Employee Training Objectives

Objectives

1. To be aware of the safety rules for operating the ribbon-cutting machine in three minutes.

This training objective is solid in premise, but the addition of an arbitrary time limit is likely to create issues for employees and management alike. Issues for employees will arise if the three-minute time limit cannot be reasonably applied to the given activity, and issues for management will arise if the ire of the employees in training is drawn because of this arbitrary time limit, resulting in a possible hit to the company’s reputation as a whole. “Be aware of the behavior-based safety rules and procedure for operating the ribbon-cutting machine, and be able to demonstrate such knowledge in an effective manner.”

2. Given a personal computer, a table and a chair, enter the data into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

This objective is far too vague for those conducting and evaluating the training session to reasonably expect any employees in training to completely and successfully fulfill the desired objective. “Demonstrate a working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, and be able to perform tasks relating to data entry.”

3. Use the World Wide Web to learn about training practices.

This objective is also incredibly vague, and will likely result in a lot of confused employees, some very embarrassed middle management and a quite angry and irate upper management given the dated history of information technology integration in the business sector. “Demonstrate an ability to navigate the internet using a browser, and parlay that knowledge into research regarding company training practices.”

4. Given a street address in the city of Dublin, Ohio, be able to drive the ambulance from the station to the address in less than 10 minutes.

This objective may actually seem reasonable at first, but in the given context, this arbitrary time limit that has been imposed would be better suited for an enclosed course, rather than public roads in the city of Dublin, where pedestrians and motorists alike could be put in danger by excessive speeding to reach the destination within the target time limit. “Successfully navigate the driving course in the company ambulance, and reach the end destination within the given time limit."