This chapter begins with the background of the study, which is organized into content, importance of training and development, and the gap. This is followed by the research purpose, research questions that guide the study, and significance of the research, which highlights the contributions of the study. Following are the delimitation and limitations of the study and definition of key terms.
Background of the Study
It goes without saying that training and development of employees is an issue that has to be faced by every organization in the public service. However, the quality and quantity of trainings offered differ enormously in organizations. According to Laing (2009) factors determining the quantity and quality of training and development activities include the degree of change in the external environment, internal change, availability of suitable skills and the extent to which management see training as a motivating factor for development of employees, who are well-equipped with skills and knowledge for effective performance.
Many services in advanced economies in the 1990s have come under pressure to become more effective, so as to maintain the volume and quality of services supplied to the public. In this regard, they have been subjected to the introduction of various management techniques like performance measurement to bolster their training and development activities for effective performance of employees (Brignall & Modell, 2000).
In the same vein, the administrative officers in the administrative cadre of the PMO have long realized the numerous benefits that could be derived from training and development, in response to the earlier-mentioned factors. In this regard, these officers have been increasingly requesting for training to enhance their potentials. In response to this and the fact that PMO has long realized the importance of training and development, the senior management officers have been arguing that training is critical for developing a productive workforce (NewGambia.gm, 2009). Human capital theory proposes that formal training such as that offered by training institutions improve the productive capacity of employees (Van der Meroe, 2010). This has resulted to the PMO investing so much money in the development of
the administrative cadre, being the Human Resource Unit of the Gambian Civil Service.
PMO has a Centralized Vote, which is designed for sponsoring training and development programmes. It also goes into partnerships with Bilateral Donor Agencies like the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation in the domain of training and development.
Currently, there is the Public Service Reform Project under the day-to-day Management responsibility of PMO. A Programme Support Unit has been established under PMO to strengthen its capacity to manage the sector interventions effectively. The total cost of the project was estimated at USD 7.25 million over the next five years (PMO, August 2007). It should be noted that allocating adequate funds for trainings is a precondition for developing the skills qualifications of the existing personnel and will eventually lead to improved social service delivery (African Development Bank Appraisal Report, 2008).
PMO’s training and development basically aims atmeeting the training needs of administrative officers, improving their skills, and enabling them make significant changes to their job performance. It also seeks to enable administrative officers contribute effectively to the performance of their various offices, which would eventually result to positive performance of PMO and the Ministries in terms of effective public service delivery (PSRICD, December 2009).
PMO has been training these officers locally at the Management Development Institute (MDI), while others are sponsored to do their Degree and Diploma training courses abroad. PMO sponsor administrative officers to do their studies in various Disciplines including Human Resource Management, Human Resource Development, Public Administration, among others. All these areas have been prioritized for training based on specific needs of Institutions and in line with the aims and objectives of Good Governance, Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), and the Country’s Vision 2020 programmes (NewGambia.gm, 2009).
The importance of this huge investment in training and development cannot be overemphasized. In fact, the relevance of training and development can be seen in the form of competent employees who are vital for their organizations, and they enable their organizations consistently deliver effective social services (Vokic, 2008). Furthermore, prosperous organizations develop sustainable capability through a systematic consideration of the human resource as the key asset and through a continuous process of training and development (Zairi, 1998). Training investments reassure employees that they are valued by
their employers, which in turn, enhances employee motivation and commitment to the organization (Santos & Stuart, 2003).
However, analysis of the relevance of training and development in improving employees’ performance has been the big problem, which could be attributed to the unexpected changes in performance in the organization. Impact assessment needs to be conducted periodically and needs to be carried out by capable people working with the employees, to examine how they performed before and after the training programmes (Draft Training Policy Report, 2009). This confirms the fact that very little empirical research has been conducted to examine the impact of such training and development on the administrative cadre of the Personnel Management Office. This gap created the need for this explorative empirical study.
Research Purpose
This study sought to examine the training and development impact on employees’
performance in the administrative cadre of the PMO by investigating whether the trainings were meeting the training needs of administrative officers and whether there had been any improvement on their skills and attitude. The study also sought to investigate whether training and development had made any significant changes to the officers’ job performance and the impact of such performance on PMO and the Ministries in terms of service-delivery.
Short-comings were identified in the process based on which recommendations were proposed. Kirkpatrick’s four-level evaluation model was chosen for its ease and practical application in seeking information above the levels of only gaining information about the feelings of participants (reaction) and the learning that has taken place in the programmes (learning) (Sahin, 2006). It goes beyond these two stages and examines the programmes in terms of how and whether the concerned officers are able to use the skills they might have acquired in their various institutions and also whether the institutions have benefited from the programmes.
The study tried to answer the following questions, which were formulated based on the Kirkpatrick’s four-level evaluation model:
Research Questions
1. Are the training and development programmes meeting the administrative officers’
training needs?
2. Has there been any improvement in the administrative officers’ skills and attitudes?
3. Has there been any behaviour change in the actual job performance of the administrative officers?
4. What are the results of training and development on PMO and the Ministries in terms of service-delivery?
Significance of the Research
Delivering effective public service with a view to meeting the needs of the citizenry on time and every time is a route to achieving and sustaining national development, and training and development is a tool that organizations can use to accomplish this very important goal (Burden & Proctor, 2000). As such, PMO has been very active in training and developing of administrative officers of the administrative cadre and has been investing huge amounts of money to meet their training needs. Accordingly, this study would inform the Management of PMO and other public service organizations that to improve performance, there is the need to have sufficient and retain well-trained and motivated employees. It would help in the provision of more training for employees in order to maintain a quality work life, which would provide an opportunity for employees’ job satisfaction and self-actualization. It would also help provide valuable suggestions for improvement of the training and development so that it becomes more effective for administrative officers, who are in need of it and for national development. Furthermore, this study would contribute to the field of research by enlightening training and development impact evaluators on the practicability of Kirkpatrick’s training programme evaluation model in its attempt to provide tangible results on training and development of organizations (Lockee, Moore, & Burton, 2002).
Definition of Terms
Training and Development: Training refers to planned and systematic approach to learning, while development refers to activities leading to the acquisition of new knowledge or skills for purposes of personal growth. Accordingly, impact of training and development refers to outcomes resulting from training and development activities, which in one way or the other affect the quality of life for a particular population (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009).
Personnel Management Office (PMO): It is the Agency of Government under the Office of the President responsible for the administration, management and co-ordination of training and development, and other personnel management issues in the Civil Service. In other words, it is the Human Resource Unit of The Gambian Civil Service (PMO, 2011).
The Administrative Cadre: This is the cadre of Government which comprises the administrative officers, who are directly appointed by PMO and charged with the responsibility of managing and co-ordinating personnel issues in the Civil Service. In short, they are the PMO personnel, but others are posted out to Ministries to carry out the PMO functions.
Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC): Training co-operation between PMO and the Commonwealth under which PMO receives technical assistance and funding for its training and development activities.
Employee Performance: A concept in human resource related to everything about the performance of employees in an organization involving all aspects which directly or indirectly affect and relate to their work.