On“Training & developement”

in“The oberoi Amarvilas”

In the Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for

the“Master of Business Administration”

“International Institute of Planning & Management”

Submitted By: - Submitted To:-

Brijesh Singh IIPM, New Delhip2, Year-2008-10

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Project work is never the accomplishment of an individual. Rather, it is an

amalgamation of the efforts, ideas and co-operation of a number of entities. The

completion of the project study that follows seemed to be a distant goal, had it not been

for the contributions of a number of people.

I want to give sincere thanks to HR Manager of The Oberoi Amarvilas Mr. Anoop Vaid

and also I want to extend my sincerest thanks to my project guide Ms. Nitika Rana (HR

Supervisor) whose expertise paved the way for realization of the study objectives. She

helped me a lot in each stop of the project and pointed out the area, which needed

more stress and coverage.

The pearls of learning obtained during the course of the project would surely go a long

way in shaping my career.

BRIJESH SINGH

ii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Training as an H.R. function is continually increasing its hold on all other functional

departments in an organization. In today’s competitive corporate environment, there is

hardly any organization, which has not realized the importance of training and

development of their employees. Those who have still not realized the importance of

training in the organization are in a true sense “LAGGARDS”. When we look into the

scenario of hotel industry in India, we can say only that hotel will survive who has the

competitive advantage over the others in the industry.

The project study focuses on training, which is an interval part of the management at

Oberoi Hotel. It relates to the whole of training system at the hotel, which in turn covers

the training need analysis, formulation of training plans, the training methods used in

the hotel, the evaluation of training and the feedback system used in the hotel.

In order to obtain the relevant information and data a certain percentage of staff and

executives were covered through questionnaires. Interview with the training manager

was conducted in order to know about the current status of the training system at the

hotel and to know about the training practices being followed in the Hotel. Further an

analysis has been done in order to know the gap in the training system and based on

that, suggestions have been made to the management with the objective of a potential

improvement in the training process system presently being followed.

iii

LIST OF CONTENTS

S. NO. CONTENT PAGE NO.

Cover Page i Acknowledgements ii

Executive Summary iii1 Introduction 1-3

1.1 Rationale of the Study1.2 Objective of Study

2 Introduction to Research Methodology 4-52.1 Primary Sources of Data2.1.1 Basis of Questionnaire

2.2 Secondary Sources of Data3 Introduction to Organizational Profile 6-15

3.1 The Oberoi Group3.2 The Oberoi’s Group Vision

3.3 The Oberoi’s Group Mission3.4 The Oberoi’s Dharma

3.5 The Oberoi’s People Philosophy3.6 Strategy & Thrust Area3.7 Organization Structure

LITERATURE 16-564 Theoretical Framework 16-47

4.1 Training4.2 The Content of Training4.3 Training as a Concept

4.4 Training Policies4.5 Reasons for Conducting Training & Development

4.6 Ideal Training Situations4.7 Difference between training and development

4.8 The Training System4.8.1 Training Needs Analysis

4.8.2 Designing Training Programs & Implementation4.8.3 Evaluation of Training

4.9 Types of Training in the Organization4.10 Factors effecting the choice of Training Methods

4.11 Learning Defined4.112 Training Strategy

5 Training & Development At Oberoi’s 48-565.1 Training system at The Oberoi’s (New Delhi)

5.2 The Induction process at The Oberoi’s5.3 Opportunities for Advancement

5.4 Training system at Oberoi’s – Divided into three processes5.4.1 Training Need Analysis Questionnaire

5.4.2 Performance Appraisal5.4.3 Market Scenario

5.5 Training plan 5.6 Procedure of Selecting Trainees for External & Internal Training Sessions

5.7 Training Cards5.8 Various types of training used at The Oberoi’s

5.9 Training Evaluation Practices5.10 Some of the Training programs conducted at The Oberoi’s

6 Observation & Analysis with Pie and Bar Graphs 57-747 Conclusion 75-838 Recommondation 84-90

8.1 Effectiveness of Training8.2 Benchmarking

8.3 Software Training

iv

8.4 Reinforcement Training8.5 Quick Skills and Long Term Impacts

8.6 E-learning8.7 Informal Learning

8.8 Digitization of Training8.9 Individual Development Plans

8.10 Career Resource SystemLimitations of the Project

Bibliography and References 91-92Annexure – 1 (Questionnaire) 93-96

Annexure – 2 (Oberoi Centre for Learning & Development – OCLD) 97-99

v

PIE & BAR CHARTS

S.No. Charts (Pie and Bar) Page No.1 1. Importance of Training (Housekeeping) 572 2. Importance of Training (Food & Beverages) 583 3. Importance of Training (Front Office Staff) 584 4. Importance of Training (Engineering & Laundry) 595 5. Training Plan / Training Calendar (all departments) 596 6. Training Plan - Comprehensive / Policy statement (all departments) 607 7. Execution of Training (all departments) 608 8. Training Manual / Orientation Guide 619 9. Number of Trainings per year (Housekeeping) 6110 10. Number of Trainings per year (Front Office) 6211 11. Number of Trainings per year (Food & Beverages) 6212 12. Individual need for training (Housekeeping) 6313 13. Individual need for training (Food & Beverages) 6314 14. Individual need for training (Front Office) 6415 15. Individual need for training (Engineering & Laundry) 6416 16. Assessing the need for training (all departments) 6517 17. Assessing the individual needs (all departments) 6518 18. Linking of Training to present profile (all departments) 6619 19. Clarity of Training Objectives (all departments) 6620 20. Location of Training -in house or external (all depts.) 6721 21. Popular methods of training (Housekeeping) 6722 22. Popular methods of training (Food & Beverages) 6823 23. Popular methods of training (Front Office) 6824 24. Popular methods of training (Engineering & Laundry) 6925 25. Selection of Trainees (all departments) 6926 26. Feedback systems (all departments) 7027 27. Effectiveness & Efficiency (all departments) 7028 28. Improvement based on Feedback (all departments) 7129 29. Any negative ramifications (all departments) 7230 30. Effectiveness of Training on various levels (all departments) 7231 31. Reinforcement Training (all departments) 7332 32. Qualities affected by training (all departments) 7333 33. Planning to change in near future (all departments) 73

vi

INTRODUCTION

1.1 RATIONALE OF THE PROJECT STUDY

The essential elements in any commercial enterprise are materials, equipment and

human resource. Training is allied to the other human resource specializations within

the management, ensured a pool of manpower of the required levels of expertise at the

right time. But firstly, consider the attention given by an average organization to the

provision of material, machinery and equipment, and then compare the commitments to

the third essential factor in the production cycle. i.e. the human resources. One of the

most important factors in this regard is the traditional view of training and trainers, they

are seen as an expense to the organization, a service, as a second rate to production

and as a necessary evil. Training has tended to fall behind other management activities,

especially in the planning phase. It is often carried out as a reaction to immediate

needs, a patch up operation in may cases, instead of an ordered activity.

If we accept that people are a company’s greatest assets, one remedy for these

traditional attitudes is to convince top management that training is a principal

management function. Another remedy is for the trainers to display an increasing

professionalism and so demand a chance for their voice to be heard at top level, along

with other managers. The image of training in the concern is often based on concepts of

cost – effectiveness. Yet, in some respects, it is an act of faith to pass on one’s

knowledge, skills and attitudes to those who follow. And a climate in which learning is

seen to be an important part of the work is not easily generated by those who merely

see training as a budget balancing exercise.

What is the best training practice? The answer to this is that it depends on the needs of

business, the demands expressed by senior management and the resources available

inside and outside the organization.

The demands of the modern organization for trained personnel have changed in

character. Training is a service functioning organization and a transformation has been

driven by business requirement, particularly the growing pressures on management at

all levels to cop8e with new environment. It is widely accepted that the pace of

transformation in organization has accelerated as a result of new markets emerged by

globalization, increasing customer sophistication, ready access to technology and

1

growing emphasis on quality. The survivors will be those organizations, which will

create environment where they control change.

There is a shift in the relationship between training function and other managers within

organization. The human resource function itself is reformulating its approach to

delivery within organization, a fact reflected in the growing use of the term “human

resources” rather than “personnel”. Both relationships between the training specialist

and other human resource professionals are undergoing a change.

The views of leading management commentators suggest that the status of training will

be enhanced. The role of the trainer will become increasingly demanding as more

complex management and interpersonal skills are required in less rigid, less

hierarchical, organizational structure. Every manager will need to develop new skills to

deliver efficiently and this applies equally to the training manager.

Relevant Features of the current organizational environment are:-

People issues are growing in prominence another is Great emphasis on enhancing

the skills of workforce.

Management is decreasingly seen as a status position; growing numbers of people

have authority and require management and interpersonal skills to do their job.

Organizations are increasingly dependent on self aware, capable individuals and

must recognize their aspiration; new processes will take the place of traditional career

management.

Communications and feedback skills are critical, as shared objectives become

both more important and more difficult to formulate and maintain.

It is less easy to achieve results through hierarchical control, operations through

alliances and coalition is required and appropriate influencing skills are needed.

Line Managers role (training, recruitment, appraisal and compensation) i.e. the role

is changing.

Integration, congruence and coherence of systems.

Shift from reactive problem solving to proactive management

All these factors should be taken into account when determining the approach to

training in any organization.

2

Well looking into the hotel industry, we can name some of the best hotels, which have

over the time emerged as the great leaders and as such; Oberoi chain of hotel is one

amongst them. One of the reason for its success over the number of years, is its

continual emphasis on the training & development of their employees, and it is evident

from their vision statement which states

“We aim for world class managerial and technical excellence using continuous

learning and development to support the business and encourage growth from

within”.

“We see an organization where people are nurtured through permanent learning

and skill improvement, and are respected, heard and encouraged doing their

best. Oberoi is recognized as best practice for training and developing its

people”.

As such the project study, is hereby done, in order to know about the various aspects of

the training practices being followed by the hotel and, and how the employees actually

see the training development activity in the organization as a part of their learning.

1.2 The objectives of the Study

a) To study the Training needs identification, Designing & Assessment procedures.

b) To study the various Training & Development Activities undertaken in Oberoi’s.

c) To study the Training methodology adopted by the hotel.

d) To study the effectiveness of training provided.

3

INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The manner in which a study is conducted is the basic plan that guides the project. With

respect to this, the building blocks of the research may be explained as under:

The information required for this project study is collected both through the primary as

well as secondary source of data.

Tools for Data Collection

2.1 Primary sources of data

Questionnaire

Questionnaire method for primary data collection was used to collect information that

was relevant for the objectives of the study.

The questionnaire is a mix of both open as well as close-ended questions (Annexure-1).

2.1.1Basis of Questionnaire

The questionnaire is made on the basis of the following parameters. These are:

Quantity: It includes questions, which voice employees concerns regarding the

number of training hours spent by them.

Quality: Quality implies the kind of training that is imparted to the employees, how

it is done and what kinds of feedback methods are given.

Importance to Training: This includes questions from which we get to know

whether the emphasis on training is laid down by the departmental heads, training

managers, HR Head or the employees.

Effectiveness and Efficiency of Training: Questions related to whether the

training imparted to employees in different departments is effective and efficient.

Departments covered with sample size

House keeping - 10

Food and beverages - 10

Engineering and laundry- 05

Front Office - 25

4

Interview

In depth interview with the employees who were unable to work on the questionnaire

and the training manager was conducted in order to know about the training practices

being followed at the Oberoi, New Delhi.

2.2 Secondary Sources of Data

A mixture of books, journals, case studies, handouts and Webster are used to gain a

clear understanding of the objectives of the project study.

5

INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE

3.1. The Oberoi Group

The Oberoi Group, founded in 1934 by Rai Bahadur M. S. Oberoi, owns or manages 35

hotels and luxury cruisers across seven countries. The group has two principle brands –

the deluxe ‘Oberoi Hotels & Resorts’ and the first class ‘Trident Hilton’. The Group is

also engaged in flight catering, airport restaurants, travel and tour service, car rentals,

project management and corporate air charters.

Rai Bahadur Oberoi laid the foundation of the Oberoi Hotel by acquiring his first

property “The Clarks Hotel” in Shimla. In 1943, he acquired eight properties of the

associated hotels of India thus giving shape to the Oberoi Group of Hotels, India’s first

hotel chain. On 26th May 1949, M. S. Oberoi floated “The East India Hotels Ltd.” a

corporation, which has grown into EIH Limited – the flagship of the Oberoi Group. His

son P. R. S. Oberoi played a key role in introducing new concepts in Indian Hospitality

Industry. He took his father’s dream further by exporting Oberoi management expertise

to Australia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Indonesia. Today they have 35 Oberoi Hotels in

seven countries of the World.

Oberoi Hotels and Resorts under the flagship of EIH Ltd is the second largest hotel

chain in India. The group is one of the recipients of the numerous awards and

accolades in the world of International travel and hospitality. Five Oberoi hotels are the

members of the “Leading Hotels of the World” and the eight Oberoi Hotels are the

members of the “Leading Small Hotels of the World” (these hotels are chosen for their

extra-ordinary levels of guest comfort and services).

Oberoi Hotels & Resorts are synonymous the world over for providing the right blend of

service, luxury and quiet efficiency. Internationally recognized for all-round excellence

and unparalleled levels of service, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts have received innumerable

awards and accolades. A distinctive feature of The Group’s hotels is their highly

motivated and well-trained staff that provides the kind of attentive and sensitive service

that is rare today. The Group’s new luxury resorts have established a reputation for

redefining the paradigm of luxury among leisure hotels around the world.

The Oberoi Group employs over 12,000 people worldwide. Training is a particular

strength. Set up in 1966, The Oberoi School of Hotel Management, which is now known

6

as The Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development (OCLD), is considered one of

the best in Asia, providing high quality, professional training in hospitality management.

The people development activities in our company take shape from the 'Corporate

Training and Development Vision' of the Oberoi Group, which states:

"We see an organization where people are nurtured through continuous learning

and skill improvement, and are respected, heard and encouraged to do their best.

Oberoi is recognized as the best centre for training and developing its people."

The Group’s commitment to excellence, attention to detail and personalized service has

ensured a loyal guest list and worldwide accolades in the hospitality industry.

The Group is committed to employing the best environmental and ecological practices

with technology, equipment and operational processes. In the same spirit, The Oberoi

Group also supports philanthropic activities that range from education to assistance for

the mentally and physically challenged. The Group is also a keen contributor to the

conservation of nature and of cultural heritage.

The Group has an international sales and marketing presence with sales offices in New

York, London, Dubai, Singapore and several cities in India.

Nine Oberoi Hotels & Resorts are members of The Leading Small Hotels of the World, a

select association of international luxury hotels chosen for their extraordinary levels of

guest comfort and service.

Trident Hilton Hotels are superior first class international hotels with contemporary

facilities offering quality and value. Friendly and efficient service in a warm and relaxed

atmosphere makes Trident Hilton Hotels the ideal choice for both business and leisure

travelers. The Oberoi Group opened its first Trident Hotel in Chennai in 1988. In

October 2003, it entered into a strategic alliance for the Trident Hotels with Hilton

International Co. This alliance presently covers eight hotels with approximately 1900

rooms across India under the ‘Trident Hilton’ brand. There are Trident Hilton Hotels in

the following cities in India: Agra, Udaipur, Cochin, Jaipur, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai,

Gurgaon (Delhi NCR) and Mumbai. The Group also operates Trident Hotels in the

Saudi Arabian cities of Jeddah and Khamis Mashayt.

The last few years have seen the debut of new luxury leisure hotels in India and abroad.

In India, these hotels include The Oberoi Rajvilās, Jaipur; The Oberoi Amarvilās, Agra;

7

Wildflower Hall, Shimla in the Himalayas; The Oberoi Vanyavilās, Ranthambhore; The

Oberoi Cecil, Shimla and The Oberoi Udaivilās, Udaipur. Overseas, the new hotels

include The Oberoi Lombok in Indonesia, The Oberoi, Mauritius and The Oberoi Sahl

Hasheesh in Egypt.

