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WORKFORCE BRIEF #6
EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE ROLES IN WORKPLACE-BASED CAREER DEVELOPMENT:
The Challenge of Change in the Workplace
Introduction
There is no longer any such thing as a stable, secure
workplace. Technological change and the opening of markets to
worldwide competition make it impossible for businesses to survive
very long doing the same work in the same way. Businesses must
continuously provide new products or services to meet the changing
requirements of customers who demand higher quality and more
attention to their special needs. To meet these market
expectations, businesses need to introduce new cost-saving or
quality-raising technology or work processes.
Businesses' efforts to compete have changed the nature of the
labor market. Factory production work, which used to require mostly
low-skilled physical labor, has been changed so much by technology
that employees often need Associate Degree-level skills to operate
production lines. Service industries require more skills for
customer relations than ever before - skills in analyzing customer
needs, problem-solving, and negotiating. To pursue a career or even
simply to maintain employment, employees must keep up with business
changes by upgrading their skills on an on-going basis.
The challenge of workplace change may be unsettling to
employers and employees. Workers who do not keep upgrading their
skills will be left behind by workplace change - either in low-wage,
dead-end jobs, or unemployed. Businesses that do not provide
support and encouragement for employee skill upgrading will be
outclassed by their more enlightened competitors.
To meet this challenge, both companies and their workforces
must identify their mutual interests in dealing with change.
Together they can plan career development programs that will produce
big payoffs to everyone. Companies can improve their productivity
and competitiveness through the increased skills of their
workforces. Employees can enhance their value in the labor market
and their employability prospects because they have more skills to
offer.
************************************************************
* "The Company and the Unions mutually acknowledge their *
* pride in the talents, abilities, creativity, and *
* commitment of the Company's workforce. The parties share *
* a vision of the work environment in which all employees *
* are encouraged to develop their skills, abilities, and *
* talents to the fullest extent possible and are furnished *
* with every opportunity to take the initiative to do so. *
* Such an environment will not only offer the maximum *
* opportunity to employees to attain their employment *
* goals, but will also lead to increased commitment by *
* employees to devote their maximum energies to improving *
* the Company's productivity and competitiveness. It is *
* anticipated that this level of employee commitment will *
* contribute significantly to marketplace success for the *
* Company and to increased employment security for *
* employees associated with such success." *
* *
* - Memorandum of Understanding among AT&T, the *
* Communications Workers of America, and the *
* International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 1986 *
************************************************************
This Workplace Brief will show:
* How employers can support their employees' skill upgrading by
providing both assistance in career planning and training
opportunities;
* How employees can enhance their employability prospects by
preparing themselves for workplace change, making informed
career choices, and pursuing necessary training; and
* What resources are available to help in setting up and running
workplace-based career development programs.
What Employers Must Do
The scenario presented in this brief is definitely a "high
road" to competitiveness. It is a long-term strategy that sees
employers and employees as partners, and recognizes the value of
investing in employee development. Employers must accept their
responsibilities as partners. They must do their part to enhance
their employees' career opportunities.
There are several ways employers should support their
employees' career development efforts. They can:
* Recognize the partnership between employers and employees in the
struggle to stay competitive. Research data showing few
businesses implementing high performance work practices, limited
business investment in training, and stable or declining wages
in the face of increased productivity suggest that many
employers prefer alternative courses of action - moving labor
off-shore, creating virtual organizations, relying on new
technology, and employing contingency workers - to creating
productive employer- employee partnerships. Employers must
recognize their interdependence with employees in meeting the
challenge of change, and embrace employer-employee partnership
as a critical component of competitiveness.
* Provide timely, useful labor market information. On their own,
employees do not have access to sufficient information about
changes in business plans and practices or about new employment
trends and job skill requirements. Without this knowledge,
employees cannot make career plans or prepare themselves for new
job skill requirements. Employers should provide information
about employment trends in their companies and industries, and
about the skill needs required for future jobs.
* Provide job information that supports career planning.
Employers should make sure that the employment trend and skill
requirement information they provide is understandable and lends
itself to career planning. Employers should clarify whether
employees must progress through a sequence of courses, learning
increasingly advanced or specialized skills, to pursue a
specific career path. Employers should also make sure that
employees understand the kinds of certifications, qualifying
examinations, or other screening processes used to evaluate
skill proficiency.
* Provide guidance or counseling services. Employers should help
employees assess their skills, aptitudes, and interests and then
relate these to labor market information about employment trends
and skill requirements. They should provide employees with
professional assistance in developing formal, written plans
identifying career goals and the steps for achieving them.
