TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT, AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: Expectations from the New Generation of Workers Entering the Workforce
Disclosure: this was my Master’s Thesis paper, presented in 2021, reposted verbatim as a blog post.
Abstract
Today’s young workers are not receiving the on-the-job training that they expect once they graduate from college and step into their first role in the workforce. Recent graduates have spent the first part of their twenties focusing on their education, rather than accumulating job experience. This puts them in the situation of not being trained for job-specific skills. Simultaneously, organizations are seeking to strategize ways to attract and retain the new generation of workers (Peterson, 2020). There is a need for research on how recent graduates want to learn their new role within an organization. As a generation that grew up with answers to any question at the tip of their finger, the way that young Millennials and Generation-Z learn and want to be trained may differ from previous generations. This paper aims to analyze the incoming generation of worker’s value of training and development, as well as the correlation between training and development, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Data, both qualitative and quantitative, from previously published articles and field studies will be analyzed to conclude whether the new generation of workers see training and development, either directly or indirectly, as a reason to stay with a company long-term.
To address this topic, some guiding questions must be answered. It must first be determined if the new generation of workers values training and development. Without solid evidence on this, the following questions would only be answered based on the assumption that young Millennials and Generation – Z value training and development. Assuming so would skew the results of the research and the conclusion. If it is found that the new generation of workers do value training and development, it needs to be determined how young Millennials and Generation – Z, prefer to learn. By revealing these results, organizations can base their human resource strategies on what they factually know about the incoming generation of workers, rather than trying to guess or assume they learn the same way that previous generations did. It must next be determined if organizations can provide, or are willing to provide the younger generations’ preferred type of training and development during and post COVID-19. The workplace completely changed due to the 2020 pandemic. Those businesses that did not fold under, went completely virtual and work from home. This changed the way that training and development could be offered to existing and new employees. Although over a year later, some organizations are attempting to resume back to work as normal, others plan to stay in a one hundred percent virtual, and work from home settings. It needs to be determined if virtual training and development techniques align with what the new generation of workers expect, want, and need to succeed in their role within an organization. Lastly, it needs to be verified that once the newly hired recent graduates receive training and development from their employer, they will see it as a factor in their reasoning to stay with a company. The training and development an organization offers may vary on different levels, however, it is important to understand if the new generation of workers see training and development as a means to create job satisfaction, confidence, and can either directly or indirectly relate training and development as one of the reasons they stay with an organization long-term.
Literature Review
Training & Development
Training, within the context of human resource strategies, is an activity where knowledge and skills are passed in a form of facilitation in order for an employee to preform specific tasks related to their job (Jacobs and Washington, 2003, as referenced in Desta, 2021). As early as 1961, Training can be defined as “imparting job knowledge to employees so that they can carry out orders smoothly, efficiently and cooperatively” (Black, 1961, as referenced in Somasundaram, 2004). A textbook definition of training is described as, “A company’s planned effort to facilitate employees’ learning of job-related competencies” (Noe, 2013, p.495). As recent as 2020, training is referred to as a process of teaching employees the fundamental skills they need in order to do their jobs (Dessler, 2020).
Development, as related to human resource practices, can be universally recognized as a strategic tool used by organizations to create growth (SHRM, 2021). As early as 1978, training and development were defined together as a subsystem intended to “improve organizational efficiency by increasing routinization and predictability of behavior” (Katz et al, 1978, as referenced in Somasundaram, 2004). By the turn of the millennium, training and development were referred to as a planned learning experience for employees (Kleiman, 2000, as referenced in Somasundaram, 2004). More recently, development, on its own, is described by Noe (2013) as a combination of the following: formal education, job experiences, and assessments of personality and abilities that prepare employees for the future of their careers.