3.2 The Oberoi’s Group Vision

We see an organization, which aims at leadership in the hospitality industry by

understanding its guests, and designing and delivering products and services which

enable it to exceed their expectations. We will always demonstrate care for our

customers through anticipation of their needs, attention to detail, distinctive excellence,

warmth and concern.

We see a lean, responsive organization where decision-making is encouraged at

each level and which accepts change. It is committed and responsive to its guests and

other stakeholders.

We see a multi-skilled workforce, which consists of team players who have

pride of ownership, translating organization vision into reality.

We see an organization where people are nurtured through permanent

learning and skill improvement, and are respected, heard and encourages doing

their best. Oberoi is recognized as best practice for training and developing its

people.

We see a multinational organization, which has been exposed to different culture,

problems and situations and can use its experiences to enrich the local employees

whether in India or Overseas.

We see the world dotted with the hotels of the Oberoi Group, in strategic

commercial and resort locations.

We see user-friendly technology enhancing value for our customers and helping

our personnel by making information more accessible.

We see an organization which is conscious of its role in the community social

needs and insuring employment from within the local community

We see an organization, which is committed to the environment using natural

products and recycling items, thus ensuring proper use of diminishing resources.

8

3.3 The Oberoi’s Group Mission

Our Guests

We are committed to meeting and exceeding the expectations of our guests through our

unremitting dedication to every aspect of service.

Our People

We are committed to the growth, development and welfare of our people upon

whom we rely to make this happen.

Our Distinctiveness

Together, we shall continue the Oberoi tradition of pioneering in the hospitality industry,

striving for unsurpassed excellence in high-potential locations all the way from the

Middle East to Asia-Pacific.

Our Shareholders

As a result, we will create extraordinary value for our stakeholders.

3.4 The Oberoi Dharma

We, as members of the Oberoi Organization are committed to display through our

behavior and actions the following conduct, which applies to all aspects of our business.

Conduct, which is of the highest ethical standards – intellectual, financial and

moral and reflects the highest levels of courtesy and consideration to others.

Conduct, which builds and maintains teamwork, with mutual trust as the basis of all

working relationships.

Conduct which puts the customer first, the Company second and the self-last.

Conduct which exemplifies care for the customer through anticipation of need,

attention to detail, excellence, aesthetics and style and respect for privacy, along with

warmth and concern.

Conduct, which demonstrates two-way communication, accepting constructive,

debate and dissent whilst acting fearlessly with conviction.

Conduct which demonstrates that people are our key asset, through respect for

every employee, and leading from the front regarding performance achievements as

well as individual development.

9

Conduct, which at all times safeguards the safety, security, health and

environment of customers, employees and the assets of the company.

Conduct, which eschews the short-term quick fix for the long-term establishment of

healthy precedent. for the long-term establishment of healthy precedent.

Mercury Travels Limited is our very own travel agent, a subsidiary company of The

Oberoi Group. A Mercury travel was established in 1948 and has played a pioneering

role in the development of tourism In India. The company employs around 300 people

at 15 agencies throughout India and at our marketing offices in New York and Frankfurt.

Mercury Travels specializes in full-service corporate travel within India and within the

Oberoi Group. The company handles inbound tours, incentives, conferences, cruises,

charters, cargo, transport and foreign exchange.

3.5 The Oberoi People Philosophy

Organizational Structure and Manning

Organization structure will be lean with a minimum number of levels and with clear

individual reporting and accountability.

Recruitment and Selection

At entry level of the organization we select people of the highest quality and with the

highest potential to advance our business.

Performance Appraisal

To inculcate a culture of personal growth and organizational excellence based on the

principles of performance based results

Learning and Development

We aim for world-class managerial and technical excellence using continuous learning

and development to support the business and encourage growth within.

Career Development

We provide careers, not merely jobs, to our people, through developing them in ways

where organizational needs are matched with personal strengths and potential

10

Succession Planning

Our focus on development of people will reflect our international character and ensure

that we have the right number of employees with the appropriate skills in the right place

at the right time.

Transfers

Transfers, National or International will be based on organizational needs and career

development requirements of the individuals.

Compensation

Our compensation philosophy enable us to recruit and retain the best and most highly

motivated talent and will encourage the highest level of performance amongst our

employees through result based reward and recognition and be related to the

company’s overall business performance.

Employees relations

To create and preserve an open and harmonious environment in which employees at all

levels will want to give off their very best delivering world-class service at the highest

level of productivity.

Retention

Retention of talent is a key management responsibility as is separation of those whose

performance is consistently below par or who breach the accepted ethical standards

and rules of conduct.

11

3.6 Strategy and Thrust Area

Oberoi group, one of the Asia’s hospitality enterprise, exemplifies the quest for

excellence in the world of hospitality.

With relentless commitment to quality, consistent dedication to guest satisfaction and

unparalleled standards of service, the group has emerged as an international

benchmark in hospitality services, the group has been a pioneer in setting standards

and believes in quality rather than volume. The Oberoi hotels are synonymous the world

over for providing right blend of service, luxury and efficiency.

Training & Development is a key component of the corporate vision. A distinctive

feature of Oberoi hotels is highly motivated and well trained staff that provides the kind

of attentive and sensitive service that is rare today.

3.7 Organization Structure

The organization has a lean structure with decision – making authority at each level.

The decision making is divided between responsibility levels (RL). A responsibility level

is a band of positions.

RL1 - Vice Chairman and Managing Director

RL2 - Corporate Directors

RL3 - General Managers

RL4 - Managers

RL5 - Assistant Managers

RL6 - Executives

RL7 - Supervisors

RL8 - Staff members

Corporate Governance

Mr. P. R. S. Oberoi - Chairman and Chief Executive

Mr. S. S. Mukherji - Vice Chairman & Managing Director

Mr. Vikram Oberoi - Deputy Managing Director (Operations)

Mr. Arjun Oberoi - Deputy Managing Director (Development)

12

Independent Directors

- Mr. S. K. Dasgupta

- Mr. Anil Nehru

- Mr. Rajan Raheja

- Mr. Christopher Reeves

Departments in a Hotel

The various departments in a Hotel is subdivided into two broad categories:-

Operations Department

Support Department

Operation department is necessary for the business activity of the hotel and for dealing

with all needs and requirements of guests. This department includes activities of Front

Office Staff, Housekeeping, Food & Beverages and Engineering & Laundry

departments.

Support departments are those, which contain the additional specialist expertise, which

is an essential back up to any five star hotels. This department includes services of

Accounts personnel, Finance Personnel, Material handling personnel and Human

Resource personnel.

The functions of the departments included in the Operational Activities:-

Front Staff

Personal Interaction with the Visitors and Guests

Telephone bookings, reservations & cancellations

Handling queries of visitors and guests

Taking care of check-in and check-out

Entering the data into the data warehouse about the customers and their

preferences and tastes so that if they turn in again, everything is taken care of in

advance.

31

Housekeeping

Shift Management

Energy conversation

Taking care of the ambience of the room

Guest handling and emergency handling

Gate pass system

It is the most important area for guest satisfaction because these people come in

contact with the guests on a daily basis and even more than twice in a day.

Food & Beverages

Food menu

Various styles of salads

Specialty dishes

Maintaining Hygiene, Health and Safety

International Beverages

Various Languages

14

BUSINESS SEGMENTS

ROLLOUT CHRONOLOGY

Figure 1

Figure 2

15

LITERATURE REVIEW

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

4.1 Training

Training is a process of updating the knowledge, developing skills, bringing about

attitudinal and behavioral changes and improving the ability of the trainee to perform his

/ her tasks efficiently and effectively. (Palo & Padhi, 2003).

Training is enhanced only if it is structured and planned through meaningful assessment

mechanisms. Only by doing so, could training be designed in such a way that it

becomes a valuable experience for the trainee and fulfills the training requirements to

operate and co-operate effectively in an organizational context.

Training is an organized procedure, which brings about a semi-permanent change in

behavior for a definite purpose. The three main areas involved are Knowledge, Skills

and Attitudes (social skills) but always with a definite purpose in mind.

A job is not learnt merely by in instructions. By telling and showing step by step the way

it ought to be done, the job is presently learnt but not done well when the instructions

are not given.

4.2 The Content of Training

The content of any training program should include information useful to the effective

performance of the job, ways of developing and improving skills and abilities that enable

the attainment of speed and proficiency on the job and the means of cultivating the right

attitudes and sound personal qualities in the man. The knowledge should be enhanced

on a regular basis and so as the skills acquired previously. Every employee has to cope

with the physical, mental, visual and nervous demands on the job. Since the needs of

the present day jobs are changing with time, the employees need to be developed

accordingly and proper training needs to be given to them.

4.3 Training as a concept

Effectiveness of a career planning in an organization will largely depend on the extent to

which training and development opportunities are made available to employees to

enable them to realize their growth potential and to make contributions towards

16

achievement of organizational objectives. Training and development activities are the

main mechanism through which individual goals and aspirations can be integrated with

organizational goals and requirements and are careered out in systematic manner

throughout the organization.

Training should be planned investment in the development of the knowledge, skills and

attitude needed by an individual to perform a job to a satisfactory level. The process of

training and development should be a continuous one because of the following

reasons:-

No job can be performed without adequate training.

The only way of correcting inadequate or incorrect job performance is by remedial

training.

Trainers engaged in the work of training needs analysis are at the heart of the decision

making process for selecting and designing effective training program. To find real

training needs and then ensuring that those training need are dealt with productively is

crucial to quality training in the organization. Training needs are very important without

establishing them first training sessions can be ill conceived and worthless from the

point of view of organizational effectiveness. Successful training need analysis

demands care, attention to detail and a determination to search the performance facts

and their implications rather than simply to justify opinions and pressures.

People within the training community talk often about training needs, in pursuing their

goals. Unless the people actually engaged in the training need analysis process have

clear idea of what they mean by this important activity and convey this meaning

successfully to others the result of most extensive research they conduct into training

needs and its significance are likely to be seriously flawed.

4.4 Training Policies

Policies may a major role in the planning activities of any organization and function as a

framework for the management to achieve corporate objectives. A training policy not

only states how training will achieve its set objectives but also spells out the focus of

training activities within the organization.

The policy should clearly state that all employees be trained and developed to the

maximum of their potential and ability.

17

Organization develop training policies for four main reasons:

To define the relationship between the organization’s objectives and its

commitments to training functions.

To provide operational guidelines for management i.e. to state the management

responsibilities for planning and implementing training and in particular, to ensure that

training resources are allocated to property and statutory requirements.

To provide information to employees i.e. to stress the performance standards

expected, to indicate the organization’s commitment to training and development and to

inform employees of opportunities for training development.

To enhance the public relations i.e. to attract high caliber recruits.

4.5 Reasons for conducting training and development

Training and development can be initiated for a variety of reasons for an employee or

group of employees e.g.

When a performance appraisal indicates performance improvement is needed.

To benchmark the status of improvement so far in a performance improvement

effort.

As part of an overall professional development program.

As part of succession planning to help an employee be eligible for a planned

change in role in the organization.

To pilot or test the operation of a new performance management system.

4.6 Ideal training situations

As we look at today’s competitive environment, one of the critical needs is for the

organization to continue to learn. First one has to constantly help employees build the

skills they need to proficient at their current job. Then if you want to be an employer of

choice, you have to create a work environment in which people can continue to grow.

Continual learning is no longer buzzword – today its business requirement of critical

importance. In today’s business environment, where you must change and adapt

quickly, transformation has to be the focus of learning. People can learn all of the skills

81

they need in a new environment. If learning apart of the company’s mission, it must be

integrated at a strategic level.

First the company determines what competencies are needed most in the market place.

This multi-process includes researching the current market by working with sales

people, customer service people and technicians, and talking with customer every day

to understand there needs. Another important step is to research future trends and

identify short term and long term future requirements.

4.7 Difference between Training & Development (best explained by Ash ridge

Model)

There are three approaches to training:-

Fragmented Approach

Formalized Approach

Focused Approach

Fragmented Approach: -

Training is not linked to organizational goals.

It is perceived as luxury and waste of time

It is directive i.e. comes from top to bottom

Carried out by trainers. Line managers are not included

Emphasis is on Knowledge based courses or enhancement of knowledge

Focus is on training rather than on development.

It is non-systematic

Formalized Approach

Training is linked to organizational goals

It is systematic and linked to appraisal system

Emphasis is on knowledge enhancement but focus also on skill enhancement

Training is linked to individual needs

The HR and Line managers are involved in the process thus encouraging

development of the employees.

19

Training is Off the Job training and also transfer on the Job i.e. multi skill.

Focused Approach

Training as a competitive weapon

Training is linked to organizational goals and individual goals

Training and development as a continuous process

Emphasis is on Job development

Specialist training courses across Knowledge / Skills / Value spectrum

Self-selection for training courses.

Training is non-directive

Training given by line managers by becoming mentors / coaches.

Empowerment i.e. tolerance of failures.

4.8 The training system: basically comprised of the following

Training needs analysis

Designing the training program and its Implementation

Evaluation and Effectiveness of Training

20

4.8.1Training Needs Analysis

Training should always be result-oriented. Since the main result of good management is

improved organizational performance, any meaningful assessment of training needs

should start with the identification of organization (performance) problems. The final

purpose of needs assessment is to find out what training and development individual

should receive, and what conditions ought to be created in order to make sure that this

training development will have a positive impact on organizational performance.

This step can be done in various ways:-

Comparison of Current performance with desired performance

Generic approach

Needs at different levels (Individual, Group and Organizational levels)

Comparison of Current performance with desired performance.

Kubr and Prokopenko 1989 gave a basic model for needs assessment. The standard

performance (desired, optimum, future, planned) is denoted by Ps and the current

(existing, real) performance is denoted by Pc. The difference between the two levels of

performances is performance gap denoted by Pg. Current competence is denoted by

Cc. Training intervention is denoted by Nt and Non-training intervention is denoted by

Nnt.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

_____________________________________________________________________

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------X A B C D E

Ps

Pg

Pc

Ps=Cc

Nnt

Pc

Ps Ps

Nnt

Nnt

Nt

Pgr

PcPc=Cc

Ps

Nt

Pc

Ps

Pc

Cc

Nt

Nnt

Figure 3

21

Generic Approach to Need Analysis

Problem Identification

Comparison

Expert Opinion

Needs at different levels

At individual level

At group level

At organizational level

At Individual level the training needs assessment is done by the following

methods:-

Job Analysis and Job Description

Test and Examinations

Interviewing

Observations

Critical Incidence Method

Diary Method

Management by Objectives :- Objectives are fixed up with discussion down the

line. Every target is quantifiable.

Self-Assessment: - Conceptual approach rather than a technique.

Career Planning:- Feasible and desirable from individual and organizational point

of view.

Succession Planning

Performance Appraisal

At Group level the needs assessment is done in the following way:-

Identify those areas, which are revealed only when individual interacts and

communicate with the team.

Find out the needs that are common to the group as a whole

22

Obtain groups collective opinion and consensus on what needs are and how they

should be met.

Meeting of the management teams

Syndicates:- Small group of people, Members from the other organizations.

By administering group projects, Group creativity techniques, Business games.

At organizational level, the needs assessment is done in the following ways:-

Analysis of records and reports

Analysis of future trends and opportunities

Inter-firm comparisons: - ROCE, EBIT, ROI, Turnover etc.

Benchmarking: - one of the best ways of identifying training needs

o Best practices by others

o Implementation of new processes and technologies to improve their own

productivity and quality

Management Diagnostic Survey

HR Audit

Balance Scorecard

Attitude Survey

o To determine opinions and feelings of large group of individuals

Management Climate Survey – Internal Environmental Analysis

SWOT Analysis

4.8.2 Designing Training Programs and Implementation

It is a process of developing training curriculum and materials for program designing

and its implementation. The second process and the most important part of training

exercise. The training curriculum should be designed in such a way that it should be

effective and efficient. It should be related to the job in question and the skills required.