Sometimes supervisors can serve as career coaches to help do
this, but often employees are reluctant to discuss their
personal plans or educational deficiencies with their managers,
so it may be more effective to use professional career
counselors. Confidentiality, and the security it provides, are
important.
The time and money spent on professional counseling can be made
up many times over by minimizing false starts, unrealistic
choices, and abandoned training programs. Counselors can also
provide stress and change management workshops, which will help
employees adjust to the idea of taking responsibility for their
futures.
************************************************************
* Motorola Corporation's education and training objectives:*
* *
* * Providing all employees with at least 5 days of *
* job-relevant training and education per year. *
* *
* * Qualifying all employees with the job skills required *
* by business plans. *
* *
* * Qualifying employees in the language, reading, and *
* mathematics skills needed for their jobs and for *
* higher-level training. *
************************************************************
* Provide support for employees pursuing their career development
plans. Most employees will need help selecting appropriate
training programs for gaining the skills they need in the most
timely and cost-effective ways. Employers can support employees'
efforts in a variety of ways. They can provide training
themselves by:
1) developing curricula and conducting classes for employees,
2) intensifying on-the-job training by assigning employees to
job teams that mix experienced workers with inexperienced
ones, and
3) providing skill tutoring.
Employers may also work with external training providers,
sponsoring workshops and working with local trade schools or
colleges to develop customized curricula directly linked to
workplace requirements. Providing information and referral
services about schools and other training opportunities is a
more indirect way of supporting employees' career development.
Whether the training is provided by the employer or an external
provider, employers should help ensure the training provided is
of high quality (e.g., qualified staff, well-designed
curriculum, appropriate delivery methods).
Many employees need financial or other assistance to enroll in
training. Employers can support employees by subsidizing tuition
for local trade schools or community colleges, assisting with
child care and transportation, or allowing some training to take
place on company time. Employers can also provide facilities
(like classroom space, computer access, and instructional
materials) at the worksite so that training can be brought
directly to employees.
************************************************************
* "Our message to employers is this: Look outside your *
* company and change your view of your responsibilities *
* for human resource development. Your old *
* responsibilities were to select the best available *
* applicants and to retain those you hired. Your new *
* responsibilities must be to improve the way you organize *
* work and to develop human resources in your community, *
* your firm, and your nation." *
* *
* - Learning a Living: A Blueprint for High Performance, *
* Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills *
* (SCANS), U.S. Department of Labor, 1992 *
************************************************************
What Employees Must Do
Employees, too, have a share in the partnership. They must
take on most of the responsibility for managing the effects of
workplace change on their lives and careers. They should:
* Understand the partnership and take responsibility for their
role in it. Understanding the new partnership between employers
and employees requires that employees take a realistic view of
the inevitability of workplace change and recognize that it will
affect them in significant ways. They cannot assume that change
will pass them by or that they can be sheltered from it for very
long. They cannot assume that they will "be taken care of" or
that someone else will make all the adjustments for them.
Employees have to take charge of their own lives and careers and
make the effort to control the ways workplace change affects
them.
* Stay informed. Employees must try to learn in advance about the
kinds of changes coming to the workplace. They should get as
much information as possible about employment trends and new
skill requirements and the impact these changes will have on
them.
* Clarify their motivations and expectations. Employees may
choose to participate in career development programs for a
number of reasons: employment security, increased wages,
increased employability, and/or self-fulfillment. The best
programs can support diverse motivations and expectations. They
enable employees to more successfully pursue rewarding careers
and develop confidence and self-esteem by helping participants
recognize the value of their capabilities. To take full
advantage of the opportunity, each employee has to answer for
him or herself, "what's in it for me?"
* Engage in career planning. Employees need to assess their skill
levels, aptitudes, and interests to see where the most likely
job matches are for them and what training they need to qualify
for new jobs. They need to select realistic career and
associated personal development goals and make sound, achievable
plans to pursue them. Their plans should account for any
personal life style changes that switching careers or going back
to school for training will require.
* Do it! Employees have to seek and take advantage of the
opportunities change offers. They need to select the schools,
on-the-job-training, or other instructional options that will
provide needed skills, and then follow through on their plans
for training and skill upgrading. This may mean a long-term
commitment to obtaining an academic degree, or a program with a
number of shorter steps leading to special certifications or
passing employers' testing or other selection standards.