Organizational Commitment
Within human resource practices, organizational commitment is what companies strive for when attempting to retain their human capital long-term. Sometimes referred to as “employee commitment”, this can be defined as the psychological attachment created when an employee feels a connection with their place of employment (Nawaz et al, 2019, as referenced in Desta, 2021). According to McCrindle (2019), commitment takes place when the values of the employee and the employer align. A similar take being that organizational commitment is whether an employee favors an organization based on its goals, and whether the employee intends to maintain its membership with that organization (Robbins et al, 2011, as referenced in Bachri, 2021). Bachri et al (2021) interpret organizational commitment as situational, meaning that an employee either sides with or against their organization, and that turnover is due to a low desire to remain with the company
Job Satisfaction
Many aspects go into whether an employee is satisfied with their job. How much satisfaction an employee gets from their job can be a determining factor in whether the employee stays and commits to an organization. One description of job satisfaction being an employee’s perception of whether or not their organization is providing them with the things that the employee regards as important (Luthans, 2006, as referenced in Bachri, 2021). More so, job satisfaction can be seen as a stance of attitude taken by an employee based on their perception of the organization, and their quality of work environment (Valaei et al, 2016, as referenced in Desta, 2021). Positive attitudes toward an employee’s job can equate to job satisfaction, while negative attitudes, such as hostility, signify job dissatisfaction (Armstrong et al, 2020, as referenced in Desta, 2021).
The Value of Training and Development
There has been much debate amongst researchers about where Millennials end and Generation – Z begins. Stillman (2017) defines Generation – Z as those born between the years of 1995 and 2012. Noe (2013) places Millennials being born between the years of 1981 to 1995. Young Millennials and Generation – Z are beginning to enter the workforce. In a survey conducted by Peterson (2020), Generation-Z recent graduates and soon-to-be graduates were asked what they were looking for in their first job. One of the predominant themes that emerged in the survey answers was “Opportunity to Grow & Develop”. A comment from one of the anonymous participants read, “[I’m looking for] a job that had a training program that invested in your and helped you get started and exposed you to different areas.” (Peterson, 2020, p.22). Furthermore, forty percent of the survey participants made statements in their answers that revolved around the theme of “organizations that would develop them for the long term” (Peterson, 2020, p. 23).
McCrindle (2019), social researcher and demographer, reports that fifty-two percent of Generation – Z workers find career development extremely important, and that one out of five candidates from the same generation are looking for training in job-specific operational skills. McCrindle (2019) then goes on to reveal that thirty-eight percent of Generation – Z workers admit to valuing training in people skills over technical skills, followed by twenty-four percent that favor training in communication skills such as public speaking.
Preferred Learning Styles
Stillman (2017) and his Generation -Z son asked Generation – Z participants how they would prefer to be taught by a manager or facilitator. The results of the survey found that seventy-three percent of Generation -Z respondents want to be taught one-on-one. This allows for the trainee to have their custom questions answered (Stillman, 2017). Demographer, McCrindle (2019), found similar responses in his study on Generation – Z workers, where respondents to his surveys stated that they prefer job coaching or mentoring when it comes to job training. Holman’s (2021) research on university students that identify as Generation – Z uncovered an overwhelming response from students preferring learner centered instruction, as well as a dislike for lecture-only learning. Learners of this generation want to have discussions, collaborate, and experiment when learning, not just listen and take notes (Holman, 2021).
Stillman (2017) goes on to report that Generation – Z, a generation that uses applications such as YouTube to quickly learn about problems, solutions, and more, will want to be able to have a hands-on approach to learning their role within a company, and only pause to learn more when they get stuck. As a generation that receives an overload of information from different sources daily, Generation – Z’s attention span is less than that of previous generations, making them lose interest quickly (Watkins, K., as referenced in Stillman, 2017). Stillman (2017) notes the way that Panera, a restaurant, changed the way they trained employees, by breaking a long training session into smaller, easier to digest chunks. More so, Panera updated their training to fit the incoming generations that are more tech-savvy by combining e-learning on computers, as well as in-person training (Watkins, K., as referenced in Stillman, 2017). In doing so, Panera found that their trainees were more interested because they learned something quickly and were able to immediately put it into real-life practice, which also gave them instant gratification (Watkins, K., as referenced in Stillman, 2017).
Changes in Delivering Training
Since COVID-19’s impact on the workplace in 2020, many organizations turned to one hundred percent virtual and work from home settings. This resulted in training and management being delivered to current employees, as well as new hires virtually. Insight on e-training and e-leadership was brought to light in Wolor’s (2020) study on employee performance. Employees that received e-training, or virtual training, as well as management through e-leadership had a positive correlation with job performance (Wolor, 2020). Thilagaraj et al (2021) predict that remote learning and work are here to stay for more than just a few months post-pandemic, but possibly years. Thilagaraj et al (2021) also suggests that more than just online learning platforms are needed to proceed successfully, organizations must also virtually interact person-to-person in conference development opportunities since human involvement is a necessity for learning to be successful.
