Social representations in training process directors and employees in Medellín’s, Colombia several economic sectors

Abstract

Purpose: to analyze the social representations produced by directors and employees during the training process. Method: qualitative research involving the administration of surveys to 18 human talent directors and 33 workers in different economic sectors in the city of Medellin. To create the representations, the associative card was used to identify the characteristics of the training. Results: the directors’representation  of training is that it is a strategy used to align employees and enhance the skills that add value to the company. The workers’ representation of training is related to the knowledge received and sense of security in their value to the company upon the training session. Discussion: it is not easy to establish a causal relationship between training and individual performance, as suggested by literature on human resources, because the companies that offer training only assess perception and learning but fail to evaluate the application of knowledge and training results in terms of performance. Conclusions: workers and directors share such representation, i.e., the causal relationship between training and performance. Moreover, the mere existence of training is considered proof that companies care for their employees.