Midterm report ISTD Essay

This project is designed to make an in-depth study and critical analysis of HR aspects in MedTek.Net India Pvt Ltd. At this point in the project, it reports about the progress we made in analyzing theR training aspects and the progress it made towards its goals; describe obstacles (both internal& external) faced; detail work accomplished and actions to be taken in the future. During the process of project, we got to know and notice lot many interesting facts and points which are really important for the growth and success of the organization. It gave an opportunity for the HR department to  audit the entire HRD aspects of the organization there by adding more value to way we operate. At the end of this project, all parties of the organization; Management, employees, HR department are eager to know more about the findings and improvements that we can make to the organization from the HRD prospect which can bring an edge to the company when compared to our competitors in the market. Below pages of this report offers a brief description about the analysis and work we have done so far in this project. Introduction: Within every organization, there is a need to manage learning in accordance with business requirements. A systematic approach in training and development always adds an edge to the performance of the organization in all means. Objective: Objective of this project is to do complete analysis on the below training aspects, their performance impact and recommendations for betterment of the organization. a) Human Resource Planning, Training Policy, Training Budget. b) Training Needs Assessment System. c) Training & other Development Programmes and their evaluation. d) Strategies for improving HRD activities in the Organization. With our analysis, findings & recommendations, our attempt is to provide viable propositions for betterment in the applicable areas of organization. In this process, we have collected all recorded data like policies, questionnaires, processes followed etc and live data like interviews and one on one discussion with various employees of different departments and external data like market scenario, industry analysis etc. Project Design: We have designed the project in to four phases. 1. Collecting basic data and information related to all training aspects. 2.  Analyzing data, processes and drawing findings for their evaluation procedure. 3. Evaluating the information and processes of various data analyzed. 4. Recommending strategies for the improvement of HRD activities with the help of above in the organization. For any company, training and development is an important aspect which boosts continuous growth and success to the business. We have considered all external and internal components of the existing performance of the organization with respect to the targeted objectives set. Some of the components include absenteeism, work hours of the employee’s w.r.t their performance, performance of the software (IPAS – Integrated Performance Appraisal System) which was initiated recently, employee hiring and job enrichment strategies used for retaining the existing employees, HRD activities practiced for long term growth of the organization etc. Project Implementation We started implementing the project by collating data available from all sources. Simultaneously we started working with people as well by circulating questionnaires and by conducting one on one discussion. Below explanation will give us a brief of what we have studied and analyzed in this process with the help of both data and people. HRD System: Human Resource Planning, Training Policy, Training Budget. Human Resource Planning At MedTek.Net we measure the growth of business by the no of minutes and reports we process per year. Therefore our target of business growth lies in the same and accordingly we plan for resources to recruit per year, it includes both fresher’s and experienced resources. MedTek HR planning for the period of 2012-2013 is focused on the below points to achieve during this time. Below points are analyzed after a detailed discussion with people in the company and after going through the information/data which is all available. 1. Work closely with management to reinforce the need for competitive compensation for individuals MedTek wishes to attract and retain. 2. Invest  in professional development programs to improve leadership capabilities, job skills, and employee productivity. 3. Identifying and attracting right talent at campus level thereby training and employing them in the organization accordingly. 4. Develop comprehensive career management tools, job enrichment strategies, and mentoring programs to help employees prepare for new opportunities. 5. Leverage technology to streamline HR service processes and improve access to employee information. 6. Conduct regular organizational climate assessments and collaborate with senior managers to improve the campus work climate. Review of training policy & budget: As MedTek.Net is a mid sized company they do not really have a fixed annual budget for training. The budget varies as per the requirement and situation of the company although getting approved prior by management. But, with in the limitation HR department tried to encompass the training programs which align the company’s goals and objectives of employee development. Some of the cost effective measures which got imparted in the training budget are: 1. Finding trainers with in the organization wherever it is necessary and possible. 2. Imparting self learning techniques for the employees which not only reduces costs but also helps employees to work on their skills by focusing on their weaknesses and strengths. 3. Encouraging the technique of cross-train employees at work place. This technique really worked at MedTek as employees showed great interest to share their knowledge. It is happening in this way; 2nd level employees train 1st level employees and 2nd level employees will g et trained by their above level i.e. 3rd level employees and vice-versa. Keeping in view of budget constraints and business requirements training policy of Medtek for the year 2012-13 aims to ensure that 1. All new members of staff receive an induction training programme that achieves the common company induction standards. 