* Never stop. Employees must continuously revisit, update, and
supplement their training plans and programs. Workplace change
never stops. As soon as an employee has qualified for a changed
job by learning new skills, new technology or business
conditions will begin changing the job again. Employees will
have to adjust to on-going change with on-going self-assessment
and on-going career planning and training.
************************************************************
* > "I felt that having the opportunity to take this *
* training made me feel that [the company] was really *
* making an investment in me as an employee. I would *
* have to say that my motivation as an employee *
* increased as a result of having the opportunity to *
* participate in this training." *
* *
* > "The training helped me understand the big picture. *
* I now have a better understanding by taking this *
* course of what others do and where I fit into the *
* company." *
* *
* > "The training really helped me improve my self-esteem *
* and feelings of self worth. It helped to improve my *
* attitiudes toward my job, the customers I serve, and *
* the individuals with whom I work." *
* *
* - Comments from participants in workplace-based *
* training programs planned jointly by management *
* and workers, Alliance for Employee Growth *
* and Development *
************************************************************
How To Begin
The "high road" to competitiveness is a long-term strategy with
employers and employees serving as partners. Three simple steps can
help employers and employees start the journey down this road:
* Work together. Management and workers must collaborate in
establishing and operating workplace-based career development
programs if they are to be successful. Cooperative procedures
are more effective than top-down ones in getting employees into
training programs and achieving results. Employees are more
likely to "buy in" to programs that they help plan and run
because they have some ownership in them. In fact, employee
input into design improves the programs by drawing on the front
line experiences of the people who are actually doing the work,
and who are likely to have insights that won't occur to
management or consultants.
If the workforce is represented by a union, it is essential to
involve the union, from the very beginning, in discussing or
planning programs for training employees to meet job skill
standards. Unions can be very powerful allies and resources.
They are very interested in enhancing the employability of their
members and have a big stake in upgrading their members' skills.
Joint union/management committees dealing with career
development and training issues can make a very positive
contribution to workplace-based training. Even if the workplace
is not unionized, joint worker/management committees can still
be formed to deal with training issues.
* Assess the current situation. Employers and employees should
start by carefully analyzing the status of the career
development program in their company. What supports, barriers,
incentives, and disincentives are there for employees to enhance
their skills? It is one thing to say people are a strategic
asset, it is quite another to act on that belief through company
(and union) policies and practices.
The changes in employer-employee relations associated with an
effective career development program strike at the heart of
traditional management practices. Successful change requires
visionary leadership in both management and labor. Both groups
should visualize their ideal career development program, and
what it would take to establish such a program in their company.
The ability of management and labor to work through the
assessment together should provide a pretty good gauge of how
much work will be required to establish a career development
program.
* Seek outside help. Many of the tactics and techniques in
successful career development programs are best observed in
large companies with resources for long-term investment.
However, there are alternative resources that can help small and
mid-sized employers set up and operate workplace-based career
development programs. Some important resources are:
--> Local community colleges. Practically all community
colleges have business and industry divisions or similar
units which have been set up to provide technical assistance
in assessing business skill needs, designing and offering
responsive training programs, and counseling employees on
their personal career plans. These divisions have staff
with expertise in analyzing companies' skill training needs
and in assessing individual employees' aptitudes, interests,
and skill levels using professionally-recognized testing and
assessment instruments. They can also help design customized
curricula and arrange for training courses to be delivered
at the employer's worksite.
--> Trade associations. Many trade associations are engaged in
projecting the future of their industries and analyzing
future skill needs. The American Electronics Association,
for example, has published some very useful analyses and
classifications of skills in its industry. Other trade
associations have done or are doing similar work. This
information can be extremely helpful in identifying and
classifying business skill needs.
--> Government agencies. The federal, and many state and local
governments, actively support workforce development as a
foundation for economic prosperity. The U.S. Department of
Labor has funded pilot programs in states and communities to
implement labor market information systems and one-stop
career centers. Workplace literacy grants funded by the
U.S. Department of Education have enabled many companies to
set up the basic infrastructure for a career development
program.
--> National Skill Standards Board. A National Skills Standards
Board (NSSB) has been established to coordinate projects,
funded by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education, that
are classifying skills and developing national skill
standards for American industries. NSSB can provide
information to help both employers and employees plan skill
development programs.
--> Other non-profit organizations. There are a variety of
other non-profit organizations that can serve as valuable
resources for employers and employees creating career
development programs. Commun-ity colleges, manufacturing
extension centers and programs, literacy volunteers, and
others supporting workforce and workplace development can
serve as important resources.
