Tuesday, May 17, 2011

BARRIERS TO LEARNING, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT


Although there are many forces encouraging learning, training and development there are also a considerable number of barriers. Not surprisingly the financial cost of agent downtime is the principal obstacle to the provision of training. Budgetary constraints have also resulted in external training being stopped after initial training, which affects the skill levels in the sector. Furthermore, Chamber Business Enterprises reported that 23 per cent of employers cited training barriers; specific ones identified were the cost of training (42 per cent); staff time (37 per cent); and timing of training (25 per cent). CallNorthWest also noted practical difficulties with staff signing-up for a programme and sometimes not being able to a end because too many had applied for the programme. Also, there were a significant number of ‘no-shows’ because there was no mechanism for ensuring that those who registered actually a ended a programme.
Another significant barrier to training is the fact that some employers suggest that the benefits of training were greater for the employees than the organization: ‘Staff come here, undertake the training, get the experience and then leave; we are not going to invest in people who are going to go elsewhere for higher wages.’ One case study trainer commented similarly: ‘A number of staff have le to take up other jobs in other organizations. We train them too well.’
It is not just the employer who is responsible for learning. The most successful forms of learning occur when the individual has developed a personal ‘hunger’ or interest in learning. Where people are self-motivated and take personal responsibility the quality and quantity of learning are found to be much higher.
Another obstacle to training is the flat structure of call centres, which have few hierarchical levels. This may result in few positions becoming vacant even though there are advisers queuing for promotion.
It is largely financial pressures that affect the degree of support for employees. With staff expenditure representing 71 per cent of the overall budget it is inevitable that it is regularly targeted for cost reduction; however, the savings have potentially negative implications. Dimension Data  noted that:
The reduced levels of agent training, performance appraisal and staff satisfaction investigations. . . support the observation that many centres are failing to focus enough attention on the development of the agent. The long-term consequences of declining agent development and focus could be extremely damaging to organizations and the risks far outweigh any short-term cost improvements that have been realized as a result.

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