TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

STUDENT WORKBOOK

Southwood School: A Case Study in Training and Development
By Fiona L. Robson

Project team Author: SHRM project contributors: External contributor: Editor: Design: Fiona L. Robson Bill Schaefer, SPHR Nancy A. Woolever, SPHR Sharon H. Leonard Courtney J. Cornelius, copy editor Terry Biddle, graphic designer

© 2008 Society for Human Resource Management. Fiona L. Robson Note to Hr faculty and instructors: SHRM cases and modules are intended for use in HR classrooms at universities. Teaching notes are included with each. While our current intent is to make the materials available without charge, we reserve the right to impose charges should we deem it necessary to support the program.
Flexibility. The sessions could be run at the times convenient to managers, which may have been more difficult to accommodate with an external trainer.

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note

PLeaSe Note: From this point forward, the Hr manager is referred to as the trainer. Designing the Training A focus group was held with five managers to fi nd out what they wanted from the training and to assess their concerns about performance management. This was a useful process. The managers wanted to include training in how to deal with difficult people, which otherwise may not have been included in the program. Including this also assured managers that their views were important and had been considered in the program’s design. The training would take place in-house and outside the normal workday. It was agreed that the most appropriate method was a two-hour workshop. The workshop would include various activities geared to develop the skills and knowledge of the participants:
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Trainer-led interactive presentations. Role play exercises. Use of a specially designed case study. Small-group exercises.

By developing and delivering the session in-house, training materials specific to the new performance management system could be created, rather than relying on generic training materials. It was hoped that this would facilitate the transfer from training to the workplace. The training would be