HR Practices
To Kill A Mockingbird!
Basic skills deficiency is a human resource problem.
Key Learnings:
The real problem is not the lack of high-tech skills but the paucity of basic skills.
Unless organizations address this issue, they will always fall short of less-skilled employees.
Healthy economic growth means increased business operations, which in turn translates into new jobs. Employers will only have to make more in-depth searches for potential employees. These searches can throw up countless prospects.
Nevertheless, they could prove incompetent, as most of them often lack basic skills. Simply stated, basic skills deficiencies create a huge human resource problem. Yet organizations continue to consider the skills gap at the higher end as an imminent threat.
The Basics:
These deficiencies, if left unaddressed, can pose a bigger hazard to business operations than a paucity of high-tech skills. Rightly rechristened as life skills, they help create a set of elementary literacies within a person making it easier to build higher levels of proficiencies. Individuals deprived of basic skills have compromised futures, especially in the corporate world.
Given this situation, the proposal to make mathematics optional for high school students spells doom for:
Individuals who will find it difficult to survive even in low-skilled jobs.
Employers who will have to reallocate their training budgets to make way for more remedial training.
Basic skills are defined as "functional workplace literacies that include the ability to read instructions, write reports, and/or do arithmetic at a level adequate to perform workplace tasks."
Most employees, even in the best of organizations, lack basic science and math skills. The situation is no different in the employment arena where skills deficiency creates an acute shortage of low-skilled employees.
According to a survey, over 38 percent of job applicants lacked the necessary reading, writing, and math skills required for the jobs they sought.
A Case in Sight:
Considering most processes are automated, one would think that building a washing machine is a no-brainer. However, if the sheet of steel used in manufacturing is too thin or too wide, it reduces the lifespan of the product.
As cut-throat international competition makes customer retention the biggest challenge, losing customers because of poorly manufactured products is the beginning of a downhill drive.
Therefore, with an aim to manufacture the best machines, Whirlpool has hired some of the best hands, or so it appears!
At their factories, employees responsible for assembling machines need to use some amount of algebra to ensure that the sheets meet exact specifications. A random survey, however, revealed that most employees lacked basic math skills.
The company luckily responded in time, spending a substantial amount on basic skills training or remedial training. Whirlpool has nearly 40 percent of its staff busy training at any given time. The huge percentage reflects the lack of basic skills over a large population.
Not only is the lack of basic skills common, but it also is a universal phenomenon.
Elsewhere and the same problem!
When a metal stamping company established shop, their vice-president Erick Ajax was surprised to discover that his recruiters were having more trouble hiring workers with high-school math proficiency.
His company is still short of employees who can communicate well and handle basic trigonometry skills that do not require college education. In fact, as Ajax remarks, "We need to focus on the 70 percent of students who will not have a degree."
Bridging the Gap:
The lack of basic skills is not a region or nation-specific problem. Even if it were, hiring employees from outside the region or nation would address the problem.
However, basic skills deficiency is globally prevalent, making it a critical issue. Education experts believe that this problem is best tackled beginning at the grassroots or in high schools and vocational institutes. It would also require businesses and the Government to collaborate.
As part of such an endeavor, Microsoft launched a public-private alliance comprising local businesses, training centers, and political representatives. With the objective of creating a comprehensive workforce development strategy, the initiative succeeded in addressing the needs of lower-skilled employees.
Are Things Looking Up?
A recent economic report revealed that the real earnings of lower-level employees exceed the gains made by those with bachelor's degrees.
This means that even as high school graduates fall into the 'less-skilled' category, they fare much better in terms of employment than those with high-tech skills or college degrees.
Another interpretation of the report is that the supply of college graduates surpasses the demand of employers and that of high school graduates falls way short of employers' needs for them.
Therefore, contradictory to what 'futurists' predict, the real skills shortage would not be at the higher end of the spectrum but at the basic skills level.
Old Habit:
Just-in-Time (JIT) training is a typical strategy to prepare employees who lack basic skills. But as mentioned earlier, it is not a problem affecting a few. Owing to its prevalence, what is needed is a more holistic approach to training.
"The stronger emphasis on training seems to be specific skills for a specific job that you are in today, as opposed to a larger workforce development focus," says a Deloitte executive.
Silver Lining:
In addition to a commitment to holistic employee training, organizations must treat basic skills development as integral to economic progress. As part of that effort, an organization can:
- Focus heavily on remedial training:
Jobs that earlier required little training now demand familiarity with basic technology. Consequently, employers find it more difficult to find suitable people. Remedial training in literacy and math skills can help combat the problem. Hence, it is a must for employees testing low in basic skills.
- Establish corporate programs to support education:
"It is remarkable how little integration there is between schools and their customers - employers," says a chief human resources officer.
With a corporate objective of keeping pipelines filled by raising basic skills levels and a social objective of supporting education, organizations can sponsor education programs at local schools and vocational institutes.
- Think of hiring as a long-term commitment:
When organizations consider employees expendable, they focus little on training. However, those serious about employee turnover, loyalty, and productivity must invest heavily in employee development.
Another approach is to be flexible while hiring. An individual who tests low in basic skills when hired can be brought to level after training.
As important as basic skills proficiency is poor quality or little access to education leaves a large population without it.
Employers naturally fail to get the right employees. Prudence reveals that private-public collaborations and corporate efforts can resolve the problem.
From India, New Delhi
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22To Kill A Mockingbird!
Basic skills deficiency is a human resource problem.
Key Learnings:
The real problem is not the lack of high-tech skills but the paucity of basic skills.
