BP Company Employee Training and Development

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Introduction

The following report is concerned with the extent upon which an organization adopts a structured training process approach to the analysis, design, delivery and evaluation of its learning and development provision. The report starts with an understanding of the Bp Oil. co. Ltd. located in Hull. It also defines the learning and development theories, their applications and also includes the conclusions as well as the key recommendations.

An overview of BP Company

The BP Company has its locations in the United Kingdom and it is one of the leading gas and Oil Company the entire Europe continent. Its headquarters are based at London. However, this report focuses on the BP Company that is located at Saltend which nears the Hull city. The BP Company plays a key role as far as the world’s chemical industry is concerned.

The company also exist as a centre for Technology as well as Research in the entire world. BP is a multinational company and operates in more than 80 countries across the globe.

The initials”BP” was as a result of the organization’s founders, British Petroleum. Apart from being much involved into oil as well as gas manufacturing, the company is also concerned with the social corporate responsibilities. The company is also listed in the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as well as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

An understanding of learning and development theories, models and frameworks in BP

The learning and development theories are part of the larger human resource management that is concerned with the policies, programs and practices which are designed to maximize both the organizational and personal goals.

Employees training and development usually plays an important role of determining the profitability of an organization i.e. it ensures that the employees perform well hence increasing the productivity (Gibb, 2008, 8).

In BP Oil Company that is located in Hull, training is done on old and new members of staff as well. This enables them to adjust with regards to the changes that occur in the course of their duties. It enables them to be conversant with the technological changes that take place.

The methods that are employed in training the employees in BP oil company includes the following; job rotation, lectures, apprenticeships, role playing as well as simulation, audiovisual methods, internships among others. David Kolb who is an educational theorist came up with learning styles in the early 1980s.

David Kold came up with important concepts regarding the learning styles and the concepts are applied in many organizations today. The theory focuses on four learning styles which are interpreted in a cycle. According to David Kolb, the learning process is in form of a cycle whereby, the trainee is expected to touch all the cycle’s bases.

The cycles are composed of the concrete experience, observation and reflection, testing implications as well as the formation of the abstract concepts as well as generalisations. According to him, the concrete experience results to reflection as well as the observation. The reflection and observation are then incorporated into theoretical concepts i.e. the abstracts.

The implications are then tested and experimented so that the corrective action can be taken. The testing as well as the experimentation also enables one to come up with new experiences. Kolb holds the view that learners usually prefers a particular learning style and that there are several factors that influences one to prefer a given learning style. The following diagram represents Kolb’s 4 cycles of learning process

Kolb’s 4 cycles of learning process

According to sparks and Loucks (1998), there are usually five models with regards to employee’s development. The first model is the individually Guided Development in which the instructor devises the tasks that will be accomplished.

The employees are vested with the role of coming up with the means of objectives attainment.By so doing, the mode; is believed to motivate them. The model is also important because it allows the instructors to attend to their own issues and hence creating some professionalism.

The other model with regards to employee’s development is the observation as well as assessment. The employees are allowed to provide feedback regarding to the teachings that they receive. The employees learn as they observe the teachers’ teaching behaviour. The employees are also allowed to discuss among themselves and this enables them to exchange important ideas (Harrison, 2009, 67).

The third model as far as employee’s development is concerned is the employee’s involvement in the development process. This helps to bring about the maximum individual development of the employees in the organization. The employees are assessed and areas that require to be improved are highlighted. The involvement is important as it enables the employees to acquire new skills.

The fourth model of the employee’s development is training. In this model, the presenter devises the learning activities that should be carried out together with the effects that are associated with the learning activities. In this model, the employees are trained on the theoretical as well as the practical aspects as far as the organizational activities are concerned (Swart et.al. 2005, 89).

The last model with regards to employee’s development is the inquiry. Inquiry is concerned with identifying the problems and collecting the data. Usually, the teacher prepares some questions so as to determine their personal teaching practices and to take actions where necessary.

Application of learning and development theories, models and frameworks

The learning and development theories, models and frameworks with regards to the BP Company are applied in analysis, design, delivery as well as the evaluation of the learning and development provision.

Application of training and development theories in employee’s analysis

Learning and development theories enable the management to effectively analyse the performance of the employees. The employee’s performance is thus measured against the set objectives. The trainees usually liaise with the senior leadership team of the organization so as to provide them with an insight concerning their progress.

Essentially, the trainees are only required to have a positive attitude towards raining and also show their willingness to successfully complete the training and development programmes. They should also put extra effort to ensure that they capture all that they are taught. Training also requires the employees to be reliable and cooperative with their trainers.

