Training Matters

Management Issues

As cited by Effective Workplace Communication (www.workplace-eti.com), the Center for Public Resources did a national survey (1998) and found: "ninety percent of the time, people are fired for poor attitudes, inappropriate behavior, and poor interpersonal skills rather than because of deficient job skills."

Employees need managers who can empathize with their pain and who honestly try to create an environment in which they feel valued and respected despite all the changes going on around them. According to an article by Kenneth Kovach in Employment Relations Today, when employees were asked what they valued most about their jobs in 1946, 1981, and again in 1995, the top three things they reported remained the same:

Interesting work
Full appreciation for the work they've done
A feeling of being "in" on things

According to a recent Accountemps survey, "executives spend more than 9 weeks each year, 18 percent of their work time, resolving personality clashes between employees"

What makes bosses least effective?

42% Poor Communication Skills/Interpersonal Relationships

Personal Decisions International 9/99 poll of 1,000

Dale Carnegie & Associates (1992 in a study of 4000 American managers)

Only 46% give their best effort at work
Only 36% feel challenged by their jobs
52% have not attained their personal objectives
More than 43% feel "trapped in their jobs"

Employee Commitment and Motivation

Seven Key Factors that drive employee commitment

Trust in Senior Leadership
Chance to use their skills
Job Security
Competitive Compensation
Quality of Product/Services
Absence of Work-Related Stress
Honesty & Integrity of Company's business conduct

WorkUSA 2000 survey of 7,500 workers conducted by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, reported in T&D 3/2000

What workers would prefer if offered a bonus to their salary

Cash - 48%
Stock Options - 41%
401K Contributions - 29%
Comp Time - 8%

Most requested lifestyle benefits

Vacation Time - 65%
Casual Dress - 40%
Flextime - 25%
Maternity Leave - 16%
Day Care - 13%
Telecommuting - 10%
Personal Services - 8%
Sabbatical Leave - 3%

Reported in 2/2000 Sales and Marketing Management

Employees want is flexibility

50% of workers look for formal flexible schedules in a new employer
53% of dual income earners reported their careers as equal and even "primary" earners said they routinely bend to job demands of others career
35% of primary earners said they had made themselves available for emergency child care and 13% had turned down relocation

Rockford Register Star, Flexibility's the Key for Working Couples, 1/21/98

When employees would leave their jobs

64% would leave their jobs for more flexible hours or 10% pay increase or better opportunity
44% would leave for a better chance to get ahead
More than half don't know their companies mission statement

10,000 workers from 13 nations - Gemini Consulting (Sales & Marketing Mgmt 1999)

60% of workers would not recommend their companies to a close friend.

Towers Perrin survey reported in "Firms Try to Make Employees Stay Put", Chicago Tribune, Oct 12, 1997

Employee Productivity

25% of workers said they were capable of doing 56% more work
33% mentioned one or several reasons for not being more productive:
- Not being involved in decision making
- Lack of reward for good performance
- No opportunity for advancement
- Lack of quality supervision
- Inadequate Training

Compensation and Benefits Review, American Management Association, 1997

Generations X and Y

56% have a positive opinion of business
Only 8% thought it was extremely important to have someone report to them
More than half thought is was extremely important to work well on a team
39% deemed becoming financially successful as extremely important
42% placed a high value on helping others
Health care was the top career choice then education - engineering and computing tied for 3rd
46% indicated that being able to use a computer was extremely important
32% agreed that sexual harassment is likely to fade
31% said women will shatter the glass ceiling

1997 study of 2000 15-17 year olds by Drexel University Center for Employment

Twice as many young people would rather own their own business than be a top executive in a large company and 5 times more would prefer their own business to holding an important position in politics or government.

Roper Starch Worldwide Inc, October, 1997

What motivates Generation X?

Help them train for another job
Give them responsibility for projects
Offer constant feedback instead of annual performance reviews
Offer them access to many different kinds of information

Adapted from HR Focus, American Management Association, reported in The Motivational Manager, 1997

Learning

Informal Learning

The researchers identified work-related activities during which most informal learning occurs. Among them:

Teaming, which brings together employees with different skills and responsibilities within the organization to address problems or goals
Meetings, especially those at which employees at many levels are encouraged to express opinions
Customer interactions, especially in companies where customer feedback is encouraged
Mentoring, which was most commonly observed as a voluntary and loosely structured association between a novice and more experienced employees
Peer-to-peer communication, which is characterized by interactions among employees at all levels

Training, Jan, 1998, Learning Ecologies, David Stamps

According to a Business Week article (March 1, 1999), Interim Services and Louis Harris and Associates conducted a survey that measured the cost of not mentoring employees and providing poor training. The article stated: "Among employees who say their company offers poor training, 41% plan to leave within a year, vs. only 12% of those who rate opportunities excellent. High turnover isn't cheap. The survey pegs the cost of losing a typical worker at $50,000."

Function Illiteracy

14%-16% of American-born college graduates are functionally illiterate in math and reading

US Dept of Education reported in Training, November 1998

Customer Service

Impact of Improving Customer Service

Better service performers charged about 9% more for their products/services
Better service performers grew twice as fast and picked up market share at 6% per year, while those with poor customer service lost 2% a year

Strategic Planning Institute

Profit Impact of Customer Service

Great service providers earned a 12% return on sales, vs 1% for the rest