Presentation Objectives  Explain the role of the ACT WorkKeys ® package in a comprehensive approach to human capital management  Provide examples/share successes

The means to systematically define and assess the necessary knowledge, skills, and personal attributes associated with performance (and through complementary products, to improve knowledge and skills) Helps you to align jobs so that work gets done efficiently and effectively; select the right people to do the jobs; and continue to develop, challenge, and engage those people

Foundational Skills Occupational Skills & Attributes Job Specific Skills & Behaviors Team Specific Skills & Behaviors Growth/ Stretch Skills & Behaviors Visualize an upward spiral from one job to the next….

The Typical Client…  Has less clarity in job descriptions than they think they have  Doesn’t have clear entry level requirements  Hasn’t adequately defined a path from an entry level job to higher paid, higher skilled positions within the job family  In the absence of effective measurement, overlooks potential  Could be a lot more effective in addressing their skill shortage

In addition, the typical client…  Understands the connection between “behaviors” and job performance/success  Doesn’t have an objective way to talk about it  And as a result, calls these skills “soft” and struggles to communicate the connection between their training programs and people’s jobs

XYZ Company Example  Profiled a Lab Technician position  Company myth is that all Lab Techs are cross-trained to fulfill all responsibilities  Truth: Some with inadequate foundational skills only perform a limited number of the tasks, reducing team flexibility  WorkKeys benefit: With foundational skill levels set, employees can now train to the established “effective performance” levels, making them trainable on all tasks

Company ABC Example  Tried to fill semi-skilled positions from incumbents of the unskilled entry level position  Differences in foundational skill level requirements made it impossible to connect the dots  Collective bargaining unit allows, however, for people to be hired from the outside if internal candidates are not qualified  WorkKeys profiling established qualifications for the next job in the hierarchy, which is semi-skilled, and these qualifications can be training targets/promotion requirements for entry level employees as well as hiring requirements for outside applicants  Result: People who are not trainable for the semi-skilled positions will not be promoted before they’re ready, simply based upon seniority; quality and efficiency improve

Company Example  One highly skilled position on shop floor clearly requires Applied Technology skill  Inconsistent skills in incumbent group, as “outside” hires have formal training and those promoted from within see the trade as “art” rather than “science” (because they don’t understand the science)  WorkKeys benefit: With effective performance clearly defined, company commits to mandatory training, beginning with foundational skills. Results? Reduced set-up times, less waste during set-up, more flexibility

Company Example  Confusion and employee dissatisfaction due to excessive number of job descriptions and pay grades for similar work  Lack of flexibility because of limitations of many employees in semi-skilled pay grades  WorkKeys benefit: After the firm consolidated job descriptions and pay grades, profiling provided thorough analysis and related skill requirements. Company’s commitment to training and developing employees then allowed for cross-training to requirements, increased performance/flexibility, and increased satisfaction

Replicate These Successful Strategies  Define the job  Require internal and external applicants to meet profile  Provide (incumbents) employees the opportunity to remediate foundational skills to the “effective” level and to entry requirements of the next job in the job family  Encourage employees to participate in occupational training to attain next level competencies  Provide job-specific training, including technical, process improvement and personal skills

How to be Sure That People can and are Likely to……  Interpret and apply information critical to getting the job done  Accept their roles and responsibilities  Perform critical tasks to necessary level Assess WorkKeys RFI, LI, AM WorkKeys Personal Skills Talent (i.e., Drive and Discipline) WorkKeys Applied Technology; locate and utilize occupational and job specific training resources; train key employees to coach and train others

How to be sure that people…  Choose behaviors that advance team goals and support team relation- ships/development  Multi-task, paying attention to and focusing on more than one variable at a time  WorkKeys Teamwork  WorkKeys Observation

How to be Sure That People can and are Likely to… ( continued)  Have the necessary personal attributes or tendencies to work effectively within and outside the team, self- managing to the extent possible  Understand requirements of higher level jobs in their job family, and prepare to meet them if they wish to advance Talent Assessment (Carefulness, Order, Drive, Discipline, Cooperation, Stability, Sociability, Goodwill, etc.) Profile all jobs in a family, provide objective feedback during performance evaluation, and allow access to training including KeyTrain and job-specific technical training

Talent Results: Key Attributes of Successful  Quality Inspector: Discipline, Order  Production Tech: Discipline, Order, Striving, Carefulness  Press Tech: Order, Carefulness, Cooperation, Stability

Follow-up on Talent Assessment  Inform employees of attributes of successful incumbents of the various positions (beginning with their own)  Help them make the connection to performance  Coach employees to develop plans to cultivate behaviors linked to key attributes  Support plans with targeted training  Recognize and reward attributes and behaviors in addition to technical skills

Beyond WorkKeys, You Need…  Procedures to both identify opportunities for process improvement and to clear the way for improvements to be implemented and evaluated  Performance improvement interventions including training and coaching, to help individuals and teams build strategically- necessary attributes, knowledge, and skills  Legitimate climate surveys and the will to address their findings  Ongoing evaluation to know what’s working

Summary  Effective performance requires effective processes and effective organizational design  On the people side, performance requires specific knowledge, skills, and attributes, deficits in which result in added cost  In order to retain key talent, you have to be able to point the way to the next level  WorkKeys tools can be highly effective components of your human capital management strategy

Contact Information Pat Ostradick Performance Improvement Consultant Ottawa Area Intermediate School District th Ave PVT Holland, MI , extension 4202