Understanding the trainers´ view of the effectiveness of continuing professional training: the case of public servants training

Abstract

There is empirical evidence that the research findings on training effectiveness are hardly applied in organizations; one possible reason is that these findings do not reach trainers in a way that could help them make decisions about the design and implementation of training programs. This gap could be explained by the fact that most of those studies have primary been focused on the trainees´ perception of what factors affect the outcomes of training, while the trainers´ perspective on it has barely been studied. The goal of this study was to explore the trainers´ view on the efficacy of training, in terms of transfer outcomes; for this purpose, 300 trainers participating in the implementation of the training schemes addressed to Public Administration employees in Andalusia (Spain) were surveyed. The results showed that the trainers´ perception of training effectiveness was influenced by the characteristics of the current culture of continuing professional training in this organizational sector: an individualistic and centralized conception of training and the absence of the sense of responsibility for training outcomes. Furthermore, five conceptions of effective training were detected: one focused on ensuring that the design of the training event satisfies the trainees, other based on the use of workplace as a learning space, the third concept is concerned about accountability for training results, a fourth focused on addressing the organizational demands and the last reflecting an ecological conception of training effectiveness. It is concluded that research on training effectiveness should be more aligned with the trainers´ concerns if research findings are to be used by practitioners and, thus, they can help transform the culture and practices of employees training.

Ears on the Street: Practitioner Opinions on What Competencies Sales Executives Need and How to Develop Them

“…Therefore, the three interview groups are comparable in their expertise. Third, all three subject groups have in-depth knowledge about design factors and implementation barriers (Granado, 2019), since they are all involved in some way with the conceptual design of developments, making it possible to derive valuable and useful insights from their statements.…”

“…Research is often one-sided (Kornau et al, 2020), since multiple perspectives are rarely surveyed, even though a more holistic picture would be generated by including multiple and also external parties. This shortcoming is apparent given the lack of empirical data in which HR professionals responsible for executive development (Rossett & Krumdieck, 1992; Wright & Grant, 1995) or freelance executive trainers (Guillemette, 2012) are included in the sample, even though they are experts with an objective perspective (Granado, 2019). Such HR professionals are also not considered in the development of newer approaches, such as data-driven human resource development (Tkaczyk, 2017).…”

Periodos de confinamiento y factores personales que condicionan la transferencia de la formación del profesorado.

“…Esta observación se encuentra en consonancia con las diferencias detectadas en el factor "Autosuficiencia" entre los periodos de confinamiento y previo al confinamiento, mostrando un incremento en la autoeficacia percibida por los participantes durante el confinamiento. Por otra parte, el desarrollo de la función docente fuera del entorno cotidiano de trabajo y el exceso de trabajo individual durante el periodo de confinamiento (Granado, 2019) es posible que haya afectado a la percepción de los participantes sobre el apoyo de los recursos humanos del centro relegándolos a un segundo plano por lo que no se observan diferencias entre los periodos estudiados.…”