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I
work for a county department. There are no office training programs, but some of
us are trying to get one. We need some productivity and money- saving facts to
support it. We do road work with heavy equipment, backhoe, loaders, and graders.
Signed,
Trying To Make The Grade
Dear Trying:
Does training work? The billions companies invest in training say it does. Just as it pays to advertise, it pays to train. Common sense tells us that a brain surgeon needs hundreds of hours of training before cutting into our skulls. A mechanic needs updated training before solving the vexing problems of our modern cars. The theory underpinning training is simply that knowledge does not become high quality performance until it is understood and practiced.
Office training programs likely should focus on the needs you have for keyboarding, record keeping, accounting, and most of all interpersonal communication. No matter how skill knowledgeable we are, it will do us little good unless we have the skills and attitude needed to work cooperatively.
The training you need for those of you who man heavy equipment likely should involve education in care, repair, and use of the various machines. Safety training should never be taken for granted. We are what we attend to. Attention to safe operation of equipment results in careful handling of equipment and in prevention of injuries.
What kind of training will improve productivity, cut costs, and deliver high quality work? My answer is employee involvement and team work. The American Society of Quality Control trains its members in how to assess base-line measures of productivity and then how to enjoin work groups in generating ideas to cut costs, reduce cycle time, try out innovating ways of doing operations, and then to measure the improvements.
But are there facts to back up this common sense?
In the private sector, the profit motive seeks out competitive advantage, and training is up front in finding that advantage. Added value comes from quality-minded, high-performance practices such as skill training, employee involvement, and cross-functional teams. Studies show that such practices are related to higher productivity and low turnover. Mark Huselid in a July, 1995 article entitled "The Impact of Human Resources on Turnover, Productivity, and Corporate Financial Performance" in The Academy of Management Journal, calculated that such firms had $27,044 more in sales and $18,641 per worker more in market value than did firms without such practices.
Studies also point to the greater earnings of firms who win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. One cannot make a clear causal--this caused that--case for high-performance practices making for competitive advantage; however, like love and marriage go together, training and improved productivity go together.
Do examine our Q&A Archive if you are interested in empowerment and team work. There are many questions and answers which address these topics. Perhaps what matters most is that the by- product of training and empowerment efforts is a spirited work force. Rather than counting the hours to break time and/or quitting time, there is enthusiasm for and pride in what you are doing--in your case for the the county!
WEGO is a by-product of and catalyst to training and collaboration.
Bill Gorden