If the designing is not good, the employee may feel it waste of time and it would also

incur costs to the organization.

The training design has three steps:-

32

Preparation Phase

o Need Analysis

o Learner Analysis

o Setting up of Objectives

Development Phase

o Selection of training and development methods

o Selection of training and development media

Improvement Phase

o Evaluation of the training program

Learner Analysis:- Find out whether the employee to be trained needs to be trained?

Whether he is able to learn something from training? And to what extent the training can

be imparted to the employee?

There are differences in learner’s ability to learn, intellectual ability, prior knowledge and

expertise. Different training curriculums to be prepared for different employees. One

basic principle is to be followed:- “never do for learners what they are able to do for

themselves”.

Setting up detailed Objectives:-The training objectives can be easily divided into

three categories.

Program objectives:- Includes training objectives for the whole training program

Session Objectives:- Includes training objectives for individual training sessions

Unit Objectives:- Includes training objectives for individual training session.

e.g. Program objectives for training on Performance Appraisal i.e. at the end of the

program, the trainers must be able to

- Describe performance appraisal and its advantages

- Set performance standards and evaluate actual work carried out

- Plan and conduct performance reviews and discussions.

24

Session objectives for the same training

- Set performance goals for their subordinates for a specific period

- Outlines items to be achieved

- Outlines Performance standards required

Structure of the objectives should be in the form of:-

Statement of Terminal Behavior

The standards to be achieved

The conditions in which the objectives will be implemented

The objectives so set should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time

related.

After the training objectives are clear the next stop is the designing of a training

curriculum which includes:-

Selecting

Producing

Sequencing

Reviewing of the training modules to meet the identified program objectives

Under this category the task of the training department is to select the subject areas

and to prioritize the content under the following headings:-

What the learner must know: items, which are essential to the program objectives.

What the learner should know –items which supplement the essential materials

and should be included if sufficient time available.

What the learner could know: items, which are interesting and relevant but not

essential.

Selection is also done with respect to Human Factors in the form of Learner and

Trainer, Program objectives to improve knowledge, skills and attitude and Subject area

such as Human Resource, Operations, Supply chain etc.

Selection is also done with respect to Length of the course, time of the day, teaching

aids available etc.

25

26

Production of training modules

It is recommended that the first step in the module’s production would be the

preparation of the individual training session, the most important elements to be

included in a session plan are as follows:-

The title of the subject to be covered in the training sessions.

The duration for the training sessions.

The location and address of the session, specifying lecture room, discussion room,

the computer laboratory.

The objectives to be achieved in the training session in line with those of the

overall program.

The key points to covered in the training sessions.

The training equipment and audiovisuals aids required for the session.

The session outline indicating the sequence of the subjects and their elements

covered and the methods and media to be utilized.

The evaluation outline to indicate how the session is to be assessed in meeting its

objectives.

Sequencing (easier to difficult task)

It means that the need for certain kind of knowledge is required to know before going in

for detail learning, that is it is said that during the training sessions, the easier part

should be covered first, and then eventually to move on the difficult part.

Advantages of planning the session:-

Facilitates maintenance of consistent approach by different trainers.

Forms an important link between program objectives.

Helps to ensure no important element is missed out.

27

Reviewing

The training manager should carry out the entire review process, before actually

implementing the training program schedule. The evaluation needs to be done at

Reaction level, Learning level, Job behavior lever and Functioning level.

Factors considered in selecting media for training

Need for interactivity

Changes in content

Cost and Convenience factors

Location

No. of employees to be trained

The time it is to be carried out

Conditions under which it is to be carried out

Fear of attending training.

Lyton and Parekh also developed a similar three-phased plan. They are

Pre-training during which period the organizational needs are to be identified,

strategies including training strategy are made, participants are located and their needs

are analyzed, training program are drawn up etc.

Training during which the necessary inputs are provided to the participants.

Post training when the organization provided opportunities for practicing new

habits and enabling others also to follow the same.

4.8.3 Evaluation of Training

Evaluation of training is used here in a broad sense to mean any attempt to obtain

information (feedback) on the effects of a training program and to assess the value of

the training in the light of that information.

Evaluation can be defined as “The systematic collection and assessment of

information for deciding how best to utilize available training resources in order

to achieve organizational goals.

82

According to some experts on the evaluation of training, we should distinguish between

validation (the assessment of whether the training has achieved its laid down

objectives) and evaluation (the measurement of the total effects of the training

program). The information on the effectiveness of training is difficult to obtain and is

more complex.

Benefits of Validation

Quality control

It calls for an assessment of the extent to which it changes in work performance can be

demonstrated to arise from it. Good practices can be reinforced and less effective ones

amended. Scarce training resources can then be allocated to where they will do most

good.

Efficient training design

The process of setting training objectives and that of setting validation criteria by which

that training can be measured from two sides of the same coin. The identification of

measurement criteria or performance standards for the objectives in turn encourages

clear thinking about the elements of learning that will be needed. It also encourages a

focus upon observable, behavioral changes rather than upon awareness objectives.

Professional Self – Esteem

Systematic validation of data gives trainers a well founded rather than intuitive

assessment of their performance. This can be linked to the organization’s appraisal

system, where it offers a better alternative to less meaningful approximations to

performance measures, such as number of training contact hours or body count of

trainees which measure effort rather than the results.

Track Record

Validated data collected over a period of time make it possible to demonstrate a track

record of effective training, helpful when it comes to budget negotiation.

Appropriate Criteria of Assessment

People make judgments about the training that they or their subordinates experience. In

the absence of any formal validation systems the kind of assessment that people will

29

make are predictable. Whether trainers like it or not judgment about effectiveness of

training are made. Formalized validation preempts judgments on inappropriate criteria.

Validation can be used to change the way training fits into the organization. It provides

an opportunity for trainers and manager to examine and refine their respective roles in

the training process. In turn training departments gets to play a more action policy roles

while managerial co-operation opens the doors to better diagnosis of training needs. It

is important to think of training as a cyclical process in which validation is just as much a

key part as identification of training needs. Indeed, without validation to close the loop

there is no training cycle, simply straight line sequence from deciding upon a training

activity through to implementation. With such a sequence, there is no feedback

mechanism to correct errors of content or process.

Diagnosis Design

Validation & Evaluation Implementation

Validation studies may be focused within the training event asking, how much has been

learned? or how well the chosen methods worked? Alternatively validation may be

focused upon workplace behavior after the training event, when the questions are

typically “What improvements in performance can a trainee demonstrate?” or have

there been obstacles to transfer of learning from the training event?”

The loops shown in the training cycle diagram provide feedback on the different stages

as follows:-

Assess the extent and impact of post training support and or workplace obstacles

to using new knowledge and skills.

Assesses the quality of training experiences and the performance of training

presenters.

Reviews the appropriateness of the training methods to the learning objectives and

to the trainees own preferred learning styles.

Determines whether or not the right people have been selected for the particular

training activity.

30

Measures the extent to which the learning achieved through the training activity

matches needs for competent performance of work tasks, which is to what extent are

the right learning objectives being pursued.

Evaluation of training has two purposes. First, it can be used for assessing training

effectiveness and secondly, it can itself be used as a training aid. The primary purpose

of evaluation is to improve training by discovering which training processes are

successful in achieving their objectives. Many trainers hope to obtain the objective

information of the results of training. For example. If we ask trainees for information

about their reactions to training, we change the nature of their reactions. If we set

trainees an examination at the end of a course, we affect the nature of their learning. If

we study a trainee’s job behavior after a course, we change his job behavior. These

changes are bound to occur so long as the trainee knows he is being evaluated.

The effects of training are likely to be beneficial, since it is a primary principle of the

psychology of learning that knowledge of results facilitates good learning. Evaluation

can help trainees to learn more effectively.

Levels of Evaluation

One of the most comprehensive and widely referenced models of training evaluation is

Donald Kirkpatrick’s (1979). The four levels of this model are as follows:

The reaction level:- Trainees react to the training (form opinions and attitudes

about the trainer, the method of presentation, the usefulness and interest of the subject

matter, there own enjoyments and involvement, ambience and food).

The learning level:- Trainees learn (acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes about

the subject matter of training, which they are capable of translating into behavior within

the training situation)

The job behavior level:- Trainees apply this learning in the form of changed

behavior back on the job

The functioning level (efficiency and costs):- This changed job behavior affects the

functioning of the firm (or the behavior of individuals other than the trainees). These

changes can be measured by a variety of indices, many of which can be expressed in

terms of costs.

31

These four levels can be seen as a chain of cause and effect. The chain can be broken

at any of its links, a trainee may react correctly but fail to learn, or he may learn but fail

to apply his learning on the job, or he may change his job behavior but this may have no

effect on the functioning of the firms. Thus, the evaluation exercise needs to be done at

every level.

Objective setting and Evaluation

The choice of evaluation criteria depends on the objectives of the training. Therefore,

post training evaluation is intimately connected with the pre-training investigation of

training needs and the establishment of training objectives. Ideally, we should set the

objectives of training at each of the four levels. For instance, the objectives of a course

for salesman might be defined in the following manner:-

“to establish high level of involvement and interest (reactions) in order that trainees may

effectively learn certain facts, certain skills of salesmanship, and certain attitudes

towards the salesman’s job (learning) in order that they may use these facts and apply

these skills on the job (job behavior) in order that the quantity of sales may increase

over a specified period (functioning)”.

If these objectives were precisely defined and established, it would be possible to

evaluate at every level. The more précised the objectives, the more precise can training

be evaluated. The levels at which training is evaluated should be the level at which the

objectives of training are set.

When to evaluate?

Evaluation of training at four levels or any of the levels can be obtained during training,

immediately after training or at a specified time after the end of training. In each case, it

should if possible be compared with information on the before – training situation.

Quantified or Unquantified?

Evaluation data can be either quantified (measure, systematic, numerical) or

unquantified (descriptive, unsystematic, verbal). The two types of data have

complementary advantages and disadvantages. Because of its narrowness and

specificity, quantified data should never be taken at its face value, but should be

interpreted in the light of unquantified data.

32

Techniques of Evaluation

There is a wide range of possible techniques at each level of evaluation. In fact, the

range of evaluation methods is potentially as wide as the range of training methods.

The selection of the correct technique or combination of techniques for a particular

situation depends on the nature of the training objectives, the design of training and the

training methods, the relationship between trainers and trainees, trainees and their

superiors, the finance available and other factors. Evaluation should be tailor made

to fit the needs of the situation.

A. At reaction level :- Information about trainee’s reaction to training may be obtained

during training, immediately after training or some time later. During training the

skilled and sensitive trainer will of course obtain a great deal of useful information

about trainee’s reactions simply by watching them and listening to their

conversation. However, in some circumstances it may be desirable for him to

supplement this unsystematic information by the use of rating scales for sessions.

The trainees are asked to place a tick on a number of seven point (or five point)

scales known as likert scales. E.g.

I have found this session

Very well presented ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Very badly presented

Rating scales on immediate reactions are most useful for steering purposes i.e. for

deciding what to do next on an ongoing training program. They should not be used if the

training program is so inflexible that changes cannot be made in the light of the

information obtained.

The traditional time for obtaining feedback on trainee’s reactions is at the end of the

training program. But this is probably the least satisfactory time at which to obtain this

information, since it has neither the advantages of immediacy nor those of objective

distance.

Information on long-term reactions can be obtained from trainees by questionnaire or

interviews some time after the end of a course. This approach can be most useful for

restructuring training program.

33

B. At Learning Level:- The purpose of evaluation at this level is to obtain information

on the account of learning that trainees acquire during the training program, irrespective

of whether they go on to apply the learning on the job. Learning can be divided into

knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Knowledge learning can be evaluated by various forms of test and examinations.

These tests or examinations may contain multiple choice questions out of which one is

right answer and others are wrong. This test can be administered at the end of the

training program and then repeated later if desired to measure the extent to which the

learning has been retained. The test must also be administered in the beginning i.e.

before training so as to measure the change caused by the training.

Skill learning can again be evaluated by tests, though in this case they must be

practical tests in which the trainee is given the opportunity to demonstrate his skills.

Here again the test must be performed in the beginning and in the end.

Attitude learning is an objective of most training programs even when their primary

objectives are in terms of knowledge or skills. To measure changes in attitudes, we can

use elaborate attitude scales but their complexity together with the narrowness of the

range of attitudes measured, makes them inappropriate for most training programs.

C. At Job Behavior Level:- The purpose of evaluation at this level is to discover

whether trainees have applied their learning in the form of changed behavior on the job.

A variety of evaluation techniques can be used but perhaps the most important thing is

that trainers should get their feet wet i.e. that they should actively involve themselves as

far as possible in the job situation of their trainees, so that they obtain a large amount of

unsystematic information about their job behavior. The following techniques can be

used to evaluate training at this level:-

Activity sampling: - for discovering the percentage of time spent by the trainee on

different aspects of his job, and observer diaries for obtaining a continuous record of the

trainee’s pattern of activities. This technique is very expensive.

Self Diaries:- The trainee keeps a record of his own activities over a specified

period, often by ticking in the appropriate columns on a pre-designed form at half-hourly

or hourly intervals. They are both less expensive than observer diaries and also more

acceptable to trainees, especially at managerial levels.

34

Critical incidence method:- The trainer or evaluator observes the trainee’s

performance during a specific incident related to the subject-matter of the training.

Self recording of specific incidents:- devising tailor made evaluation instruments

through which the trainee can himself record details of the way in which he performs

certain incidents.

Appraisal by superiors:- an obvious method of evaluating job behavior after

training, but many conventional appraisal forms are ill-designed for this purpose.

Self Appraisal:- an appraisal done by the employee himself.

D. At Functional Level:- Evaluation at this level consists of any attempt to measure

aspects of the effects of trainee’s job behavior – whether on the productivity or

efficiency of the trainee’s department or on the morale of his subordinates as expressed

by absence rates, labour turnover rates, or the incidence of industrial disputes. Any

index of functioning which is related to the training objectives can be used, and once the

effect of the training on the functioning of the firm has been isolated it is often relatively

small step to assess the cost benefits resulting from the training.

Training and development activities can be evaluated before, during and after the

activities. Consider the following very basic suggestion:-

Before the implementation phase:

Will the selected training and development methods really result in the employee’s

learning the knowledge and skills needed to perform the task or carry out the role?

Have other employee’s used the methods and been successful?

Consider applying the methods to a highly skilled employee. Ask the employee of

their impressions of the methods.

Do the methods conform to the employee’s preferences and learning styles? Have

the employee briefly review the methods i.e. documentation, overheads etc. Does the

employee experience any difficulties understanding the methods?

During implementation of Training

Ask the employee how they are doing. Do they understand what’s being said?

Periodically conduct a short test i.e. have the employees explain the main points of

what was just described to him in the lecture.

35

Is the employee enthusiastically taking part in the activities? Is he or she coming

late and leaving early. Its surprising how often learners will leave a course or workshop

and immediately complain that it was a complete waste of their time. Ask the employee

to rate the activities from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest rating. If the employee gives a

rating of anything less than 5, have the employee describe what could be done to get a

5.

After completion of the training

Give him or her a test before and after the training and development and compare

the results.

Interview him or her before and after, and compare results.

Watch him or her perform the task or conduct the role

Assign an expert evaluator from inside or outside the organization to evaluate the

learner’s knowledge and skills?

36

4.9 Types of training in a organization

On the Job Training

This may include one to one instructions or coaching. This is form of training, which

takes place in the normal workplace of the trainee and covers the knowledge, skills and

attitudes appropriate to the correct performance of a task or job.

