Training and Development Impact on Employees’ Performance in the Administrative Cadre of the Personnel Management Office in The Gambia

Abstract

This study in an attempt to examine the training and development impact on employees’ performance in the administrative cadre of the Personnel Management Office (PMO), being the human resource unit of The Gambian Civil Service, investigated whether the trainings were meeting the training needs of administrative officers and whether there had been any improvement on their skills. The study also investigated whether training and development had made any significant changes to the administrative officers’ job performance and the impact of such performance on PMO and the Ministries on their service-delivery with reference to Kirkpatrick’s four-level evaluation model (reaction, learning, behaviour, and results). The research and interview questions were adopted and further developed to enhance their validity and credibility of the research. The study sample comprised four trainees (two from PMO and two from the Ministries), three heads of departments of the Ministries, and three senior management officers of PMO, who are both providers and beneficiaries of the training and development. Participants were interviewed and relevant documents at PMO reviewed for data collection. The interviews’ data were recorded and transcribed. Then the coding was done, categorized and themes identified, which helped establish the findings in line with the research questions. Results revealed that trainees’ training needs were basically met and skills improved significantly. Trainees also demonstrated improved job-related behaviours, which impacted positively on PMO and the Ministries in terms of timely individual and overall service-delivery, despite some identified short-comings based on which suggestions were made.

This study in an attempt to examine the training and development impact on employees’ performance in the administrative cadre of the Personnel Management Office (PMO), being the human resource unit of The Gambian Civil Service, investigated whether the trainings were meeting the training needs of administrative officers and whether there had been any improvement on their skills. The study also investigated whether training and development had made any significant changes to the administrative officers’ job performance and the impact of such performance on PMO and the Ministries on their service-delivery with reference to Kirkpatrick’s four-level evaluation model (reaction, learning, behaviour, and results). The research and interview questions were adopted and further developed to enhance their validity and credibility of the research. The study sample comprised four trainees (two from PMO and two from the Ministries), three heads of departments of the Ministries, and three senior management officers of PMO, who are both providers and beneficiaries of the training and development. Participants were interviewed and relevant documents at PMO reviewed for data collection. The interviews’ data were recorded and transcribed. Then the coding was done, categorized and themes identified, which helped establish the findings in line with the research questions. Results revealed that trainees’ training needs were basically met and skills improved significantly. Trainees also demonstrated improved job-related behaviours, which impacted positively on PMO and the Ministries in terms of timely individual and overall service-delivery, despite some identified short-comings based on which suggestions were made.