Where Will They Come From?
Creating a Business Case for WR Involvement
in Your Organization
Phyllis G. Hartman, SPHR
PGHR Consulting, Inc.
Pittsburgh, PA
www.pghrconsulting.com
Agenda
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Introduction
Voting Activity
Background – The Facts/The Future
Who’s Responsible
8 Steps in Making a Business Case
Examples of Initiatives
Success Stories
Questions/discussion
A Look at the Future…
“Workers must be equipped…
with technical know-how… the ability
to create, analyze and transform
information and to interact effectively
with others… learning will increasingly
be a lifelong activity.”
Alan Greenspan, Chairman
US Federal Reserve Board, July 2000
The Present
The Facts:
– only 1 out of 5 HR professionals say all of
their employees have the competencies they
need
– 54 percent say some of their workers have
the competencies they need
– 8 percent say almost none of their workers
have the right competencies
(Source: SHRM 2005 Future of the Labor Force study)
The Facts
Top 5 missing
competencies:
–
–
–
–
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Overall professionalism
Written communication skills
Analytical skills
Business knowledge
Verbal communication skills
(Source: SHRM 2005 Future of the Labor Force study)
Workforce Entrants w/HS Diploma -- Deficient
Rating of Overall Preparation
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
0.2%
High school
graduates or G.E.D
equivalency
42.4%
Two-year college or
10.8%
technical school
graduates
Four-year college
graduates
8.7%
Deficient
45.6%
70.1%
64.5%
Adequate
11.7%
10.3% 8.8%
23.9%
Excellent
2.8%
N.A.
The Conference Board; Partnership for 21st Century Workforce; Corporate
Voices for Working Families; & SHRM; Are They Really Ready to Work? 2006
Next 5 yrs skills importance Increasing
Crticial Thinking/ Problem Solving *
77.8%
Information Technology *
77.4%
Teamwork *
74.2%
Creativity/ Innovation *
73.6%
Diversity *
67.1%
Leadership *
66.9%
Oral Communications *
65.9%
Professionalism/ Work Ethic *
64.4%
Ethics/Social Responsibility *
64.3%
Written Communications *
64.0%
Life Long Learning/ Self Direction *
64.0%
Foreign Languages
63.3%
Mathematics
48.8%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Conference Board; Partnership for 21st Century Workforce; Corporate Voices for
*The
Applied Skill
Working Families; & SHRM; Are They Really Ready to Work? 2006
80%
90%
Business sees Education & Entrants Responsible
75.6%
Who has primary responsibility for workforce readiness?
Check all that apply.
68.4%
N= 431
6.7%
4.4%
Community
agencies
1.2%
Labor unions
7.0%
Federal
government
State governments
The business
community
13.7% 11.4%
8.1%
Other
The hiring employer
2-year
college/technical
schools
Recents entrants
4-year
college/universities
K-12 schools
19.0%
Local governments
49.7% 45.2%
The Conference Board; Partnership for 21st Century Workforce; Corporate Voices for Working
Families; & SHRM; Are They Really Ready to Work? 2006
Education Issues
•
1 out of 3 adults in their mid-20’s started college, but didn’t finish
•
Only 26 percent of U.S. adults have a college degree; all but 2 of 50 highest
paying occupations require one
•
Only 7% of US grads are in science & engineering
•
The fastest growing demographic groups have the worst history of HS and
post-secondary education
•
The digital divide is more extreme – est. 40% of jobs today require
technical/computer literacy
The Silent Epidemic
Almost one third of all public high school
students – and nearly one half of all blacks,
Hispanics and Native Americans – fail to
graduate from public high school with their
class.
The Silent Epidemic
Perspectives of High School Dropouts
A report by Civic Enterprises in association with
Peter D. Hart Research Associates
for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
March 2006
Demographic Issues
• 82 million Baby Boomers will retire
• 45 million Gen Xers are available to
replace them
• Fewer International Workers are available:
– Visa challenges
– On-line education
– More opportunities for workers in home
countries
Quick Changing Skill Needs
Demand for new skills
will be driven by:
– Technology
– Globalization
– Diversity
Speed of change
is unlikely to
decrease!
