Review: A Straight-forward, Affordable Approach to Work Readiness Training

There has been a lot of activity on my blog recently from search terms indicating a need for a work readiness training program. While different programs and recommendations can be found in past entries, I thought I would write a quick summary of an easy to implement, but very effective work readiness training program that can used by any business. Of course, since this is my blog, I will be recommending my tools. However, if you feel comfortable implementing all the steps below, all you need to do is buy a copy of my book. This is not a program where I am recommending using my consulting services where my I have made significantly more money from very satisfied clients. That of course is an option for you as well.

KEY COMPONENTS:

Training approach: demonstrated competencies

It is not enough to teach employees and have them pass assessment and/or certification tests. They need to demonstrate what they learn in the workplace.

Training manual: “How to Get, Keep and Be Well Paid on the Job” (http://www.outskirtspress.com/Goldberg)

This book should be purchased by supervisors (or the training department). The first chapter does not pertain to training existing employees, however, all the other chapters do. The supervisor (or training department) should read each chapter to help him/her teach the information in that chapter to his/her employees. Each training session should be for one chapter in the book. The book uses examples outside the workplace to help illustrate key points. It also explains why specific behavior and skills are valued in the workplace, which is the key in getting employees to actually buy into modifying their behavior.

Employee accountability: After training is completed, hold employees accountable for demonstrating what they learned every day at work.

First, have all employees initial that they attended a training session and understood the material that was covered. Next, write competency statements on the behaviors and skills covered in each chapter. The competency statements need to be in the format of: demonstrate a behavior or skill in a specific and measureable way as evidenced by a specific person/report/etc . For example:

The employee will have zero unexcused tardiness as evidenced by never being late to work, never extending breaks, always taking only the allotted time for lunch, and never leaving early, as evidenced by supervisor observation (could be as evidenced by time clock reports, etc.).

You could also add: unless prior arrangements were made with the employee's supervisor and/or unless there is an emergency situation out of the employee's control.

Another example is:

The employee will demonstrate that he/she is a positive influence in the workplace by being pleasant, courteous, and respectful to all of his/her co-workers at all times, and never starting or engaging in gossip about a co-worker as evidenced by supervisor observation.

Note – supervisors need to document all incidences where he/she observes that an employee is not meeting this competency statement.

A third example is:

The Customer Service Phone Representative will demonstrate that he/she is ready and available to receive calls by having a "plugged into the system" percent of 90% or higher during non-scheduled-break and non-lunch times as demonstrated by a score of 90% or higher for percent of time plugged into the system during non-lunch and non-scheduled-break times on the Daily Representative Summary Report generated by the ACD System.

If you need help developing meaningful competency statements, contact me at JayGoldberg@DTRConsulting.BIZ. Please be aware that I am a business consultant and there will be a fee for writing competency statements.

Employee performance review: Make meeting the competency statements a part of every employees formal performance review process.

Tie all employees’ annual raises to meeting their demonstrated competencies, which should be part of all employees formal annual review process. This formal process (from training to review) can also be used to help support fired employees who legally challenge their terminations.

Good luck with your work readiness training.

Job Talk with Jill and Jay, Part Radio Talk Show, Part On-line Training

Hello. For those of you have been following my blog entries, which started in June of 2008, you can hear the voice behind the writer by clicking on the Blog Talk Radio Player in the right hand column of this page.

My entries here have ranged from:

• Advice for the job seeker, the employee looking to grow in his or her job, and current or future managers;
  
• to my views regarding the proper way to teach work readiness skills, the future of training, and the effectiveness of different training methods;
  
• to some (hopefully not too much) self-promotion for my book How to Get, Keep and Be Well Paid in a Job and my consulting business, DTR Inc.;
  
• to much more.

The online radio show, in which I team up with fellow Outskirts Press author Jill DeSena-Shook (Just Tell Me How to Get Hired!) follows a similar format. We give advice. We provide exercises listeners can perform at home to improve their skills. We talk about our views, philosophies and experiences. We do a little promotion for ourselves and our books. We answer questions from our audience. And hopefully we entertain while we do all this.

For example, in our pilot episode I discuss the difference between normal conversation and active listening. I also provide exercises that people can do at home to develop or improve their active listening skills, a skill that will make them a more valuable employee, and a skill that will help them immensely during an interview. On the same show Jill talks about the accountability ladder, and how interviewers view perspective employees based on where they place them on the ladder, which is valuable information for anyone looking for a job.

In Episode 1, I talk about ethics, while Jill discusses the pluses and minuses of using a recruiter in your job search.

Episode 2 is scheduled for Super Bowl Sunday, February 7th at 9:00 AM EST. This is the first show where we will answer questions from our listeners so go to the show’s web site to submit a question (www.jobtalkwithjillandjay.com) or join the show live at (www.blogtalkradio.com/jobtalk) and call in. Our topics for this show are deep thinking versus surface thinking, and what you’re appearance reveals about you. Please note that all shows are around 30 minutes. We now set the timer for the show at 45 minutes in case we are in a good discussion and want to run over a bit.

Jay Goldberg's Ten Rules for Supervisors to Ensure a Harmonious and Successful Workplace

When you read books on management you find that there are different, often conflicting management philosophies.

While this can be confusing, one of the keys to being an effective manager is to have an approach and philosophy that you believe in and follow so your staff knows what to expect, how to behave, and how to succeed in the workplace. The worst thing a manager can be is inconsistent. Workers get frustrated if the rules change or of they believe that they are being treated unfairly as compared to their co-workers.

I will go one step further and suggest that every business needs to establish a management philosophy that it expects all its supervisors and managers to follow. This eliminates the inconsistencies not only by one manager, but across the entire business.

What follows is my copyrighted take on the ideal management philosophy for a business. These rules can be used as is, modified, expanded, or contracted as you see fit.

Jay Goldberg's Ten Rules for Supervisors to Ensure a Harmonious and Successful Workplace

1. Ensure that there are common goals between management and staff. One way to accomplish this is by defining desired outcomes for the unit/business and measuring the unit's or business' success towards accomplishing those outcomes on a regular basis.
   
   
2. Explain why. Many supervisors just tell their staff what to do. However, informing them why tasks are done a particular way, or why certain behaviors are required goes a long way towards eliminating worker/supervisor friction, ensuring that the tasks and behaviors are actually done correctly, and that improvements in the workplace occur through suggestions from workers who are performing those tasks on a regular basis.
   
   
3. Be results oriented. Many workplaces value time over results. However, unless a job function is time-based (e.g. customer service phone representative), reward the results of someone's work more than their face time on the job. A worker who works a normal work day but produces high quality output and new ideas is more valuable than the worker who spends more hours at work but produces lower quality work and has fewer new ideas.
   
   
4. Promote balance. Many workplaces want their employee's top priority to be their job; over family, over enjoying life, and maybe even over life itself. In my opinion this leads to employee burn-out and many employees eventually working on “auto-pilot”. The best employees are employees who have a balanced life. Whether they balance work with family, playing softball, donating their time to a not for profit, or going to the movies is irrelevant. When an employee has balance and works for a business that promotes balance, when that business needs him/her to go through a period of time where work comes first, they will do it and be effective.
   