The selection criteria of employees who requires training in BP co. is usually informal. The line managers in organizations usually select the employees that require to be trained. Also, the employee who feels that they need training so as to enhance their skills also forwards themselves.

Employees are thus trained on the following areas; customer satisfaction, problem solving, communication skills as well as teamwork management and control. Each area of training is completely different from the other and therefore the teachers should ensure that they teach one area at a time so that the employees can understand well (Walton, 1999, 19).

A SWOT analysis of the employees training is also conducted in order to determine the strength and weaknesses of the programme and whether the programme is facing any threats and has any opportunity in the market. This is usually done by the senior management team in the organization, the organization’s training specialists, and those employees who are through with their training among others.

The SWOT analysis team may also be comprised of a small group or an individual who has adequate knowledge concerning the organizational as well as employees’ training needs. The trainees are thus informed of the reasons why SWOT analysis is being carried out before the process begins.

The strengths refers to the areas that employees are best in i.e. those aspects that the employees performs very well such as outgoing e.t.c. training however, the training team should not give a high priority to strengths (Stewart, 1999,15).

Weaknesses entail the aspects which calls for employees require to be improved. For instance, poor customer service is a form of weakness which if not improved may lead to loss of potential customers in an organization. Opportunities as well as the threats are usually as a result of the outside factors.

Opportunity entails the new openings that if utilized properly, could lead generate greater revenue to the organization for instance, a new product may call for direct sales representatives so as to conduct the market promotion and hence the need for training.

Threats entails the occurrences on the employees that could make it difficult for them to perform their duties effectively and efficiently e.g. the sales staff may find it difficult to promote the company’s product as a result of the emergence of a competitor who offers low prices for goods.

Thus, unless they are trained, the sales staff may not be able to create sales for the business. Thus, the learning theory and development is very important as far as the employee’s analysis is concerned (Reid, & Barrington, 2004, 24).

Application of training and development theories and employees design in BP Company

Employees design entails a program that is set so as to ensure that the employees training objectives are met. The training designs have indeed developed over the years in that it has began using the systematic models. For instance, the BP Company has been using the instructional systems design commonly referred to as ISD so as to enhance efficiency with regards to the training programmes.

The training designs ensure that the employees are ready for the training and it also ensures that learning is carried on in a smooth manner. It also helps in monitoring and evaluating the employees training and development.

Thus training design enables the employees to achieve their training goals. For the training design to be effective, the learning goals to be attained should be determined ahead of the training process (Bee, & Bee, 2003, 89).

The efficiency of an employee training program can be enhanced by the following; the trainers requires to define the training needs of the employees first i.e. they should approach the training with a clear mindset. The company’s needs should also be determined so as to identify the area that requires to be improved. There should be no hurry at all in determining the ideal training programmes.

The training should also be done in a suitable place. Also; the organizational leaders should ensure that they don’t have much workload during the employees training period so as to support the employees where necessary. The trainers too requires to be very attentive in that should act promptly to support the employees in case of anything (Sparks, & Loucks, 1998, 26).

Training programs design is meant to assess whether the employees are able to use the resources available effectively and efficiently. If the employees fail in a program, it results in the waste of resources for the organization. The success of the program depends on the type of the trainees that are selected for training by the company and therefore the right people should be selected (Megginson & Whitaker, 2007, 54).

The training and development thus enables the creation of an effective program that ensures that the employees training objectives are met. The training programs at the BP Company ensure that the employee’s are able to study the materials.

The programs also ensure that the employees are able to utilize the resources that they have in an efficient manner. The training programs help to motivate the employees during the training program.

Application of training and development theories in training delivery

The BP Company usually holds a question and answer session so as to explain to the employees the importance of training, the reason as to why they were chosen to be trained among others. Employees training are usually very expensive particularly in a case where the employee’s exits the organization after being trained and therefore, it is important for the managers to select carefully the employees to be trained.

The trainers should ensure that the training programs’ objectives are in agreement with the employee’s training needs. The training goals should be set in such a way that the employees are able to know where they are today and where they should be in the near future. It is thus important for the senior management team to have meetings with the trainees regularly in order to ensure successful completion of the training program.

In Bp Company, the human resource manager usually liaises with the employees regularly so as to determine as to whether the employees are well trained and to take up the corrective measures as fast as possible. This enables the employees who are being trained to become familiar with the training expectations and so they works extra hard so as top meet these expectations.

The training delivery plays a key role of ensuring that the employees successfully complete their training programmes. The successful completion of the training by the employees ensures that the organization performs well. This is due to the fact that the employees are part and parcel of the organization and so their success reveals the organization’s success.