Off the Job Training

Under this method of training, the trainee is separate from the job situation and his

attention is focused upon learning the material relates to his future job performance.

Since the trainee is not distracted by job requirements, he can focus his entire

concentration on learning the job rather than spending his time in performing it. There is

an opportunity for freedom of expression for the trainees. Off – the job training methods

are as follows:-

a) Vestibule training

In this method, actual work conditions are simulated in a classroom. Material, files and

equipment – those that are used in actual job performance are also used in the training.

This type of training is commonly used for training personnel for clerical and semi-

skilled jobs. The duration of this training ranges from a few days to a few weeks. Theory

can be related to practice in this method.

b) Role Playing

Role-playing is a training technique in which participants assume an identity other than

their own, to cope with real of hypothetical problems in human relations and other

areas. Role fitting and role taking are other terms sometimes used to describe this

process. Though it is a technique often used within the laboratory context, it is a

sufficiently independent methodology to warrant separate treatment and analysis One

of the features that makes it such a useful teaching device is indeed that it can be

employed in almost any training context even as an adjunct to a primarily didactic

design.

In playing their roles, participants undertake to act out behavior patterns they believe

are characteristic of those roles in specific social situations. For example, two trainees

might act out an interview, one taking the role of manager, the other of a subordinate, in

which the manager is responsible for evaluating the job performance of the subordinate.

37

Major variables thus include the role itself, the role requirements, that is the specific

behavior patterns the player builds into the role, the social situation presented to the

person playing the role, and the participant’s own personality as it infuses the role

during the playing.

Major Aims

Role-playing allows a player to practice reacting in conflict and other stressful situations.

Simulation of reality, in this way, eliminates many of the risks and accountability

inherent in real life while retaining many other aspects of the interaction. Mistakes can

thus be made and observed, and a alternative responses tried. In other words, role-

playing permits experimentation with different ways of behaving in a given situation.

Roles can be selected which are in contrast to the real-life situations of the player so as

to provide vicarious experience and widen the insight of the trainee into the real

meaning and possible implication of the behavior of other persons with whom he comes

into contact. The social situations, which are presented to the participant playing a given

ole, can be varied, to exploit a wide range of reactions, which the trainee may believe to

be appropriate to the role.

Since the role-playing exercise permits practice in reacting to conflict situations without

the risks normally inherent in real organizational life, mistakes can be tolerated.

The trainee can be helped to modify his own behavior patterns by getting feedback from

others who have watched him play a role. When successful, this may open up

communication channels and release some of the inhibitions, which may otherwise

hinder resolution of conflict situations.

Although the development of roles and situations may take many forms, either of two

approaches is generally used:-

Structured Role Playing:- In this type, a leader selects both the situations and the

roles to be enacted, and specifies the goals of the activity. This type of pre-planned

role-playing provides in some case very elaborate written materials that describe the

roles and situation, and elicit complex response from the observers.

Spontaneous Role Playing:- This approach relies on the problem situation arising

from the group discussion, without advance planning by the group or leader. In this

38

instance, the enactment itself serves as the “briefing to the group on the problem and

situation”.

Both structured and spontaneous role-playing relate to learning through doing,

intimation, observation and feedback and analysis. As is the case with T-group, role-

playing represents a form of experiential learning.

There are also two major orientations to role-playing. These are situation centered and

human relations centered. In a situation-centered problem, the roles of the actors are

defined and the situation is left open to allow the group the freedom to explore a

problem. The second orientation focuses on how individuals function; therefore, the

roles are left more flexible and the situation is well defined. The emphasis in both the

orientations and approaches is to analyze, evaluate and suggest improvement in the

interaction skills of practitioners.

Advantages of Role Playing

Role-playing provides an opportunity for developing insight into what is happening

when it is happening.

Role playing emphasis the importance that feelings and emotions play in may

problems, especially problems associated with human relations.

Role-playing enables the manager or supervisor to see a situation from a

perspective different to his own.

Role-playing, successfully handled, develops the interest of the learner, thereby

providing a dynamic situation during, the course of which attitudes can be modified and

new attitudes develops.

c) Lecture Method

One of the oldest and the most basic method of training is lecture method. Although

experience and educational research indicates that lecture method is a relatively

inefficient way to transfer knowledge, many instructors find themselves spending at

least 30 to 50 percent of their time lecturing.

The use of lecturing depends on the subject matter, the teaching philosophy of the

instructor or training centre, and the over-all learning situation. Formal lecturing has

been used largely to build up basic theoretical knowledge, which must be gained before

practice, or participative training sessions will be of any use. If there are large numbers

39

of people to be trained, scarce teaching resources, or few hours available for

instruction, lecturing may be only alternative.

The lecture method has its limitations. Since it does not demand active involvement of

participants, it is largely unsuited to the teaching of skills, which require practice. It is

also of limited value in promoting behavioral or attitudinal changes, which is a large part

of management development. It is very difficult to convince anyone by merely talking at

them; attitudes are changed best when people convince themselves. Participative

methods are better for such purposes.

Lecture method is a one-way communication. The listeners remain passive for most of

the part.

One must plan the lecture before going in front of the audience. One should answer four

basic questions i.e.

Who is your audience? Who

What is the purpose of your talk? Why

What is the time available? How Long

What is the subject matter? What

With a clearly define purpose in mind; it will be easier to select appropriate material and

to decide on the most effective way to present it.

d) Case Study Method

The case study method of training requires the distribution of real life cases or incidents

that have happened in the past for the participants to go through them and give their

own views keeping in mind the crux of the case. A case study provides a sample of the

business life in a slow motion so that it may be studied in detail. Trainers learn to get

the most out of limited data by asking effective questions. They develop a habit of

taking a greater number of factors into account than usual.

The method develops a systematic way of thinking about business issues and

managerial decisions. Through examination and diagnosis of situations comparable to

their own, participants may be drawn to re-examine their own attitudes and

relationships.

Coaching

40

Coaching is a kind of daily training and feedback given to employees by immediate

supervisors. It involves a continuous process of learning by doing. It may be defined as

an informal, unplanned training and development activity provided by supervisor and

peers. In coaching, the supervisor explains things and answers question, he throws light

on why things are done the way they are, he offers a model for trainees to copy,

conducts lot of decision making meetings with trainees, procedures are agreed upon

and the trainee is given enough authority to make divisions and even commit mistakes.

Of course, coaching can be taxing job in that the coach may not possess requisite skills

to guide the learner in a systematic way. Sometimes, doing a full day’s work may be

more important than putting the learner on track.

When to use coaching usefully? Coaching could be put to good use when:

An employee demonstrates a new technology

An employee expresses interest in a different job within the organizations

An employee seeks feedback

An employee is expressing low morale, violating company policies or practices or

having performance problems.

An employee needs help with a new skill following a formal training program.

Effective working, obviously, requires patience and communication skills. It

involves,

Explaining appropriate was of doing things.

Making clear why actions were taken

Stating observations accurately.

Offering possible alternatives / suggestions

Following up

Mentoring

Mentoring is a relationship in which senior manager in an organization assumes the

responsibility for grooming a junior person. Technical, interpersonal and political skills

are generally conveyed in such a relationship from the more experienced person. A

mentor is a teacher, spouse, counselor, developer of skills and intellect, host, guide,

41

exemplar and most importantly, supporter and facilitator in the realization of the vision

the young person has about the kind of life he wants as an adult. The main objective of

mentoring is to help an employee attain psychological maturity and effectiveness and

get integrated with the organization. In a work situation, such mentoring can take place

at both formal and informal levels, depending on the prevailing work culture and the

commitment from the top management. Formal mentoring can be very fruitful, if

management invests time and money in such relationship building exercises. The

important features of mentoring may be:-

Career functions

o Sponsorship

o Exposure and Visibility

o Coaching

o Protection

o Challenging Assignments

Psychological functions

o Role modeling

o Acceptance and Confirmation

o Counseling

o Friendship

Mentoring in India is based on the time–honored guru-shishya relationship where the

guru would do everything to develop the personality of the shishya, offering emotional

support and guidance. Companies like TISCO, Polaris, Coco-Cola India have used

mentoring systems to good effect in recent times. Organizations like GE, Intel, and

Proctor & Gamble have given a lot of importance to mentoring programs, going even to

the extent of penalizing senior managers if they fail to develop leadership skills among

subordinates. Of course, mentoring is not without its problems. Mentors who are

dissatisfied with their jobs and those who teach or narrow or distorted view of events

may not help the young person’s development.

42

On the job Instruction

It is normally used when the trainee is naïve and new to the task or jobs in question.

Coaching on the other hand is about helping a trainee to extend, improve or develop the

already acquired basic skills.

Supporting

It is not actually training. The function of a supporter is to support those working on

personal learning programs by discussing problems and progress, giving

encouragement and generally looking after interests of individuals who have no direct

contact with tutors or students.

Behavioral Training

This type of training is imparted in order to provide inputs to person in terms of

behavioral aspects. The training given may talk about communication skills of a person

or may be organized to enhance or incorporate leadership skills in a person. Thus, it

deals with the intangible aspects of one’s personality.

Developmental Training

While imparting this types of training or planning this type of training, the trainer aims at

the overall development of the personality of an individual. The training provided in this

case is beyond the realms of one’s job. It is much broader concept and can also be

used as a tool for the motivation of the employees.

Continuous Professional Development

Many professions require verification of ongoing training to retain certification i.e. social

workers, some fields of law, nurses etc. Professionals must stay up to date in the views

and practices necessary to lead and mange in today’s organizations. There seems to

be an increasing number of universities, colleges and training centers associating

continuing education units (CUES) with their courses and workshops.

Distance Learning

This typically includes learning by getting information and / or guidance from people

who are not face – to – face with the learner i.e. learning via satellite broadcast, learning

from internet, e-mail, postal mail correspondence etc. Some people consider on – line

34

learning i.e. information, tutorials etc. available on the diskette, CD ROM, over the

Internet etc.) to be distance learning as well.

Job Rotations

This kind of training involves the movement of trainee from one job to another. This

helps him to have a general understanding of how the organization functions. The

purpose of job rotation is to provide trainees with a larger organizational perspective

and a greater understanding of different functional areas as well as a better sense of

their own career objectives and interests. Apart from relieving boredom, job rotation

allows trainees to build rapport with a wide range of individuals within the organization,

facilitating future cooperation among departments. The cross-trained personnel offer a

great amount of flexibility for organizations when transfers, promotions or replacements

become inevitable.

Job rotation may pose several problems, especially when the trainees are felled on

various jobs at frequent intervals. In such a case, trainees do not usually stay long

enough in any single phase of the operation to develop p high degree of expertise. For

slow learners, there is little room to integrate resources properly. Trainees can become

confused when they’re exposed to rotating managers, with contrasting styles of

operation. Today’s manager’s commands may be replaced by another set from another

manager. Further, job rotation can be quite expensive. A substantial amount of

managerial time is lost when trainees change positions, because thy must be

acquainted with different people and techniques in each department. Development

costs can go up and moving a trainee into a new position when his efficiency levels

begin to improve at the prior job reduces productivity. Inexperienced trainees may fail to

handle new tasks in an efficient way. Intelligent and aggressive trainees, on the other

hand, may find the system to be thoroughly boring as they continue to perform more or

less similar jobs without any stretch, pull and challenge. To get the best results out of

the system, it should be tailored to the needs, interests and capabilities of the individual

trainee, and not be a standard sequence that all trainees undergo.

Management Development Programs

Local universities, colleges and training centers usually offer these programs. They

carefully review their program content and design to ensure that training includes real-

life learning activities during which learners can develop skills for the workplace.

44

On line Training

There are now numerous sources of on-line training (learning information from

computer diskette, CD-ROM, the internet etc.). This form of learning is sometimes

called web-based learning. Various forms of distance learning involve learning over the

Internet as well.

Other – Directed learning

This included having someone other than the learner identify the training goal, methods

to achieve the goal and approaches to evaluating the training and progress toward

achieving the training goal.

Peer-Based Methods

This includes formats where peers focus on helping each other learn i.e. by exchanging

ongoing feedback, questions, supportive challenges, materials etc.

Self-Directed Learning

Highly motivated learners can usually gain a great deal of knowledge and skills by

identifying their own learning objectives, how to meet those objectives and how to verify

they have met the objectives as well.

Workshops

Workshops typically include some hands-on practice by the learner and can be very

practical means to learn a certain technique or procedure.

4.13 Factors affecting the choice of training methods

Learning objectives

o Knowledge

o Skills

o Attitudes

Human Factors

o Trainer

o Participants

o Environment

45

Subject and Content

o Specific subject

o Interdisciplinary problems

Time and Internal factors

o Time

o Finance

o Training Facilities

Principles of Learning

o Motivation

o Active involvement

o Individual approach

o Feedback

o Transfer

o Sequencing and structuring

4.14 Learning Defined

Learning is a relatively permanent change in the behavior that occurs as a result of

reinforced practices or experience.

The definition brings out four important features of learning, that is

It is a change

It is relatively permanent

It is to reinforced continuously

It comes by practice, experience or training.

Factors affecting Learning

Knowledge of results

Length of learning sessions

46

Part versus whole learning

Logical sequence

Depth of impression

Association of ideas

Transfer of learning

Learning process cannot begin unless there is a motivational desire i.e. the will to learn,

to optimize training opportunities and to help the trainee to meet his won and corporate

goals. To do this, the trainer must have a understanding not only of how people learn,

but psychological factors which influence learning.

These factors are:-

Goal setting

Need satisfaction at work

Incentives to greater efforts

Trainer – Trainee relationships

Anxiety in the learning process

Age and Capacity for learning

Learning Process

Learning as a process can be learned through various processes, these are as follows:-

Trial and error

Being told

Imitation

Thinking process

Psychomotor learning

4.15 Training strategy

To avert futile training programs it is necessary to consider four strategic issues:-

The need for a broad action perspective in establishing training strategy.

Setting goals

47

Planning the specifications

Programming the resources and their sequences for these requirements.

From an action perspective, training is a systematic attempt to develop the human

resources – individual, group organizational competencies required to manage some

preset tasks and situation as well as those in the future. An effective training strategy

therefore focuses on making training an effective instrument of action in the field. When

training is closely linked to action, the trainer’s role expands from the traditional

instructor / organizer of training programs and session to include change agent and

system consultant to the work organization.

The next step after overall action strategy is setting appropriate goal for training

–

Following question need to be asked for this purpose

What are the changes to be effected

What number and types of people required training

What resources of time, skill and facilities will be needed for this particular training

or what are the training specifications.

Much training bogs down in failure right here, it is the failure from which there is no

hope of recovery, despite any subsequent effort mounted to compensate for it.

In goal setting the degree level and intensity of the desired change is laid down.

Training specification should work out as how this can be achieved in detail

84

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT AT OBEROI’S

5.1 Training system at The Oberoi Amarvilas

At The Oberoi Amarvilas due importance is given to the training and development to the

employees for their better future prospects as well as the qualitative growth of the

organization as a whole, it has long been realized by the mentors of the Oberoi chain

that training is indispensable to the health of the chain, if not given proper attention and

impetus. The Oberoi group may have to compromise in terms of professionalism,

standards and thus lag behind its rivals in this age of stiff competition.

5.2 The Induction process at The Oberoi Amarvilas

Induction is a technique by which new employee is rehabilitated into the changed

surroundings and introduced to the practices, policies and purpose of the organization.

The induction process helps minimizes as what is called as the Reality Shocks some

employees may undergo. The reality shock is caused by the incompatibility between

what the employees expect in their new jobs and the realities they are confronted with.