   
5. Demand the best. Don't accept workers being just okay. Remind them that they weren't hired to do a so-so job. They were hired and are being paid to do a good job.
   
   
6. Hold workers accountable. Your workers are adults so treat them as adults. Don't act like an enabling parent. Don't accept excuses, don't allow them to slide through, don't allow them to point fingers. You'd be surprised how holding workers accountable results in good workers performing at their best and feeling fulfilled at work; and bad workers (probably performing a lot worse than you realize) quitting or starting to look for work elsewhere.
   
   
7. Reward properly. This means both rewarding the right people and rewarding them appropriately (no big reward for a small accomplish). This includes verbal praise as well as tangible rewards such as raises and bonuses. Nothing disrupts the smooth operation and effectiveness of a workplace more than the wrong workers getting the recognition and rewards. Therefore, you need to be aware not only of the actual performance of your staff, but their perceptions of who are the best workers. Then you need to take steps to ensure that their perceptions coincide with your employees' actual performance by communicating what you value.
   
   
8. Encourage creativity. Not everyone is creative. Therefore, creativity needs to be part of “going above and beyond” not part of the expected work product unless a person's job is a creative position (e.g. writing advertising copy). That means that creative employees may not be creative on the job since it isn't part of their standard job functions. So encourage creativity by always responding positively to creative suggestions (unless they are clearly ridiculous) and reward useful creativity with excellent rewards.
   
   
9. Provide ongoing feedback. Don't leave your employees waiting for their annual review to know how well they are performing on the job. Also, don't wait for them to ask how they are doing. Provide ongoing feedback; positive feedback to your top employees (but also include areas where they can improve) and constructive feedback for others (don't just let them know they need to improve, but give them steps to take to help them improve their performances). Also let your employees know that they really need to worry when they are receiving no feedback from you. For the under-performing employee, lack of feedback on their performance means you do not think that employee can improve, so you aren't wasting your time talking to him/her about his/her job performance. This is also a good way to send a message to employees you would like to look for work elsewhere.
   
   
10. Build an effective team. All managers obviously promote teamwork. However, there are some who build teams of workers who all have skills and knowledge that overlap their own, but at a lower level. Other managers build teams with workers with skills and knowledge that compliment their skills and knowledge. You would be surprised how many take the first approach since they either are intimidated by employees that know more than them in a specific area, or they do not have confidence that they can make good management decisions on topics that they are not knowledgeable on. However, that is not the way to build an effective team. Build your team with employees that have skills and knowledge that you do not possess, and have confidence in your ability to think logically and make solid management decisions.

Managers and supervisors, senior or junior, check out the book How to Get, Keep and Be Well Paid in a Job (click here). This book will help you manage your workplace. It is a work readiness rulebook that not only teaches what needs to be done, but why specific behaviors and skills are required in the workplace and provides examples outside the workplace to help you illustrate key points to your staff.

IF COMPANY TRAINING BUDGETS CUTS ARE HERE TO STAY, WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE TRAINING SOLUTIONS IN THE (NEAR) FUTURE?

Being a professional who develops highly-regarded training programs, teaches training courses and develops trainers, I hate to admit that the forced cutbacks in training budgets due to the poor economy appear here to stay; even well beyond any economic recovery. And the cutbacks are at all levels: individuals, small businesses, large corporations, and even funding for Economic Development Centers and other Not for Profit Business Resource Centers. This does not, however, eliminate the often severe need for training. In fact, the lack of training initiatives and programs in businesses is helping to fuel the economic downtrend. Remember, the strategic goal for training is to increase revenues and reduce costs through improved employee productivity, improved service, increased sales, less employee turnover, better management, and much much more.

So how could the training landscape look down the road? Who will be the first to take the steps needed to put this valuable resource back in play? And, most importantly, who will pay for the training?

Let me start with the first question. I believe there is a two-fold answer to how the training landscape will look down the road. First, training will be provided as a value-added service by business-to-business providers as a means of maintaining and growing market share. Here business-to-business providers will pay for the costs of the training and its customers will appreciate getting this “free” service knowing both its importance and value. The business-to-business provider has economies-of-scale in regards to the training costs since their training “class” will allow for a single training venue to be used across its full customer base. If its customers like this service they will not leave the company for another that is selling the same service a little cheaper. In addition, this value added service will be a tremendous advantage when looking for new clients.

Now, what happens if eventually all of a business-to-business provider’s competitors offer free training? Well, if that company’s CEO believes in himself/herself and his/her company, the training service offered allows for that business-to-business provider to compete for new business aggressively without having to be the “cheapest on the block”. While many, if not all, of its traditional products and services may have little differential with its competitors outside of product/service cost or product/service return, as those of you who read my blogs regularly know, there are effective and ineffective training methodologies as well as effective and ineffective trainers. There will be a difference in the training product offered by each business-to-business provider, thus a way to separate from competitors other than by cutting fees.

The second trend I see is that supervisors will have to take on a greater role in training their employees. While they usually do this now for the tasks and procedures specific to completing work product for the company for which they are employed; they do not train or train but are really not equipped to train on the basics (e.g. work readiness, customer service skills, generic sales skills, ethics, supervisor/management skills, strategic planning, budgeting, etc.).

Here, I believe, training organizations and professionals will evolve from costly full service providers to more of a mentorship relationship. The training professionals will provide training materials, coaching for the supervisor, possibly monitoring of the training process, and be available to answer supervisors' questions. Like the business-to-business providers, this individual will not be an employee of the business for whom he/she is providing the service, but will be a consultant working with multiple clients to keep the cost per client reasonably low. The primary income stream for the Training Mentor will be selling or licensing the training materials (one time expense for the client) which will include an implementation plan (or lesson plans) for the supervisor to follow at work. The coaching of the trainer beyond the initial delivery of the training materials, the monitoring of the training process, and the ongoing customer service function will all be optional.

I know what some of you are thinking. There are already training DVDs, web sites, etc. with training materials that supervisors can use. However, please remember “DTR Inc’s Hierarchy of Training”. The less self-motivated the participant, the more “live” the training has to be to be effective, especially in areas where changing and shaping attitudes is as important as the knowledge being taught. DVDs and pre-recorded web-based training only works well for individuals who strongly want to learn the material they are viewing.

While I answered two-thirds of the questions I posed at the beginning of this blog, I still have to answer who will be the first to take the steps needed to employ this upcoming change to the training landscape. While I cannot pinpoint the specific business-to-business providers; or the forward-thinking companies that will embrace a reshaping of its limited training budget away from ineffective training methodologies to the “training mentorship” approach I have outlined here; I can state that I have re-tooled DTR Inc. and am set up to be the training expert/resource for those business-to business providers and companies to utilize.

I have developed a training lecture series that I see working for banks to provide a competitive advantage via this value-added service that will maintain and grow their business clients. The lecture series can also be used by other business-to-business providers. Here is a link to my new service: http://www.dtrconsulting.biz/dtrbank.htm. In my local market I will perform the lectures. In other markets I will train and manage a local training professional(s) to give the lectures (must be an effective speaker, very knowledgeable about the topic, and able to competently answer questions).