2. Company invests in training that helps to meet its goals of providing a quality service, which are achieved by increasing the knowledge and skills and competencies of its staff to meet the needs of quality service standards set. 3. All staff has  an annual appraisal which, amongst other matters, reviews all training undertaken and sets goals for the coming year based on the individual training needs assessment. 4. All staff are provided with an annual personal training file, which they will keep. In the file they include details of all training sessions that they attend. The file should also contain a personal development plan filled in at the same time as the appraisal. The personal development plan contains details of any training opportunities that the member of staff seeks to pursue during the year. At MedTek, Training policy and Training budget got framed by keeping in view of companies annual HR planning and business growth. Keeping in view of companies strengths and weaknesses these three components got designed and in the continuous process slight deviation(more or less) is always there to align with industry and market changes and requirements. Analysis on Training needs Identification and Assessment process: Up on detailed analysis and review Training Identification & Assessment process at MedTek usually happens by following the below steps: 1. Data Gathering: One on One discussion with Managers/ Supervisors/ employees, performance Mgmt software, knowledge/ skill test to the employees, questionnaires etc. 2. Post assessing the need, HR department designs a module defining the purpose of the need, target group, resource person and the deliverables. 3. Defining the deliverables and methodology to measure the deliverables are very critical while identifying the need. 4. Training Need Validation: After identifying the list of training needs, the same will be listed and discussed with functional heads of all departments. During this exercise, the relevance of each training need with the forthcoming financial year and the business requirement to be validated. 5. Training Need Prioritization: The training needs identified will be then categorized as high impact and low impact / high cost and low cost. 6. The deliverables of the training needs which may likely to create High Impact on the business with Low Cost will be given fir st priority. The training needs with High Impact and High Cost will be given 2nd Priority and the training needs with Low Impact and Low Cost will be given 3rd Priority. Review and analysis of 2012-2013 annual Training programs planned & conducted: The training programs conducted on continuous basis for the year 2012-2013 at MedTek.Net are mentioned as below: 1. Induction for new joinees- Technical Training, Behavioral Training, HR induction. 2. Technical Training – To all employees designation wise for knowledge and skill improvement. 3. Management Development Sessions – Workshops for the existing managers and potential employees who are identified for promotions. 4. Soft skills and Personality Development Training programs – For the identified team members of different departments. 5. Sponsoring some training workshops for the identified team members which were conducted outside the company premises. T&D activities which left impact towards improvement & development of both the parties i.e. employees & the organization. Employees: Entry Level: Employees at entry level got highly benefited with induction training program as it includes both soft skills, technical and company policies related training. The best part of this training is each employee after training session will be associated with one senior employee as their mentor for 1 month and on-the job assistance/training will be given to them till they get accommodated with the work life at MedTek. It is the responsibility of the mentor to make the new employee comfortable and feedback from the new employee at the end of the mentorship will be taken and will be added to the performance points of the senior employee. This process got succeeded and is yielding some great results so far. Mid Level: Technical Training and personality development programs are popular in this segment of employees at MedTek. Providing mentorship to new employees is also popular as it inculcates self learning process and adds performance points. Proof Readers and Quality Controllers generally comes in to the segment of mid level employees at MedTek. They need high technical knowledge  and skill as they are responsible for the final delivery of report to the clients. Therefore self learning technique and technical training plays a great role for their knowledge and skill improvement. Supervisors and Managers: Management Development sessions which got conducted at both indoor and outdoor left a visible impact in their skill development. In the company where stress and pressure rules, these sessions helped a lot for the managers and supervisors to handle the team members and stress. Organization: As an organization MedTek is able to see advantages in various ways as below: Performance of new recruits got improved and are delivering their full capacity of performance. Quality standard got improved and are getting some good satisfaction mails from the clients about the quality and TAT (Turn Around Time). Management sessions helped the organization to polish and train the employees who are identified to elevate for the next level mgmt positions at different levels. Overall on a note of conclusion, training programs which got implemented are able to deliver clear return on investment for both employees and organization. The success rate is clearly visible and is encouraging for both HR department and management to continue the training programs in a more effective manner for the growth of organization Analysis of T&D evaluation techniques up on which the organization is relying in terms of measuring the outcomes of the T & D programs implemented & planned. At MedTek, training evaluation is done keeping in view of five main elements as mentioned below: Satisfaction and participant reaction, with the help of questionnaires and random one on one discussion. MedTek, also has internal portal where the participants can post their feedback wrt training sessions attended. Knowledge acquisition- This can be evaluated by the scores they get in the technical tests which are conducted very often in the office premises.  