Schwab-Reese (2020) studied case workers during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, and compared training assessments from pre-COVID trainees to post-COVID trainees. It was found that there was no significant difference in trainees’ percent of correct answers on assessments completed on pre-training tests and post-training tests (Schwab-Reese, 2020). “[L]earners retained approximately the same amount of information, and the pandemic and its associated transition to a virtual learning environment did not negatively impact participant learning” (Schwab-Reese, 2020, p.8). Furthermore, Schwab-Reese (2020) discovered that, when using the same web-based training as pre-COVID-19 times, there was little-to-no difference in learner satisfaction with the perception of training in post-COVID-19 times. Besides trainers having set times for virtual seminar trainings, their schedules were more flexible than in pre-COVID-19 times (Schwab-Reese, 2020). Additionally, trainers found more time to evaluate training approaches, as well as answer questions from their new hire trainees (Schwab-Reese, 2020). In a comment on the training, one learner stated, “I feel like with doing virtual curriculum or virtual online learning, people are able to be flexible with learners’ needs, and they’re able to be like, let’s start from here or here” (Schwab-Reese, 2020, p.8). The virtual training, or training from home, allowed more flexibility and understanding from both facilitators and learners when it came to technology issues, personal responsibilities within the home, as well as stressors related to COVID-19 (Schwab-Reese, 2020). Learners were given flexibility on how and sometimes when they engaged with the learning material, and still achieved the same competency as those who learned the material in-person (Schwab-Reese, 2020).
Factors Leading to Organizational Commitment
A common research topic among the Human Resource Management field is the correlation of training and development, job satisfaction, and employee commitment. Desta (2021) reported that almost sixty percent of observed variations for employee job satisfaction could be contributed to training and development. Likewise, nearly seventy percent of the observed variations of organizational commitment could be contributed to training and development as well (Desta, 2021). Desta (2021) comments, “This signifies, if employees obtain the necessary training and aspect of development, they develop a feeling of love for their jobs, a sense of belonging, and feel that they are a worthy match for their jobs” (p.69). Ismail’s et al (2016) concluded that if employers use job satisfaction as a tool to retain their talent, they can identify their employees’ needs, and provide support that aids in the development of the employees.
As research prior to 2021 has indicated, when employees are offered training and development by their employers, the employee, in turn, will reciprocate the investment with a stronger commitment to the organization (Sivapragasam & Raya, 2017, as referenced in Desta, 2021). A sense of devotion to not just a role, but to an organization is brought on when proper training and development is provided by the employee’s organizational leaders (Desta, 2021). Employees interpret training and development as a sense of commitment to them from the organization, and want to reciprocate that commitment with their loyalty to the organization (Desta, 2021). Ismail (2016) confirms that training practices can have an influence on employee turnover intentions, and organizations should increase the satisfying factors in training so as to increase organizational commitment. Additionally, training and development provides knowledge, capability, and skills to employees, which gives them confidence as well as job satisfaction in their role within the organization (Ocen, Francis, and Angundaru, 2017, as referenced in Desta, 2021). In short, Desta (2021) explains it best when concluding, “the execution of proper training and development boosts employee job satisfaction, which in turn enables employees to reciprocate in form of improved job satisfaction and commitment” (p. 70).
Methodology
Keyword searches were performed using the search engine Google Scholar, as well as the University of Memphis Library’s online database search. The search results were filtered down to articles and studies that were published between 2016 and 2021, with favor towards more recently published information. Scholarly pieces of literature that were published in 2020 and 2021 were favored due to them having more up-to-date findings and information on the workplace during and post-COVID-19. An analysis of the scholarly literature was conducted as a means to answer the research questions posed in this paper. The objective was to find multiple pieces of peer-reviewed, scholarly literature that supported the idea that training and development directly or indirectly contributed as a factor in organizational commitment. The scope of this paper was narrowed down to young Millennials’ and Generation – Z’s expectations when entering the workforce. For research purposes, young Millennials were defined as those persons who were born in the latter part of the Millennial generation (Early to Mid-1990’s), and Generation – Z was defined as those persons who were born between the years of 1995 and 2012 (Stillman, 2017; and Noe, 2013). Their expectations were determined via literature analysis, and then compared to what employers are currently offering in terms of training and development during, and post-pandemic.