For “Training Mentorship”, I have developed a program I call Custom Scenario Workplace Training. To find out more about this service, go to: http://www.dtrconsulting.biz/dtrscenario.htm.

Finally, to help supervisors teach work readiness skills, customer service skills, ethics and more, I wrote a book, How to Get, Keep and Be Well Paid in a Job. The book received a five-star review from the Midwest Book Review. An inexpensive, informal training program can be used centered on the book. Use the book in a read and discuss format (employees read a chapter and then have a group discussion on the chapter read with their supervisor). After the read and discuss, when everyone understands the concepts, start holding the employees accountable for demonstrating what they learned on the job. I would include that learned skill/behavior as part of the employee appraisal process. For more information regarding the book, go to http://outskirtspress.com/webpage.php?ISBN=9781432725297.

These are my initial offerings, I will be developing more. I am also open to the idea/needs of specific businesses/industries. Send me an email if you have a need: JayGoldberg@DTRConsulting.BIZ (in the subject line please write “October Blog” to ensure your email is not sent to the junk mail folder).

I can also be contacted at 561-842-9942 (voicemail account only, leave a message and I will return your call).

Thank you and see you in my next blog.

ETHICS IN THE WORKPLACE

I recently published a series of three blog entries for Jobing.com. The entries went over very well and were featured in the Jobing.com newsletters for both employers and job seekers so I’m going to share the “meat” of those blogs here.

Before summarizing the information below I want to point out that the ethics example used comes from my book, How to Get, Keep and Be Well Paid in a Job, a work readiness rulebook that received a five-star review from the Midwest Book Review, an entity libraries rely on when ordering books for their collections. In addition, I am now offering a new service for businesses that I will run through my account at wisdompan.com. Every month I will present a fictional workplace case study. Companies will sign up for an account where they will get a private company message board where their employees will comment anonymously on the fictional case study. Towards the end of the month I will comment on their comments (on the board), present the answer, and provide key learning points. At the conclusion of the month a competency statement will be provided to the company based on the lesson learned for the month. From that point forward the employees will be held accountable for demonstrating that competency at work, and their performance of that competency becomes part of their job appraisal process.

The new service is not up yet on wisdompan.com, however, I will only be accepting 15 businesses for this service. Please contact me (jaygoldberg@dtrconsulting.biz or leave a message on 561-842-9942; in email or or phone message indicate "your employer work readiness program" to ensure your message gets the attention it deserves) if you might be interested and I will place you on my list of potential clients. I will contact businesses in the order I receive their potential interest to explain the service/process in more detail and to fill up the 15 slots.

PART I – Ethics fictional case study

Situation: A bank has a strict policy that all tellers must have at minimum a high school diploma or a GED. There are no exceptions. In fact, a good friend of yours who was an excellent teller for another bank, just lost his job because of the downturn in the economy, and was turned down by the bank you work for because he did not have his GED or high school diploma. Your friend was told that every teller in the bank has at minimum a GED or high school diploma, and that the bank even uses that fact when soliciting new accounts. Today the teller who sits next to you, someone who is not your friend, not even someone you go to lunch with, turns to you and says, "I can't wait. Next month I am finally getting my GED."

Question: What would you do, if anything, after finding out that the teller sitting next to you did not have either a GED or high school diploma?

PART II –Commenting on the Comments

First, in addition to being the author of the book, How to Get, Keep and Be Well Paid in a Job, which is a work readiness guide; I also developed a work readiness certification training program that was called the best in the Country by a member of the National Skills Standard Board in January of 2003. I mention that fact because during the initial rollout of that program I trained the teachers. While instructing them on how to teach ethics, I used a scenario similar to the one presented here. I did so because I knew the situation would result in a diversity of answers regarding the correct action for the employee to take, with people digging in deeply to their point of views. However, during all that discussion no one came up with the answer presented by Roosevelt Williams, and I found his response very well thought out. It is both intelligent and cautious. Bringing up the specific situation to his supervisor to help clarify a company policy was brilliant. Management is now aware of a potentially damaging fact, and Mr. Williams was able to bring it to the attention of his supervisor in way where he was finding out about company policies, not directly "talking about" a co-worker.

Both Monica Diaz Veliz and Jan Teegardin made statements that were true. Businesses often do hire employees below the stated requirements for a job and give the new employees time to accumulate the credentials they lack. While that could be true in other scenarios, I tried to close that door here when I wrote "that there are no exceptions". But more important is that I mention that the bank uses the fact that all tellers have at least a high school diploma or GED to solicit new accounts. If customers found that statement to be untrue, they could become uneasy with the bank. Even if they do not care whether the tellers have a high school diploma or GED, they may question the truth when the bank informs them that its checking account has no fees. After all if all tellers really means almost all tellers, does no fees really mean almost no fees? Losing the trust of customers can lead to customers leaving and to negative word of mouth on the street about that business.

Adrienne Ishmael's answer shows she is an honest, compassionate person. In my experience, I have found that the majority of people respond to this situation in a similar fashion to Ms. Ishmail. Ms. Ismail indicated that she would be reluctant to do anything because she wouldn't want to be responsible for setting the wheels in motion that could eventually get her co-worker fired. However, she was also very insightful in her answer pointing out that it is possible her co-worker lied to get the job. In addition to Ms. Ishmael's reason for not taking any action, I have heard responses from people who would not do anything ranging from, "It's not my job to correct a mistake made by Human Resources", to "I'm not a rat, I'm no squealer", to "If I keep my mouth shut no one will ever know that I'm aware of that fact" to more. I hope after reading my next blog everyone will realize that deciding not to do anything in a given situation is something that has to be thought through. Not acting on a something does not ensure that there are no consequences for that inaction.

Finally, Mirna Musharbash took a point of view I respect and have valued in my employees, but may have gone as the band Madness would say, "One Step Beyond". I like when employees look at situations through the eyes of a supervisor. It means that they care about the business, take their jobs seriously and want the business to succeed. So I applaud Mirna Musharbash for taking that approach. However, there is a fine line between looking through the eyes of your supervisor and taking it upon yourself to make decisions that should really be made by your supervisor. In this case Mirna was basing the decision to bring this fact to the attention of management on how well that person performed in his/her job. First, Mirna is not in the position to evaluate a co-workers' job performance, because I know Mirna is busy working and therefore, not in a position to observe all work completed by any co-worker. Second is that reviewing the overall job performance of Mirna's co-workers is the responsibility of Mirna's supervisor, not Mirna. Furthermore, even if Mirna was correct in the assessment of the co-worker's job performance that may not be the key factor in management's view of the situation. As mentioned previously, the fact that the employee lied on his/her job application and the fact that the bank is marketing that all tellers have high school diplomas or GEDs to its customers and could lose business if customers found out that that was untrue, could be the chief concerns of management in this situation, not job performance.

PART III- My Final Remarks

In my prior two blog entries on this topic I first presented a workplace scenario, requesting comments from readers; and then wrote a blog commenting on my readers’ insightful comments. In this wrap-up blog I will give my view on ethics and my answer to the workplace scenario. To not re-invent (or in this case, re-write) the wheel, I will use some quotes from my copyrighted book, How to Get, Keep and Be Well Paid in Job.