As soon as the person joins the Hotel, he is given the property tour. From next day

onwards the person starts with his induction in different departments. The induction

schedule is usually for a period of 15 days. During this period of 15 days a person goes

to all different departments in the hotel. He has to spend some time in each of these

departments depending how relevant a department is in context of the department he is

to join. In these 15 days he not only familiarizes but also gets to know the basic

functioning of each of these departments. At the end of each day during the induction

the new joined has to come and give an induction feedback to the training manager and

is also welcome with suggestions if any. At the end of the induction process, the person

has to meet the manager human resources to discuss as to what he / she gained from

the induction and how beneficial it was. After the brief exposure to all the departments,

he finally goes to his own department and further instructions pertaining to his job is

taken care of by the department and supervisor.

The induction thus given has to be effective because whenever the employee joins in

he has some expectations like:

49

5.3 Opportunities for advancement

Social status and prestige- the feeling of doing something important and the

recognition of this by others.

Responsibility.

Opportunities to use special aptitudes and educational background

Challenge and adventure

Opportunity to be creative and original

The purpose of induction is also to introduce the new employee and organization to

each other, to help them acquainted, and to help them accommodate each other. The

new corner is explained as what is expected from him and for this, he is explained the

rules, regulations, policies and procedures that directly affect him. He is made aware of

how his job fits into the overall operation of the organization and his own duties and

responsibilities.

5.4 Training System at Oberoi – Divided into three processes

Training needs assessment

Methodology adopted to impart training

The effectiveness of training imparted

Firstly, the training plan and training calendar is made according to the training policy

and for the purpose of devising the training plan and the training calendar, the first step

is the training needs assessment in the organization both at the individual as well as the

organization level.

At the Oberoi Amarvilas, training needs assessment process comprised of the following

steps:

Training needs analysis questionnaire

Performance appraisal

Market scenario

Validation of data through discussion with HOD

The Oberoi Training Manual defines the Training Needs Assessment in the following

format:

50

Business Needs

Training Needs Analysis Performance Questionnaire Appraisal

Market Scenario

Validation of data through discussionWith HOD

Training Plan

5.4.1Training Need Analysis Questionnaire

This questionnaire is formed with the objective of knowing the needs of the individual as

well as that of the department, the training needs questionnaire is being devised by the

training department in consultation with the top management and the HR department, in

which the there are questions such as

How many employees in your department are working for more than five years?

How many employees underwent the training last year

In which areas does your employees need improvement?

What do you think has been the weak area of your whole department?

In which areas does your employees need the reinforcement training?

These and more questions are filled by the department heads and are sent back to the

training department.

51

5.4.2Performance Appraisal

It has been very famous and widely accepted tool for assessing the training needs

assessment. The performance appraisal at Oberoi is both an annual process which is a

formal process, whereas they also have the mid-term appraisal which is not a formal

process, it only involves the interaction with the immediate supervisor, and in the mid-

term appraisal process following things are covered:-

Performance review and performance feedback

The assessments of the targets

The areas to be improved

5.4.3Market Scenario

In this, the hotel carried out a number of surveys, which is for the purpose of knowing as

what are the current needs of the customer, which are the areas in which they are

lacking as compared to the competitors. The total quality management process in the

hotel was started way back in 2005.

5.5 Training Plan

The training plan is made at the end of every year for the next year. This plan, which is

prepared on the basis of the business, needs questionnaire and is further, developed

into training mandate. Mandate comprises of the main heads of the plan without any

sub-divisions. The sub-heads under each head are expressed in terms of man-days,

which are further converted into percentage. This is done as and when it is recorded.

This has to be presented at the end of every year for the next year. An estimated

budget is also made for each training session while making the training plan. The

budget is made of the basis of the number of training sessions to be held and also on

the basis of past records, which give us information about the cost of training in the past

years.

In order to arrive at a proper training plan for the coming year, the first step is the

circulation of the business needs questionnaire to all departmental heads; this is done

in order to know the training needs of the employees in different departments. The

department head that is in direct interaction with the people in his department

expresses in this questionnaire the kind of training that he wants to be imparted to his

52

department people. This may or may not be related to the skill required by him in order

to do his job in the department.

After the business needs the departmental heads has filled in questionnaires, they

come to training department and hand over it to the training manager. The training

manager then studies and compares all these questionnaires and the common needs of

all the departments are determined. These needs are then consolidated in the form of a

training calendar, which is made at the end of the financial year for the coming year.

The training calendar is to be presented in the financial review meeting. Individual

training needs of different departments are then informed to the departmental heads so

that they can conduct classes accordingly on their own. Financial support is provided for

the same by the training department. The training plan is made on the basis of training

plans of individual departments, market scenario, performance appraisals, changes in

technology, introduction of new systems, individual development needs.

5.6 Procedure of selecting trainees for External & Internal Training Sessions

There are number of brochures regarding various training programs held in the city.

Information regarding the same is sent to the relevant departments that can be

benefited from these programs. The departmental heads are expected to send in the

nominations from their respective departments for those programs. As soon as the

nominations are received the authority holding the program is informed and advance

cheque payment is made. Four copies of the nominations are made out of which one is

sent to the Human Resource department, one to the Departmental head, one to the

nominee and one is kept in the training department.

For internal or in-house training program a different systems is followed. First of all, the

area in which training is to be imparted is determined. It could be department specific or

general. Then the next step is to decide whether there is any person within the

organization itself who can impart training to the employees. Usually, the departmental

heads or the department supervisors hold the departmental training. If there is nobody,

then a faculty from outside is arranged. Various educational institutes and other

organizations are also consulted in this regard. A trainer is then hired who comes in and

holds classes in the organization from time to time.

35

5.7 Training Cards

Each and every employee has a training card of his own. This is done with the purpose

that each time the individual undergoes training, training card needs to be updated. This

is done either by the departmental head or whosoever is responsible for training in the

department. In this way, a track can be kept of the training sessions a person has

already attended. It further helps the department head to chalk out what kind of training

a person has already gone and what kind of training is now to be imparted. A training

card comprises of columns such as name of the session, date, venue, number of days,

and name of the trainer.

5.8 Various types of training used at the Oberoi’s, New Delhi

The various types of trainings that are used in Oberoi Amarvilas are as follows:-

On the Job Training:- This is a form of training that takes place in the normal

workplace of the trainee and covers the Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes appropriate to

reach a Standard performance level

Cross Training:- One can take the cross training as a synonymous of job rotation,

but it is not so. In the cross training the employees are given training with regards to the

operations of other departments, whereas in job rotation the employees within the same

department are put to different jobs.

In house workshops through external trainers:- These kind of training

programs are done with the objective of learning some new tasks i.e. tasks which are

new for the department or for the organization as a whole.

Off-the job training:- This takes place away from the job location, usually this

form of training takes the form of courses which are provided either by the

organization’s own training department or by an outside agency.

One to one instruction:- This involves employees to train each other while doing

interaction and giving instructions.

Behavioral Training:- This type of training is imparted in order to provide inputs to

person in terms of behavioral aspects. The training given may talk about communication

skills of a person or may be organized to enhance or incorporate leadership skills in a

person. Thus, it deals with the intangible aspects of one’s personality.

54

Developmental Training:- While imparting this type of training or planning this

type of training, the trainer aims a the overall development of the personality of an

individual. The training provided in this case is beyond the realms of one’s job.

5.9 Training Evaluation practices

The training evaluation, which is done in the hotel, involves feedback, which is taken

from the employees at the end of every training session. It is taken either verbally or in

the form of feedback forms. In case of the new joinees, the training manager takes an

individual feedback forms them. At the end of their induction period each one of them

has to come and meet up the training manager. During this meeting they are asked as

to how beneficial the induction was for them and whether they actually gained from it.

Suggestions are invited if any, to improve upon the present induction process.

When the feedback forms are filled and collected, then they are read through to get a

fair idea of the response towards the particular program. Then the manager tries to infer

from these as to what are the people actually looking for in training program. Feedback

on area such as what it is that the majority of them liked about the program, how could

the program have been better is gathered so that positive points are jotted down and

the Grey areas are improved upon.

Well this is one aspect of the training evaluation as regards to the learning level, most of

the employees say that they learn something or the other, which may not be evident at

first site, but over the period of time it is evident through the work process, and as such

one thing which the hotel does is to ensure that reinforcement training is given at proper

intervals.

As regards the skill measurement, this is different for different departments. For

housekeeping after the training is given on how to make up the beds can be seen by

the departmental head by visiting various rooms. For Front office staff, the skills can be

measured or judged after finding out the satisfaction levels of the guests and visitors

through customer feedback forms.

The Guest feedback system used at the Oberoi’s is known as Guest Endorsement

System (GUEST), which incorporates each individual’s feedback as a reality, based

mini-inspection. The assessment component of the program focuses on results of the

guest surveys such as:-

Performance or physical related questions (room – cleanliness)

55

Performance on service related questions (such as professional attitude and

appearance of the staff).

Value for the price paid

Whether the guest would recommend hotel to others

The average of the response on the key questions determines the guest’s intent to

return to that hotel. The heart of this program is acknowledgement that guest’s do not

lie about their experience at hotels. With the help of the GUEST system the hotel is able

to make decisions regarding as what services and amenities to offer or discontinue,

what processes might smoothen the check-in / check-out process and what investments

should be made in the property.

5.10 Some of the Training Programs conducted at the Oberoi Group

Cultural Training & Stress Management

Culture training and stress management are some of the training modules that are

made mandatory for all management staff. The management trainee batch is taken for

an outdoor team building exercise intended to give an insight into the importance of

team working, communication, trust, managing relationships and understanding each

other as to be able to work together. The main aim is to shift the focus from the

individual to the team. A scenic place like Rishikesh is chosen and some of the activities

included are water rafting, trekking, rappelling and other behavioral exercises. The

objective is to generate learning and learn how they can apply in our day-to-day working

scenario.

Communication Skill Training

This is a special type of training program specifically designed for the front end

employees, the basic features of this program are as follows:-

How to handle the telephone queries, what kind of tone to be used when

interacting with the guests and what kind of tone to be used when attending a query,

because they feel that the first impression sets the tone for an entire stay, when a

positive impression is created, everything tends to go well thereafter.

How to answer the query confidently?

How to greet a visitor or a guest?

56

How to communicate in foreign languages?

What actions needs to be done and what not depending on the different countries

visitors.

Skill Builder Exercises

The Oberoi group provided its managers with a serried of the skill building exercises

which includes the following subjects:-

Listening Skills

Communicating effectively

Building personal relationships

Delegating responsibility

Adjusting to circumstances

Thinking creatively

Working competently

Taking action and achieving results

Cultivating individual talents

Motivating successfully

Displaying commitment

Seeking improvement

External Training Sessions

This type of training takes place outside the organization purview and the following are

being taken care of :-

Leadership programs

Communication programs

Time management and innovation

57

OBSERVATION & ANALYSIS WITH PIE & BAR GRAPHS

Q.2. Importance of training and Development function

According to the employees who were surveyed for the purpose of the project said that

they are aware of the training function in their organization and also knew that its being

given a high importance as it is one of the thrust area of the organization and is a part of

the vision and mission statement.

The analysis of the department wise is as follows:-

Housekeeping :- There was a mixed response in terms of importance of the training

and development function. 70% of the employees covered said that the training and

development activity in their organization is very important whereas 30% said it was

moderately important. No body said that it is not important at all.

IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING (HOUSEKEEPING)

70%

30%

very important moderately important

Food & Beverages:- Here also there was a mixed response. 80% of the employees

said that the training and development activities are important and 20% said they were

moderately important. This being a food and beverages department it is important for all

the staff to learn new menus and divergent menus. It is important for them to learn how

to present the menu, food and drinks. They should have knowledge about the various

drinks and how to serve them.

85

IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING (FOOD & BEVERAGES)

80%

20%

very important moderately important

Front Office Staff:- 90% of the employees said that the training is very important and

only 10% said that training is moderately important. Front office employees / staff said

that they are required to keep in touch with the visitors and guests of foreign countries

on a daily basis.

IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING (FRONT OFFICE STAFF)

90%

10%

very important moderately important

Engineering & LAUNDRY:- Most of the employees said that they are aware of the

training and development activities in the organization but they are not put to any such

training and development activity. 40% of the employees said that there are

departmental trainers and training is important whereas 60% said that there are not

departmental trainers and no training is imparted to them.

59

IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING (ENGINEERING & LAUNDARY)

40%

60%

moderately important not important

Q.3 Does the organization have a training plan / training calendar

60% employees of the different departments covered said that there is a training plan /

training calendar that is being formulated by the personnel of RL4 and above grades.

They said that they are not aware of the policies and how the training calendar is

formulated. The rest of the employees (40%) said that they are not aware of the training

plan / training calendar but are given training as and when required.

TRAINING PLAN / TRAINING CALENDAR(ALL FOUR DEPARTMETNS)

60%

40%

yes no

Q.4 If yes, what is the form of training plan

60% of the employees said that the form of training plan is comprehensive whereas

40% who do not know whether there is any training plan or not does not know about the

form of training plan. Comprehensive training plan means that the organization follows

the three steps procedure in the training & development activities and includes all the

personnel from RL4 to RL8. It is not a policy statement only and is followed

aggressively.

60

TRAINING PLAN (COMPREHENSIVE OR POLICY STATEMENT)

(ALL FOUR DEPARTMETNS)

60%

40%

comprehensive not known

Q.5 Who is responsible for the execution of training program

70% of the employees said that all the personnel (Training Head, HR Head and

Departmental Head) are responsible for the execution of the training program and they

are the ones who identify the need for training. Whereas, 30% said that only

Departmental Head is responsible for the need analysis of the training. The 70%

strength included employees from Housekeeping, Front Office and Food & Beverages

department. The employees of engineering and laundry department feel that it is their

departmental head that identifies the need for training.

EXECUTION OF TRAINING (RESPONSIBILITY)(ALL FOUR DEPARTMETNS)

70%

30%

all of them departmental head

Q.6 Orientation guide / Training Manual

All the employees said that there is neither orientation guide nor any training manual in

the organization. The respondents said that when they were inducted in the

organization they had to undergo the job rotation exercise (one of the most important

training techniques) wherein they were asked to work on different jobs in the same

61

department. There was no orientation guide provided to them for going through at the

time of induction.

TRAINING MANUAL / ORIENTATION GUIDE(ALL FOUR DEPARTMETNS)

0%

100%

yes no

Q.7 How many training Programs attended in a year

40% of the employees in the housekeeping department attend around 7 to 8 number of

training programs whereas 60% attend around 3 to 4 number of training programs in a

year.

NUMBER OF TRAININGS PER YEAR(HOUSEKEEPING)

40%

60%

7 to 8 3 to 4

70% of the employees in the Front Office department attend around 8 to 10 number of

training programs in a year whereas 30% attend around 3 to 5 number of training

programs in year.

62

NUMBER OF TRAININGS PER YEAR(FRONT OFFICE)

70%

30%

8 to 10 3 to 5

Food and Beverages employees attend around 5 to 7 training programs only that too in

house i.e. on job training. The external chef is requested to give his / her expertise and

train the employees.

NUMBER OF TRAININGS PER YEAR(FOOD & BEVERAGES)

100%

0%

5 to 7 More

Q.8 Individual Training need is related

The need for training in employees was basically to increase or enhance their

knowledge levels, improvement in skill levels and attitude formation. But some of the

employees in addition to these needs were looking for career planning and succession

planning also. Some were looking for cross training, which is given importance by the

Housekeeping and food and beverages department. The departmental wise importance

is given as under:-

Housekeeping:- A high importance (60%) is given to the cross training, that is

employees want to know about the functioning of the other departments as well and

then the importance (30%) goes to the development of skills and knowledge. But the

36

least importance (10%) goes to the attitudinal development because the average age of

employees in this department is around 35-40 years and to change the attitude of the

persons of this age is difficult.

INDIVIDUAL NEED FOR TRAINING(HOUSEKEEPING)

60%30%

10%

Cross Training Skills & Knowledge Attitudinal Change

Food and Beverage:- A high importance (70%) is given to the need of training related

to the enhancement of their present job / skills as the employees feel that it is through

food and beverages by which they directly or indirectly interact with their customers and

for this they need to continuously hone their skills. Next in category comes the need for

cross training (20%) and the least importance (10%) is given to the behavioral training.

