The case for literacy training

Your business may be suffering from staff literacy issues, and you may not even be aware. Editor Glenn Baker talked to Workbase CEO Katherine Percy about the solution.
Workplace productivity is suffering in New Zealand. Our Labour Productivity Growth is currently at its lowest level since records were first kept in 1988. This should ring alarm bells all over the country.
A significant contributing factor towards our low productivity level is undoubtedly poor workforce literacy, particularly within processing and manufacturing companies, and it is costing businesses millions of dollars a year.
But this is not just about workers who struggle to read, write, add and subtract. Literacy is the ability to communicate ideas and opinions; apply information and maths skills; make decisions and problem solve; and make full use of information systems, technology and tools. Skills many of us take for granted.
Workforce literacy is a problem that can slip right under the radar. Fortunately there is a front-line organisation that’s tackling it head on.
Workbase (New Zealand Centre for Workforce Literacy) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to its vision of a literate New Zealand workforce. During the past ten years Workbase has seen more than 100 businesses successfully implement its workplace literacy training programmes – with stunning results. It works with Government, businesses, ITOs (Industry Training Organisations) and tertiary and adult literacy providers and practitioners to ensure that workplace literacy provision is backed up by approaches that meet the needs of both business and the workforce.
But the battle is a big one and has really only just begun.
Workbase chief executive Katherine Percy believes the literacy issue is having a direct impact on New Zealand’s poor productivity record. She likens the low literacy rate to an invisible ‘hand-brake’ on business. Compounding the problem are the rising demands of today’s workplace with more complex processes, new technologies, less margin for error, expectations on speed of delivery and the flattening of management structures. All this requires higher levels of literacy says Percy.
She believes on-the-job training and in-company worker development simply hasn’t kept up with the times, and many employers have a low awareness of the change in literacy demands.
“People may have a deep knowledge or experience of how a machine works on the shop floor, but if they’re suddenly required to record certain information, perhaps in the form of a report, it demands more and different literacy skills – and from the employer or trainer, deliberate acts of teaching,” says Percy.
Workbase tackles the problem by first carrying out a Workplace Literacy Needs Analysis for the company concerned which measures the skills of individual workers against the literacy demands of the job. It then designs and delivers tailored literacy training solutions, either one-on-one or in small groups, based on the employees’ real job tasks. The training almost always takes place on site, for minimal disruption, and programmes include improving communication, problem-solving and critical thinking, first line management, health and safety awareness and computer skills.
If you’re wondering about the cost and potential disruption of a Workbase programme, Katherine Percy says talk to other players in your particular industry with similar issues and challenges to yours and judge their outcomes. Workbase can facilitate this.
She also reminds employers that training programmes are subsidised by the Government by up to 70 percent, and in just one or two months companies can clearly articulate the positive benefits.  
Employer feedback
Companies that invest in workforce literacy training report a wide range of business benefits – most of which have a positive impact on the bottom line. Employers will notice that staff retention, productivity, teamwork, accuracy, communication and individual ability are all up, while waste errors, accidents, the need for supervision and absenteeism are all down. There are substantial savings on recruitment as well.
More specifically Percy says workers become more engaged in what they’re doing.
“They not only fully understand their part in the process for the first time, they also take responsibility for getting the process right.”
She says literacy training is a massive morale booster – individuals suddenly have the self-confidence to make important judgements and contribute more to decision-making. And many of their new skills can also be applied outside the workplace in their personal lives.
Percy says ‘document literacy’ is one area impacted by their programmes – simply giving people the tools to navigate a basic document – a skill which many of us take
for granted.

Applied learning
Many of the improvements come about by changing practices and creating new habits.
“The key is applying the learning,” says Percy. “Reinforcing new habits over time through repetitive weekly training is the key to long-term success.”
Workbase programmes are successful because it is learning for a defined purpose, explains Percy. Being at work and based around specific work requirements makes the training completely relevant and allows the worker to practice the teachings and gain immediate feedback from their supervisors. “The rewards are immediate, the application is immediate and the purpose [of the training] is clear.”
Workbase fully understand that small business owners have fewer resources to take on literacy training programmes – but Percy believes there are still steps they can take to address the problem.
“Don’t make assumptions about peoples’ literacy for a start. Keep signage and health and safety documentation really simple. And make sure you explain the meaning of any fancy new terminology before you start explaining what to do with it.”
And, says Percy, if a business is engaging any training provider, it’s a good idea to get
them to include literacy development in their offering.
It’s widely acknowledged that economic transformation is not going to happen without addressing New Zealand’s disappointing level of productivity. New Zealand is lagging behind its major trading partners when it comes to literacy training and Workbase is urging Government to do more this year. It also wants to see
literacy built into all vocational training
in this country.
Clearly workforce literacy is an issue that won’t go away overnight – but awareness is rising, and word is spreading about the benefits thanks to a number of high
profile cases.
“It’s also incredibly rewarding for employers,” says Percy. “The feedback we get is that it’s a privilege to be instrumental in changing and fulfilling people’s lives.
“The positive difference it makes in employ-ees’ lives just cannot be understated.”   NZB

To gain a better understanding of workforce literacy and the issues surrounding it, visit the Workbase website at www.workbase.org.nz.