ARTHUR C KAPLAN AND COMPANY

Company Background

AC Kaplan is one of major Big Eight accounting firm.

Provides accounting, auditing, tax services, developing MIS, conducting business consulting activities. Office in 52 US cities covering 32 nations.
World headquarters in London employing more than 20,000 people.

Training at Kaplan

It has devoted millions of dollars for creating in-house educational training facilities (Corporate Education and Development Center-CEDC) Technical & accountants. Procedural training for entry level

Extensive training in specific industry where they predominantly work.

ISSUES

The Company spends almost $1200 per employee per year for training and development. Despite working hard, a beginning CPA gets just a corresponding pay. The purpose of attracting aggressive students was that they need people who can work aggressively, but this aggressiveness ended up with being boorish and callous with clients. Employees lack interpersonal expertise.

SCENARIO

Training executives think that any added expense (for interpersonal development) may not justify; besides this they also think that already too much is being spent on education and training.

REMEDIES

70% of the investment on training should concentrate on technical skills and 30% on interpersonal acumen. This wont reduce the expenditure but this may sound as a justified expenditure to the senior training executives. Employee-compensation plan may be revised compensating more on employees performance and may be better than the industry standards. Training has to focus on being friendly with customers.

They may ask the employees to enter a contract in which after getting trained, an employee has to work for at least 3 years.

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT TECHNIQUES

1-Technique : Induction Training

Description : A structured orientation programme for new entrants Method of Application : Familiarize recruits with different roles. Rotate them through different jobs Reinforce learning with lectures and case studies

Benefits: Induction Programme is given more importance than in past. Induction Programme is well-planned exercise and is of a sufficient duration Senior Management spend time with new recruits during induction training
2-Technique : Customer Service Training Description : A structured Implementation of customer service Training Programme Method of Application : Train employees to treat their clients in courteous and hospitable manner.

3-Technique : Conflict Resolution Description : Employees will identify their own personal conflict style and learn when to resolve or avoid conflicts. They will have the opportunity to apply a conflict resolution framework to an actual situation.
4-Technique : Handling Objections Description : Teaches a strategy for reacting quickly and effectively to any customer concern. Employees will have the opportunity to apply this approach to real objections that have been raised by their internal/external customers. 5-Technique : Listening Skills Description : Developing effective listening habits that ensure that you understand your internal/external customers correctly and that they know you have heard what they said.

COMPANY REQUIREMENTS IN TERMS OF TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

There must be a structured, widely-shared training policy in the company based on its business needs. Company programme must be evaluated and improved every year. Employees must be helped to upgrade their technical knowledge and skills through training Workers must be encouraged and rewarded for training to acquire higher qualifications

Human relations competencies are to be developed through training in human skills

Employees must be sponsored for training programmes on the basis of carefully identified needs.
Briefing and debriefing sessions are conducted for employees sponsored for training Internal training programmes are to be handled by the best possible faculty the company can access Experimental action-oriented techniques, including games are to be used in training programmes