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BOSTON (AP) - Worker survey shows training key to attracting, retaining talent.
Tough to motivate. Too expectant. Lazy. All common labels for Generation Xers. A new study released this Labor Day, however, suggests ...read more

Study Reveals Six Types of Workers.
According to a recent poll sponsored by Shell Oil Company, the American work force includes six worker-personality types, each with a ...read more

The Era of the Individual.
There's a subtle change underway in today's American society. With the speed of global communications, human mobility, and a sense of searching, this shift will soon be felt ...read more

 

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Worker survey shows training key to attracting, retaining talent
Sharon L. Lynch
Associated Press

BOSTON -- Tough to motivate. Too expectant. Lazy. All common labels for Generation Xers.

A new study released this Labor Day, however, suggests that these allegedly malcontented 20-somethings may fit into the workplace better than employers previously thought. It just takes some training.

According to a survey by The Gallup Organization, employer-sponsored training and education is a major attraction for Gen Xers looking for jobs. And workers say they're more likely to stick with companies that invest in such programs.

Workers most want computer skills, followed closely by training in communications and management skills, according to the survey.

And while a majority of baby boomers and even the most senior employees said they appreciated training, members of Generation X gave on-the-job education the highest marks.

"Employees want more training than they are getting," said Christine Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the three companies that commissioned the Gallup survey.

"People in Generation X view training as a way to improve their chances of getting promoted," she added.

"The United States alone spends something like $60 to $70 billion a year in workplace education and training and we thought it was about time to ask people who are receiving it if they are receiving any benefits," said Rich Wellins, senior vice president of the Pittsburgh-based Development Dimensions International, one of the three cosponsors.

Among the survey's findings:

• 70 percent of those who received no job training said they were satisfied with their jobs, compared to 84 percent of those who received at least six days of training within the previous year.
  
  
• 80 percent said the availability of company-sponsored training programs was a factor in deciding whether to accept a new job or stick with a current one.
  
  
• 58 percent of workers 32 years old or younger said training was useful in preparing them for higher-level jobs. Forty-two percent of workers older than that had the same opinion.

Wellins said many U.S. companies lag behind their Japanese and European counterparts in terms of training dollars spent per worker. Investing in worker education can boost employee loyalty as well as corporate profits, he said.

"What you hear about Generation X in today's workplace is they want to do their own thing. They don't want to manage. They don't want to be managed," Wellins said. "On the other hand, they also have a keen desire to develop their skills so they themselves can be more marketable."

DDI sponsored the survey along with the Gallup School of Management in Lincoln, Neb., and TRAINING magazine.

The telephone survey of 1,012 employees had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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Study Reveals Six Types of Workers

According to a recent poll sponsored by Shell Oil Company, the American work force includes six worker-personality types, each with a distinctive approach to work:

Fulfillment Seekers. These workers want to make the world a better place and seek jobs that allow them to do so. Typical occupations include teachers, nurses, and public defenders.

Risk Takers. Members of this group are anxious to get rich quick and perpetually seek opportunities for financial success. Typical occupations are software entrepreneurs and car salesmen.

High Achievers. These are workplace leaders who take initiative. The majority of high achievers have typically planned their career path from a young age, and the planning seems to have paid off: High Achievers are the highest income group. This group is predominantly male and highly educated, consisting of lawyers, surgeons, architects, etc.

Clock Punchers. An overwhelming majority of people in this group say they ended up in their jobs by chance rather than by design, and their satisfaction level is the lowest of the six groups. Jobs include cashiers, waitresses, hospital orderlies, etc.

Ladder Climbers. Company loyalty is a key trait of these workers, who like the stability of staying with one employer for a long time. These are corporate middle managers and skilled blue-collar supervisors.

Paycheck Cashers. These workers seek good incomes and benefits rather than the opportunity to stretch their capabilities or change the world; many are perfectly happy in their cubicles. Jobs in this group include factory work and entry-level word processing.

Shell's poll on workplace types was conducted in July 1998 by the Washington, D.C. based survey research firm Peter D. Hart Research Associates, which interviewed representative national sample of 1,123 randomly selected adults.

Managers and human-resource directors may find the worker typology identified by Shell useful in their recruitment efforts. "As the labor market tightens, employers are discovering that they're going to be more aggressive in their recruiting efforts," says business futurist Roger Herman, co-author of Lean and Meaningful.

How might employers assess the work personality of recruits? One sure way is to determine the attitudes and work-needs of the potential candidates for employment. The most accurate instrument available to employers today is the DISC Behavioral Inventory provided by Skill-Speak, Inc. For more information, call 214-804-6591.

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The Era of the Individual
Bill Swetmon

There's a subtle change underway in today's American society. With the speed of global communications, human mobility, and a sense of searching, this shift will soon be felt internationally.

We're moving, relatively quickly, from the Era of the Mass Marketing to the Era of the Individual, using mass customization and micro marketing. Lines at retail stores are being avoided by on-line shopping-no waiting. Standardized pay plans are yielding to custom-designed compensation packages. Group involvement is being replaced with solitude and intimate gatherings.

In the work environment, employees seek opportunities to shine individually, even while collaborating with others. They don't necessarily want to be independent, but they want to be acknowledged for their individual accomplishments . . . their individual contributions. They want to be accountable, giving rise to a vital new aspect of the concept of empowerment. If people don't believe they can find this opportunity working for you or someone else, they'll go out on their own. Have you noticed the increase in new home-based businesses driven by energetic entrepreneurs? They're looking for more than just money.

Military and para-military organizations will be challenged by these "treat-me-special" people. They'll resist conformity . . . if they join in the first place. There's an important message here for all organizations that operate with authoritarian cultures. It will be increasingly difficult to manage with a rules and bureaucracy philosophy; workers will expect-demand-greater flexibility, freedom, and personal opportunity.

These special treatment attitudes will be evident in all areas of our lives. We already see movie theatres offering special services-valet parking, dinners, and special seating for a modestly higher price. The trend has already been in place in the sporting events field. Concierge and personal shopping services abound.

These trends will have profound effects on how people are supervised. In what ways do you think these trends will affect your industry and, in particular, the way you supervise, manage, and mentor others?

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