Employees are usually unique with distinct learning styles and therefore, the delivery methods helps to cater for the needs of each trainee. In the BP Company, the training delivery helps the trainees to know their responsibilities so as to work towards achieving their overall objectives.

Application of training and development theories in evaluating the training programs

An organization requires evaluating the training program that it has implemented so as to determine as to whether the program is successful. The organizations should consider whether the trainees have gained the required skills. If it turns out that the employees have not acquired them relevant skills, the organization should determine the reasons behind it.

The senior leadership team at BP oil Company located in Hull for instance holds regular meetings with the employees so as to determine as to whether the employees fails to gain skills due to their personal inability or due to other factors such as unsuccessful training programs(McKenna ,1997,13).

The BP Company usually collects all the data concerning the employees training so as to evaluate the employees learning programs effectively. Organizations should first collect all the important information regarding the training so as to clearly evaluate their employees learning programmes. The information that is collected should be quantified and measured in such aspects as output, cost, time-period, and value among others.

The BP oil company in Hull also uses quantitative information in form of working habits, employee’s mindset, employee’s growth, compliance, initiativeness among others in evaluating the employees training programs. The company also evaluates the employees training programs so as to determine as to whether the training programs facilitated the employees to adapt to the working environment.

Also, the company evaluates the employees training programs by way of observation as well as holding interviews with the employees. The company monitors the behaviours of the employees all through the learning process so as to establish as to whether the employees are familiarizing themselves with the organization as well as their jobs (Marchington, & Wilkinson, 2008, 34).

The BP Company also gauges the employee’s reactions with regards to the training programmes. The feedback that the company obtains from the trainees is essential as it enables the company to know how the trainees perceive the training programs and hence to come up with measures aimed at improving the programs.

The use of questionnaires as well as the meetings enables the organization to determine the trainees’ attitude towards the training programs.

Conclusions based on analysis of theory and practice

The learning and development theories, frameworks and concepts play a critical role as far as employees training programs are concerned in organizations. An effective training program is very important as it can facilitate the organization’s success.

An organization that is contemplating to formulate an employees learning strategy should consider the following issues i.e. the main customers and the value that they buy from the firm, the competitors and their products in the market, strengths as well as the weaknesses of the organization, the reason as to why the organization is intending to formulate the training strategy e.t.c.

This answer with regards to the above issues enables an organization to determine its employees training needs.

The human resource department of an organization plays as important role of assessing the training needs of the employees. The management can compare the employees existing skills or performance s against the expected skills.In case of any differences between the employee’s current skills and the anticipated ones, then the training should be recommended (Woodall & Winstanley, 2000, 22).

Recommendations

The following are my recommendations; an organization should clearly identify the employees who require to be trained so a not to waste monetary assets in training the employees and the same employees exits the organization as a result of finding employment opportunities elsewhere.

Thus, it is important to find out where learning is required and an internal audit should be carried out so as to assist in pointing out the needy areas for training.

The organizational leaders should maintain an open and trusted relationship with the employees so as to ensure that they share important information with regards to employees training and development.

An organization should asses its current employees skills so as to determine it can provide the appropriate training programs to each and every trainee. The management should thus determine the future directions of the organization so as to determine the effectiveness of a learning program.

Also, it is important for the senior leadership team to determine as to whether the company is committed in supporting the learning efforts based on such aspects as financial aspects e.t.c. This will help to ensure that the training program to be developed does not fail following the lack of financial commitment.

The management should also liaise with the trainees on regular basis so as to determine as to whether the training is in accordance with the set goals.

Reference List

Bee, F & Bee, R., 2003.Learning needs analysis and evaluation: 2nd ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Gibb, S., 2008. Human resource development: process, practices and Perspectives: 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Harrison, R., 2009.Learning and development 5th edn. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Marchington, M. & Wilkinson, A., 2008. Human resource management at work: 4th edn. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

McKenna, E, P., 1997. When work doesn’t work anymore: women, work and Identity. London: Simon & Schuster.

Megginson, D. & Whitaker, V., 2007.Continuing professional development, 2nd Ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

Reid M. & Barrington H., 2004. Human resource development: beyond training Interventions. London: CIPD.

Sparks, J. & Loucks, H.R., 1998. Evaluating professional development. UK: Corwin Press.

Stewart, J., 1999. Employee development practice. London: Financial Times Management.

Swart, J. et al., 2005.Human resource development: strategy and tactics. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Walton, J., 1999. Strategic human resource development Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall

Woodall J. & Winstanley, D., 2000.Management Development: Strategy and Practice. Hoboken: Blackwell.

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