“A behavior is either ethical (right) or unethical (wrong). There is absolutely no gray area. Being ethical means doing the right thing. What determines if something is ethical or unethical is the behavior itself, not the circumstances surrounding the action taken, not the relationship between the people involved, not an individual’s culture, not a person’s value system, not life’s experiences, etc., etc., etc.”

That said, acting unethically does not mean you are a bad person. For example, speeding is against the law, thus unethical. However, driving 10 miles an hour over the speed limit doesn’t make you a bad person.

“The key to understanding ethics is to be able to define if an act is ethical or unethical. Once you have identified the ethical behavior, then you decide what to do. In other words, to either do the ethical behavior or do the unethical behavior. This is where circumstances, relationships, culture, values, life’s experiences, etc., etc., etc. come into play. You decide in each situation if you are going to act ethically or unethically.

There will be times in life that you feel strongly that choosing the unethical behavior is the right choice for you. However, you must be aware that if you choose to do the unethical behavior there can be severe consequences. Therefore, if you choose to act unethically, know what those consequences could be (obvious and hidden), and be prepared to accept those consequences for making the decision to act unethically.”

In the case of the unethical act of driving 10 miles over the speed limit, for example, you have to be prepared to possibly: get a speeding ticket and see your insurance rates increase; to be at minimum partially liable for any car accident; and may have given cause for a police office to search your vehicle.

Now on to the scenario from this blog:

The ethics of the situation is clear. The bank teller obviously lied during the job interview process and on his/her application which is unethical. So, what would I do?

I would first inform the bank teller that I am very annoyed that he/she told me that they are breaking bank rules and that by telling me of that fact he/she has placed me in a difficult spot; a spot I would rather not have been in, and a spot I am only in because of his/her action. I would next remind the bank teller of the fact that we promote to all potential new customers (and existing customers) that all our tellers have at least a GED or high school diploma. Next, I would tell the bank teller that I will give him/her two days to inform our supervisor of this fact, or that I will have no choice but to tell our supervisor myself.

I know what many of you are thinking. What a rat, especially since by just keeping your mouth shut nothing would happen to you, Jay. Well, let me play this scenario out.

Let’s say that my supervisor finds out that the bank teller did not have his/her high school diploma or GED when he/she was hired. Maybe the bank teller celebrates when he/she finally gets his/her GED, or maybe someone sends him/her congratulatory flowers. When the bank teller is called onto the carpet by his/her supervisor, the bank teller comments that he/she didn’t think it was a big deal and that he/she mentioned it to Jay and Jay did not think it was a big deal either. That statement by the bank teller just brought me into this mess.

As a result of the lie on the application the bank teller gets fired (this is usually a policy; companies can’t start looking into the degree of each lie on a job application). Nothing happens to me. I keep my job and, in fact, have no idea that my name was brought up in the meeting between my now fired ex-coworker and my supervisor. However, my supervisor now feels that my priorities are wrong. I do not have the best interests of the bank in mind. I knew the bank was informing potential customers that every teller had a least a GED or high school diploma, knew that was untrue, and keep my mouth shut. If I thought I would be admired for not “tattling” on a coworker who was untruthful on his/her application, I might be by some misguided coworkers; but I won’t be by people of influence in the company.

A year later there is a promotion opportunity in the bank. I believe I am perfect for the job. I don’t get it. The same thing happens nine months later, then fifteen months after that. Unfair I think. However, it all goes back to me deciding to act unethically. It is the fact that management in the bank does not believe they can count on me to do the right thing for the bank that is preventing me from advancing in the company. And by this time I have totally forgotten that offhand comment by my ex-coworker; and never got a chance to explain my side of things, although I doubt that that would have made a difference anyway.

There are often hidden consequences to unethical acts. People who say “Why doesn’t anything ever work out for me?” or “I constantly have bad luck” may just be living the hidden consequences of prior unethical acts. Here, I would not be willing to risk my advancement in the bank, possibly being stuck in the same relatively low-paying job for a long time, because a co-worker acted unethically (lying on a job application) and brought me into the mess; most likely on purpose to have an ally in case the situation went bad.

See you in my next post.

AN EFFECTIVE, INFORMAL APPROACH TO TRAINING

This blog contains four topics:

• Training’s place in your company’s strategic plan
• Selecting the proper training method
• An effective informal approach to training for budget-conscious businesses
• The effective informal approach applied to work readiness training

I. Training’s place in your company’s strategic plan

In the business community today, training is the new customer service. Back in the day (wow, I can’t believe I’m old enough to use that phrase without blinking), customer service was viewed as only a necessary expense. Then businesses started looking at providing superior customer service as a way to grow and maintain market share. In fact, when I was employed by Citibank in the 80’s, I developed a Bankcard Customer Service Profitability Model that quantified the additional revenues earned by providing superior service. During the research phase of the project I was also able to quantify the revenues earned thru the use of effective customer service to solve issues for customers who experienced problems.

Today, training is looked at by many as primarily employee development. However, when establishing and managing your company’s strategic plan (objectives, strategies, tactics, goals), training needs to be viewed as both a cost-cutting and profit-generating activity. Below is a simplified example for work readiness training:

Objective: reduce temp expenses
Strategy: lower employee absenteeism
Tactic: work readiness training
Tactic: hold employees accountable for their behaviors after training
Goal: reduce temp expenses by at least 20%
Goal: reduce employee absences by at least 30%

For more on this topic check out http://workreadiness.blogspot.com/2009/01/effective-training-results-in-lower.html.

So step one on the path to implementing a low-cost, informal training method in your workplace is to recognize the importance of not only training employees, but training employees effectively so that the training results in employee development and cost reduction/revenue generation.

II. Selecting the proper training method

When money is tight, training budgets are often one of the first line items cut (or eliminated). This sends managers looking for viable, less-expensive training methods. Taped media such as DVDs, online material (e-learning site, taped webinars, etc.), books with CDs, et al., are often substituted for live training events. Below is a list of training venues. The key to the list below is that the further down the list you get; the more self-motivated the participant must be for that training method to be effective. During live events the instructor has the responsibility for ensuring that the material is understood and good instructors also help motivate participants. When I teach/train, I can look in the participants’ faces and immediately know if they are lost, or if they at least think that they understand the concept being taught.

• Live Training Program
• Live Training Course
• Live Informal (Workplace)
• Live Webinar
• Pre-recorded Material

In addition to needing a highly-motivated participant; pre-recorded events automatically bring participants with a lower level of concentration to the table. When a person knows that he/she can replay or rewind the training media, that person comes in with a more relaxed attitude. However, very few replay any portion of the taped media (the exceptions are the highly motivated). On the other hand, during a live training event, if the participant misses something the instructor says, he/she cannot replay it. Therefore, participants come to the training event more alert.

Now, many believe that having tests after participants view pre-recorded training media is one way to “Hans and Franz (Saturday Night Live) it” (pump it up). However, if the goal of the training is to modify behaviors and change attitudes as well as teaching knowledge, tests are inaccurate measures of whether or not the behaviors/skills learned will actually be deployed in the workplace (http://workreadiness.blogspot.com/2008/07/there-is-right-way-and-wrong-way-to.html).

