Author: indiafreenotes

Strategic Management Levels: Corporate, SBU and Functional Strategies

In a multi-business enterprise, having several SBUs, there would be three levels of strategy, viz., corporate strategy, SBU strategy and functional strategy. In enterprises which do not have SBUs, there will be only two levels of strategy, i.e., corporate strategy and functional strategies.

1. Corporate Strategy:

Corporate strategy is the long-term strategy encompassing the entire organisation. Corporate strategy addresses fundamental questions such as what is the purpose of the enterprise, what business/businesses it wants to be in (portfolio strategy) and how to expand/get into such business/businesses (for example – by establishing greenfield enterprises or by M&As).

In other words, “corporate-level strategic management is the management of activities which define the overall character and mission of the organisation, the product/service segments it will enter and leave, and the allocation of resources and management of synergy among its SBUs.”

Corporate strategy is formulated by the top level corporate management (board of directors, CEO, and chiefs of functional areas).

2. SBU Strategy:

SBU-level strategy, sometimes called Business Strategy or Competitive Strategy, is concerned with decisions pertaining to the product mix, market segments and manoeuvring competitive advantages for the SBU.

While corporate strategy decides the business portfolio (i.e., the types of business), the competitive strategy decides the strategy/strategies to succeed in the chosen business/businesses.

SBU strategy has to conform, obviously, to the corporate philosophy and strategy.

In short, “the SBU-level strategic management is the management of an SBU’s effort to compete effectively in a particular line of business and to contribute to overall organisational purposes.”

The responsibility for SBU strategy is with the top executives of the SBU who are normally second-tier executives in the corporate hierarchy. In single  SBU organisations, senior executives have both corporate and SBU-level responsibilities.

3. Functional Strategies:

Functional-level strategies are strategies for different functional areas like production, finance, personnel, marketing, etc. In other words, “functional-level strategic management is the management of relatively narrow areas of activity, which are of vital, pervasive, or continuing importance to the total organisation.”

Functional-level strategy is the responsibility of functional area heads.

1. Entrepreneurial Mode

In entrepreneurial mode, strategic planning is done by one person. He takes the full responsibility of planning for the production department. That is, he does production planning on behalf of the production department. He has entrepreneurial skills. That is, he is good in planning, organizing, motivating, etc. He is also a strong and bold leader.

2. Adaptive Mode

In adaptive mode, the production managers go on changing his plans according to the changes in the environment. He first makes a big plan, then he breaks it into smaller plans. This is done to adjust with the dynamic environment. Then he tries to combine all these plans to make a strategic production plan. In this method, the production manager is not at peace. He works in a disorganized environment. Therefore, his planning is also disorganised.

3. Planning Mode

In planning mode, the production manager makes the plan after analyzing the objectives and resources of the organization. He carefully considers all the factors before making the plan. In this method, his approach is very rational. He gives prime importance to management science. Therefore, his plan is very logical.

Strategic planning means planning for making and implementing strategies to achieve organisational goals. It starts by asking oneself simple questions like: What are we doing, should we continue to do it or change our product line or the way of working, what is the impact of social, political, technological and other environmental factors on our operations, are we prepared to accept these changes etc.

Strategic planning helps in knowing where we are and where we want to go so that environmental threats and opportunities can be exploited, given the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation. Strategic planning is “a thorough self-examination regarding the goals and means of their accomplishment so that the enterprise is given both direction and cohesion.”

It is “a process through which managers formulate and implement strategies geared to optimising strategic goal achievement, given available environmental and internal conditions.” Strategic planning is planning for long periods of time for effective and efficient attainment of organisational goals. Strategic planning is based on extensive environmental scanning. It is a projection into environmental threats and opportunities and an effort to match them with organisational strengths and weaknesses.

Strategic planning is done to comprehend, anticipate and absorb environmental vagaries. It is a continuous process. Every time business organisations want to increase the growth rate or change their operations, desire for better management information system, co-ordinate activities of different departments, remove complacency from organisations; they make strategic plans.

Process

1. Objective Formulation:

Strategies are goal-oriented. The overall purpose or mission of the organisation must be clearly stated. Mission explains the reason why business is in existence. It identifies the scope of products/services. The goals can be economic or social and may relate to size of the organisation, goods or services or simply the technology or the way an organisation operates its business.

Missions justify existence of the organisation in terms of purpose (objectives), markets, products/services, consumers etc.; relationship between organisation’s internal and external environment, its culture, values, ethics and beliefs. Missions formulate objectives and objectives help to formulate strategies.