INDIVIDUAL NEED FOR TRAINING(FOOD & BEVERAGES)

20%

70%

10%

Cross Training Skills & Knowledge Attitudinal Change

Front Office:- None of the employees said that they need any cross training. A high

importance (80%) is given to the need for training in relation to enhancement of present

job / skill and second highest (20%) importance goes to the need for behavioral related

training.

64

INDIVIDUAL NEED FOR TRAINING(FRONT OFFICE)

0%

80%

20%

Cross Training Skills & Knowledge Attitudinal Change

Engineering & LAUNDRY:- A high importance (55%) is given on training need related

to the enhancement of their present job / skill and second highest importance (45%) is

given to the need for cross training basically the training in Housekeeping because

personnel in engineering and laundry department become well versed with the

housekeeping activities.

INDIVIDUAL NEED FOR TRAINING(ENGINEERING & LAUNDARY)

45%

55%

0%

Cross Training Skills & Knowledge Attitudinal Change

Q.9 Means by which the training and development needs are identified.

30% of the employees said that the training need is identified on the basis of the

departmental needs whereas 20% said it is based on the organizational needs, 40%

said that the needs assessment is based on the individual needs and the balance 10%

said they do not know. The group or team level needs is understood by most of the

employees as departmental needs. As discussed in Chapter 5, the needs assessment

is done by administering a questionnaire to the departmental heads and they define the

need for training and choose trainees on their own and then give the filled up

65

questionnaire to the Training manager. The 10% employees are from the Engineering

and Laundry department.

MEANS OF ASSESSING THE NEED FOR TRAINING(ALL FOUR DEPARTMENTS)

40%

0%30%

20%

10% Individual

Group orteam'Department

Organization

Do Not Know

Q.10The various methods by which the individual need analysis is done

According to the various departments surveyed, 80% said that the training needs are

assessed on the basis of the performance appraisal done at the end of the year. The

next most important mode is the personal interaction with the departmental managers

i.e. Interviewing and Observations (20%). It is only the engineering and laundry

department where the needs assessment is not done as per the satisfaction of the

employees.

MEANS OF ASSESSING INDIVIDUAL NEED(ALL FOUR DEPARTMENTS)

10%10%

80%

Interviewing Observations Performance Appraisal

66

Q.11Linking of Training Program to present profile

Almost all the employees said that the training program they undergo is linked to their

present job profile and nothing out of the world is taught to them.

LINKING OF TRAINING TO PRESENT PROFILE(ALL FOUR DEPARTMENTS)

100%

0%

Yes No

Q.12Session and Training Objectives are clear or not clear

The responses here were mixed. Around 75% said that they do go through the training

objectives before undergoing any training and understand them and try to link them to

their needs and organizational needs whereas 25% said they just attend the training

and do not bother about the objectives at all.

CLARITY OF TRAINING OBJECTIVES(ALL FOUR DEPARTMENTS)

75%

25%

Yes No

Q.13Sequencing of the training program

Almost all the employees who undergo training are satisfied with the sequencing of the

training program. Since most of the training programs take place inside the organization

i.e. through OCLD, the training programs are short in length and sequencing is taken

care of. The easy part of the program is taught first and then comes the difficult part.

For example, in housekeeping department, the training of making a bed is sequenced

properly. First the employees are taught by the lecture method and then by a simulation

technique.

67

Q.14Training imparted is in-house or external or both

Most of the employees (90%) said the training being imparted is in-house only whereas

10% of the employees said that it is external and internal both. The external training

sessions discussed are leadership programs, communication programs and time

management and innovation. Mostly the employee of the front office department goes in

for external training sessions.

LOCATION OF TRAINING(ALL FOUR DEPARTMENTS)

90%

0% 10%

In house External Both

Q.15Popular methods of training

As per the survey findings, the type of training, which the employees want, differs from

department to department. The department wise analysis is given below:-

Housekeeping:- According the employees surveyed, 57% say that they have received

training through briefings, whereas 38% say that they have received training through

class room sessions and the rest 5% says that they have received training through on

the job. From this we can interpret that in the housekeeping department, emphasis is

laid on Lecture method / Briefings and least importance is given to On the Job Training.

Most of the employees in the department said that their should be new methods which

should keep on coming from time to time like “On-Line” training and “Cross-Training”.

METHODS OF TRAINING(HOUSEKEEPING)

57%

38%

5%

Briefings Class room On the J ob

Food & Beverages Services:- According to the employees surveyed, 75% said that

they have received training through On-the Job methods and rest 25% said that they

86

have received training through briefings and class room sessions. It can be inferred tat

emphasis is more on On-the Job training because it is easy to apply and learn through

this method. The classroom sessions are also helpful because they give a structured

learning process. The employees of this department were also keen to go in for external

sessions and Cross-Training.

METHODS OF TRAINING(FOOD & BEVERAGES)

10%

15%

75%

Briefings Class room On the J ob

Front Office:- According to the employees surveyed, 61% says that they have received

training through means of briefings and rest 40% said that they have received training

through On-the Job method. Training through briefings and lecture method were useful

for a short span of time i.e. before going in for duty, the departmental head instructs

people as to what is to be done and how it is to be done. This is not on a daily basis but

once in a week. The people in this department are also interested in e-learning. They

said that the software training given to them is just not sufficient. One startling fact is

that the employees in this department do not want to go in for cross – training. The

reason mentioned for this is that they are too much contended with their current job

profile and there is no monotony of work.

METHODS OF TRAINING(FRONT OFFICE)

60%

40%

Briefings & C lass room On the J ob

Engineering & Laundry:- According to the employees surveyed, 61% says that they

have received training through on the job methods, whereas rest of the 39% says that

they have received training by the means of lecture method. Employees in this

69

department said that it is only through on job training method or through briefings they

can learn must faster and they wanted that there should be increasingly improved

means of On-the Job training methods which can be easily comprehended with. They

wanted to have a cross-training also since these are the people who are also in direct

contact with the visitors and guests in the hotel and want to upgrade themselves to

housekeeping departments.

METHODS OF TRAINING(ENGINEERING & LAUNDRY)

40%

60%

Lecture Method On the J ob

Q.16Selection of Trainees

On the basis of collected data, we could see that the selection of trainees in The Oberoi

is based on the Merit and written recommendation of the supervisor / manager. 55%

said that the selection of trainees is on Merit based, 45% said it is on written

nominations from the department head.

SELECTION OF TRAINEES(ALL FOUR DEPARTMENTS)

55%

45%

Merit Based Written Nomination

Q.17Feedback systems

According to the employees surveyed in all the departments, 70% said that the

feedback is taken through a prescribed format wherein they have to fill in the details of

the training with the summary of the training and knowledge they have gained. Whereas

70

30% said that the feedback is taken verbally and they are being observed on a daily

basis on their jobs.

FEEDBACK SYSTEMS(ALL FOUR DEPARTMENTS)

70%

30%

Presecribed format Verbally and Observation

Q.18Effectiveness and Efficiency of Training

According to the employees surveyed, 80% said that the training being imparted to

them is effective and efficient. They said that they clearly understand the objectives of

the training in the beginning and then they are able to apply the acquired knowledge,

skills and attitude on the job. They also said that they are given a questionnaire in the

beginning of the training and one at the end of the training session, which clearly

indicates that organization tries to find out the effectiveness of training. The rest 20%

said that they are judged on the basis of observations and critical incidence methods.

They are not given any such questionnaire to be filled in before and after the training.

EFFECTIVENESS & EFFICIENCY(ALL FOUR DEPARTMENTS)

80%

20%

Administered Questionnaire Observation & Crticial Incidence

71

Q.19Rating of the training programs

80% employees gave a rating of 5 to the location and 20% gave a rating of 4 to the

location. This is because of the reason that the 20% wanted to have some freedom

while attending the training program and wanted not to be observed by their superiors

every time.

90% employees gave a rating of 5 to the program content and 10% gave a rating of 4 to

the same. The employees said that the content of the training program is always in line

with the needs and objectives laid down at the beginning of the session.

60% employees gave a rating of 5 to the method of training whereas 20% gave a rating

of 4 and the balance 20% gave a rating of 3 to the methodology adopted. As discussed,

the employees want to have an e-learning facility in their hotel as well as cross training.

Q.20Training activities are improved based on the feedback every year

According to the employees surveyed, feedback forms are filled in and handed over to

the departmental heads. Then these filled in forms are scrutinized by the Departmental

head, Training head and HR head for any new ideas and loopholes in the training.

These three personnel try to infer from these as to what the people are actually looking

for in training program. The positive points are picked up and the grey areas are

improved upon. Thus at the end of every training activity, the same training is then

improved upon next year. The process is a continuous process because every year new

incumbents are put to training and new ideas are generated. 90% of the employees

said that training programs are evaluated and improved upon whereas 10% said they

do not know.

IMPROVEMNET BASED ON FEEDBACK(ALL FOUR DEPARTMENTS)

90%

10%

Yes Do Not Know

72

Q.21Negative ramifications to those who do not attend training

The response to this question was very vague. 20% said that yes there are negative

ramifications if they do not attend the training program. 70% said that there is no

negative ramification if they do not attend the program. 10% said they do not know. The

reason being that employees of departments like Housekeeping, Front Office and Food

& Beverages attends around 5-8 training programs a year. So, if by any undue

circumstances one or more employees are not able to attend the training program, they

are not ratified. Those 20% who said that there are negative ramifications are those

personnel who do not want to attend the training programs because they do not want to

change their attitudes, enhance their skills and knowledge. These personnel are of the

age group 35-40. These people are ramified to an extent that they are not chosen for

any training program in the near future.

ANY NEGATIVE RAMIFICATIONS(ALL FOUR DEPARTMENTS)

20%

70%

10%

Yes No Do not know

37

Q.22Category in which the training program is most effective

65% employees said that the training is most effective at the support staff level because

these are the personnel who come in daily contact with the guests and visitors even

every hour. 30% said that training is more effective at the supervisory level because it is

the supervisor who keep checks on the support staff and can further train them. 5% feel

that the training is most effective at the Executive Level because it is the executive who

formulates the future plan for the support staff and gives decisions.

EFFECTIVENESS OF TRAINING ON VARIOUS LEVELS(ALL FOUR DEPARTMENTS)

65%

30%

5%

Support Staff Supervisory Staff Executive Level

Q.23Reinforcement Training

95% employees covered said that the organization has a plan of reinforcement training.

The best example is of the Front office personnel being briefed every week what is to

be done and what is not. Sometimes it is possible that after training the personnel are

not able to apply the acquired knowledge and skills on the job immediately and tends to

forget what he learned during the training. Here the concept of reinforcement training

comes in. But mind it, this is a costly affair for the organization. Whereas 5% said they

do not know the term reinforcement training.

REINFORCEMENT TRAINING(ALL FOUR DEPARTMENTS)

95%

5%

Yes No

74

Q.24Qualities that are most affected after undergoing training

30% employees said that they have feel Overall development or personal satisfaction

after undergoing various trainings. 30% said that enhancement of their knowledge, skill

level and change in attitude is mostly affected. The balance 40% said that they have felt

that Performance of specific task and productivity is improved a lot.

QUALITIES AFFECTED BY TRAINING(ALL FOUR DEPARTMENTS)

30 30 30 30

40 40

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

OverallDevelopment

Enhancementin Knowledge

Enhancementin Skills

Attitudinalchange

Performanceof specific

task

Productivity

Overall Development Enhancement in KnowledgeEnhancement in Skills Attitudinal changePerformance of specific task Productivity

Q.25Planning to change

Only 15% employees said that they are planning to change the present job and go in for

some other hotel so that they can get raise in salary and position (if possible). The rest

who have achieved personal satisfaction i.e. 60% will never change the organization in

the near future. The balance 25% was not able to give the answer to this question.

PLANNING TO CHANGE IN NEAR FUTURE(ALL FOUR DEPARTMENTS)

15%

60%

25%

Yes No Do not Know

75

CONCLUSION

The Indian hospitality industry's rapid growth is being derailed owing to high attrition and

fickle loyalty of its most important resource - people. Training can ensure peak

performance as technology develops, guest demands increase and outsourcing of jobs

swells

Greek philosopher Aristotle had stated that pleasure at job puts perfection in work. Both

are a derivative of a deeper understanding about the task on hand - depending on

quality education and comprehensive training. And the latter mentioned dual-pronged

strategy is the solitary talisman available to the embattled Indian hospitality industry,

currently reeling under a manpower crunch and heightened attrition rates, which

threatens to ruin its swelling fortunes. Education and training, since the inception of the

hospitality industry in India, has played a secondary role, though an undoubtedly critical

one, to its growth per se. A punishing environment, it demands exceptional performance

from employees, while promising great rewards, career opportunities and job

enrichment. The skill sets required by an employee have evolved over the years,

transforming their linear roles to multi-functional operations.

Today, the misguided notion that the dwindling supply of trained manpower will keep

pace with its increasing demand is a prognosis of the industry's downfall. And this

insatiable demand for trained manpower fails to cease. A report commissioned by the

department of tourism, Government of India, revealed that the annual demand for

trained manpower in hotels and restaurants is likely to touch 29,000 by the year 2010.

This figure is likely to increase to approximately 39,000 by the year 2020.

A total of approximately 18,000 students are being trained in hotel management and

food craft annually in the country. Currently, in hotels, attrition rates are at 18-25 per

cent per annum, and growing at an alarming rate of 10 per cent per annum. This,

exacerbated by an escalating wage bill of 10-12 per annum with a five-year forecast

pegged at a minimum increase of 40 per cent over current levels.

Where does this snowballing crisis leave the industry? The Indian hotel industry is

renowned worldwide for its warmth in service standards and impeccable staff. Today,

the industry is finding its feet; domestic chains re-brand and enter into each segment,

only to find them bereft of staff in that category. Hovering around the myriad options

available to recruit a well-rounded individual is a fundamental question - Is the current

76

supply sufficient in quality and quantity? And if not, how can the industry address these

concerns, especially when the industry is cruising on lofty RevPars and buoyed

occupancies?

To circumvent the impending dilemma of quality and quantity, the first visible change in

the landscape is domestic hotel brands leaping into the hospitality education fray, to

ensure their own expansion plans don't set adrift amidst manpower shortages. Apart

from that, for each employee, comprehensive training facilities are being put into place.

Eventually, each organization hopes to create and retain managers for the future

through internal progressions and develop their leadership skills, keeping in mind the

brand philosophy of the organization.

Today, investing resources like capital, time and manpower into training is a necessity

that one must ignore at one's own peril. To integrate an individual into the workforce

and create a sense of belonging is paramount. And with a greater portion of jobs being

outsourced, training needs to be imparted to ensure that the agency meets the brand's

set standards. To train, or not to train, there is no question.

The first step in the process, which will prevent future grief, is selecting and recruiting

the right individual who will be the right fit in an organization, and is suitable for

training. The hospitality work environment in India demands exceptional performance

from its employees yet is a harbinger of great rewards - whether in terms of career

opportunities, job enrichment or in providing a supportive working environment.

With so much on offer on a platter, the requirements for this service industry doesn't

skim the surface requirement of a mere pleasant personality as was previously sought,

but an assemblage of character traits. Recruiting is critical to sift out potential

candidates, who would be the right fit for the hotel and the brand, preventing a lot of

grief encountered during subsequent training and appraisal processes. Today, manifold

options are available to both prospective employers and employees to reach out,

including Internet portals, headhunters and also, employee's referrals. The preferred

candidates for specific areas of operations are individuals from a hotel management

background and from the industry, while for other functions are those with requisite

educational background for their job role. In the end, the industry is a creative place,

and human resource personnel scout out for those with job knowledge, experience,

77

communication skills, educational background, potential, grooming, leadership skills

and analytical ability, etc.