Technology Adoption Rate
Yrs to Attain 25% Market Share
Airplane
Household Electricity
Automobile
Telephone
VCR
Microwave Oven
Television
Radio
PC
Cellular Phone
Internet
54
46
44
35
34
30
26
22
15
13
7
Carlene Ellis, Intel, NAWB, 3/2003
Whose Responsibility?
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Parents
Government
Students
Schools
Business
Discuss with your
partner
Share with group
Whose Responsibility?
Are They Really Ready to Work 2005 Survey:
“Educational institutions and
entrants themselves are
considered to have primary
responsibility for Workforce
Readiness.”
The Conference Board, Partnership for 21st Century Skills,
Corp Voices for Working Families & SHRM
WR is Everyone’s Issue!
• It is as simple as realizing the
value of a prepared workforce
• Helping others, students, parents,
teachers, the community to
understand the needs of the
future workplace is the key
But How Can HR Professionals Convince
Their Organizations to Get Involved?
Step 1 – Understand the
Situation
Educate yourself about the challenges you
will face:
Do a workforce audit:
• Who do you have?
• What are their skills?
• How long will you have them?
• What is their potential?
• What motivates them?
Educate yourself about the
challenges you will face.
Learn your business:
• What is your
organization’s real
business?
– Make people happy
• What is the
mission/vision/values?
• What is the
“market/business
strategy”?
• What does the Strategic
Plan say about where
you are going?
• What’s the competition?
Educate yourself about the
challenges you will face.
Compare the now and
the need:
• Who (what talents) will
you need going into the
future?
• When will you need
them?
• Can you train/develop
them from the inside?
Educate yourself about the
challenges you will face.
Do an external environmental scan for
talent:
• Review Census data
• Look at educational programs in your area
• Look at what other employers are doing
Step 2 – Develop Internal
Credibility
• Develop an understanding of the perspective
of Management by educating yourself about
their areas of responsibility
– Learn about their functions, Marketing/Sales,
Production, etc.
– Learn about their goals
– Meet with them to ask about what they think they
will need in the future workforce
• Learn to speak their language: “Investing”
and ROI
Step 3 – Prove the Problem
Use information gathered in
Step 1:
90
80
70
60
50
Boomers
Gen X
Gen Y
40
30
20
10
0
Engrs
Mgt
•
•
•
•
Current Population
Future needs
External information
Gaps
Make sure everything is
expressed in
business terms.
Use HR Metrics
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•
•
•
•
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Cost per Hire
Labor Cost as % of Revenue
Job Offer Yield Ratio
Turnover of Key Talent
Training Cost per Hire
Time to Fill
See:
http://www.shrm.org/hrtools/spreadsheets_publish
ed/HR%20Metrics
Step 4 - Identify the Benefits to
Business
• More talented/skilled
employees recruited
• Better prepared workforce
• Skills for future learning/development
• Educators more in tune with employer
needs
• Reduced training $’s -- 25% to 50%
– Lower initial training
– Lower turnover & re-training
Putting the right people with the right
skills in the right jobs pays off in
profits
Total returns to shareholders, 2002-2004
Cos that fill positions within 2 weeks: 59%
Cos that fill positions in 7+weeks: 11%
(Source: Watson Wyatt 2005 Human Capital Index)
Step 5 – Engage Others in
finding Solutions/Support
Though it might seem easier
to provide the answer,
getting them to own the
problem too has a major
impact.
Getting a powerful ally goes
a long way to being
successful – find a
management advocate
whenever possible.
Step 6 - Be prepared with ideas
• Look for programs that are already in place, i.e..,
JA, Ground Hog Job Shadow, SHRM –
www.shrm.org Volunteer Leaders Resources
• Gather measures and numbers to prove success
good ROI from these programs
• Talk to others HR/WIBs/Associations
• Start small, pilot programs
• Ideas that directly relate to your business goals
• Be willing to be the glue
Even Small Companies CAN take a
role in Workforce Readiness
• Use interns or externs
• Speak in local high/middle school classes
• Connect companies/organizations
initiatives: Junior Achievement; America’s
Promise; Chamber of Commerce;
Business Council
• Form coalitions – large & small co.
prepare/recruit entry candidates
for small; later good candidates
for larger co.
