Training and Development Practices and their Outcomes in Sri Lankan Telecommunication Industry (A Case study of Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd)

Abstract

Recruiting and selecting high potential employees does not always assure that they would perform effectively. Employee performance may sometimes be futile, even if they aspire to perform effectively unless they are guided well by their respective superiors. In Sri Lanka most of the organizations are unsuccessful in giving their employees a proper orientation and training program at the beginning. The researcher claims, on her own experience, that the above situation is significant in the telecommunication industry in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, this paper presents a study conducted by the researcher on the issue of "Training and Development Practices and their Outcomes in the Sri Lankan Telecommunication Industry" in a broader sense. The primary objective of the study was to identify the training and development methods practiced in the telecommunication industry ill Sri Lanka and its impact on the productivity of the organization. The research had two specific objectives. Firstly it attempted to identify and measure the relationship between training and development on one hand and its impact on the organizational productivity on the other hand. Secondly the study also aimed at identifying the employee perception towards training and development opportunities provided by the organization. Primary and secondary data were used and the primary data were collected using a representative survey and in-depth interviews. The sample drawn consisted of 100 respondents including employees of managerial as well as non managerial levels selected based on the stratified sampling technique. Descriptive statistics such as measures of central tendency and correlation were applied using a software package, SPSS so as to test the validity of formulated hypotheses. Findings reveals that a strong positive relationship exists between training and development as well as organizational productivity. Also high level of employee perception ( 44%) towards training and development opportunities provided by the organization was found.