Question

Imagine employees in your company saving over 60 lives in one year. That’s one result of training efforts at G4S, an integrated security solutions provider. With 46,000 employees operating in over 110 field locations across the country, delivering training with that kind of impact is a challenge.

Most of the security personnel at G4S don’t have access to computers or are limited because of client firewalls. So, online training is not always practical. About 60% of the company’s training is delivered via live instructor-led classroom sessions. In addition to providing training content, this delivery method reinforces the company’s culture and allows employees to network and connect with their peers. In particular, all new managers participate in three week-long training events that teach them about company best practices, business operations, standards and practices, customer services, sales and marketing, and employee relations. The management training connects new managers to headquarters, shows them the “G4S Way,” and gives them exposure to top leaders in the organization.

To supplement the classroom training, G4S established strategic partnerships with outside organizations such as the American Heart Association to deliver CPR and AED training. A partnership with the American Council on Education allows employees to earn college and continuing education credits. These collaborative programs extend the company’s resources and help G4S’s learning and development team focus on core training that is specific to the business. They also demonstrate the company’s commitment to employee development and growth.

In addition to classroom and partner-delivered training, G4S created an intranet and social networking portal for employees. Corporate materials, policies and procedures, training manuals and workbooks, performance support tools, and industry news are all available to keep employees informed and up to date with practices in the industry and company. Employees can access the intranet from anywhere with an Internet connection. An especially innovative aspect of the site is that employees can create a personal profile that lists their skills, interests, accomplishments, and contact information. This makes it easy and convenient for anyone in the company to quickly identify individuals with specific skills or “know-how” who can be tapped for assistance on an as-needed basis.

Employee turnover at G4S is much lower than the industry average of 100 percent. More than 10,000 mangers have been trained since the program started. The training has helped the company reduce turnover by 8 percent, and complaints about supervisors have dropped by 10 percent. Implementing the distance learning intranet portal saved the company nearly $2 million in travel-related costs. So, saving both lives and dollars was made possible by a well-designed and well-delivered training strategy at G4S.

Employees at G4S saved more than 60 lives last year. Which of the following factors is most directly responsible for positively impacting employees' motivation and skills to save lives at G4S?

a. Increased salaries and performance-based bonuses

b. Immediate confirmation

c. Behavioral modeling

G4S is a company that provides security services. Saving lives is not the employees' primary job. Which of the following options describes the type of training employees must do to be able to save lives when needed?

a. Cross training

b. Informal training

c. On-the job training

d. Time-management training

G4S determined that training reduced its turnover and complaints about supervisors. Which of the four learning levels did G4S evaluate to determine these improvements?

a. Reaction

b. Learning

c. Behaviors

d. Results

Answer 1

1. c). Behavioural modelling

G4S trains all employees and managers and uses this platform to drive home the company's core values and culture. All new managers mandatorily must attend training events where they are taught about best practices, standards and policies etc. - the G4S way, so they can then model this desired behaviour to their subordinates and teams. Behavioural modelling is a training technique where a company focuses on changing behaviour at the workplace, through online and in person training, by training the leaders etc.

There is no mention of salaries and pay in the case or of confirmation of employees so a) and b) are wrong.

2. a) Cross training

Cross training is when employees are trained in skills that are outside of their specific job roles. G4S provides CPR and AED training for its employees though it is not required for the performance of their job duties. This allows their employees to extend their skills and develop in other areas, so they can help to save lives if the occasion should arise in the performance of their jobs.

Time management is not relevant here. Training is all formally defined so informal training is incorrect. The training provided is not on-the-job training so that option is wrong as well.

3. d) Results

The resulting outcomes of lower turnover and fewer complaints is what was evaluated to understand how training has helped the company.

Reaction looks at the immediate reaction of the trainees, Learning looks at the measurement of the training content and Behaviour looks at the application of the training. These do not showcase the impact of the training on the organisation. Employees might like or dislike a training, learn a little or a lot and apply or never get a chance to apply the CPR training for e.g. The training level that most clearly showed the outcome and benefits of the training were the results - lower attrition and better employee-management relations.