Workforce dialogue is a very helpful tool to improve workforce engagement in training and development, applied broadly in many British organizations

1. Leeds University Business School
Leeds University Business School
Workforce Dialogue over Training and Skills
Strategies and Benefits
GROUP 6
4 MAY 2015

2. Leeds University Business School
Group members
1. Ruoyu Ma
2. Jia Jia
3. Lai Wei
4. Fangzhou Liu
5. Qiong Shi
6. Yun Shi
7. Qi Chen
8. Xiaorui Hu
9. Jiayun Huang
10. Ang Zhao
11. Phuong Do

3. Leeds University Business School
Contents
• Theoretical framework (Qiong)
• Challenges (Phuong)
• Strategies (Ruoyu)
• Benefits (Lai)
• Link with other HR practices (Fangzhou)
• Future challenges (Yun)
• Conclusion (Yun)

4. Leeds University Business School
Theoretical framework
Training and HRD Process Model (Source: DeSimone and Werner, 2011)

5. Leeds University Business School
Café Spice Namaste
(34 employees)
Ogilvy Group
(800 employees)
Merseytravel
(954 employees)
Fujitsu Services
(22000 employees)
Internal 1. Staff are not open
to the appraisal
and are fear of the
consequences.
2. Staff do not want
to be trained
3. Staff’s limited
English skills
4. Unsatisfactory
service standard
1. Define training
platform across
countries
2. Maintain
specific training
requirement for
local level
1. Underdeveloped
workforce dialogue
and poor industrial
relations: distinct
cultures, policies and
practices in three
operational parts
2. Rooted perspectives
on adversarial
industrial relations
3. Resistant to learning
amongst employees
1. Continually ‘raise
the bar’ to
develop global
private sector
business
2. The effectiveness
of communication
mode between
line managers
and staff
External External competitors
with qualified skills
The speedy change
of technology and
industry, creative and
fast moving nature of
the industry => needs
at all level ; market
demand for specific
technilogies
The unions had no process
of joint dialogue
The rapid development
of IT industry

6. Leeds University Business School
Strategies
Design and Implementation
• Intrinsic and extrinsic motivators
– Sufficient funds
– Awareness of potential benefits of dialogue
(Kahn, 1990; May et al., 2004)
• Performance management - formal and direct workforce dialogue
– Performance appraisal
– Performance Development Review
– 360 degree feedback
• Informal learning
– Use of Intranet for good practice sharing;

7. Leeds University Business School
Strategies
Design and Implementation
• Line manager involvement
– Informal mentoring
– Performance appraisals
(Mat and Susomrith,
2014)
● Union learning representatives (ULRs)
o Indirect workforce dialogue
(Saundry et al, 2016)
● Partnership working between management and unions
o Mutual gains dialogue

8. Leeds University Business School
● Employee
o Employee self development
 Hill and Lent (2006)
o Job satisfaction & motivation
o Career development within the organization
● Organization
o Improvement in employment relations
o Lower staff turnover
 Benson et al. (2004)

9. Leeds University Business School
Link with other HR practices
● Performance management
(Dearden et al, 2006)
● Employee voice and engagement
● Job design
● Recruitment and selection
(Mohamed et al, 2013)
● Employee loyalty and job satisfaction
(Schmidt, 2007)
● Retention: staff turnover and absenteeism
(Newman et al, 2011)

10. Leeds University Business School
Future challenges
Challenges related to organisations:
● Financial returns are difficult to quantify - Ogilvy
● Operational objectives may conflict with training provision - Ogilvy
● Levels of training funding are hard to be sustained - Merseytravel

11. Leeds University Business School
Future challenges
Challenges related to employees:
● Employees’ awareness of informal learning - Ogilvy
● Degree of employee engagement - Fujitsu
● Employees’ awareness of new infrastructure - Fujitsu

12. Leeds University Business School
Review of theoretical framework
Training and HRD Process Model (Source: DeSimone and Werner, 2011)

13. Leeds University Business School
Conclusion
● Mutual gains to both organisations and employees
● Different strategies implemented on the basis of different challenges
● Effective workforce dialogue requires both employees and managers
engagement
● Significance of joint feedback
● Important role of Trade Union

14. Leeds University Business School
References
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Cross, J. 2007. Informal learning: Rediscovering the natural pathways that inspire
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Dearden, L., Reed, H. and Reenen, J. V. 2006. The impact of training on productivity and
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DeSimone, R.L. and Werner, J.M. 2011. Human resource development 6th ed. United
States: South-Western.

15. Leeds University Business School
Hill, C. E. and Lent, R. W. 2006. A narrative and meta-analytic review of helping skills training:
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16. Leeds University Business School
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