While few hotels have management training programs, such as IHCL's Taj, EIH's

Oberoi Amarvilas, which serves as an apt training ground, other brands recruit young

graduates from varied institutes, a fact that yields them a disadvantage, that having

inadequate resources and infrastructure to train batches of trainees. Every prospective

employee is scrutinized by the hierarchy in place, including the human resources team,

the respective department heads, and for higher vacancies, by the managing director

and the chairman.

An employee is the biggest asset in this service industry. Building loyalty and

keeping him motivated is a function of two things, among others. By showing a clear

career growth path to an employee and training him to achieve those meaningful goals,

supplemented by monetary compensation and job satisfaction will go a long way to

retain them. Today, training techniques have metamorphosed. The Holy Grail among all

HR managers is to hone the general, rather than mould a specialist. The emphasis

leans towards improving holistic behavioral trends and technical skills, with more

exposure given at an early stage. To supplement this, corporate trainers, role-playing,

case studies, practical drills, situational handling skills, etc come into play.

Training also impinges on that portion which education fails to deliver. It looks at

enhancing the repertoire of a young employee's skill, which will groom him to take over

senior managerial positions in the future. Not only that, exposure across the various

properties of the brand, as well as international exposure is a great motivational factor

for team member as are good and modern back of the house facilities, recreational

facilities for team members, and profit sharing concepts.

Developing the synergy between appraisals and training helps in retaining right

people at right place on right time. "We need to identify the training needs in appraisals;

accordingly the training calendars need to be made. Training on regular interval

ensures that each employee is adding value. By potential mapping, career planning and

training we obviously shape the future of our employees. Another emerging trend of part

time and contract employees, and outsourcing internal functions, such as

housekeeping, requires that the department heads play a greater role in imparting

training. The hospitality bible of standard-operating-procedures serves as a yardstick for

87

performance, which, if the aforementioned worker excels at, is rewarded suitably, by

getting absorbed into the workforce.

Training function has a distinctive place at The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra. From the

survey / questionnaire it is evident that due importance is given to the training and

development functions. The importance level is high in Housekeeping, Food &

Beverages and Front Office Department. The importance to training is low in

Engineering & Laundry department, which is evident from the staggering figures of

60%. This is because this department is not given that much of importance with respect

to the other departments and the department does not require any kind of

professionalism or attitudinal training.

A proper training calendar is formulated at the end of every year in terms of man-

hours of training provided to the employees. The procedure is very systematic as it

takes into account the common training needs of the employees across different

departments. Though the training calendar provides us a picture of the training provided

to various employees in a year, but there are few dimensions, which are not been

covered by the training calendar. These are as follows:-

Time period after which the refresher of the same session should be provided i.e.

reinforcement training.

The importance of the behavioral and developmental training and skills as

separate from each other and as imperative for growth in the long run.

The training module should be attached with the training calendar.

The training plan is comprehensive and not the policy statement only. Every

departmental head in consultation with the HR head and Training Manager follows it

aggressively. But from the survey it was evident that 40% of the employees of the four

departments covered do not know about the training plan. The reasons can be either

these employees do not have any interest in knowing about the plans or the formulators

of training plan do not discuss the same with the lower level employees.

The executions of the training programs are taken care of by all the three responsible

i.e. Training Head, HR Head and the Departmental Heads. But 30% of the employees

said that it is the Departmental Head that executes the training programs and identifies

the need for training in the specific field.

79

Another unique system, which is followed at The Oberoi Amarvilas, is that of training

cards on the individual basis. It takes a lot of effort on the part of the management to

device a system like this. The cards are easy to maintain and can prove to be very

beneficial for the individual and the organization if it is religiously followed and

maintained. It should not be just a system but it should be adhered to also. It was

observed during the course of the project that in may departments the concept of

training cards is unheard of. Only some departments religiously follow the concept of

training cards. The departments that do not have training cards is Engineering &

Laundry and Food & Beverages.

Another concern is regarding the training manual. Any departments in the hotel

provide no training manual. A training manual is an effective tool to familiarize the

new incumbent or a trainee about the systems followed in the department and what all

functions are performed and how they are performed. These theoretical inputs provide

the base on which an employee or trainee can build on as he starts working and gets

practical training.

The training programs attended by the individual in a year as per the survey are 5-7 in

numbers. The numbers give us an idea that how much emphasis is given on training of

the individuals in the hotel and how the organization is able to utilize the resources

available to a large extent. At The Oberoi’s Amarvilas, Agra as soon as employee joins

he is given exposure of the department for about two weeks. Though the training

department chalks out the induction program, it is not taken seriously in the

departments where a person has joined in.

The individuals in the hotel give importance to the enhancement in Knowledge and

Skills. This is evident from the fact that almost 75% employees do training to enhance

their Knowledge and Skill. But some employees also find cross training as important

because they need to learn the functions of the other departments as well. The

organization does not provide any kind of cross training to the employees, which their

weak point. The need for behavioral change is not given importance by the employees

of Housekeeping, Food and Beverages and Engineering and Laundry. Only the Front

office personnel give a huge importance to the change in attitudes because they are the

ones who are always in contact with the visitors and guests. The personnel of Front

office do not emphasize on cross training needs because they find themselves in the

best department of any kind of service industry.

80

The training needs in an organization are identified mostly on the basis of the individual

needs and then comes the departmental needs. This clearly indicates that how much

importance is given to the human factor in The Oberoi’s Amarvilas, which is also

evident from their vision and mission statements. A small number of the employees also

marked organizational needs as the basis of training. It is true that organization does

have its own needs and these needs need to be fulfilled to attain the core objectives of

the organization. The most common method used by the organization to identify the

individual needs is by Performance Appraisal which is done only once in a year. As

discussed earlier their needs to be a synergy between appraisals and training

programs. Interviewing the employees and observing them at their work place also

assess the individual needs.

The designing of the training program is taken a good care at The Oberoi’s. From the

survey it was made clear by the employees that the training programs attended by them

are linked to their present profile and job description. Around 75% of the employees are

able to understand the training objectives and each session objectives. They are able to

link those objectives with their own objectives of enhancing knowledge, skills and

change in attitude. The sequencing of the training program is also done accordingly.

The training programs to a large extent are carried in – house but some external

training programs or seminars are also conducted. The most popular methods of

training conducted in The Oberoi’s are On – the job training, Class room sessions,

Briefings or Lecture. Employees feel that the class room session are the most

systematic form of giving training and they understand more if there is one to one

interaction. Most of the employees advised that their needs to be e-enabled training

also and self –learning. The selection of trainees is mostly done on merit based i.e. the

best employees in the department goes for training which according to the laws is a

wrong method. The second most common method for selecting the trainees is the

written nomination, which again can be a result of the biasness.

The feedback systems in The Oberoi Amarvilas are the same as compared to the

systems in other hotels or industries. There is a prescribed format, which is to be filled

in by the trainee at the end of the training program and handed over to the

Departmental Head. The format is than discussed between all the three responsible for

training and the systems is being evaluated and improved upon if any discrepancies

exists. The other form for evaluating the training program followed in The Oberoi

81

Amarvilas is by verbal communication and observations on the job. The effectiveness of

training is measured by administering the questionnaire to the participants / trainees

before they go in for training and after they attend the training. By this the departmental

heads are able to find the gap between the knowledge levels of the employees. The

efficiency of the employee who has undergone training is judged by the observation and

noting down the critical incidence methods.

The organization does not ramify those who do not attend the training because of any

reason. But some employees also advised that they have been ramified for not

attending the training programs. This implies that the system of punishment for those

who do not attend the training program is not adhered to properly.

The category which was most affected by the training programs in The Oberoi

Amarvilas is the support staff because employees feel that if the support staff is trained

properly or more trainings are given to the support staff, it will create a positive effect on

the productivity of all the employees whether the supervisory staff or the executive level

personnel. The training to support staff will also motivate them to work hard and

towards the betterment of the organization as a whole.

The concept of reinforcement training is given due importance in The Oberoi Amarvilas.

Reinforcement training is necessary because the personnel after attending the training

if not in a position to apply the gained knowledge will tend to loose it. Therefore, to

retain the gained knowledge and skill level the employee needs to be put to

reinforcement training. It does not mean that the same training program is set again but

the employees do a number of trainings in a year.

The qualities that get affected the most are the performance of specific task and the

productivity. The second in queue is the overall development and enhancement in

knowledge and skill level.

Concluding the discussion, the best can be said about The Oberoi Amarvilas is that the

Management lay lot of emphasis on the training and development of the individuals.

More importance is given to the individual needs for training and the best methods in

the industry are used to impart training. The infrastructure provided is the best among

the industry and the trainers being hired or demarcated are the most experienced ones

in the Industry. The Oberoi’s Management is following the three-step procedure for

imparting training very aggressively. The management conducts various training and

82

development activities, which have been covered in Chapter 5. These Training &

Development activities are the best in the Industry and are also linked to the present

profile of the personnel. The training methodology adopted is also the best in the

Industry. The Lecture / Briefing sessions, classroom sessions, skill based training and

more are being aggressively followed by the training department. The measurement of

effectiveness of training imparted to the employees is also done by the best methods in

the Industry.

83

RECOMMENDATION

Dr. Ram Charan, the wise man of the business world says “those who do not improve

their learning will be left behind”. The best training according to him is On the Job

training imparted by the supervisors and this does not cost anything to the organization.

But this is not enough. The personnel need to be trained for the future development. On

the job training can only enhance their knowledge and skills on the current procedures

and systems but cannot train them for the procedures and systems of the future. This

will require the organization to send their executives to seminars and to other

organizations to learn. The technological development is taking place at a very high

speed. Customers are becoming knowledgeable and king. In a service industry it is very

important for the employees to understand the needs of the customers to whom they

are going to serve. Hotel industry is the best example of a service industry.

The system of training cards if followed properly can enable better training in the

organization. It is the duty of the departmental heads to ensure that there is not laxity in

adherence to the systems. They can allocate this duty to any of the supervisors and

cross check on it from time to time. However, the final analysis of the training cards has

to be done by the departmental heads with the help from the supervisors.

A training manual is an effective tool to familiarize the new incumbent or a trainee about

the systems followed in the department and what all functions are performed and how

they are performed. These theoretical inputs provide the base on which an employee or

trainee can build on as he starts working and gets practical training.

At the time of induction program the departmental trainers can be made responsible for

supervising the process of giving exposure to the new incumbent. At the end of the day

a feedback should be taken from the trainer as well in terms of what kind of inputs they

have given to the trainee. Did they spend enough quality time with the trainee? Was the

trainee taking initiatives to learn? Not only this, the new incumbent must be given

exposure of the various other departments in the hotel so that in the near future he is

able to communicate with the co-workers and understand the hotel business properly.

Whenever the training session is held it is done so with a definite objective. So we need

to ensure that first of all the objectives must be clear to the trainer and trainees. Then

the departmental heads must ensure that the training being imparted is implemented or

84

not. The departmental trainers should be required to submit their training plan for the

coming month. The training manager or anybody from the training department can go

and carry out spot checks according to the schedule submitted to ensure that training is

actually being held and is not only on papers.

8.1 Effectiveness of Training

As regards, implementation part in the service industry, we can say that training has

been effective if the standards are maintained. For ensuring an effective process the

commitment from the top management is required and for this purpose the top

management once in a month can carry out a mock check-in (invitation to a known

guest to stay in the hotel). The person can be asked to stay in a hotel for about a

week’s time and when come in contact with the operational departments, comment on

the effectiveness and efficiency of the personnel. He may be given the guidelines as to

what he is to do, observe and eventually at the end of the stay submit a report on what

needs to be improved on and in which department. This type of exercise can also be

done by getting the satisfaction survey forms filled by the visitors who are leaving after a

stay in the hotel. But the information given by the guests sometimes is biased and

hence not fruitful. From this exercise of mock check-in, one can come across the

different department needs and then plan the training program accordingly.

The most common method followed for assessing the training needs of the individual is

the Performance Appraisal method. Though the departmental heads carry out the

performance appraisal in a very systematic manner, they can develop their own

assessment or the development centers for the purpose of assessing the training

needs. The training department should follow the method of comparing the current

performance to the standard performance levels. The diagram of training and non-

training interventions in chapter 4 (theoretical framework) should be strictly adhered to.

The training department should know what their strengths and weaknesses are. What

are their competencies and of their competitors. The training department should

compare its performance levels with its competitors that are already in the top of the list

in service sector (can be at the national level or international level).

8.2 Benchmarking

This can be defined as the search for the best practices that lead to superior

performance and can be used for the purpose of enhancing the total quality, product

85

reliability and customer’s satisfaction. It is a conscious and systematic attempt to

compare one’s own current reality with what is believed to be the best practice

somewhere else.

8.3 Software Training

During discussion with the employees, it was brought to the notice that software training

is not being imparted to the various departments, as it should be. The software used by

The Oberoi and many hotels is FIDELIO. Micros Fidelio, software commonly used by

hotels across the globe, is a module of the Opera Enterprise Solution (OES), a fully

integrated suite of products consisting of modules that can be easily added or expanded

from smaller operations, to global multi-branded hotel chain environments. Internal

communication, especially between the front desk, room service, kitchen and customer

relationship department is very important in the hotel industry. We have to actually

anticipate a customer’s needs and ensure that the time taken to fulfill an order is kept to

the bare minimum.”

The application helps the hotel manage front office operations, including property

management functions for reservations, cashier, housekeeping, night audit, system set-

up and reports. The software also links various other departments, which are equally

important for the smooth daily functioning of the hotel. The sales and catering

department enables booking and inventory information, shared room types, rate

availability grids, and real-time group selling. Fidelio enables the food and beverage

department to manage all inventories (including food, beverage, furniture, fittings and

engineering), and provides integrated purchasing and a menu-mix calculation function.

The engineering section has to ensure that complaints from the customer related to

room maintenance are taken care of at the earliest. Other than this, it also manages

work requests, labor and material costs, and budget reporting for facility maintenance.

The back office is vital as it is here that the entire information processing takes place. It

also records front office revenues and statistics on a daily basis.

At The Oberoi’s not much is done in regards of making aware the personnel of various

departments about the use of this software. The following aspects needs to be covered

in the software training:-

a) Why this software is used?

b) How it can ease their individual operations?

86

c) How it is helpful in enhancing the productivity?

d) How many hours should be devoted in order to fully understand the operations?

8.4 Reinforcement Training

Reinforcement training is important to ensure that the inputs once given during a

training session are not lost after time and eventually become a part of the system.

However, if given too often it gets boring and losses its purpose. Also, such training

should be imparted with a different approach using different methods as far as possible.

A good system will be to keep record of when an employee attended a particular

session for the first time and decide on when should a refresher be given on it. This can

be mentioned in the training calendar itself against every training session. The faculty

should be trained to deal with such sessions so that they are able to gather the interest

of the employees during the session.

8.5 Quick Skills & Long term Impacts

Quick kills refer to those suggestions that if found suitable can be implemented

immediately and would not require much strategy in terms of implementation and would

be cost effective as well.

Long-term impacts on the other hand refer to those suggestions that require strategic

planning and phase-by-phase implementation.

8.6 E-learning

E-learning should be started in a phased manner i.e. starting with blended learning (a

combination of e-learning and classroom instruction). For example, a portion of the

induction program can be digitized. The introduction to the company’s values, vision,

mission, the organization structure etc. can be provided to the new joined through a

web-based program or on CD’s. These portions of the induction do not require much

explanation and digitizing the same would help employees to be opened to e-learning.

In the near future the objective is to develop personalized content (Training history,

development plans, learning requirements etc) on a “My Development” page rather than

employees accessing portals.