Behavioral application – This can be observed eventually and often immediate supervisors or mentors are responsible for recording any change in their behavioral aspects during the course of time. Return on investment (ROI) – Each individual performance in terms of increase in number of minutes they process can be considered to evaluate ROI. Measurable business improvement – Improvement in all four parameters collectively contribute towards business improvement. Keeping in view of the above five elements, below mentioned evaluation techniques are often used at MedTek. 1. Kirkpatrick’s training evaluation model. 2. Robert O Brinkerhoff- The Success Case method 3. The IPO model (Input, Process, Output) 4. Jack Philips Return On Investment HR department pick a combination of one or two from the above models for evaluation process and the evaluation process happen in 3 phases; Pre Training, During the training and Post Training. Results of training evaluation are submitted to senior management and some points of evaluation are accessible to employees as well through portal. Project outputs Management of MedTek.Net is very keen about this project as it gives an opportunity to analyze the entire process of T & D processes we have been conducting every year. It gave an opportunity to observe, compare and study T&D processes and systems other competitors are practicing in the industry. Below are few outputs so far turned up in the project. 1. Because of budget constraints they have challenges in hiring the no’s they require and this could effect the effective HR planning. HR department need to come up with some new strategies to fulfill the requirement of manpower with in the budget. MedTeK HR department was able to succeed so far but, in order to survive for long term they have to plan some strong strategies which can help them for some good no of years. 2. Employees at MedTek are happy with the training programs going on in the company when compared to some of the fellow companies from the same industry. 3. The challenge for both  employees and HR dept is volume fluctuation. The amount of work that they get on any day is often fluctuating and this could really affect the training schedules planned. For HR dept it is a challenging task, as they need to make the employees still connect with the training programs and need to constantly motivate them on this regard. 4. Management wants cost effective hiring or less hiring with out increasing operational costs but operations team demands more head count. 5. So far during the project, we have observed that support departments of the organization like Finance & Accounts, Admin, IT help desk are not getting their fair share of training as the always got mobbed up with work and they are the most stressed out team members in the organization. 6. Post evaluation after evaluating employees performance periodically it is really becoming tough for the HR department to plan for successive training programs for the employees those who are in need of because of the tight work schedules. 7. Time and money are the game pla yers at MedTek when it comes to T&D activities. Both management and employees see the value addition of T&D activities but they want it to be done with in the time frame and budget so that these activities would not affect work and budget stretch. Key Issues addressed 1. As we have observed above both management and employees shows interest towards T&D activities but with in the time frame and budget. On this regard, HR department had a discussion with Management about the long term benefits of T&D activities and tried to enlighten them how and what kind of remarkable changes it can bring to the improvement of business in a more effective manner. 2. HR department also highlighted the importance of hiring few more team members for support teams like Accounts & Finance, admin, IT helpdesk etc and advantages of training them in them which can bring a spearhead change in the way they are operating so far. 3. As it is emergency the temporary or time being strategy for hiring after discussing with managers and senior level mgmt, HR dept gave the options as below. a. Providing more work from home options there by reducing operational costs and paying salary as per the performance i.e. no of minutes processed per month by a resource. b. Recruiting and training fresher’s and making them  ready by the time projects comes in as per the business forecast (In health care industry fresher’s usually get paid only after completing the training). c. Encouraging and motivating existing employees for processing more no of minutes and paying incentives for the extra minutes they process. 4. But, for many concerns at MedTek, hiring more team members is the single answer. But considering the concerns of budget, market conditions and business growth plans, MedTek has to consider the plan of hiring in slow pace (for experienced) and hiring fresher’s at good number and making them job ready with in the short period which really cuts the budget to a greater extent. Impact of the Project 1. The project did really give us enough reason to actually audit entire HRD aspects of the organization which we delayed because of some noted business reasons. 2. It throws light on many aspects which we need to work on for the betterment of both organization and employees success. 3. We are able to clearly figure out the strengths and weaknesses from HR point of view and started working on them in no time. Future Direction of the project We are in the final & crucial phase of completing this project. It will take couple of weeks to draw the final and more detailed analysis of the entire work we have done so far during this project tenure. We are left with Section D analysis which has been carrying out simultaneously and will be finished at the earliest. With the support of my guide we can submit the final version by the 3rd week of October.