The Effect Of Training On Quality Improvement

An organization has the continuous challenge to maximize profit, value the customer, and realize growth for the company. The hard part of this process is finding and maintaining the right employees to reach this goal. Implementing some training program to improve some area of customer service is better then none at all. Training is the tool that can assist that goal and lead to overall quality improvement for the company, it's structure, and customer satisfaction. Training a workforce to the highest standards will improve product quality, decrease employee anxiety, increase performance, and ultimately give focus to the customer.

Training for the Product

General Motors (2005) offers for their employees more then 2000 in-house courses under the guise of the General Motors University. These courses operate to improve the skills and performance of the employees as well as to teach new business practices. The rate at which new product development tools are changed, GM has decided that the best idea is to offer the specialty training to produce a product or service to the highest possible standards. Another benefit for G M's training is that the lower performance during on-the-job-training is shortened because the employee already has the basics.

GM strives to "help employees understand how their individual performance contributes to overall business results" (2005). This process empowers the employee with the understanding that they are not just a cog in a system, but an integral part. The focus of the courses are on critical business functions within GM. They are, in essence, producing a better quality product by ensuring that the employee is skilled in their job. This reduces warranty costs and rework done by unskilled employees. Efficiency in their skill also increases the quality of the product by increasing productivity of the individual worker or teams.

On-the-job-training and apprentice type training can take time. The fact is that most training in those style lend to double employment. The mentor then has to have the ability to take on the task and to be responsible for the training goals. Having a portion of the training in a classroom, or on line, can familiarize the employee and shorten on-the-job-training times. This "blended" learning helps to maintain existing standards and helps the interaction and integration of the new employees.

Employee Stress and Productivity

One of the most effective ways to increase productivity is to alleviate some of the negative effects of fear and anxiety. Some of these negative effects can be physical and increase the frequency of sicknesses.