2. Analyse the Impact of Environment:

Environmental analysis is the “systematic assessment of information about the firm’s external environment during the strategic planning process to identify strategic opportunities for the company as well as major threats, problems, or other possible impediments.” Managers scan the environment, pick relevant information and use it for strategy formulation.

A successful strategy aligns with the environment. Strategies are made to integrate the organisation with its environment. Managers examine both general and specific environmental factors to see what changes are occurring. External factors which indirectly affect strategic planning are technological, social, political, and legal and those which directly influence are competitors, suppliers, government and customers.

Whether these factors promote or restrain business activities is analysed in framing strategies. Complete information collected from various sources like government agencies, banks, customers, journals, bulletins, suppliers, other business associations etc., may not be required for strategy formulation. Information is screened and only relevant information is analysed to formulate strategies.

This information may be related to production (plant location, layout, inventory management repairs and maintenance etc.), marketing (market share, consumer needs, promotion mix, product mix etc.), finance (debt-equity ratio, dividend policy etc.) or human resource (manpower planning, recruitment and selection procedures, training and development etc.).

Environmental analysis helps to:

1. prepare strategies to convert threats into opportunities
2. create environmental threat and opportunity profile (ETOP) which analyses the environmental factors and assesses their impact on the organisation.

3. Analyse Resource Position of the Firm:

After analysing the external environment, firms evaluate their internal resource position to identify their strengths and weaknesses in relation to environmental threats and opportunities. Knowing environmental threats and opportunities is not enough unless the organisations know their strengths that can overcome the threats and exploit the opportunities.

Organisational weaknesses, if any, have to be overcome to take benefit of environmental opportunities. Resources being limited, organisational strengths and weaknesses should be analysed to use the resources in areas where they can be optimally utilised.

Matching of strengths and weaknesses (internal environment) with threats and opportunities (external environment) is known as SWOT analysis. It helps in generating strategies and answer the basic question of strategic planning—what we are and what we want to be or where we are and where we want to go?

The following steps are identified by Hofer and Schendel to analyse resource position of the organisation:

(a) Develop a profile of the organisation’s principal resources and skills in three broad areas: financial; physical, organisational and human; and technological.

(b) Determine the key success requirement of the product/market segments in which the organisation competes or might compete.

(c) Compare resource profile with key success requirements to determine the major strengths on which effective strategy can be based and major weaknesses to be overcome.

(d) Compare organisation’s strengths and weaknesses with those of competitors to identify which resources and skills are needed to have competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Analysing the organisation (corporate appraisal) helps in setting priorities over areas where organisations need to pay more attention. These areas could be operations/marketing/hum an resource/finance etc.

4. Establish Alternative Strategies:

Managers carry out gap analysis to develop alternative strategies, i.e., analyse the present strategies and the objectives formulated. “It is the difference between the objectives established in the goal formulation process and the results likely to be achieved if the existing strategy is continued.”

It reveals gap between the present state and future aspirations of the organisation. If existing strategies can help in reaching the desired objectives, new strategies need not be formulated but if there is a gap, managers develop strategies to attain the objectives.

The following strategies can be made:

(a) Strategy to concentrate:

Companies want to specialise in the existing line of products, capture bigger market share and become market specialists in that product line.

(b) Strategy to diversify:

Companies want to enter new markets to increase the share of market.

(c) Strategy to enter international markets:

Besides increasing share in the national markets, firms want to expand their business in other countries.

(d) Strategy to enter into joint ventures:

Firms enjoy the benefits of synergy by collectively exploiting the resources and enlarging their area of operation.

(e) Liquidation strategy:

It means to drop the existing product if it is not profitable.

(f) Retrenchment strategy:

It means dropping some of the resources (human and non-human) to make best use of the remaining ones. Surplus resources are shed off in this strategy. It results in optimum use of resources. The list of strategies is not exhaustive. New strategic options may be considered by the firms depending upon the situation.

5. Evaluate Alternative Strategies:

Different strategic options are evaluated on the basis of their competitive advantages in terms of:

(a) Risk:

Will the strategy be able to achieve the objectives?

(b) Time:

Is it being adopted and implemented at the right time?

(c) Target:

Does it target at matching internal strengths and weaknesses of the organisation with its external environment?

Four criteria for evaluating strategies are identified by Richard R Rumelt:

(a) Is the strategy consistent with broad objectives of the company?

(b) Does the strategy focus organisational resources on critical success factors in the product/market area for which it is intended to be formulated?