• Tours of facility - classes/scout troops
Step 7 – Set/Use
goals/objectives/measures
Revise Programs
Set Goals
Measure Results
• Goals and objectives
allow you to
determine measures
of success
• Make sure goals
relate to business
objectives
• Measure and
communicate results
Step 8 – Keep Evolving
• Since change is eminent – keep
changing the program as needs
change
• Provide flexible alternatives to meet
needs of all employees so everyone
can stay involved
• Stay accountable – programs that are
neglected and allowed to “die” are bad
publicity
Example - UPMC
• UPMC – 15 hospitals & research facilities,
40,000 employees - HQ Pittsburgh, PA
• Recognized need for a Strategic Diversity Plan –
targets: nursing-males; allied healthcare-females
• School/student/parent involvement a natural
• Goals: recruit-retain; develop current
employees; get community involvement/attention
• Job shadows; school partnerships w/local hosp;
internships; loans; tuition programs
• Tracking students
Example - Penn United
Technologies
• Tool & Die Co.-750 employees – founder Carl
Jones 35 yrs ago believed community
involvement = future workers
• Core vision, values, mission include focus on
the community
• Encourage employees to do outreach, join
school board, support local vo-tech, visit the
local schools
• Company works with a collaborative of other
manufacturers – new focus is outreach to
“misplaced”
• Training Dir. Is tasked with being the “drum
beater” to keep everyone engaged, measure
successes, look to the future.
Example – Hamill Manufacturing
• Precision machining company – 112 employees
• HR manager joined the company because they were
involved with workforce readiness
• Company does career day programs, job fairs,
apprenticeship programs, work w/tech schools
• HR manager started a county wide school
competition “Bots IQ” (robotics) leads a committee –
is the glue – that pairs schools-companies
• Results are positive image for “new
century” manufacturing
Example - Manpower
• Worldwide recruiting/staffing/career
management company with 4,400 offices
• Gets involved with organizations/programs like
“RealSkills” in CA for public assistance recipients
teaching IT skills
• Spearheads efforts like TechReach entry-level IT
training, w/partnerships of local employers;
business associations; community-based
organizations; educational institutions;
government agencies at the local, state and
federal levels; training organizations; publicly
funded workforce organizations
• Payback is a better prepared workers for them to
place!
Example – Little Earth Productions
• Fashion products company (license plate
purses) – 45 employees
• CEO got involved because the Mon Valley Ed
Consortium asked them to
• Offer tours of facility
• Provide internships to HS students – “City
High”
• Increased ee morale &
recognition for the company
Some Other Education/Business
Partnership Examples
• Educator externships
• Career Awareness
• Career Days or Career
Fairs
• Job Shadowing
• Mentor Relationships
• School-based enterprise
• Work experience
• Curriculum development
• Education/business
exchange
Government/Service Agency
Program Examples
• Lobbying for
funding/programs/legislation
• JA Groundhog Job Shadow
• Participation in Workforce Investment
Boards
• Programs at State One-Stops
• Support programs like: Homeless
Children’s Education Fund;
YouthWorks; YMCA
Employee Support Examples
• Allow employees volunteer time –
tutoring/mentoring
• Support/educate employee
involvement in schools
• Solicit parents of children
• Solicit businesses of
parents
• Matching contributions for educational
programs/scholarships
Help the C-Suite Understand!
• Business, education, WD
professionals must work together to
share information and resources
• Our focus must be on ensuring we
are preparing students/employees
with skills they can adapt for the
future – life-long learners
• We need to make our voices heard
in the community and in legislative
circles to help everyone understand
the critical importance of investing
in our schools
Use the Information from this
Presentation
• Statistics about current education
challenges
• Demographic information vs. your
demography
The prediction of the 2004 Task
Force on Workforce Development
doesn’t have to come true!
“The lack of basic skills… and shortages of
workers… create a danger that the
American economy will drift into what
economists call a' low skills equilibrium’…”
Questions/Ideas
Thank You!
Phyllis G. Hartman, SPHR
PGHR Consulting
PO Box 63
Ingomar, PA 15127
412-367-7555
www.pghrconsulting.com
pghr@pghrconsulting.com