Also, this encourages note-taking. When taking notes, participants turn their attention away from the training media. And that is usually done during the most important parts of the lesson, when the lesson turns to explaining the why so the concept being taught sticks. After all, tests are about the facts so that is when the future test-taker pays attention, and notes are written lagged to that portion of the lecture.

III. An effective informal approach to training for budget-conscious businesses

Okay, thanks for reading the set-up portion of the blog. Now I will present a generic training approach that by now you would expect will contain at least some live element.

One of the keys to determining an effective approach is to understand the difference between assessment-based training (e.g. schools) and competency-based training (e.g. workplace training). I am a big proponent of competency-based training, especially for the workplace where the goal is not knowledge, but use of that knowledge on the job. However, to use demonstrated competencies, you must craft air-tight competency statements. If your competency statements are not pinned down precisely, then no one can rely on them. If you need help crafting competency statements or developing/implementing/running a training program, call my voicemail 561-842-9942 and leave a message or email JayGoldberg@DTRConsulting.BIZ and write “training blog” in the subject line to assure the email is not discarded as junk mail

Jay Goldberg’s 6-step approach for an effective informal training program

1. Define the outcomes for the training event (knowledge, skills, modified behavior, changed attitudes, etc.)
2. Determine approach (live, pre-recorded, mixed; participant motivation is a key)
3. How will the success of the training be measured (assessments or demonstrated competencies)
4. Specific tools to use (video, book, web site, etc.)
5. Tools implementation (training process)
6. Accountability of participants after the training is concluded

IV. The effective informal approach applied to work readiness training

1. Modify behaviors and change attitudes (therefore need to explain why and use examples outside the workplace that participants can relate to)
2. Participants are not highly motivated so must be at least some live element
3. Demonstrated competencies are required, not assessment testing
4. Use the book, “How to Get, Keep and Be Well Paid in a Job” (http://outskirtspress.com/webpage.php?ISBN=9781432725297); this book received a five star review from the Midwest Book Review; not only teaches the what and the how for workplaces but the why; and uses real life examples to help illustrate key points
5. Have the participants read a chapter and then hold a meeting to discuss that chapter; repeat for all chapters
6. Have a participant checklist to ensure everyone takes part in the discussion; have everyone acknowledge that they understand the material in that chapter; generate competency statements based on the material in the chapter being discussed; inform the participants that from that point forward they will be held accountable for demonstrating that competency (becomes part of the performance appraisal process)

If you are going to implement the above informal work readiness training, feel free to contact me (see above) if you need help. To purchase the book in quantities of 10 or more go to http://www.dtrconsulting.biz/dtrbook2.htm.

See you in my next post.

A Practical Gift for the Recent Grad

Unfortunately today, graduating from high school or college does not provide adequate insight, knowledge, or tools for a young adult to fit into and thrive in the workplace. Students learn reading. Students learn writing. Students learn arithmetic. Students may even take subjects specifically to help them in the workplace such as accounting or computer programming. However, students do not learn how and why workplaces operate as they do. This leads to employers all over the U.S. complaining about the lack of work readiness skills in their workers, especially workers new to the workforce.

I know what some of you are thinking. My school has a work readiness program. Well, to parrot a very smart man I knew who worked for the National Skills Standard Board and was knowledgeable of work readiness programs all over the U.S.; “many of the programs do more harm than good.” How am I aware of this quote? Because he said it right after stating that the work readiness program I developed was the best in the Country. The quote came during a presentation of my Program in Jacksonville, Florida on January, 14, 2003.

This leads to the practical gift for the recent grad. In April of 2008, my book, “How to Get, Keep and Be Well Paid in a Job”, was published by Outskirts Press. This book is a guide to succeeding in the workplace. Unlike the other work readiness books, this book is not written like a text book that simply “preaches” what workers should do at work. This book is written to both inform and entertain, and takes the time to explain why specific behaviors and skills are valued by employers, and uses real life examples to help illustrate key points. For example, the first chapter is titled, “The First Date” and compares dating to the interview process. There is also a chapter called, “What Are the Special Codes for This Game Called Work” that correlates advanced workplace skills to video games. In addition, the chapter on ethics analyzes music downloading before moving onto workplace issues. To find out more about the book, including the book’s table of contents, go to http://outskirtspress.com/webpage.php?ISBN=9781432725297.

I know writing a blog recommending a book I wrote is self-serving, however, I have spent a long time in the work readiness arena and strongly believe that my book will help both the reader/worker and the business community. And I’m not the only one. In July of 2008, the book received an excellent review from John Taylor of the Midwest Book Review, an entity that reviews books for libraries. The review concluded that my book is “is highly recommended to community library jobs and career collections.” To read the complete review, go to http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SFB/is_2008_July/ai_n27967713.

My last note: the book is currently being used in Programs that are teaching work readiness (ESOL, trade schools, youth at risk, etc.). If you would like to use the book in a Program, go to this web site for more information: http://www.dtrconsulting.biz/dtrbook2.htm.

Effective Training Results in Lower Costs and Additional Revenue, So During Tough Economic Times Why Are Companies Cutting Training Staff and Budgets?

To borrow a phrase from Ray Davies of the Kinks, in this "mixed up muddled up shook up world" it is not surprising to me when the government makes decisions that result in it shooting itself in the foot, but it always takes me aback when it happens in the Corporate World. After all, the primary goal of Government is not to make money. However, maximizing profits is exactly what the top priority is in business. Politicians get elected based on ideals. CEO's get hired to make stockholders rich.

So when the government looks at economic development solely as an expense, and ignores the revenue generated from that development, resulting in the economic development funds being cut during tough economic times (while funds to social programs remain in tact or even grow), I get discouraged, but not surprised. I mean, I shout at the television, radio, newspaper, or web site where I get that news, “don’t you idiots know that helping small businesses in their time of need succeed and grow results in more revenue for the government (taxes, licenses, filing fees, etc.), and more jobs, or higher paid jobs which reduces government expenses (unemployment, welfare, food stamps, etc.) while also increasing government revenues (taxes from welfare to work, additional taxes from higher paid employees, additional sales taxes due to increased purchases from the higher earnings – which then has a positive effective on the owners/employees of the businesses where the additional purchases are made, additional taxes from gasoline because more people are driving to work, etc.).”

However, the impact of cutting funds to effective economic development centers goes even further. If these small businesses fail, they will create the next generation of people in need of the social programs that are still being funded. Therefore, if small businesses keep failing, the cycle will never end. It’s politically sexy to help someone keep his or her home, or to set up a Rec Center to get kids off the street to help reduce crime. It’s not politically sexy to say you helped a struggling small business succeed which resulted in the owner not being in a situation where he/she could not pay the mortgage, that the business growth resulted in the hiring of a manager who can now afford his/her mortgage, and the business hired a couple young adults who if not working would have been hanging around the streets looking for a Rec Center to help keep them out of trouble. Therefore, I look at effective economic development as the ideal form of “preventive medicine”; stopping major problems while earning revenue.

While I think cutting off/tremendously reducing government funds for economic development, especially in economically tough times is poor policy, I just cannot understand this movement by businesses away from training. The situation reminds me about how corporations used to view service delivery.