There must be in place an incentive system to drive e-learning. The incentive scheme

should be independent of the Performance appraisal. For example, if an employees

completes or exceeds a certain number of courses in a quarter, he could be recognized

87

for the same by making an announcement, displaying his achievement as a “splash” on

the computer or awarding him with say a gift voucher, or similar recognition. A system

of allotting points for courses completed on the basis of duration, content level etc. of

the e-learning programs can be devised and the employee who has scored the

maximum points for say a quarter can be awarded accordingly.

8.7 Informal Learning

Informal learning through groups, forums, interactions with ex-employees, experts from

other departments, reputed personalities from other organizations goes a long way in

promoting lasting learning and an insight into innovative and best practices.

At Le Meridian the Marketing, Finance and Human Resource department have formed

their respective informal clubs and meet once every month to share ideas and learn

through interactive sessions. The HR and the functional head of the respective

department jointly decide the content of these sessions.

A similar initiative at Maurya Shereton hotel is “The Friday Learning Session”. This

session is an employee driven initiative involving interactive sessions with outside

speakers or from employees who present to the group some innovative and different

task performed by them or a team they were a part of with the purpose of imparting

knowledge and sharing experiences.

The Oberoi group can encourage similar informal learning especially interdepartmental

informal learning, which provided an opportunity for employees form different

departments to interact and share experiences. Interdepartmental transfers need to

take place at Oberoi. This will bring all the departments in close contact with each other

and there would be an improved communication between the departments.

8.8 Digitization of Training

The objective of digitization of training is to have training systems and processes

standardized across locations and increase the reach of training programs. Digitization

can be initiated through computer training taking lace through CD and if found

successful the initiative can be graduated to the intranet followed by training taking

place through computer with audio-visual aids. This will facilitate the same training to be

imparted at different locations at the same time thus saving costs and reducing the time

involved in organizing the training program. It will also help in standardizing training

curriculum and training on a regular basis without continuous investment.

88

8.9 Individual Development Plans

Individual development plans is culled out from the training and developmental needs

identified for an employee. The purpose of preparing such plans is to state the

individual’s objectives, his goals, his plan of action, how and when he plans the

execution of the same and the support he would be requiring in the form of training to

achieve he stated goals.

The exercise of identification of training need involves identifying 2-3 competencies for

each employee and incorporating the same into his individual development plan. The

individual development plan is made by the employee and discussed with the manager.

Various organizations use HR Mapping exercise. Talent review processes, Opinion

surveys etc. to identify the aspirations of each individual employee. This leads to a path

of progress and growth being chartered out for the individual. The areas of improvement

and skills to be developed to achieve the growth and progress envisaged by the

employee and others involved in the process are also stated. The identified areas of

improvement are translated into training needs. The advantages of individual

development plans are:-

The employee knows his prospects of growth and development in the organization.

The HR / Training department can chart out his training requirements and follow a

long-term rationalized approach in providing him with the same.

The individual employee can link the purpose of the training being imparted to him

with his development goals and where he sees himself few months or years down the

line. He is thus provided with a clear career path and the training required reaching the

position envisaged.

8.10 Career Resource System

This tool of learning is increasingly being used now a days. Following are the features

of the system:-

Firstly, the employees are provided with job family matrix, which defines the skills

needed for each type of job, and skills required to progress to the next level.

89

The performance review tool is the second piece, and gives employees feedback

from peers, managers and teammates.

The third piece is the carrier planner, which helps employees stay on track with

their future goals and interests.

Lastly, employees can assess an automated career library through CD-ROM or the

Internet.

90

LIMITATIONS OF THE PROJECT

The area under the study was very confidential, therefore not much of the details

are given.

The employees did not feel comfortable talking about the activities in their

department and were hesitating in meeting.

Taking appointments was difficult because the management was busy in annual

appraisals.

Employee’s reluctance towards filling the questionnaire as such data analysis and

interpretation regarding certain aspects of training could not be considered valid.

A training system as a whole is a very vast subject and cannot be covered in

detail.

The sample size was a small percentage of the employees; as such the

interpretation need not be generalized for the Organization.

As a part time student, I was not given permission to even enter the premises for

the purpose of the survey and was not given any detailed information on the training &

development activities at The Oberoi Amarvilas.

91

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES

Books

“Prokopenko Joseph”, Management Development

“Rolf Lynton & Uday Parkeh”, Training for Development

“Pattanayak Biswajeet”, “Human Resource Training”, S. Chand & Publications

“P. L. Rao”, HRD through In-House Training

“V. S. P. Rao”, Human Resource Management

“Rolf Lynton & Uday Parekh”, Training Strategy

“Martyn & Solemn”, Training Strategy

“Francis & Bee Roland”, “Training Needs Analysis and Evaluation”, “University

Press”.

“Valarie A. Zeithamal & Mary Jo Bitner”, “Services Marketing – Integrating

Customer Focus Across the Firm”. “Tata McGraw- Hill Edition”.

Articles & References

“Skills and Work in the hospitality sector, The case of hotel front office employees

in China”, by Kong Hai-Yan and Tom Baum. (International Journal of Contemporary

Hospitality Management, Vol. 18, No. 6, 2006).

“A Study to identify the training needs of Life Insurance Sales Representatives in

Taiwan using the Delphi Approach”, by Chiang Ku Fan and Chen-Liang Cheng

(International Journal of Training and Development 10:3 ISSN 1360-3736).

“Training Objectives, Transfer Validation and Evaluation: A Sri Lankan Study”, by

Vathsala M. Wickramasinghe. (International Journal of Training and Development 10:3,

ISSN 1360 – 3736).

“The Cross-Cultural Training Technique”, by Udayan Ray. (BT, Jan 7 – 21, 1996).

“How to Train for Creativity”, by Prareena Kawatra.

(BT, Jan 7 – 21, 1996)

“Infosys”, by Satyendra Kumar, Vice President and Head of Quality at Infosys

Technologies, Bangalore, India.

92

(The article originally was “Managing Excellence – The Infosys Way”), August

2002.

Handouts & Class Notes

“Evaluation of Training”, by A. C. Hamblin, School of Management, Bath University

of Technology.

“Evaluating Management Training”, by Peter Warr

“The Lecture Method”

“Role Playing”, prepared at the United Nations Institute for Training & Research

(UNITAR).

Websites referred

www.oberoi.com

www.articlecube.com

www.quickknowledge.com

www.hr.com

www.coaching.com

www.mentoring.com

39

Annexure - 1

QUESTIONNAIRESir / Madam,I am a student of MBA from IGNOU and doing a study on the Training & Development of Employees in your Hotel as a part of the project. I would request you to kindly help me by answering the below mentioned questions to the best of your knowledge and truthfulness. I assure you that the data would be used only for academic purposes and would not be in any way shown to the authorities.

Department / Post:____________________________________

GeneralQ.1 How long have you been working at the Oberoi, New Delhi?

____________

Q.2 How important is the training and development activity in your organization?a) Very Important b) Moderately Important c) Not Important

Q.3 Does the organization have a training plan or a training calendar?a) Yes b) No

Q.4 If yes, what is the form of training plan in your organization?a) Comprehensive Training Plan b) Policy Statement Only

Q.5 Who is responsible for the execution of training program i.e. who identifies the need for training?a) Training Headb) Departmental Head c) HR Head d) All the above

Q.6 Does your organization have a training manual or an orientation guide which helps the new incumbents to understand the hotel business?

a) Yes b) No

Q.7 How many training programs do you attend on an average in a year?_______________

Need AnalysisQ.8 What is your training need related to? Is it for a) Enhancement of your Knowledgeb) Enhancement of your Skillsc) Attitudinal Changed) Leadership Developmente) Learn the other functions of the Hotel (Cross Training)f) Career Planningg) Succession Planningh) Any other, Please specifyQ.9. What are the primary means by which the training & development needs are identified in your Organization?a) Based on the Individual needs

94

b) Group or Team Level needsc) Departmental needsd) Organizational Level needsd) Do not know

Q.10What are the methods by which the individual needs are assessed by the organization?

a) Job Analysis & Job Descriptionb) Interviewingc) Observationsd) Diary Methode) Self Assessmentf) Performance Appraisal

Designing of Training

Q.11Is the training program relevant to your present profile?a) Yes b) No

Q.12Are the sessions and training objectives clear to you before you go in for training?

a) Yes b) No

Q.13 Are you satisfied with the length and sequencing of the training program i.e. easy part comes first and then the difficult ones?

a) Yes b) No

Q.14The training being imparted is -a) In – house training b) External training c) Both

Q.15What are the most popular methods of training used in your organization?a) Lecture Method / Briefings

b) Case Study Method / Class Room Sessionsc) Group discussionsd) Cross Traininge) Skills based trainingf) Online Trainingg) Seminars and Conferences

h) Any other, Please specify

Q.16On what basis the selection of trainees is done?a) Merit Basedb) On verbal recommendationc) Seniority basedd) On written nomination

95

Evaluation of Training

Q.17What is the system of feedback of training attended in your organization?a) Prescribed format for the feedback is usedb) Summary of the training attended is typed out and provided to the departmental headc) Verbally discuss with the departmental headd) Are you watched while performing a task (s).e) Any other, please specify________________________________

Q.18Based on the feedback provided in various ways, the training activities are evaluated and improved upon every year.

a) Yes b) No

Q.19How does the organization and yourself judge that the training being imparted is effective and efficient?a) By applying the knowledge, skills and behavioral changes at the job.b) Being administered a test for judging your knowledge and skillsc) Required to make self diariesd) Being judged by critical incidence methodse) Required to self record the specific incidents

Q.20Please rate any one of the training program you had attended on a scale of 1-5. The parameters to be considered while evaluating are:-

Parameters / Scale Poor-1 Average-2 Good-3 Very Good-4 Excellent-5Location

Trainer

Presentation skills

Content

Methodology Adopted

Infrastructure

Ambience

Quality of food

96

OthersQ.21Are their any negative ramifications for the employees not attending the training program?

a) Yes b) No

Q.22In which category the training program is most effective?a) Support Staff b) Supervisors c) Executive Level

Q.23Does the organization has a plan for reinforcement training?a) Yes b) No

Q.24What are the qualities that are most affected by the training program?a) Enhancement in Knowledgeb) Enhancement in Skillsc) Change in Attitude in any form.d) Productivitye) Performance of Specific Taskf) Overall Development or Personal Satisfaction

Q.25Are you going to continue giving services to The Oberoi’s?a) Yes b) No

97

Annexure – 2

OBEROI CENTER FOR LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT (OCLD)

“The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage”. Peter Senge

The Oberoi chain has a distinctive advantage over the other hotels in India in terms of providing the formal education and training. Its formal education and training centre is also known as the Oberoi Centre of Learning & Development (OCLD).

In 1966, Rai Bahadur MS Oberoi established one of India's first in-house management development institutes: the Oberoi School of Hotel Management, or OSHM. Its aim was to produce young professionals who could take up executive responsibility as the company grew larger and more complex. In October 1996, OSHM evolved to become Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development - OCLD

"Today, most General Managers, Vice-Presidents and top executives of the Oberoi Group are graduates of either OSHM or OCLD".

OCLD is held in high esteem by many young people in India. You may one day become an associate of OCLD. The purpose of OCLD is to develop young people who have been selected simply because they have the potential to become executives with our company.

Our role and purpose

Presently located at the Maidens Hotel, Delhi, OCLD has two roles. First, it provides courses of personal and professional development for young people who have the potential to join the Oberoi Group as executives. Second, it is evolving as the Knowledge Centre of the Oberoi Group. In this capacity, it facilitates the development of executives at all levels, opens access to its learning resources, and delivers development opportunities through a range of internal and external avenues. Although the majority of associates registered for the full-time courses are Indian nationals, they benefit from a more international focus through the participation of associates from our overseas hotels in Egypt, Indonesia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia.

The objectives of the formal training program can be varied, these can be as follows:-

Acquisition of Knowledge:- The knowledge can be varied, specific at one extreme, relating to such things as the particular systems and procedures of the manager’s own organization or highly general at the other.

Developing Interpersonal skills and related behavior patterns:- Under this heading we have the skills of leadership, communication, motivation, negotiation, influence and persuasion, and more complex skills such as managing change etc.

Developing latent qualities within the individual:-This category includes a group of training programs which are truly developmental in the sense that they have as their objective, the empowerment of the individual by bringing out and sharpening certain inherent qualities for e.g. assertiveness training, creativity workshops, programs devised in order to develop the vision or the strategic thinking.

Changing attitudes and engendering commitment.

As such the OCLD does meet the above-mentioned criteria and its highly recognized centre for learning and development in India.

OCLD stands for the Oberoi Centre of learning and development. OCLD stand for the word professionalism OCLD is not a finishing school or graduate school, it is a place

89

where all the incumbents are groomed professionally and personally to become an effective executive with the Oberoi group, the teaching and learning process is very interactive and planned professional experience in the hotels provides a context for the ready comprehension of the principles and concepts, its believed at the Oberios that theory is not done unless it can be applied. The two year program is focused on the professional specialization of housekeeping, with plenty of technical content in that area, the housekeeping’s knowledge includes the modules such as horticulture, design, décor, laundry operations and project management there are also modules in finance, business management, HR, Sales, Marketing, IT and languages, to provide suitable foundation in these days of multiskilling, they also have F&B service, wine knowledge health, hygiene and front office operations, thus a graduate from the new program will be well rounded and versatile manager with wide career horizon.

The selection process used at OCLD different for the internal candidates, the internal candidates are those who are already working with the Oberoi Group the internal candidates are not required to sit for the preliminary rounds, there is a exam for the internal candidates and those who qualify that exam are able to compete with the external candidates directly. There is no discrimination done with regards to the normal graduates and the hotel management graduates. All are treated at par. OCLD believes that if the candidate has the right kind of attitude, then they can always train them with the requisite skills.

The foundation stage enables associates from different backgrounds to come up to the same level prior to starting the next stage. Some modules, languages for example, are new for everyone. OCLD is not just about professional development; it is also about personal development. IT does not matter whether any one comes form a college or an IHM.

Most of the faculty have been through OCLD and worked in the operations of the Oberoi Hotels for some years. They are therefore, well qualified to teach as how things are done in the hotels of the Oberoi group. The faculty of OCLD ensures that everything one learns is directly relevant to one’s career as an Oberoi Executive. The faculty at OCLD can go deeper into the subjects they know are important, focus on the professional skills they know which one will need, ensure that one only learn the theory that directly applies in the hotel operations, and help one develop the right personal qualities.

It is simply a unit of the Oberoi group that manages the development and grooming of young people who have the potential to become executives with the Oberoi group. There are no fees. They pay nothing. OCLD pay the candidates a monthly stipend of Rs.9000.

The total investment of OCLD in an individual is about four times of the stipend paid. OCLD invests in our future by investing in ones future. The only bond OCLD have is a moral obligation between one and one’s conscience. If one joins OCLD, it should only be because one is serious about becoming an executive with the Oberoi Group, and is willing to provide us with a dividend on OCLD investment with one’s loyalty, commitment and contribution.

The Oberoi group is keen to retain high performers and facilitate their career development. At executive level, transfers become a certainty, rather than a possibility. After two years or so, it is normal to be transferred to another hotel in a different position. The higher one goes in hierarchy, the greater become the challenges and responsibilities, so one does tend to stay longer at each level. When OCLD opens a new hotel overseas, the opening team may include executives who will stay for between

99

6 months and two years to get the systems up and running. So from time to time, there may be a possibility of working overseas, but one should not base ones decision to join OCLD purely on this relatively rare opportunity.

OCLD look for people with good verbal and listening skills, confident body language, and the ability to interact with the rest of the group. People, who say nothing or who cannot assert themselves, will not be able to show their potential and so will not be chosen. OCLD also do not select people who try to dominate the group or who do not give anyone else a chance. When nobody is listening when everyone is shouting, interrupting and turning the whole exercise into a “fist market” the whole group could be eliminated.

As such OCLD has many facets, and all of which are positive, the only thing OCLD demands is hard work and commitment.

100