By Peter Wright
For years, employee training was viewed as a necessary evil something unpleasant but needed. However, with time it was realized that training could be used to the advantage of the company. When used effectively, training provides the employee with skill and knowledge with relation to the job tasks, which then creates a competitive advantage for the company (Pfeffer & Viega, Putting People First for Organizational Success, 1998).
Training is generally defined as the act of teaching a skill or behavior. However, what does this mean in business terms? Simply put, training in business is the investment of resources in the employees of a company so that they are better equipped to perform the tasks of their job. The type of resources invested may include time to learn, money to create programs and develop training materials, training effectiveness evaluation systems, etc. (Fukami, Strategic Human Resources: Training, 2007). There are many training methods from which a company may choose; these will be covered in the Training Methods section of this article.
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