Back in the early 1980’s when I was a junior officer at Citibank, a forward-looking Vice President named Mike Cole came to me, placed a book of studies undertaken by a company called TARP on my desk, told me to read a specific study and do something similar for the Bankcard Business. The study showed how good customer service resulted in additional profits for a business. Mr. Cole, being the Vice President of Bankcard Customer Service, knew we were a profit center for the bank, but was fighting the fairly universal perception throughout Corporate America that customer service was just a “necessary cost”. Therefore, customer service strategy was usually reduced to spend as little as you can to provide service at a level where the customers will stay with the business.

I analyzed that TARP study and determined it was a different model than the one we needed. Their model was for a business that did not have to have a help desk, and was set up to conclude yes or no on implementing one. Our customer service center was not optional, so the model I developed compared Citibank credit card usage patterns for customers receiving good customer service to customers receiving poor customer service. I then set about formulating an equation that encompassed all bank costs and revenues associated with credit card usage; collected and analyzed data to determine factors like, for credit card revolvers, what was the average time it took for a transaction to be paid and off the books; and surveyed customers. The results were eye-opening. Since, at that time, cardholders had multiple options for making purchases (multiple cards, cash, checks, etc.), when a cardholder was dissatisfied with Citibank’s service, on average, that cardholder reduced their usage of their Citibank credit card significantly. This was one of the first looks at service as a way to generate profits in Citibank. A few years later, the bank took on the corporate strategy of providing superior service to differentiate itself in the marketplace and grow market share.

Today, almost everyone agrees that superior customer service can grow market share, keep customers and, therefore, is a profit generator, not a just a “necessary cost”. So why isn’t training looked at the same way? Effective training reduces employee turnover (cost saving), reduces workplace errors (cost saving, revenue saving), results in more informed employees (more sales), results in more dependable and reliable employees (cost saving and revenue generating), results in a better team approach (cost savings, revenue generating, business growth), and much much more.

One reason may be that, like service was in the not to distance past, training is looked at just as an expense, not as a positive factor to a business’ bottom line. Another reason could be that companies do not develop a training strategic plan, so they just train employees on work procedures instead of having training goals, with strategies and tactics, aimed at reducing costs and increasing revenues. The third reason is just like economic development and customer service; there is no direct correlation between the actions taken and the increase on the bottom line (through reduced expenses or additional revenues). For example, if a business trains its managers to explain why a process or procedure change is being implemented, instead of just telling his/her employees what the changes are, the results would be:

• Lower employee turnover (cost savings)
• Happier in job resulting in better interactions with customers (more sales)
• A better understanding of the purpose for the change which results in fewer employee mistakes/errors (customer retention)

However, when the bottom line is looked at, the impact from these positive effects from management training cannot be quantified. So when the economy is tight, trainers and training budgets get cut, and the impact is far greater than the business owner/manager could have ever imagined.

In my opinion it’s time for training to take the step that service did back in the 1980’s. Service strategic plans were implemented. There were objectives, strategies, tactics and goals. For example:

• Objective: provide superior phone service
• Strategy: answer the phone in a timely manner
• Tactic: measure phone representatives speed in answering calls using the statistics on the ACD system
• Tactic: monitor call traffic in real time/full time to manage call traffic flow
• Tactic: manage phone representatives breaks, lunch times, system plug in time
• Tactic: survey customers to determine customer satisfaction
• Goal: 95% of the calls answered within three rings
• Goal: 95% of customers surveyed satisfied with time it took to get to speak to a phone representative

This same strategy can, and should be applied to training. Training needs to be linked to goals of keeping costs down (e.g. low employee turnover, minimize employee errors, etc.) and profits high (product knowledge to increase sales, management skills to keep good employees, etc.).

If you would like to contact me about developing a training strategic plan, developing effective training courses, or using some of my existing courses please call 561-842-9942 and leave a message, or email me at JayGoldberg@DTRConsulting.BIZ and write “training blog” in the subject line to ensure your email is not deleted as junk mail. Find out more about me at www.dtrconsulting.biz.

At a minimum, if your company has limited funds for training, purchase my book, “How to Get, Keep and Be Well Paid in a Job” (web site) and use it as a work readiness training guide for your business. You can also contact me to arrange for live webinar training in support of the book.

Catch you in my next blog, whether here or at Jobing.com.

A NEW, MORE EFFECTIVE PATH TO THE WORKPLACE IS NEEDED

When it comes to both the economy and workplace training, logic should rule, but it usually does not.

For example, when local, state and federal budgets get cut, one of the first things to go are dollars to economic development centers (EDCs). Helping small businesses isn't as sexy for politicians as providing money to individuals in need. But EDCs need government funding because the small businesses they serve are not in a position to pay market prices for the expertise offered at these valuable institutions.

Since effective EDCs (and if they are not effective they should not receive any funds, not even "feel good" funds) result in healthy, profitable businesses, EDCs are one of the few entities that receive funds from the government that actually make money for the government. Profitable businesses pay taxes. Profitable businesses hire employees, who pay taxes. Better yet, the majority of EDCs deal with businesses in economically challenged areas. This means that in addition to the government getting tax revenue from the workers, they are often moving someone from welfare to work, which also saves the government money. But does the government look at the big picture when it cuts funding to EDCs? Do the other recipients of government funds understand that by lobbying to get their agency funded over EDCs that less of them will be funded than if the EDC gets funded?

The answer to both questions is no. Economic development is usually the first area to go during budget crises. That is a shame. That is wrong. Effective EDCs are profit centers, not cost centers for local governments,

Even when there is money for EDCs after budget cuts, the criteria for the leftover scraps is political and relationship based, not profit based. Governments need to measure the revenues being generated by the work being done at EDCs; hold EDCs accountable for adding to the revenue base; and fund accordingly. This would change how the government does its business. EDCs would move away from "funding" and into their own category, "government investing". Governments would have a business relationship with EDCs, who would be expected to be a profit center, not a drain on taxpayer's funds.

What does this have to do with workplace training? Nothing directly. However, just like with economic development, where the long running business model doesn't work, and government must make changes to benefit itself; workplace training finds itself in a similar position.

The difference here is that corporations find themselves in the government role, and relying on education institutions, and using the education model to develop new employees is the long running business model that just does not work.

The goal of high schools and colleges are to educate, not create the perfect employee. The method used to assess the effectiveness of the education is to ensure a baseline of knowledge has been laid for the students, not that the students can utilize the knowledge in the real world. For example, I wasn't the only person to pass statistics who worked at Bankcard Customer Service at Citibank. Why did it take me to move the forecasting model from the unreliable "same as last year" plus a set percent, to a multiple regression analysis that correlated call volume to the season plus ongoing Citibank programs plus ongoing marketing campaigns plus economic trends. The forecasting model I developed allowed for "what if" logic, and was a better tool to ensure the Phone Center was properly staffed.

In addition, education is for the individual. Workplace training is primarily for the business community, and secondarily for the individual. That model doesn't work in schools, and is even tough for Job Centers where the goal is usually to help individuals as much as they can rather than to set a standard of workplace competency required to be an effective employee. If an individual doesn't meet the set standard, Job Center Staff doesn't (can't?) communicate to employers that that individual is not an ideal job candidate.

