The Impact of Training and Development in Student Organizations

Student Organizations at Arizona State University experience a high volume of employee turnover throughout the school year. Change in organizations is inevitable; however, this element of change directly affects the prosperity of the organization. The intent of this project was to research and identify the motives behind the departing student workers and offer a solution for retention. The Programming and Activities Board \u2014 the second largest student organization on campus, known for its event planning expertise, was used as a means of testing the idea of the impact of training development on student workers. This study involved research in human resource management and industrial organizational psychology. As a result, job analysis was performed, organizational restructuring occurred as well as the creation of a one stop platform for learning and development that contains online interactive trainings, platform for management to engage the workers, pre-test and post-tests as well as additional organizational information. Student Organizations provide undergraduates and graduates with the opportunities to grow and develop skills for the real world. By restructuring the way of management within the organization will provide an opportunity to create stronger student organizations in the future. This study found that with a solid training and development plan, students could understand the purpose they were working towards and understand their current roles and responsibilities in the organization. The Programming and Activities Board had previously experienced a 40.9% turnover rate but after the implementation of the program turnover is now at 11.9%. The transition from traditional to e-learning training is beginning to embed itself into the organizational culture due to the creation of a sustainable solution plan.