(c) Does it maximise company’s internal strengths and minimise its weaknesses?

(d) Is the strategy realistic? Will it be able to produce the desired results? i.e., it is a workable strategy or not?

Various quantitative techniques such as ratio analysis, break-even analysis, linear programming, networking etc. are used to evaluate strategies.

6. Choice of a Strategy:

After evaluating strategies in terms of risks and returns (ability to achieve the goals), they are ranked in order of priority and the strategy best suited to achieve the goals is chosen. The chosen strategy should be directed to maximise long-term goals of the organisation.

7. Implement the Strategy:

After selection, the strategy is put into action and practiced. It becomes a guide for the organisation and members to direct their efforts in a unified direction. Implementation requires designing the suitable organisation structure, developing a sound system of communication, motivation and control, allocating authority responsibility, resources etc.

8. Measurement and Control of Strategy:

Organisational performance is measured at periodic intervals to assess whether strategic objectives are being achieved or not.

A formal strategic control system is designed which answers questions such as:

(a) Is the strategy being implemented as planned?

(b) Are the critical assumptions on the basis of which it was selected still valid?

(c) Is the strategy achieving the intended results?

If the results are similar to objectives, the strategies become the basis for future action. However, if the objectives are not achieved, reasons are found for the same and suitable actions are taken to overcome the problem.

The strategic management process means defining the organization’s strategy. It is also defined as the process by which managers make a choice of a set of strategies for the organization that will enable it to achieve better performance.

Strategic management is a continuous process that appraises the business and industries in which the organization is involved; appraises it’s competitors; and fixes goals to meet all the present and future competitor’s and then reassesses each strategy.

Strategic management process has following four steps:

1. Environmental Scanning: Environmental scanning refers to a process of collecting, scrutinizing and providing information for strategic purposes. It helps in analyzing the internal and external factors influencing an organization. After executing the environmental analysis process, management should evaluate it on a continuous basis and strive to improve it.
2. Strategy Formulation: Strategy formulation is the process of deciding best course of action for accomplishing organizational objectives and hence achieving organizational purpose. After conducting environment scanning, managers formulate corporate, business and functional strategies.
3. Strategy Implementation: Strategy implementation implies making the strategy work as intended or putting the organization’s chosen strategy into action. Strategy implementation includes designing the organization’s structure, distributing resources, developing decision making process, and managing human resources.
4. Strategy Evaluation: Strategy evaluation is the final step of strategy management process. The key strategy evaluation activities are: appraising internal and external factors that are the root of present strategies, measuring performance, and taking remedial / corrective actions. Evaluation makes sure that the organizational strategy as well as it’s implementation meets the organizational objectives.

These components are steps that are carried, in chronological order, when creating a new strategic management plan. Present businesses that have already created a strategic management plan will revert to these steps as per the situation’s requirement, so as to make essential changes.

Components of Strategic Management Process

Strategic management is an ongoing process. Therefore, it must be realized that each component interacts with the other components and that this interaction often happens in chorus.

A mission statement defines what an organization is, why it exists, its reason for being. At a minimum, your mission statement should define who your primary customers are, identify the products and services you produce, and describe the geographical location in which you operate.

If you don’t have a mission statement, create one by writing down in one sentence what the purpose of your business is. Ask two or three of the key people in your company to do the same thing. Then discuss the statements and come up with one sentence everyone agrees with. Once you have finalized your mission statement, communicate it to everyone in the company.

It’s more important to communicate the mission statement to employees than to customers. Your mission statement doesn’t have to be clever or catchy just accurate.

If you already have a mission statement, you will need to periodically review and possibly revise it to make sure it accurately reflects your goals as your company and the business and economic climates evolve. To do this, simply ask yourself if the statement still correctly describes what you’re doing.

If your review results in a revision of the statement, be sure everyone in the company is aware of the change. Make a big deal out of it. After all, a change in your mission probably means your company is growing-and that’s a big deal.

Once you have designed a niche for your business, you’re ready to create a mission statement. A key tool that can be as important as your business plan, a mission statement captures, in a few succinct sentences, the essence of your business’s goals and the philosophies underlying them. Equally important, the mission statement signals what your business is all about to your customers, employees, suppliers and the community.

The mission statement reflects every facet of your business: the range and nature of the products you offer, pricing, quality, service, marketplace position, growth potential, use of technology, and your relationships with your customers, employees, suppliers, competitors and the community.

In the context of management, a vision is an expression of what the organization wants to become, what it wants to be, to be known as or to be known for. It is the long-term objective of the organization.

