Employers in every community share the same concerns about job applicants. Prospective employees responding to job opportunities typically arrive for interviews with little credible information as to the kind of worker they have been or will be.
Applicants' technical or academic skills are important, but they are not the source of employers' concern. An employer's requirement for effective job matching is credible and predictive evidence as to what kind of worker someone will be. Employers want and need to know how new workers will fit in and behave on the job. The Learning Resources, Inc. (LRI) soft skills assessment system is a tool that helps workforce providers address this need.
The measurement and development of effective workplace behaviors-soft skills-provides benefits to all workforce customers and stakeholders:
- Employers: Reduced turnover
- Job Seekers and Learners: A competitive advantage and success on the job
- Educators and Trainers: Better service, performance data and increased customer satisfaction
Benefits of a Soft Skills Assessment and Development System
A systematic approach to integrating soft skills measurement and development into education and training activities leads to the following outcomes:
- Employers benchmark incumbent worker soft skills and develop "specs" that result in better job matching and reduced turnover
- Employers define what they mean when they ask for 'good' workers
- Employers provide supervisors of entry level workers with post-employment support that enables them to effectively coach new workers and reduce turnover
>Workforce developers measure and document the soft skills of future workers. They know who already has what soft skills
- Workforce developers have valid information about the gaps between applicants' skill proficiencies and employers' requirements for available jobs
- Workforce developers customize peoples' training and education plans
- Workforce managers and funders use pre-and post-assessment data to measure the effectiveness of work readiness training and development
- Workforce provider staff receive training to improve effectiveness with employers, job seekers and learners
- Job seekers and learners receive specific, objective, valid feedback and documentation that identifies effective skills and developmental needs
The system described above enables employers, people preparing for work, staff and administrators to focus on, align and manage a shared agenda. Good information, targeted action plans and carefully monitored outcomes enable organizations to continuously improve their workforce and economic development system.
The above ideas are more fully developed in two documents:
Improving Workforce Outcomes for Employers, Future Workers and Providers - Concepts
The concepts section of this paper describes the impact that the measurement and development of effective workplace behaviors - soft skills - has on employment and training's primary stakeholders. It describes examples of exemplary practices that support:
- Employers: From job matching to post-employment services, both of which reduce turnover
- Future workers: Where pre- assessment, development and post-assessment provide a competitive advantage to job seekers while improving programs' quality
- Staff: Where stronger soft skills mean better service and increased customer satisfaction
Click here to download a copy of Improving Workforce Outcomes for Employers, Future Workers and Providers - Concepts
Improving Workforce Outcomes for Employers, Future Workers and Providers - Applications
This paper describes applications of LRI's assessment, development and skill-documentation technology and provides a wealth of examples of how WIBS, 1-stops and service centers, colleges and CBOs are improving their outcomes using this technology. The paper addresses two basic questions:
- Where are soft skill systems being built in communities
- What do they look like? Examples are provided from all parts of the US
Click here to download a copy of Improving Workforce Outcomes for Employers, Future Workers and Providers - Applications
For additional information regarding Workforce and Economic Development, please contact:
Alan B. Lesure, President
Learning Resources, Inc.
1117 E. Putnam Avenue, # 260
Riverside, CT 06878
Phone: 203-637-5047; Fax: 203-637-2786
e-mail: alesure@Learning-Resources.com
