How Training differs from Development?

Training & Development are two words used together almost in every organization .Do we know that these two words cannot be used interchangeably. They are just like covering a work bad done for current but development is doing the work proficiently to be rewarded.

Training is a short-term ( a onetime thing) with more scope imparting the currently required competencies ( focus on technical and mechanical aspect).On the other hand, development is a continuous process with more emphasis on conceptual and philosophical knowledge ( managerial and enabling competencies).The trainees are generally the non-managerial personnel(s), but, the participants in development programs are usually managerial personnel.

What probes my mind is that why are only managerial personnel given a chance for development? Why not all the employees get an equal share of developing themselves, since they all contribute to the growth of the organization asked the same to the my mentee during my summer training and I got a reply that the level of contribution and the future growth opportunities differ for each of them. According to me an employee’s cost to the company compared to the profit generated by him is one major factor which decides an employee should go for development programs or not.

Development is a proactive process wherein the company tries to fill in the future gaps that may appear due to a change in the position of the employee, his working conditions , technology etc.. . But, since training needs are derived from the past performances to improve on to the current capabilities of an employee, it is a reactive process. We though see the current capabilities in both training and development, but in case of development , the focus is on the potential an employee has rather than the requirements the employee has to fulfill to sustain his job and therefore his growth in the organization.

A development plan is usually for 5 years( the employee development plan), like our government’s 5 year plan with the difference in implementation. It describes the current competency level of an employee and will also map the potential the employee has and the competencies level he/she will be able to reach as per the plan.

In case of training, the needs come through 3 levels of analysis i.e. organizational analysis , operational analysis and person analysis. These tell us the gap between expected and actual performance. Then a sheet is drafted where in all the employees training need are jotted after which the training calendar for the year and budget are finalized in a meeting. Then a monthly calendar with schedules are drafted with all details of the program with costs ( in case of outbound).Then the training evaluation is done generally by the famous Kirkpatrick Model.

Listing out the differences is easy but here is the difficult part the similarities, training and development both focus on competencies , need a support from the employee and his supervisor ( or management in case of development),can be initiated by the employee or the employer, the ultimate focus of each is to make competitive employees which drive performance.

The most important part is the type of culture and the climate in the organization .A learning culture is important for the actual implementation of the laid down policies and procedures.