So relying on schools to get new employees ready for work is just plain silly. And even the schools (and the vast majority of programs) that teach work readiness use the education approach (assessment testing based) which is ineffective for soft skills workplace training. After all, businesses don't want someone who can answer a question about getting to work on time correctly on a test; they want an employee who will always get to work on time. The goal of soft skill workplace training, therefore, is to change attitudes and modify behaviors, not to just impart raw knowledge.

With the current model in place for workplace training is it any wonder that high turnover with its associated high cost is experienced by all businesses?

So, what do I recommend? I believe the time has come for "Workplace Universities", that are sponsored, in part, by the Corporate World, and in part by the participants. The main client is the business community; the secondary clients are the participants. I have the curriculum, I have the program structure, I have the benefits for the Corporate Sponsors (including first crack at the best graduates, i.e. the chance to add individuals who will become their best workers), I have an incentive program mapped out so the top graduates stay with the Corporate Sponsor that hires them for at least three years, and much more. My program is a unique mix of classroom, workplace observation and role play. The program lasts six months. The students can be high school graduates, junior college graduates, and even college graduates that did not have a major that makes them attractive hires.

For those of you unfamiliar with my accomplishments and workplace training philosophies I will briefly mention that I created a work readiness certification program called the best in the U.S. in 2003 by the National Skills Standard Board, and that I improved upon that program throughout the years with the biggest improvement being the addition of my book, "How To Get, Keep and Be Well Paid in a Job" (book web site). The goal of my book is to change attitudes and modify behaviors so workers will implement what they learn. You can read more about my work readiness training philosophy in previous posts, including, "There is a Right Way and a Wrong Way to Teach Work Readiness." For additional information, visit my web site is www.dtrconsulting.biz.

What is the next step? If your company is interested in becoming involved with my first "Workplace University" (I am looking for five corporate sponsors), and would like more information, send me an email (JayGoldberg@DTRConsulting.BIZ) and be sure to write "corporate university" in the subject line to ensure your email is not deleted as junk mail, or call 561-842-9942, leave a message, and I will get back to you.

Thanks, and catch you in my next post.

Free Live Work Readiness Training Webinar

To introduce its live webinar training series, DTR Inc. is having a free preview on Friday, November 28th at 11:00 AM. The live webinar will last about one hour, and the specific topic will be “Ethics in the Workplace”. To find out more information about the webinars, and to request a free ticket to the preview, go to www.workready.org/dtr.htm or send an email to jay@workready.org. After requesting a free ticket, you will be sent an email with the web address for the webinar, login instructions, a user name and a password.

The topics of the webinars will range from work readiness to customer service to sales skills to supervisor skills to entrepreneurship. DTR Inc.’s CEO, Jay Goldberg created a work readiness training program called the best in the country by the National Skills Standard Board, is the author of the book, “How to Get Keep and Be Well Paid in a Job”, is a former Service Director for Citibank, and, in conjunction with staff at the Palm Beach County Resource Center, developed what has been called a “revolutionary” entrepreneurship training program.

The intended audience for the free preview is human resource, training and management personnel who would like to sample DTR Inc.’s product offering to determine if they want to sign up their employees for future events. Business owners are also welcomed since entrepreneurship courses will be available in December.

With training budgets and staff being cut, it may be up to individuals to improve their value to their employers on their own. Therefore, individuals can also request a ticket to the free preview since the pay-per-view webinars are priced so that individuals looking to improve their value to their employer by taking work readiness or supervisor development courses can afford to attend them.

In my previous blog I wrote why live events are much more effective than pre-recorded events. If you have not done so yet, please read that blog.

The success of my training webinars will be based on the positive impact seen in the workplace. Therefore, the webinars are designed with that goal in mind. The vast majority of other workplace training programs measure success by how well the participants do on assessment tests, and are structured accordingly. However, doing well on an assessment test does not mean that workplace attitudes and behaviors were changed. In fact, many workers will answer the assessment questions by thinking, “What would my boss want”, not, “What do I think is the correct answer”.

That’s all for now, hope to see you in the free preview.

THE FUTURE OF TRAINING: LIVE WEBINARS

One of the results of the bad economy is the negative impact on training. The more people I speak to in large companies, the more I hear about training staffs being cut.

While there will always be a place for “hard skills” training, even if it takes the form of on the job training, the days of “soft skills” training in large and small companies alike, are growing short.

Based on my experience, training from videos and pre-recorded material on-line doesn’t work very well. When individuals know they can watch again, when there is nothing live going on that requires immediate attention, when there is no interaction between instructor and participant, there is a tremendous amount of inattentiveness on the part of the individuals watching the training.

I know what some of you are saying, “That’s why we have the participants take a test after they watch the training, to ensure that they pay attention.”

Well, if you read my previous blog, “THERE IS A RIGHT WAY AND A WRONG WAY TO TEACH WORK READINESS”, you already know that basing the success of “soft skills” training on the results of assessments tests is a mistake. The goal of “soft skill” training is not to provide knowledge; it is to have the participants practice good work readiness behaviors and improve their job performance after they complete the training. The key to getting someone to improve/change is for them to understand why a behavior is important to their employer. Often that fact is driven home by using real life analogies. That is the approach I took in my work readiness book, “How to Get, Keep and Be Well Paid in a Job”. Click here to find out more about my book which received a five-star review from the Midwest Book Review.

Therefore, I will go so far as to say, err write, requiring that the viewers of a video training session take an assessment test often results in the most important parts of the video training being ignored by the viewers. Having an assessment test after the video for “soft skills” training only ensures that viewers concentrate on the facts and take good notes so they can pass the test. Instead you want them to be paying attention to the entire lecture so that they come away understanding not only the facts, but why those skills/behaviors are important, so that the training can result in positive changes in your workplace.

So if taped/pre-recorded training sessions do not work, and training staff and budgets are shrinking what is the answer?

Live webinars are an excellent solution. In live webinars, viewers must pay attention the whole time or they will miss information. There is no fallback to rewind or replay the taped session. In addition, with a real-time chat room, and live polling questions with instantaneous results, the audience can be kept involved. In fact, when used right, the polling questions serve as feedback for the instructor to know when to stay with a topic that the group is not grasping a little longer. A good instructor does this all the time in live, in-person, classrooms. This can not be done, obviously, in taped and pre-recorded training media.

Finally, another trend that could arise, especially out of a poor economy, is that “soft skill” training falls on the shoulders of individuals, to improve their value, rather than on businesses, that are struggling to keep costs low. In these cases, live webinar training is very assessable, and affordable to individuals. Taking live workplace, self-improvement webinars, will not only improve a worker’s performance, but the initiative will impress the boss; whether yours, or someone with whom you are interviewing to get a job.

Towards that end, I am in the process of changing how I deliver my training programs. I have invested in a webinar product, and will be rolling out a series of affordable webinar training sessions in late November, or early December. Check back here for more information in a couple of weeks.

IT'S TIME FOR AN EXPANDED EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK

This blog contains original material plus a quote from Jay Goldberg’s book, HOW TO GET, KEEP AND BE WELL PAID IN A JOB (click here to go to the book’s web site), a book that just received a 5 star (out of 5 stars) review from the Midwest Book Review.