Findings and Discussion
Generation – Z, the newest generation to enter the workforce, finds value in organizations that offer training and development. This generation seeks to learn in new ways, and wants facilitators, managers, and organizational leaders to assist them in carving their own custom career path. Organizations that offer training and development have a competitive advantage when it comes to retaining the talent of this generation, because this new generation of workers want to feel invested in, as well as developed, both professionally and personally (Peterson, 2020).
Although young Millennials and Generation – Z have never known a world without cutting-edge technology and social media, they still find person-to-person interactions the most preferable when it comes to learning new subjects (Stillman, 2017). This is because they have unique questions, and they want the answers customized to their unique situation (Stillman, 2017). With that being said, young Millennials and Generation – Z are still fully capable of learning simultaneously via multiple platforms. This generation of incoming workers want to discuss, collaborate, experiment, and pause to relearn material or ask for help when they become stuck (Holman, 2021; Stillman, 2017). Furthermore, learning simultaneously on multiple platforms, as well as breaking the learning down into smaller sections keeps this generation interested in what they are learning (Watkins, K., as referenced in Stillman, 2017).
The 2020 pandemic has changed the workplace for now, and for possibly the next few years following the implementation of vaccinations (Thilagaraj et al, 2021). Many organizations are continuing to work completely remote, which means that the training and development that is offered is virtual. This does not mean that trainees only learn by self-guided materials and online assessments. It is possible to still provide person-to-person interaction virtually through conference seminars held on video calling applications along with other platforms of e-learning (Schwab-Reese, 2020). Furthermore, this style of facilitation provides trainer with more flexibility and time to spend with their learners who may have questions that require unique answers (Schwab-Reese, 2020). Although this type of virtual learning and working was a big shift from what the current workforce was used to, the ability to virtually provide multiple ways of learning as well as person-to-person discussions aligns well with what young Millennials and Generation – Z seek in a learning environment.
Lastly, training and development can be proven as a defining factor in job satisfaction (Desta, 2021). When employees feel invested in and confident in their role within an organization, they are more satisfied with their job. The more satisfied an employee is with their job, the more the feel they are committed long term to the organization. Not only do organizations that offer training and development have a competitive advantage in attracting young Millennials and Generation – Z candidates as new hires, but they also have an advantage in keeping them as long-term employees. The new generation of workers want to be trained and developed by their organizational leaders. As indicated by Ismail et al (2016), training and development can be used as a tool to create job satisfaction which could ultimately lead to organizational commitment from the incoming generation of workers.
Conclusion
The incoming generation of workers have high expectations for the training and development they receive upon entering the workforce. The college programs that they graduated from supplied them with knowledge, but not the experience needed to become a successful professional. It is now the expectation and the responsibility of the organization to provide training and development to its new hires. By doing so, organizations can build up and customize the types of skills and talents required to keep the business running successfully, as well as fulfilling the needs of young Millennials and Generation – Z to be professionally and personally developed. If organizations do not offer the training and development opportunities that the incoming generation of workers desire and expect, they are less likely to be satisfied with their job and commit to an organization long term. This will, in turn, result in the continuation of younger generations “job hopping”, or staying with a company for short terms before moving on to a new company that seems to offer something better than the last.
The shift caused by COVID-19 to work virtually from home may have been difficult for the current workforce, however the new generation of workers may benefit from the flexibility when it comes to learning and developing their career path. Young Millennials and Generation – Z are natives to technology, therefore working with multiple platforms in order to learn puts them in their element. The key for them to be successful is to not automate the training, but to make sure that there is still person-to-person facilitation, even it is delivered virtually through video calling applications.
The limitations of this study were mainly due to the lack of published literature and studies on what the workplace will be like post-COVID-19, as well as what Generation – Z will expect, want, and need in order to be a successful professionals. It is unclear at the moment whether their expectations for the workplace will be met, and whether organizations will align their training and development techniques with the needs of the new generation of workers. It may also be possible that as Generation – Z ages, they will have different expectations about the workplace and what they want from their organizational leaders. Topics of future research may include trends in Generation – Z’s job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and what contributes to those two things.
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