Training: Part of TI's corporate culture
By Agatha Ciancarelli -- Purchasing, 3/11/1999 2:00:00 AM
Having awakened to the tremendous potential benefits that superior supply management can deliver to overall business success, many companies recently have established formal training programs to develop the purchasing professionals of the future. Semiconductor manufacturer Texas Instruments, however, has had a corporatewide procurement training program in place since the early 1980s, and the company continues to refine and update training as needed.
Barbara Taylor, manager of professional development for World Wide Procurement and Logistics, believes that training in supply management is now permanently ingrained in TI. "Texas Instruments really encourages ongoing training because leading-edge knowledge is the strength of our people and is a part of our culture," she says.
To keep the training program current, TI continuously evaluates and updates it. And, as Taylor points out, it's not only market changes that affect training: "Changes within the company over the past few years also have added to training reorganization," she says. A group called the "Training and Organizational Effectiveness Team"(T&OE) is responsible for training.
An example of how TI updates its program is the recent creation of the individual development plan (IDP). "This year," says Taylor, "Each person is required to have an individual development plan, which is to be updated each year."
The IDP process starts with a review of the past year and a plan of goals and activities for the coming year. Armed with the basic IDP, the team creates a more specific plan for each individual, based on his or her individual needs. The plan is then reviewed by a supervisor at the planning stages and throughout the year.
Taylor stresses that the IDP is not limited to classroom training, but also includes on-the-job training, book reading, and other informal training methods.
In the past, forty hours of training per year was a requirement for all TI employees, but that is no longer the case. Instead, says Taylor, "The emphasis is on the IDP. Training is about keeping the skills and knowledge you need up-to-date. One employee may need 120 hours of training." Others may need relatively little.
Required curriculum
Core curriculum of TI's procurement training consists of several courses, some of which were developed by TI, and some of which were developed outside the company. Two courses--"ethics in the supply process" and "legal aspects of dealing with suppliers"--were developed by TI in the early 1980s, and remain training mainstays. For other courses, TI used negotiations consultants.
To ensure that purchasing pros remain up-to-date with changes in the core procurement courses, TI requires them to take a refresher course every four years. "Time is spent updating and reviewing the courses each year to make sure that information is correct and the classes stay current," says Taylor.
Outside options
The T&OE team supports training for all supply chain activities at TI. In addition to courses developed within the confines of TI, the team works with outside providers for additional training options.
"Consultants can be brought in," says Taylor, noting that TI also works closely with universities. "Different professors from different universities come in-house once a year for a planned curriculum," she says. "It is mostly focused on marketing, strategic planning, and market-driven strategies."
Consultants also provide training assistance to TI with negotiating classes. Taylor also adds that, "With consultants, the company can choose to bring them in-house so that they tailor the training to the company's needs."
Through team efforts, TI also makes use of seminar offerings from outside groups and associations. Taylor notes that by using outside resources, TI has managed to develop highly effective training tools at minimum cost. "The costs to develop these are prohibitive at the level of the individual company," says Taylor. "But by joining together [with outside firms], we have been able to create a very powerful set of tools for our use."
Online training: The future
Currently, training at Texas Instruments is mostly done in a classroom environment. A trainer travels to different sites to conduct classes. Taylor explains that it is the T&OE trainer's responsibility to travel to the actual sites, including sites around the world.
While very effective, on-site training is very time consuming and costly. Efforts are in process at TI to develop and implement online training via the Internet or an intranet.
"I believe that online training will be the choice as systems capabilities expand," says Taylor.
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