************************************************************
* "...all stakeholders have garnered positive outcomes. *
* As a result of the program, workers have gained *
* increased levels of self-esteem, higher productivity, *
* and more opportunities for advancement. Businesses have *
* gained a competitive edge through better communication *
* with their workforce, increased on-line production, and *
* decreased turnaround time. Through the program, the *
* Union has gained more active members and provided better *
* working conditions for their rank and file members." *
* *
* - Margaret Boyter-Escalano, Director, Worker *
* Education Program *
************************************************************
Further information and assistance on the issues presented in this
brief can be obtained from:
Resource Guide, National Workforce Assistance Collaborative - a
listing of national and state membership organizations and program
offices supporting workplace and workforce initiatives in employee
training, labor-management relations, work restructuring, and
workplace literacy.
Learning a Living: A Blueprint for High Performance, U.S. Department
of Labor, Secretary's Commission for Achieving Necessary Skills - a
discussion of workforce educational and skill needs, proposed skill
classifications, and employer-employee-educator roles in reskilling
the American workforce.
Skill Standards Executive Kit, National Alliance of Business - a
packaged set of materials providing information on skill standards.
Setting the Standard: A Handbook on Skill Standards for the High-
Tech Industry, American Electronics Association - a good example of
the classifications of one industry's jobs into job categories and
the breakdown of skill needs and performance standards within jobs.
New Directions in Career Planning in the Workplace: Practical
Strategies for Counselors, Jean M. Kummerow, ed., Consulting
Psychologists' Press, Inc., Palo Alto, CA - how-to advice for making
career counseling effective in the workplace.
Exploring Learning Options: A Workbook for Adults Returning to
School, distributed by Alliance Plus, Somerset, New Jersey -
practical advice for adults entering training programs or going back
to school.
Employee Training Interview Guide: Judging the Quality and
Effectiveness of Training Providers, National Workforce Assistance
Collaborative - questions to ask, and answers to look for, when
interviewing a training provider.
- Roy Hovey, The Alliance for Employee Growth and Development, 1995
************************************************************
* The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) *
* is one example from the many quality non-profit *
* organizations available to help small and mid-sized *
* companies. CAEL's mission is to "expand lifelong *
* learning opportunities for adults. Through collaboration *
* with educational institutions, industry, government, and *
* labor, CAEL promotes learning as a tool to empower *
* people and organizations." It does this by: *
* *
* > Helping companies to identify their human resource *
* needs and determine the effectiveness of current *
* employee education and training programs. *
* *
* > Advising employers how to build a more comprehensive *
* and integrated education and training system to *
* address the skill gaps of their workforce. *
* *
* > Creating a network of local education providers to *
* deliver services, beyond the company's own training *
* programs, to employees. *
* *
* > Acting as a "neutral broker" linking the learning *
* needs and interests of employees, their employers' *
* needs for skills and knowledge, and the capacity of *
* educational providers. *
* *
* > Working with each employer to develop a plan *
* introducing the program to the workforce. *
* *
* > Helping individuals within the education provider *
* network to advise and build employees' confidence in *
* their own ability to learn. *
* *
* > Providing management and oversight responsibility to *
* the program, where desired. *
************************************************************
The National Workforce Assistance Collaborative builds the
capacity of the service providers working with small and mid-sized
companies in order to help businesses adopt high-performance work
practices, become more competitive, and ultimately advance the well-
being of their employees. The Collaborative was created with a
$650,000 cooperative agreement grant from the Department of Labor to
the National Alliance of Business. Current partners on the project
include the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, the
Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy at Pennsylvania State
University, the Maryland Center for Quality and Productivity, and
the National Labor-Management Association. The Collaborative
provides assistance in four areas: employee training, labor-
management relations, work restructuring, and workplace literacy.
For more information on the Collaborative, contact Cathy Stewart at
the National Alliance of Business, phone: 202/289-2915, fax:
202/289-1303, e-mail: NWAC@NAB.COM.
Bundles of 25 copies of this brief are available for $7.75
(includes postage and handling) by contacting the National Alliance
of Business, Distribution, P.O. Box 501, Annapolis Junction, MD
20701, phone: 1-800-787-7788, fax: 301/206-9789, e-mail:
INFO@NAB.COM. This brief can be downloaded from the Collaborative's
world wide web home page (http://www.psu.edu/institutes/nwac). R6029
.