Skills for Life: how they affect organisations
“For companies employing 1000 people or more, it has been estimated that poor basic skills could cost as much as £500,000 per year in lower productivity.” (Rt Hon Charles Clarke MP, Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP, Skills for Life – Make it your business employer toolkit, DfES, 2004)
Poor English and maths may be having an impact in your workplace either because people did not develop skills in the first place or because some of their skills have become rusty through lack of use and practice. Although they may have coped for some time, as jobs change with new practices and technology, so people need to adapt and develop. Those with poor essential skills tend to have less confidence and a lower capacity to meet the demands of change and re-skilling. Poor or rusty skills can be evident in a number of different ways in the workplace. The following are examples of tasks that might be affected:
- Working out measurements of ingredients to go into pastries and cakes in a bakery.
- Reading and following a daily schedule of cleaning rooms in a large hotel.
- Taking cash orders manually and writing receipts in a busy shop.
- Answering the telephone and taking messages in an IT support office.
- Reading and following Health and Safety procedures and completing an accident report form.
- Communicating with customers and sorting queries that they raise.
- Adding on 10% to a regular customer’s order.
- Measuring and mixing chemicals to be used for cleaning.
- Taking notes at a management meeting.
All of these daily tasks may affect how customers are dealt with and have an impact on productivity and profits.
Think about the amount of time and money that is wasted on: administrative errors, problem-solving, dealing with upset and frustrated customers, re-doing tasks because of incorrect measurements, and recruiting new staff because turnover is high. Offering SfL support to staff could help address all these issues and help your business to run more smoothly and more profitably.