Introduction
The value and importance of induction and training in sport organization is as important as in any other organization that strives to remain productive and motivate its employees and manager to work efficiently since their first day at work. Therefore, induction is critical because it contributes to lower turnover rate and higher organizational culture. It is also a significant condition for company’s effective human resources activities. There are a variety of activities which could be analyzed, while studying the value and purpose of an induction process. Induction/training could be identified as the process that is provided by an organization for the purpose of supporting and helping a new employee to learn the major principle of working in a new organization. It is also an acquaintance with the new working team, as well as manager’s expectations and tasks of the work. All these aspects are also important for sport organizations. The induction stage should be provided both to paid and non-paid staff because all elements of the working process should be prepared for the organizational activities to sustain productivity and performance. Therefore, induction and training are equally important for sport organizations because they ensure effective organization, enhance organizational culture and motivate employees to work in an efficient manner.
Analysis and Critical Evaluation of Induction/Training in Sport Organizations
In the majority of cases, managers mistakenly expect a new employee to receive all information about the organization, employees, accountabilities and tasks at once. However, there is a threat that employees will be overloaded with such information, leading to fewer incentives to stay working with the organization. Therefore, the induction process and training should be split in several stages, where all preparation aspects could be explained systematically and within a longer period.
When the company deals with the induction process for unpaid staff, the attention should be given to volunteers who work in sport organizations. In this respect, it has been recommended that the induction program should be comprehensive or introduce the session that include presentation, specific checklists, training elements and documentations that can foster volunteers’ awareness of sport event activities, as well as specific roles they should perform as the newly appointed workers. It is evident that effective induction process ensures lower levels of personnel turnover, which is also the sign of rich organizational performance and stability in the workforce.
While managing sport events, the paid staff should be motivated sufficiently to generate creative ideas and be involved into the competition process. The entire management of sport events depends largely on the quality of induction which differs significantly from the generic organizational activities due to the nature of the organizational turnover. Hence, Gibson asserts, “issues such as recruitment, retention, induction and staff training are operationalized differently in pulsating organizations”. As such, the author gives an example of Hanlon and Jago organization in which innovative strategies have been introduced to retain the personnel at different phases of the event cycle. Therefore, the induction stage is the starting point that influences other phases of employee assimilation and adjustment. The induction stage is also used while developing projects, such as various sport events. Sport organizations should also be dedicated to the introduction of induction programs, which can contribute to the processes related to human resource management process. Poor orientation, performance and training programs in specific area affect staff retention.
Dealing with organizational culture, ethical decision-making plays an important role in creating induction programs. In sport organizations, the concept of integrity should be practiced from the beginning. Similar concerns relate to the legislation and regulation that control all organizational activities. Hence, the new employees should also be warned of the legal and ethical frameworks which are enacted at the organization. The imposed restrictions on behavior should be aimed at improving performance and promote the sport organization at a global level where businesses and societies cannot operate without such regulations. Hence, unethical behavior can result in loss of trust and condiment in an organization. In this respect, Covell et al., provide the example of fitness club rise in the 1970s when many fitness club managers make members sign long-term agreements, which were expensive but more beneficial than monthly payment. However, the clubs ceased their operation due to the ethical abuse. As a result of such manipulations, fitness club industry had long suffered doubts among the consumers. The example also proves that sport managers should focus more on ethical issues.
Rewards and punishment are also among the most important aspects of efficient human resource management. Sport performance stem from the need of society in sport event, which should be motivating and encouraging. Lifestyle consumers who are involved into different sport events, such as football, tennis, basketball and training should perceive that they are open to multiple opportunities to fulfill themselves in this sphere. Therefore, employees should be rewarded with their attempt to attract more clients and be punished when they violate the rules and codes of organization conduct. As an example, the world known Adidas company has gained its popularity due to the constant innovations and openness to changes. The CEO of the company was creating new products and goods, such as soccer shoes and field shoes, which contributed to the greater variety of footwear. In 2004, the joint venture was created between Beckham and Adidas to increase the popularity of the company. The development of new sport projects with sport stars can also be more encouraging for employees working for a sport organization. It can also increase the flow of new employees who are willing to cooperate with sport celebrities.
Implications for Sport Managers and Effective Operation of the Organization
Similar to any sport event, effective sport management is premised on efficient leadership and good teamwork. Many sport organizations both profitable and non-profitable, are engaged in many sport events, which require the development of multiple projects. In this respect, the task of each manager is to organize the process properly and distribute all responsibilities and duties in a reasonable manner. In this context, the induction production does not necessarily concerns the initial stage of learning about organization and employee’s new duties. It also deals with the acquaintance stage of the team members who are going to be involved into a specific project.
When it concerns lucrative sport, demand for experienced and quality business professionals increases. Sport managers should be equipped with all necessary tools for efficient management of specific projects, as well as be engaged in constant research. Therefore, constant training and education of the personnel is of the paramount importance. Additionally, the sport management should also be aware of such concepts as employability, which relates to the academic staff and employees. Therefore, employees and future managers should take specific training to focus on the concept. It is natural that employees are constantly searching for the new workers with appropriate skills and qualities to contribute to organization’s performance. Therefore, the concept of employability is the key to successful management because it can allow the manager to understand what he/she should expect from the potential candidate.