The vision comes from the leaders it is how they express the future for the organization or its strategic direction. However, it must be practical and feasible while representing a challenge for the organization. The vision must also be shared by the members of the organization so that everyone clearly understands what the organization is striving to become. To create a vision for the organization top management should identify the key potential influences on the organization over the next ten years in terms of the economic, political, social and technological influences.

A vision statement describes what a company desires to achieve in the long-run, generally in a time frame of five to ten years, or sometimes even longer. It depicts a vision of what the company will look like in the future and sets a defined direction for the planning and execution of corporate-level strategies.

Key Elements of a Good Vision Statement

While companies should not be too ambitious in defining their long-term goals, it is critical to set a bigger and further target in a vision statement that communicates its aspiration and motivates the audience. Below are the main elements of an effective vision statement:

• Forward-looking
• Motivating and inspirational
• Reflective of a company’s culture and core values
• Aimed at bringing benefits and improvements to the organization in the future
• Defines a company’s reason for existence and where it is heading

Objectives describe something that has to be accomplished. Objectives or goals define what organizations, functions, departments and individuals are expected to achieve over a period of time. Objective setting those results in an agreement on what the role holder has to achieve is an important part of the performance management processes of defining and managing expectations and forms the point of reference for performance reviews.

Types of Objectives

Let us now understand the different types of objectives and how they are set. The following are the different types of objectives:

Ongoing Role or Work Objectives

All roles have built-in objectives, which may be expressed as key result areas in a role profile. A key result area shows us what the role holder is expected to achieve in this particular aspect of the role.

For example: ‘Identify database requirements for all projects that require data management in order to meet the needs of internal customers’ or ‘Deal quickly with customer queries in order to create and maintain high levels of satisfaction.’

A key result area statement should contain an indication of not only what has to be done but also why it has to be done. The ‘why’ part clarifies the ongoing objective but it may be necessary to expand that by reaching agreement on a performance standard that describes what good performance will look like.

A performance standard definition should take the form of a statement that performance will be up to standard if a desirable, specified and observable result happens. It should preferably be quantified in terms, for example, of level of service or speed of response.

Targets

Targets are objectives that define the quantifiable results to be attained as measured in terms such as output, throughput, income, sales, and levels of service delivery, cost reduction and reduction of reject rates. Thus, a customer service target could be to respond to 90 per cent of queries within two working days.

Tasks/projects

Objectives can be set for the completion of tasks or projects by a specified date or to achieve an interim result. A target for a database administrator could be to develop a new database to meet the need of the HR department by the end of the year.

Behavioral Expectations

Behavioral expectations are often set out generally in competency frameworks but they may also be defined individually under the framework headings. Competency frameworks may deal with areas of behavior associated with core values, for example, teamwork, but they often convert the aspirations contained in value statements into more specific examples of desirable and undesirable behavior, which can help in planning and reviewing performance.

Values

Expectations can be defined for upholding the core values of the organization. The aim would be to ensure that espoused values become values in use.

Performance Improvement

Performance improvement objectives define what needs to be done to achieve better results. They may be expressed in a performance improvement plan, which specifies what actions need to be taken by role holders and their managers.

Developmental/learning

Developmental or learning objectives specify areas for personal development and learning in the shape of enhanced knowledge and skills (abilities and competences).

Integrating the Objectives

A defining characteristic of performance management is the importance attached to the integration or alignment of individual objectives with organizational objectives. The aim is to focus people on doing the right things in order to achieve a shared understanding of performance requirements throughout the organization.

The integration of organizational and individual and team objectives is often referred to as a process of ‘cascading objectives’. However, cascading should not be regarded as just a top-down process.

There will be overarching corporate goals, but people at each level should be given the opportunity to indicate how they believe they can contribute to the attainment of team and departmental objectives. The views of employees towards organization about what they believe they can achieve and they should also take account of them.

There will be times when the overriding challenge has to be accepted, but there will also be many occasions when the opinions of those who have to do the work will be well worth listening to.

Integration of objectives is achieved by ensuring that everyone is aware of corporate, functional and team goals and that the objectives they agree for themselves are consistent with those goals and will contribute in specified ways to their achievement. This process is illustrated in the following figure.

The main reason to why people want to start up a business is for the money. It is to be said that you will make more money when you are working for yourself rather than for somebody else. Over the LT, you will most likely earn much more money that runs through the business of your own.

