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ormal learning and development in an MSMEenvironment has been challenged on many counts. While some entrepreneurs find itexpensive and irrelevant, others question itsutility. Worse, many find conventionaltraining to be highly ineffective. Obviously F

many HR professionals in the industry have toovercome these issues when working with largeorganizations as well. However, with MSMEs thischallenge takes a different orientation. As many MSMEentrepreneurs tend to be more focused on the here

and now, any effort to convince them about the long-term benefits of a particular training or developmentalinitiative are at best misplaced. So how can the HRcommunity communicate real or estimated value-add from a training program to an MSME owner andensure the same is delivered to the satisfaction of theowner? Part of the answer to this question lies inunderstanding how MSME owners learn and apply new practices on their own. It is also equally criticalhere to get a sense of the motivators influencing theMSME owner's decision to learn something.

For any MSME owner, the impetus to embracenewer and better management practices lies in the

tangible return he/she expects and receives from any new initiative. As a matter of fact, when the benefitsare tangible, there is a strong likelihood for the new intervention to stick. In a community of entrepreneursbased in Maharashtra that this author worked with,learning a new management practice or technique was based on four important processes - all equally critical:● Unlearning - shedding existing inhibitions orapprehensions about the technique through sustainedquestioning of existing practitioners● Learning - understanding the nuts and bolts of launching a new intervention from an expert who has

actually rolled out the new practice●  Application - trying out new learnings with thesupport of peers who have implementation experience● Teaching - training and mentoring other novicesin the new technique and in the process re-training 

SUMEET VARGHESE

Improving ROI fromtraining & development

HR IN MSMES

oneself Interestingly this cycle comprising four distinct stagesof learning does not end with just one topic learnt orone practice implemented. It is meant to becontinuous and or to put it in other words, a way of life.But how effective is this process? Does it work at all?Let's take the case of Vivek Patil - a member of thisgroup. He is 44 years old and runs United HeatTransfer. His firm makes process equipments forestablished players like Dresser and Ingersoll Rand.

He has some 65 employees on the rolls and a healthy turnover. Earlier, Vivek had a bunch of consultants toguide him but growing disenchantment with theirmethods led him to join this community of entrepreneurs. As part of the curriculum that isimparted to new members, Vivek learnt about 5Spractices from an expert, a dedicated mentor andseveral others who had rolled out 5S in their plants.Typically, the instructional process followed comprisedthe following:● Regular classroom-based instructional training (of varying duration spread across several weeks) in 5S which featured sharing of best practices in 5S with

real case examples from companies in the area●  Actual demos during Interplant visits to role modelplants● Group activities and discussions with expert,mentor and novices on an ongoing basis● Implementation support from expert, mentor andother practitioners● Regular audit of implementation level by expert,mentor and other practitioners

 When th is auth or ca ught up wi th Vi vek tounderstand the effectiveness of the training impartedto him, he had some real tangible benefits to cite. Apparently, because of the substantial inputs he

received in 5S, Vivek began sticking to the proceduresprescribed in the 5S Manual. He removed objects onthe shop floor that they were not utilizing and beganpreparing and implementing a set of specific time-bound activities. For instance, a bell would be rung at

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regular intervals to signal start of cleaning processes.Moreover, thanks to the pressure from the scheduledaudit by peers, Vivek introduced an audit internally tocheck implementation level, every Sunday. Realizing 

he would need a lot of support on the floor to achieveany transformation, he appointed heads in eachfunction to look after the 5S activities in their specificarea. Each was also empowered to conduct checksand present a Non Compliance Report wherenecessary.

Interestingly, it didn't take long for others to noticethe transformation. Many of Vivek's clients fromEurope were surprised to see a spic and span shopfloor. Earlier, the same set of clients had to movethrough a dusty, grimy, disorganized shop floor thanksto the nature of the engineering jobs Vivek's firmhandled. Vivek particularly remembered one client

from France who was so impressed by the turnaroundthat he and his team took snaps and sent the sameback in the form of a report. Obviously the French were not just interested in taking snaps - they rewarded Vivek with more orders.

 Vivek is not the only member who has seen hisbusiness increase courtesy a training and developmentinput. Many of the entrepreneurs this author spoke tocited varied benefits - all tangible, from a host of new practices that they learnt and applied with supportfrom experts, mentors and other members trying tolearn the same thing at the same time. Vivek's exampleand that of the other entrepreneurs is instructive in

two respects - one, MSMEs don't discount the valueadd from a training investment and second, training and development has to be purely transformationalto have any effect or impact for an MSME. Typically,HR professionals who plan to address training needsin an MSME setup may have to focus on the following aspects more than ever:1. Chalking out Potential impact in terms of realtangibles from the training investment2. Clear training and development philosophy designed to maximize both learning and impact3. Well-outlined training and development processstructure with timelines and resources

4. Systematic follow-up to check for implementationand improvements5. Creating a Community of Learners comprising Experts, Mentors and Novices

 With ou t doub t, th is mo de l of tr ai ni ng an ddevelopment does not fit into the 1 or 2 or 5 day seminar based training paradigm that most HRprofessionals have heard of. But, unfortunately the1 or 2 day seminar model may not deliver much valueto an MSME. Clearly, If HR is all about adding value,training and development may have to re-invent itself since it's precisely this aspect of HR that holds a lotof promise to both HR and MSME owners.

HR IN MSMES

 Sumeet Varghese is an independent management consultant.

HC