Performance management in the sphere of sport business is a powerful tool for increasing motivation and creating new career opportunities for the staff. It also plays a significant role in reducing the frequency of conflicting situation based on such challenges as lack of transparency, ambiguity and uncertainty. Despite the fact that sport organization focus more on development of different events and projects, people in sport organization should be a priority. Consequently, the introduction of effective leadership in controlling different activities is essential for achieving organizational roles. Management, therefore, relates to the process of cooperating with and through groups and individuals to gain professional goals. Leadership, however, is the means of influencing group behavior to achieve the desired results. Contemporary theories introduce five major functions that are grounded in the concept of management, such as staffing, planning, organizing, controlling and directing. The final stage should be evaluation because it helps managers understand the results and define problems that should be solved. Additionally, sport managers require technical skills that relate to the role of effective operation.
Due to the fact that sport business has become one of the rapidly growing industries, sport managers should create the potential for generating large amounts of profits via different channels, including advertising, branding and mass media. At the same time, the emergence of sport-related organization is underestimated from a managerial perspective. Therefore, it is necessary to reconsider such field to create educational implications for sport managers. The primary task of the manager is to create the favorable conditions, in which employees will be more willing to contribute to the organization’s respectable image. Additionally, sport managers should also realize the fact that good management implies retaining old employees and attracting the new ones. So, as Chelladurai asserts, “a sport organization must ensure its reward structure at least matches the market rate if it wants to recruit and retain good employees”. Hence, the culture of retention should start with the concept of absenteeism. The task of good sport managers is to be able to create bonuses and incentives for employees to attend job regularly. At the same time, the managers should also create a healthy competition atmosphere, in which employees feel that they should excel at performance in case they want to receive bonus or avoid fine. Organizational effectiveness, therefore, could be achieved through the increase in employees’ performance, which should start with the induction process and end with the development of regular training programs.
Value of Induction/Training
Before hiring a new employee to a position, the task of sport managers is to make sure that they possess enough range of skills. For instance, when it relates to sport and leisure issue, employees should be good at dealing with customer, using the telephone, coopering in team, being aware of company’s strategic plan, as well as learning more about legal and regulatory issues. First, each employee should be acquainted with the target clients he/she will have to deal with. Managers should inform the employees about the ethical principles and strategic objectives that could guide them to communicate with the clients in the specific way. As soon as managers provide their new employees with such information, the latter could start adjusting to a new environment. In their return, managers should also learn more about employees’ major values, concerns and outlooks on ethical and moral issues. In such way, it will be possible for the manager to define whether an employee fits the organization’s mission and vision. It is the first stage of the induction, which plays an important role during the adjustment period.
Communication with other employees in sport organizations is another challenge, which can be surpassed as soon as managers engage them into communication. They should persuade the new employees and the old ones that their cooperation is the key to organization’s performance and their incentives to work more effectively. Further, knowledge and understanding are also among the key determinant of employees’ successful integration into the working team.
Regarding the non-profit sport organizations, the transition of volunteer to the inside activities could be premised on the effective induction, which is critical in effective human resources management. As it has been mentioned before, the main task of an induction is to support and manage new volunteer to learn more about the sport organization, including the position he/she will take, alongside with the major working principles. Hence, there should be the so-called welcome package for formal meeting and introduction. An efficient induction session is aimed at reducing stress and encouraging volunteers to feel more comfortable and reduce the probability of turnover. According to Trenberth and Hassan, “training is generally more job specific than induction and is designed to ensure that volunteers gain the skills necessary to be effective in their position”. Furthermore, induction creates a great opportunities for employees to be informed about the main organizational values, including its vision and goals. In fact, lack of transparency and understanding might make new employees believe that their work is not appreciated enough, leading to depression and insufficient motivation.
There should be specific standards and principles according to which the induction package is developed. Such package should be created with the regard to the type of organizational activities. In case a sport organization deals with the production of footwear, the employees should be acquainted with the major production process, clients and other stakeholders involved in order to have a greater understanding of the major activities within an organization. The employees should also gain an awareness of the fact that they are a part of a team that works for a common goal.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be stressed that both paid and unpaid staff in sport organization should undergo the stages of induction because it can facilitate organizational performance and sustain a competitive edge over other organizations. Practically, there is not a tangible difference between the way paid and unpaid personnel is informed about their new obligations. Many sport organization realize that the induction process should relay on a range of ethical and legal codes of an organization. Apparently, these are paramount issues with which a new employee should be acquainted at a first stage of work with a sport organization. There are many implications for sport managers to increase the organizational culture and retention rate through the effective induction and training programs because they allow employees to accommodate to company’s values, mission and vision better. Furthermore, the induction process creates a strong foundation for a new employee to be more engaged into the process. Due to the fact that most sport organizations rely one efficient leadership and teamwork, the task of the sport manager is to make the new worker feel comfortable and open to communication and developing creative ideas. Finally, induction and training is the key to increasing motivation and reducing the level of turnover. It is also the preliminary stage during which an employee can understand whether organization can meet his/her personal needs or not.