Employee handbooks are important business documents. Unfortunately, many small businesses do not have them, and many large businesses have them, but they are not as effective as they should be.

Traditional employee handbooks contain workplace and personnel policies ranging from policies on sexual harassment, discrimination, and conflict resolution, to employee benefits, compensation and workplace safety.

One of the reasons for having an employee handbook is to protect the company against law suits. Employees acting inappropriately can lead to legal disputes. So can employees who are confused regarding company policies, particularly as it applies to raises, promotions, compensation and benefits. Having a clearly written and well thought out employee handbook can protect the company. In legal conflicts, employee handbooks are often viewed as contractual obligations. And if you are familiar with any of the daytime courtroom shows you’ll know that written contracts are much better than oral contracts, which is what you basically have if you do not have a formal employee handbook.

Obviously, the employee handbook is a major communication tool between the company and its employees. With more and more business owners and managers complaining about the lack of work readiness skills in their employees in focus groups throughout the country, the “new” expanded employee handbook becomes the ideal vehicle for a company to define its work readiness workplace expectations (which also makes it part of the “contract”).

The most effective way to teach work readiness is to not just state expected behaviors and skills, but to explain why those behaviors and skills are important in the workplace, and to clearly define what they are. This means that traditional Dragnet (“just the facts, ma’am”) employee handbooks need to evolve into more of a document that will not only state the facts, but change attitudes and educate employees (and be even clearer to judges during legal disputes).

For example, instead of just stating the number of sick days employees are entitled too, an explanation of what sick days are is needed. Below is a quote from my book:

“Please be aware that in trying to be fair to employees many companies allow a generous amount of sick days. Often the longer you work for a company, the more sick days you earn.

Sick days are not vacation days or even personal days. They are an insurance policy the company provides to its employees. They are to be used only when an employee is sick. Since sick days are an unplanned absence, when used there is a negative impact on the workplace. If all employees used all their sick days a company would have no choice but to reduce sick days for everyone. Think how high your car insurance would be if every driver except you had two accidents a year. Insurance companies cannot pay out money it does not have. They cannot survive if they pay out more money than they take in. No business could. In this case everyone’s car insurance rates would go up (including yours) to an amount where the insurance company was taking in more money than it was paying out.”

A truncated and modified version of the sentiment in this quote needs to appear in the employee handbook in the section dealing with sick days. In addition to educating employees on the real purpose of sick days, it would also help the company if it needed to fire an employee who abused his/her sick days.

I strongly believe the “new” expanded employee handbook needs to be a combination of the traditional employee handbook and work readiness topics like the ones contained in my book. To see the topics covered in my book, review its table of contents on the book’s web site.

If you would like me to review, append, modify or create an employee handbook for your company, my contact information (and information about my company) is available at my web site, www.DTRConsulting.BIZ.

On a different topic, I was just nominated and accepted a position on the Children's International Obesity Foundation's (CIOF) Board of Advisors. The CIOF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation that does good work in the area of childhood obesity. Please visit the site by clicking on the CIOF image on the right-hand side of your screen and if you like their work, and the information they provide, make a tax deductible donation. Even small donations help. Thank you.

Catch you in my next blog.

NOW THAT YOU KNOW THE RIGHT WAY TO TEACH WORK READINESS, WHAT IS THE IDEAL VENUE

In my last blog I outlined the existing way that most venues are teaching work readiness; why those methods do more harm than good; and what the correct way to effectively teach work readiness is. If you have not read that blog (THERE IS A RIGHT WAY AND A WRONG WAY TO TEACH WORK READINESS) please do so before continuing to read this posting.

work ready

This write-up assumes that the previous blog was read.When I outlined my philosophy on the ideal work readiness training program, I purposely left out point #9 which deals with the proper venue for implementing a competency-based work readiness training program. Point #9 is detailed below:

work readiness training

(9) The program must be offered in a controlled, stand-alone environment where outside forces and pressures cannot have an impact on the participants’ ability to complete all competencies. There cannot be a “higher authority” (a parent, a supervisor, a principal, a guidance counselor, a dean, another instructor, etc.) who can provide a reason or excuse for the participant to fail, postpone, reschedule, or not participate in a competency. If this environment exists, the program is teaching “loopholes” to the participants, especially to those who work the system or fabricate excuses.

work readiness school

Therefore, a stand alone Work Readiness Training Center or Institute is the ideal venue for effectively teaching work readiness. I currently have a 170-hour intensive program and am looking for the ideal location to implement a stand alone Training Center or Institute (at an existing location). If you want your county or city to be considered, please email me (jaygoldberg@dtrconsulting.biz) and write “location for school” in the subject field to ensure your email is not discarded as junk mail. This Work Readiness Training Center or Institute will garner the reputation of the “Harvard” of employee development and will be a big draw for major companies to relocate to your area.

work readiness program

WHAT ABOUT WORK READINESS IN HIGH SCHOOLS?

work readiness consultant

Obviously, point #9 above excludes implementing my ideal work readiness program in high schools, and even possibly in some colleges. There are many reasons why that is so, however, the main two are that it is difficult to have the business community the priority and main client over the student in a program funded by the government, and that students at that age are not in control of their lives so there will be “work arounds” regarding the demonstrated competencies which builds loopholes into the process and makes the “certification” unreliable to the business community.

work readiness book

Therefore, as much as I dislike assessment-based programs for work readiness, that is the method that has to be used in high schools. Demonstrated competencies will be too unreliable, hence doing more harm than good as the business community relies on those demonstrated skills.

job search

However, the way most states have positioned work readiness programs in schools within their assessment-based programs, is ineffective. While testing for grades is important, the emphasis still needs to be on the curriculum, not a certification test.

foundation management

The age and experiences of the students must be taken into account when teaching work readiness in the high school. My book, HOW TO GET, KEEP AND BE WELL PAID IN A JOB (website for book) with associated lesson plans, exercises, role plays, and yes assessments is the best way to teach work readiness in high school. The book covers why specific workplace skills and behaviors are important to employers and uses real life examples that the students can relate to, to make key points (for example, music downloads are discussed in the chapter on ethics). The goal of my program is to educate the class on how and why workplaces operate as they do, even more than educating the class on what the correct behaviors and skills are. The program is also engaging as it encourages debating on workplace skills and behaviors through interesting case studies. Contact me (voicemail: 561-842-9942 or email JayGoldberg@DTRConsulting.BIZ) if you want to implement my program at your school.

corporate management

WHAT ABOUT MIDDLE SCHOOL?

human resources

I believe one of the keys to solving the workplace crisis lies in laying a foundation of proper workplace ethics in middle school students. However, here the goal is just that, laying a foundation. I have a concept paper written on an innovative way to accomplish this. It does not involve books, and does not involve lesson plans. What is holding me back from pursuing this is that I want the product distributed free to all middle schools. This means that my best partner for this endeavor is a foundation that is concerned with work readiness, education, or youth at risk. Another potential partner is a state (or the federal) government. If any such individual reads this blog and would like to discuss this further please contact me (see above). This idea is revolutionary, will work, and is the perfect learning vehicle for middle school students. In fact, I can see this information delivery system being expanded into subjects beyond work readiness.