training content will also be composed of a combination of components to provide the most effective training and to convey the information in a way most feasible to the type of training being offered. In our general setting, we will use slide presentations and when conferencing with other offices, satellite TV. All representatives will receive a copy of all information presented for future reference through the use of handouts in folders and binders. There will also be supplemental materials offered relevant to the workshop being facilitated.
Team building workshops will have a pre and post-test, and an outline of everything discussed will be given. Specific job training will vary depending on the type of training needed, but most will be individual training for that personal touch and detail. In our mentoring program, we will choose mentors with years of experience in the field. We will make sure to offer the necessary support needed for each mentor to feel comfortable with whoever is assigned to them. All mentors will go through a Business Mentoring Workshop to assist them in understanding the role of a mentor.
Mentoring will be put in place to assist in development, retraining, support, and reinforcement of sales strategy. Each mentor will be in place with his or her understudy for a period of six months after which the person will be evaluated by management. If further mentoring is needed, it will be made available for another six months not to exceed a total mentoring time of one year. Time Frame The initial training will be an orientation week to allow the sales representatives to get more information about the company and to get more acquainted with one another in a less stressful environment.
After our orientation week, we will conduct training seminars on a quarterly basis to remain as competitive as possible. Our intranet training will be offered on a continual basis in two hours increments per training. The intranet training classes can be completed all at once or in two one hour sessions. All training will take place on the first Friday of the month in January, April, July and November, to accommodate everyone’s schedule and not to add any more time to anyone’s work week. Evaluation Methods and Feedback
Evaluations methods are extremely important in measuring the relevance of the training offered, how it affects the participants once returning to the job and how the training translates to the objectives of the company. Our evaluations will answer the following questions (Cascio, 2006): 1. Have trainees achieved a specific level of skill, knowledge, or performance? 2. Did change occur? 3. Is the change due to training? 4. Is the change positively related to the achievement of organizational goals? 5. Will similar changes occur with new participants in the same training program?
Our management team will evaluate all training annually and update training offered on an as needed basis. We will interview participants to make sure that our training classes are in compliance with the goals and objectives and to identify future improvements. After each training session, a survey will be given to each participant. The purpose of the survey will be to get feedback on the facilitator conducting the class and the information being taught to participants. This will help the management team make adjustments to the training as needed to optimize active participation.
Further Development for Sales Representatives Any sales representatives in need of further development will be paired with a mentor and will have the opportunity to use the intranet courses offered through the company. Our training and mentoring program will be comprehensive and technically challenging. We want to make sure to merge our sales force through team building exercises and increase our sales potential through business simulations and training classes. We have set challenging but reasonable goals that will help to propel this company forward and will help with the transitional period during this merger.
Our delivery methods will be clear and concise and active participation will be encouraged. We will make sure to evaluate our program to measure its effectiveness and meaningfulness to the objectives that have been set for the company. Through the use of surveys and interviews we will get the necessary feedback about individual classes. Any representative in need of further development will receive the support and tools necessary to become a successful, productive team member with the confidence to secure new business and close the deal but also build long-lasting relationships with customers creating a solid foundation and client base.
We believe that this plan will help to secure a successful, aggressive, customer oriented, team building sales force more than ready to compete in this global market. References Cascio, W. F. (2006). Managing human resources: Productivity, quality of work life, profits (7th ed. ) Chapter 8, New York: McGraw-Hill. British Columbia Government. (2010). Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy. Retrieved from http:// http://www. lcs. gov. bc. ca/ University of California, San Fransisco. (n. d. ). UCSF Human Resources. Retrieved from http://www. ucsfhr. ucsf. edu/index. php/pubs/HRGuide/
