The Differences And Similarities Between Training And Coaching

Training and Coaching Name Institution Affiliation Training and Coaching Training and coaching are similar but they are different when put in the workplace context. Training involves strengthening the weak skills in employees resulting in improved performance when carrying out their duties. In addition, training improves employee satisfaction and morale, creates increased productivity, reduces employee turnover and encourages creativity. Coaching on the other hand, involves equipping employees with the knowledge to fully develop themselves. It focuses on employee growth, development and promoting creativity. The essay will analyze the differences and similarities between training and coaching as observed at Bank of America. Understanding Training The organization has been facing stiff competition from other players in the industry. It is losing its market share and its profitability has also gone down. The bank needs to evaluate the skills of their employees and design the appropriate training technique. The first approach in identifying the training needs of the employees in order to increase profitability would be through customer evaluation. The customers are given forms on which they give their feedback in regard to the service that they receive from the person who is attending to them. The evaluation form is filled to identify how well the clients are satisfied or unsatisfied with the services provided to them and give appropriate recommendations. These are collected, analyzed and the areas for training are identified. The second manner through which the training need can be identified is through observation of key departments in the organization’s banking system. In this regard, the person evaluating the services observes how the employee attends to clients, identifies the gaps knowledge and notes it down for it to be explored through training to improve the employee skills. The third way to identify the training needs is through personal evaluation forms. In these forms the employees are required to fill in areas or skills that they feel they are very competent and at the same time the areas that they feel they are not competent or where they need further training. Using any of these approaches, the collected data is analyzed and training manual or guideline is formed to provide the appropriate knowledge and skills in areas where the employees are not very competent. Effective Training Methods The bank has many training methods at its disposal to choose from. These include instructor led training; interactive training techniques; hands on training; computer based training and online based training. However the bank has to choose the best and the most cost effective method. From the aforementioned methods the bank should focus on the hands on training and interactive training techniques. The people being trained have no prior sales experience or interest for that matter thus the training methods have to be personal and interesting. The interactive training techniques involve one on one engagement and plenty of role plays. In addition, it incorporates group discussions where some of the knowledgeable employees are able to pass their skills to the rest. The employees are also able to freely express themselves as opposed to t...