Employer
Benefits
Employers
gain higher profits and a host of other bottom-line
benefits from workplace education programs. More
skillful employees save employers time and money, and improve
performance and productivity.
Other
benefits include reduced error rates, a better health and safety
record, reduced waste in production of goods and services and
increased customer and employee retention. These benefits
translate into financial savings, productivity gains and higher
profits.
On
top of all that, employees with better basic skills tend to
learn more and faster when they take job-specific and technical
training.
Employers who
support workplace education programs enjoy a more conscientious,
resourceful, loyal and dependable workforce as a result.
When employees learn that high-quality work is crucial to the
success of the organization and to their own job security, they
often become more conscientious. Once they become fully
aware of what is expected of them and how their efforts fit into
the big picture, and then gain the skills to meet those demands,
the quality of their work generally rises.
Employers
often gain because more skillful employees are more confident
employees. Confidence translates into creativity and
initiative that, in turn, contributes to the overall performance
of the organization.
BOTTOM-LINE
BENEFITS
Employees' basic
skills gains yield direct and indirect bottom-line
benefits for employers:
-
Increased
Profitability
-
Better Health
and Safety Record
-
Increased
Customer Retention
-
Increased
Employee Retention
-
Enhanced
Corporate Image/Employer of Choice
-
Improved
Recruiting
"We
have invested in my employees. They've given
back. That is profitable."
-
Chief
Executive Officer,
Mount San Raphael Hospital, Colorado
ABILITY
TO WORK SMARTER AND BETTER
When employees gain
skills that allow them to work smarter and better, employers
gain:
-
Increased
Quality of Work
-
Increased Output
of Products and Services
-
Reduced Time per
Task
-
Reduced Error
Rate
-
Better Health
and Safety Record
-
Reduced Wastage
in Production of Products and Services
"Training
programs really drive continued business improvement. If
you want to see improvements in multiple aspects of your
business, you need good training programs. You need to
improve knowledge to increase skills."
-
Cast House Director,
Large Aluminum Manufacturer
NEW
ATTITUDES
As employees gain
basic skills, their attitudes become more positive. As a
result, they are better able to cope with change, work with
managers, and continue to learn:
-
Improved
Capacity to Cope with Change in the Workplace
-
Improved
Labor-Management Relations
-
Reduced
Absenteeism
-
Improved
Employee Morale/Self-Esteem
-
Positive
Attitude to Lifelong Learning
-
Better Team
Performance
"I
can't go out there and tell my housekeepers how to clean a
floor. They tell me how. We tell them: 'You are the
expert, what can we do to help you do your job better.'
Workplace education has greatly facilitated that type of
communication."
-
Chief
Executive Officer,
Small Western Hospital
WORKING
WITH OTHERS
Employees who gain
basic skills perform better as members of a team or in
supervisory roles:
"Now
the guys figure out most things for themselves. Even 5 or
6 years ago they saw that as the supervisor's job. The math has
almost completely shifted from front office to the shop
floor."
-
Operations Manager,
Small Central-U.S.Metal Fabrication Company
BASIC
SKILLS
Improved basic
skills give employees greater capacity to perform for employers:
-
Improved
Capacity to Solve Problems
-
Improved
Capacity to Cope with Change in the Workplace
-
Improved
Capacity to Use New Technology
-
Increased
Capacity to Handle On-the-Job Training
"Basic
skills training gives people better coping skills and they
realize that they have the ability to solve problems on their
own. Employees see what they can do to put out the
brush fire before it becomes a five-alarm."
-
Co-ordinator, Skills Enhancement Program,
Large Eastern Hospital
JOB-SPECIFIC
SKILLS
Employees take part
in more job-specific training and gain better results once they
improve their foundation of basic skills:
-
More Employees
Participating in Job-Specific Training
-
Improved Results
in Job-Specific Training
-
Quicker Results
in Job-Specific Training
"Workplace
education has provided a different class of employees now.
They seek education now rather than have it forced on
them. We went from 15 percent to 60 per cent of our
workforce seeking education."
-
Vice-President,
Large Mid-Western Hi-Tech Company
IMPROVED
HUMAN CAPITAL
Employees' skills
gains make them better candidates for promotion and transfer to
new jobs:
"The
need for training came from the fact that re-engineering was
paramount in our hospital at that time. Positions and
responsibilities were changing on a weekly basis. Skills
enhancement helped people to bid for or retain positions."
-
Co-ordinator, Skills Enhancement Program,
Large Eastern Hospital
BROADER
BENEFITS
Basic skills gains
also have important positive impacts beyond the workplace, in
families and communities:
"The
training helps people dream -- that there is another world
beyond the job they have been doing. A lot of them didn't
realize how bright they were."
-
Co-ordinator, Skills Enhancement Program,
Large Eastern Hospital
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Last updated: March 16, 2001 . |