Secondly, there are just some people who simply hate working for somebody else a.k.a under them. There may be people who hate the idea of having a boss above them and must obey the rules according to them. Therefore, these people may be best suitable to run their own business and having a job that they exactly know what to do. You will get to work towards something that belongs to you entirely.

A business plan is straight up, a guide for your business that outlines the needed expectations and details on how to achieve them. It helps you allocate resources properly and make the right decisions. A business plan is crucial because it provides specific and organised information about your company, also on “how you will repay borrowed money” because any type of loan package is considered important in a good business plan.

Those who wants to see a business plan may be sales personnel or suppliers as it informs them about your operations and goal. An investor may also search for a good business plan for consideration for investment. They might expect

a) An experienced team

b) Believable exits (whether the money coming out of the company invested will go back into the bank account)

c) Real growth prospects

d) Real planning

The strategy statement of a firm sets the firm’s long-term strategic direction and broad policy directions. It gives the firm a clear sense of direction and a blueprint for the firm’s activities for the upcoming years. The main constituents of a strategic statement are as follows:

1. Strategic Intent

An organization’s strategic intent is the purpose that it exists and why it will continue to exist, providing it maintains a competitive advantage. Strategic intent gives a picture about what an organization must get into immediately in order to achieve the company’s vision. It motivates the people. It clarifies the vision of the vision of the company.

Strategic intent helps management to emphasize and concentrate on the priorities. Strategic intent is, nothing but, the influencing of an organization’s resource potential and core competencies to achieve what at first may seem to be unachievable goals in the competitive environment. A well expressed strategic intent should guide/steer the development of strategic intent or the setting of goals and objectives that require that all of organization’s competencies be controlled to maximum value.

Strategic intent includes directing organization’s attention on the need of winning; inspiring people by telling them that the targets are valuable; encouraging individual and team participation as well as contribution; and utilizing intent to direct allocation of resources.

Strategic intent differs from strategic fit in a way that while strategic fit deals with harmonizing available resources and potentials to the external environment, strategic intent emphasizes on building new resources and potentials so as to create and exploit future opportunities.

2. Mission Statement

Mission statement is the statement of the role by which an organization intends to serve it’s stakeholders. It describes why an organization is operating and thus provides a framework within which strategies are formulated. It describes what the organization does (i.e., present capabilities), who all it serves (i.e., stakeholders) and what makes an organization unique (i.e., reason for existence).

A mission statement differentiates an organization from others by explaining its broad scope of activities, its products, and technologies it uses to achieve its goals and objectives. It talks about an organization’s present (i.e., “about where we are”). For instance, Microsoft’s mission is to help people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential. Wal-Mart’s mission is “To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same thing as rich people.” Mission statements always exist at top level of an organization, but may also be made for various organizational levels. Chief executive plays a significant role in formulation of mission statement. Once the mission statement is formulated, it serves the organization in long run, but it may become ambiguous with organizational growth and innovations.

In today’s dynamic and competitive environment, mission may need to be redefined. However, care must be taken that the redefined mission statement should have original fundamentals/components. Mission statement has three main components-a statement of mission or vision of the company, a statement of the core values that shape the acts and behaviour of the employees, and a statement of the goals and objectives.

Features of a Mission

1. Mission must be feasible and attainable. It should be possible to achieve it.
2. Mission should be clear enough so that any action can be taken.
3. It should be inspiring for the management, staff and society at large.
4. It should be precise enough, i.e., it should be neither too broad nor too narrow.
5. It should be unique and distinctive to leave an impact in everyone’s mind.
6. It should be analyticale., it should analyze the key components of the strategy.
7. It should be credible, i.e., all stakeholders should be able to believe it.

3. Vision

A vision statement identifies where the organization wants or intends to be in future or where it should be to best meet the needs of the stakeholders. It describes dreams and aspirations for future. For instance, Microsoft’s vision is “to empower people through great software, any time, any place, or any device.” Wal-Mart’s vision is to become worldwide leader in retailing.

A vision is the potential to view things ahead of themselves. It answers the question “where we want to be”. It gives us a reminder about what we attempt to develop. A vision statement is for the organization and it’s members, unlike the mission statement which is for the customers/clients. It contributes in effective decision making as well as effective business planning. It incorporates a shared understanding about the nature and aim of the organization and utilizes this understanding to direct and guide the organization towards a better purpose. It describes that on achieving the mission, how the organizational future would appear to be.

