Page 249 - DMGT518_TRAINING_AND_DEVELOPMENT_SYSTEM

Training and Development System

Notes
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Case Study Importance of Training

his case is about a mid-sized direct selling organization. Rakesh Sharma,
the training manager at the company realized the need for a training intervention
Tfor line managers as he felt that despite a contemporary training program, the sales
force was unable to internalize the training due to lack of support from the line managers
in the field. But the CEO of Direc2U was not supportive of the initiative, as he saw no value
in this programme. Moreover, as the company was going through a tough phase he also
wanted to cut the training budget further. Sharma had to find ways to involve the line
managers in sales training and also find ways to link training to the bottom-line results.
Rakesh, let me make it clear to you that I can’t allocate any more money for training. I can
understand why you want to conduct a training programme on coaching skills for the line
managers, but I can’t help you in this regard. Not for another year at the very least. In fact,
I may have to curtail your training budget for next year as we are going through a lean
phase,” said Sanjay Shah, the CEO of Direc2U, a direct sales company that dealt in a range
of consumer appliances. From his tone, it was clear that he would not entertain any further
discussion on this topic.
Rakesh Sharma had been working as the training manager (TM) in Direc2U for the past
three years. During this period he had single-handedly taken care of all the training and
development (T&D) activities of the company. Of late, he felt that despite a contemporary
training programme, the sales force was unable to internalise the training due to lack of
support from the line managers in the field. Sharma, who had ample experience in sales
and sales force management before getting into the training function, understood the
significance of the role of line managers in reinforcing the classroom training. His repeated
proposals to conduct a training programme on coaching for the line managers had fallen
on deaf ears. But Sharma knew that he could not let the situation drift any longer. The
company had failed to achieve its revenue targets in the previous year. This year too, it
was struggling to reach 75 per cent of the projections. Since it was difficult to measure the
return on investment (ROI) of training, the training budget tended to get the chop during
tough times. In such as situation, Sharma could expect some cuts in his budget for the next
year. Yet he knew that in tough times there was a greater need for T&D interventions.
Questions
1. Discuss the issues and challenges in ensuring transfer of learning and also ensure
that the trainees internalize the classroom training.
2. Discuss the importance of involving line managers in reinforcing classroom training
and the issues and challenges involved in involving them in sales training.
3. Explore the direct and indirect costs associated with training.

14.6 Summary

 The external environment areas of change, which have major impact on organisations, fall
into four main categories which are economic, political, social and technological.
 The various aspects of training issues consequential from internal need of the company
are Interpersonal relationship, Supervision, Communication, Managing problems,
Decision-making and Trust.

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