Unless organizations address this issue, they will always fall short of less-skilled employees.
Healthy economic growth means increased business operations, which in turn translates into new jobs. Employers will only have to make more in-depth searches for potential employees. These searches can throw up countless prospects.
Nevertheless, they could prove incompetent, as most of them often lack basic skills. Simply stated, basic skills deficiencies create a huge human resource problem. Yet organizations continue to consider the skills gap at the higher end as an imminent threat.
The Basics:
These deficiencies, if left unaddressed, can pose a bigger hazard to business operations than a paucity of high-tech skills. Rightly rechristened as life skills, they help create a set of elementary literacies within a person making it easier to build higher levels of proficiencies. Individuals deprived of basic skills have compromised futures, especially in the corporate world.
Given this situation, the proposal to make mathematics optional for high school students spells doom for:
Individuals who will find it difficult to survive even in low-skilled jobs.
Employers who will have to reallocate their training budgets to make way for more remedial training.
Basic skills are defined as "functional workplace literacies that include the ability to read instructions, write reports, and/or do arithmetic at a level adequate to perform workplace tasks."
Most employees, even in the best of organizations, lack basic science and math skills. The situation is no different in the employment arena where skills deficiency creates an acute shortage of low-skilled employees.
According to a survey, over 38 percent of job applicants lacked the necessary reading, writing, and math skills required for the jobs they sought.
A Case in Sight:
Considering most processes are automated, one would think that building a washing machine is a no-brainer. However, if the sheet of steel used in manufacturing is too thin or too wide, it reduces the lifespan of the product.
As cut-throat international competition makes customer retention the biggest challenge, losing customers because of poorly manufactured products is the beginning of a downhill drive.
Therefore, with an aim to manufacture the best machines, Whirlpool has hired some of the best hands, or so it appears!
At their factories, employees responsible for assembling machines need to use some amount of algebra to ensure that the sheets meet exact specifications. A random survey, however, revealed that most employees lacked basic math skills.
The company luckily responded in time, spending a substantial amount on basic skills training or remedial training. Whirlpool has nearly 40 percent of its staff busy training at any given time. The huge percentage reflects the lack of basic skills over a large population.
Not only is the lack of basic skills common, but it also is a universal phenomenon.
Elsewhere and the same problem!
When a metal stamping company established shop, their vice-president Erick Ajax was surprised to discover that his recruiters were having more trouble hiring workers with high-school math proficiency.
His company is still short of employees who can communicate well and handle basic trigonometry skills that do not require college education. In fact, as Ajax remarks, "We need to focus on the 70 percent of students who will not have a degree."
Bridging the Gap:
The lack of basic skills is not a region or nation-specific problem. Even if it were, hiring employees from outside the region or nation would address the problem.
However, basic skills deficiency is globally prevalent, making it a critical issue. Education experts believe that this problem is best tackled beginning at the grassroots or in high schools and vocational institutes. It would also require businesses and the Government to collaborate.
As part of such an endeavor, Microsoft launched a public-private alliance comprising local businesses, training centers, and political representatives. With the objective of creating a comprehensive workforce development strategy, the initiative succeeded in addressing the needs of lower-skilled employees.
Are Things Looking Up?
A recent economic report revealed that the real earnings of lower-level employees exceed the gains made by those with bachelor's degrees.
This means that even as high school graduates fall into the 'less-skilled' category, they fare much better in terms of employment than those with high-tech skills or college degrees.
Another interpretation of the report is that the supply of college graduates surpasses the demand of employers and that of high school graduates falls way short of employers' needs for them.
Therefore, contradictory to what 'futurists' predict, the real skills shortage would not be at the higher end of the spectrum but at the basic skills level.
Old Habit:
Just-in-Time (JIT) training is a typical strategy to prepare employees who lack basic skills. But as mentioned earlier, it is not a problem affecting a few. Owing to its prevalence, what is needed is a more holistic approach to training.
"The stronger emphasis on training seems to be specific skills for a specific job that you are in today, as opposed to a larger workforce development focus," says a Deloitte executive.
Silver Lining:
In addition to a commitment to holistic employee training, organizations must treat basic skills development as integral to economic progress. As part of that effort, an organization can:
- Focus heavily on remedial training:
Jobs that earlier required little training now demand familiarity with basic technology. Consequently, employers find it more difficult to find suitable people. Remedial training in literacy and math skills can help combat the problem. Hence, it is a must for employees testing low in basic skills.
- Establish corporate programs to support education:
"It is remarkable how little integration there is between schools and their customers - employers," says a chief human resources officer.
With a corporate objective of keeping pipelines filled by raising basic skills levels and a social objective of supporting education, organizations can sponsor education programs at local schools and vocational institutes.
- Think of hiring as a long-term commitment:
When organizations consider employees expendable, they focus little on training. However, those serious about employee turnover, loyalty, and productivity must invest heavily in employee development.
Another approach is to be flexible while hiring. An individual who tests low in basic skills when hired can be brought to level after training.
As important as basic skills proficiency is poor quality or little access to education leaves a large population without it.
Employers naturally fail to get the right employees. Prudence reveals that private-public collaborations and corporate efforts can resolve the problem.
From India, New Delhi
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Hi, I am Dhilip K. Raju pursuing II year MSW (HRM) at Madras School of Social Work. Very good content. CII is currently conducting research on the skill gap. I am greatly interested in exploring plausible and possible solutions to the skill shortage in automotives and have taken it as my research topic. Best Regards, Dhilip K. Raju
From India, Madras
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From India, Madras
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