An effective vision statement must have following features:

1. It must be unambiguous.
2. It must be clear.
3. It must harmonize with organization’s culture and values.
4. The dreams and aspirations must be rational/realistic.
5. Vision statements should be shorter so that they are easier to memorize.

In order to realize the vision, it must be deeply instilled in the organization, being owned and shared by everyone involved in the organization.

4. Goals and Objectives

A goal is a desired future state or objective that an organization tries to achieve. Goals specify in particular what must be done if an organization is to attain mission or vision. Goals make mission more prominent and concrete. They co-ordinate and integrate various functional and departmental areas in an organization. Well made goals have following features-

1. These are precise and measurable.
2. These look after critical and significant
3. These are realistic and challenging.
4. These must be achieved within a specific time
5. These include both financial as well as non-financial components.

Objectives are defined as goals that organization wants to achieve over a period of time. These are the foundation of planning. Policies are developed in an organization so as to achieve these objectives. Formulation of objectives is the task of top level management. Effective objectives have following features-

1. These are not single for an organization, but multiple.
2. Objectives should be both short-term as well as long-term.
3. Objectives must respond and react to changes in environment, i.e., they must be flexible.
4. These must be feasible, realistic and operational.

A learning and development strategy outlines how an organisation develops its workforce’s capabilities, skills and competencies to remain successful. It’s an important part of an organization’s overall business strategy.

Organizational training has seen a significant shift in the past few years. From mere classroom training to new channels like online and mobile, from static training content to more responsive and interactive content like gaming, the changes have been in tune with changing times. Today, training is not a siloed function, but closely linked to HR processes like performance management and also to business outcomes like revenue generation. An effective training strategy is one that delivers on both the fronts–employee learning outcomes and organizational goals. Here is what HR professionals must keep in mind while creating a training strategy.

1. Employees have time constraints: L&D professionals must understand that training is an activity over and above the regular job, and employees are already stretched to achieve more with less. Hence, aim to add real value to the learner by designing effective training content that meets the specific learning needs. Learning modules, both classroom and online or mobile should be precise and yet reinforce the skills and attitudes they aim to inculcate in the learner. Managers too must respect the time of employees and allocate them training needs that they truly need to propel their careers in the right direction. Hence, training needs identification must be done carefully, considering the time and effort ROI of the employee. Only then will employees be receptive to receiving training and upgrading their skills.
2. Group size and type matters: This applies especially to classroom programs, where one-on-one interactions and personalized attention can make all the difference between a day wasted and real learning. A smaller group compels participants to actively involve, and gets everyone’s’ voices heard. It is also important to choose the group according to job role. Some trainings like conflict management or leadership skills may benefit by having a diverse group from various functions it helps provide diverse views and a pan-organizational perspective on the topic. Others like specialized subject modules will require a focused group from a function, or even a sub-function. Be sure to design the group size and type to align with the training objectives.
3. Specialize to add value: Maximise the time spent by employees by making training content relevant to their desired outcome. Specialized content that is curated to the group at hand, especially for people from a niche function, will fuel better learning retention as well as engagement. Work outcomes are becoming more niche, especially in technology domains where a number of emerging technologies are making it big. Decide which skills you must build from within the organization and focus on those specific skills. Specialization is important to work towards goal achievement.
4. Engage the learner: A learner who is engaged in the learning process is more likely to gain significant takeaways from the process. Engaging the learner means understanding individual learning styles and preferences, and determining the right content and delivery channels to generate a “learning pull”. For example, the younger generation may be more interested in mobile learning than in a traditional classroom approach. A mobile workforce may prefer mobile learning to be able to access learning anytime-anywhere. New joinee induction can be done through online courses to make it location agnostic so that every new joinee gets involved with the organization irrespective of joining location. Putting a thought to what engages the learner goes a long way in making learning stick. Some of the latest in learning engagement are gaming, simulations, e-courses, video courses, and group exercises.
5. Assess training outcomes: It is not only important to deliver training, but to know whether it meets its objectives. Measuring training effectiveness from time to time is critical to help stay on the organizational track. A popular traditional model to evaluate training effectiveness is the Kirk Patrick model, with its four grades of training measurement reaction, learning, behavior and results. Very few organization are able to link training outcomes with business outcomes in terms of tangible results i.e., how training correlates with revenue, profits, and other financial and business metrics. This is important to ensure a leadership buy-in for training initiatives.

A training strategy is a must to ensure effective implementation at each stage, right from needs identification to training delivery to training assessment. A dedicated Learning and Development team with expertise and experience in the latest organizational training norms and a knack to customize these to the internal needs, is a must.