We Have Enough Evidence: Without Employer-Based Structured OJT, 
Worker Development Falls Way Short
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
As a nation, we have become accustomed to kicking the can down the road. Maybe not deliberately, we appear to be locked into that mode with regard to worker development. It is not for lack of resources – billions are spent each year by federal programs, state governments and employers. If one backs away and looks at the big picture, the will is there but it seems more that the resources just are not properly aligned and focused.Employers have been struggling with the “skills gap” since the 1980’s. Every manner of solution has been tried, but the gap seems to 
linger and grow. This is due, in large part, to disproportionately more emphasis being placed on preparing future workers for work and not enough on the employer’s vital role in providing the task-specific training once hired, and “upskilling” them through change.
Employers have been led to believe that the solution lies solely with education. While laying the strong foundation upon which to build strong workers is an important part of the solution, if the employer does not immediately begin building on the foundation, the foundation degrades relative to the continually evolving job requirements, and the opportunity is lost.
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For nearly all firms, training a worker for the tasks they were hired to perform, once hired, is a mixture of uncoordinated efforts. Sometimes an expert worker emerges, but it is hard to explain how it happened let alone repeat the process. In reality, worker development and worker performance are inextricably linked. In practice, they seldom are. Most employers have no way of measuring how much under-developed capacity is on their payrolls or they would act immediately.
“Transfer of knowledge” is often confused with “transfer of expertise,” and employers are frequently disappointed when class attendance doesn’t produce noticeable improvements in performance. The misspent expenditures and missed opportunities associated with this can be substantial for any organization. The collateral effects on the organization – such as turnover costs, costs of malperformance and under-capacity and non-compliance with mandated standards and regulations – is a risk no organization should bear.
Manufacturing processes and products are more unique to each employer than common to industry. Read More
Blockchain Employee Records? What is the Balance Between Business 
Controls and Employee Privacy?
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations – Eastern U.S. – Proactive Technologies, Inc.
How much personal information is too much? Can we be so swamped by data available to us from so many sources that we forget our mission? What will technology’s legacy be: the engine for positive change or a harmful disruptor and nothing more?
United Healthcare announced in 2016 that their employees would be wearing fitness trackers as part of their wellness program. Other employers were looking into it, as well. Privacy advocates expressed concern over how the devices could be used to track an employee’s movement, and possibly provide data out of context.
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Lacking a standardized format between departments, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in 2017 announced that they were looking to modernize the handling of employee records. One proposed solution is the creation of the federal employee digital record that would enable a continued, secure exchange of information on the “life cycle of employees.” Without knowing the types, limits and sources of collected data, it is unclear as to who will be helped and hurt by this practice.
Also in 2017, Sony announced that is was working to digitize education records using blockchain technology to track each citizen’s educational achievement throughout their life. Again, the devil is in the details.
In 2018, in an article appearing in Material Handling & Logistcs entitled “Will Amazons Worker Tracking Wristbands Cross the Privacy Line?,” it was reported that Amazon announced a new technology to track workers that has drawn many privacy group’s concern. “…a recent patent acquired by Amazon that would require employees to wear devices on their wrists which would track their every move has sounded alarm bells as to whether this new foray into advanced technology comes up against the need for privacy.”
Where is all of this leading? Lori Andrews, a professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Chicago-Kent College of Law said, “Employers are increasingly treating their employees like robots,” Andrews said. And this tracking could extend deeper than merely recording movement related to warehouse operations. Maroitti [Ally Maroitti-Chicago Tribune] also spoke with Paula Brantner, senior adviser at employee rights organization Workplace Fairness who said that the “technology could lead to discrimination. Even if the wristbands don’t use GPS tracking, they could tell a company if a woman is taking longer bathroom breaks than co-workers or whether a disabled employee is moving more slowly, which could reflect negatively on their job performance.”
Data is good. Employers need data to monitor efficiency and track the results of improvement efforts. But when does too much data cloud the underlying issue being measured? Can employers micro-manage itself into bad decisions and operational paralysis? And as companies continue to aggregate and sell collected data, what dangers does this pose to employees and consumers privacy – something difficult to nearly impossible to remedy once affected? Read More
Classes Alone Will Not Close the “Skills Gap,” But Structured On-the-Job Training Can…Every Time!
by Proactive Technologies, Inc. Staff
Proactive Technologies. Inc. works with many employers, a large number of them manufacturers, to set up structured on-the-job training programs designed to their exact job classification(s), built to train incumbent and new-hire workers to “full job mastery” – still the most elusive goal most employers face and the key to” closing the “skills gap.” Under-capacity of workers is an enormous source of untapped value and unrealized return on worker investment.
The accelerated transfer of expertise™ approach can help any employer quickly and completely train the skilled workers they need AND realize an increase in worker capacity, work quantity/quality and compliance (ISO/TS/AS, engineering specifications and safety) while reducing the internal costs of training. New-hires and incumbent workers are driven to full job mastery and higher levels of return on worker investment (ROWI). The task-based, structured on-the-job training infrastructure is perfect for apprenticeships; instead of marking the calendar for “time-in-job,” job-relevant tasks are mastered and documented. AND, unlike classroom or online training, the cost per trainee decreases with each added trainee once set up.
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This approach makes a worker’s mastery of the job the focus, integrating into the company’s existing systems and standards by building structure around the loosely arranged worker development activities already in place. By structuring the unstructured worker training to make it work effectively and efficiently, this approach maximizes the use of resources already in place.
Proactive Technologies is confident that, once your firm experiences the PROTECH© system of managed human resource development, you will recognize its capabilities to maximize your workforce and cut your training costs. That is why PTI is willing to let your firm find this out at the pace and investment level that you are comfortable first, then work with you to scale up within your budget to reach your goals. Read More
Read the full April, 2018 newsletter, including linked industry articles and online presentation schedules.
Controls and Employee Privacy?
Proactive Technologies, Inc.®; PROTECH; Human Resource Management for Tomorrow...Today!® and logo; br>Accelerated Transfer of Expertise System™; Certificate of Job Mastery Program™, Certificate of Task Mastery Program™ are all trademarks of Proactive Technologies Inc.®;