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Excellence in Workplace Literacy, Large Business Winner, 2001: the North West Company

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Excellence in Workplace Literacy, Large Business Winner, 2001: the North West Company DOCUMENT RESUME ED 480 387 CE 085 246 AUTHOR Campbell, Alison TITLE Excellence in Workplace Literacy, Large Business Winner, 2001: The North West Company. Case Study. INSTITUTION Conference Board of Canada, Ottawa (Ontario). PUB DATE 2002-05-00 NOTE 5p. AVAILABLE FROM For full text: http://www.conferenceboard.cal education/pdf/nwco-cs.pdf. PUB TYPE Reports Research (143) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Adult Basic Education; Adult Literacy; *Awards; Canada Natives; Case Studies; *Corporate Education; Cultural Pluralism; Education Work Relationship; Educational Benefits; Educational Environment; *Educational Practices; Educational Quality; Employment Potential; Employment Qualifications; Foreign Countries; *Literacy Education; Rural Areas; Rural Education; Skill Development; *Workplace Literacy IDENTIFIERS Alaska; *Canada; Work Based Learning ABSTRACT The North West Company (NWC), which is the leading retailer of food and everyday products and services to remote communities across northern Canada and Alaska, was the large business winner of the Excellence in Workplace Literacy award in 2001. NWC's workplace literacy program was selected for an award because of the improvements it brought, not only to employees, but also to the communities where they live and work. The program's primary objective was to determine the best approach to closing the gap between the skills workers require and those they possess. Its enabling objectives were as follows:(1) use detailed training plans to increase employees' technical knowledge through workplace education and training; (2) overcome the barriers that prevent Aboriginal employees from advancing into management positions;(3) make learning accessible to various literacy levels by offering a variety of training methods and using physically and emotionally centered learning;(4) address all areas of literacy, including interpersonal, technical, and enabling skills that increase overall employability; and (5) promote continuous learning and upgrading through educational institutions by offering tuition reimbursements and recognizing achievements. The NWC workplace literacy program was credited with improving employees' motivation and productivity, reducing turnover costs, and enabling more Aboriginal employees than ever to advance to managerial positions.(MN) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY The Conference Board of Canada Insights You Can Count On TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) U S DEPARTMENT OF Office of Educational ResearchEDUCATION and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 17161Ms document has been reproducedas received from the personor organization originating it CI Minor changes have beenmade to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinionsstated in this document do not necessarilyrepresent official OERI positionor policy . i 1 Excellence in Workplace Literacy, .Ltrgeusiness Winner, 2001 The North West Company OVERVIEW This program was selected for an award because of the improvements it brought, not only to employees, he North West Company (NWC) is the lead- but to the communities in which they live and work. ing retailer of food and everyday products Also worthy of special attention is the effort made and services to remote communities across to increase the number of Aboriginal employees northern Canada and Alaska. NWC is also qualified for management positions. Finally, this the largest private sector employer of Aboriginal people in Canada. With stores geographically dispersed in Effective practicesin providing Contact remote communities across the North, the company training and supporting work- Karen Milani place learning. Vice-President, faces special challenges with regard to logistics, tech- A core product of the National Human Resources The North West Company nology and access to education. Business and Education Centre 77 Main Street Name of Program Winnipeg, MB Workplace literacy has been an important part of Workplace Literacy R3C 2R1 NWC's training program since 1992. The company's Program Tel: (204) 934-1358 Workplace Fax: (204) 934-1696 multi-faceted approach to literacy and training focuses E-mail: [email protected] Date Established on: communication, computer literacy, and numeracy, 1992 reading and writing skills. The North West Company Skills Developed uses literacy assessments, needs assessments and feed- Fundamental back surveys to create customized training programs Personal Management Teamwork for its employees. EDUCATION AND LEARNING 2 BEST COPYAVAILABLE organization's training program was chosen because The North West Company was able to identify training it is a replicable model for other companies working gaps and develop training tools to address a variety in the North. of learning styles. Delivery methods and tools included one-on-one training, on-the-job training, company OBJECTIVES training manuals, training videos, on and off-site workshops and courses, as well as communications The overall purpose of the training project was to videos. determine the best approach to closing the gap between the skills workers required, and the worker skills avail- RESOURCES able in the NWC's Northern stores by: I.Increasing the technical knowledge of employees NWC's training project began as a partnership through workplace education and training, using between The North West Company and various federal detailed training plans; and provincial government bodies. Training consultants 2. Overcoming the barriers that prevent Aboriginal were hired to develop management performance stan- employees from advancing into management positions; dards that were used as the basis for literacy gap analy- 3. Making learning accessible to various literacy levels sis. Finally, support and commitment from all levels of by offering a variety of training methods to upgrade The North West Company led to the successful imple- basic skills, using physically and emotionally cen- mentation of NWC's training program. tred learning; 4. Addressing all areas of literacy, including inter- INNOVATIONS personal, technical and enabling skills that increase overall employability; and 1. NWC conducted an Enabling Skills Survey of 100 5. Promoting continuous learning and upgrading employees. The gaps between employees' current through educational institutions, by offering tuition skill levels and the skills required for each position reimbursements and recognition of achievements. became clear. 2. Detailed training plans were crcated for each store- TARGET GROUPS level position. A variety of learning tools were cus- tomizcd to the learning styles of the Aboriginal The NWC training program focuses on grooming population. employees for managerial roles by improving work- 3. Technical trainers from 'Best Practice' stores and place literacy and basic skills. To enable the company the corporate office travel to remote store sites for to produce a comprehensive training program, NWC on-site workshops and hands-on learning. received provincial and federal government funding to 4. Management Training programs were tailored to study job skills in store operations. Approximately 100 needs. The project used a 360-degree feedback employees and managers were surveyed in the study, survey to identify the gaps in management soft which confirmed that many NWC employees would skills. Training candidates, their assistants, and benefit from literacy training. their managers completed an assessment of each candidate before the course. The study gave rise ACTIVITIES to the development of a Manager's Skills Profile, which listed the 14 essential skills of an NWC First, the company conductcd a needs assessment to store manager. find out which job skills were required. Each job was assigned an International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) BARRIERS literacy level, as a minimum criterion. Human Resource Development Canada's Essential Skills profile was used Designing training and putting it into place for to assist in the job analysis process. an organization as large as NWC presents several challenges. The key barriers are the vast geographic Then, literacy studies, individual needs assessments, area covered by The North West Company family of and 360-degree feedback surveys were conducted to help stores, cultural differences among the workforce, and tailor training programs. Armed with this information, the nature of the store operations. 2 3 The Conference Board of Canada GEOGRAPHIC The number of Aboriginal employees in manage- The cost of delivering training over a wide geo- ment; graphic area, in remote communities, and across Sales growth; several time zones is high. A five-day training Earnings growth; course in northern Canada costs approximately Manager turnover and replacement costs; $3,300 per employee. Length of service; Approximately 63 per cent of the company's Loss prevention; and workforce is Aboriginal; many live in remote Customer satisfaction. communities with limited access to post- secondary or technical training institutions. NWC's training initiatives have resulted in demon- English as a Second Language (ESL) and strable improvements in these areas. Some key features literacy training are needed in most of these of the company's training programs include: communities. For people relocating from southern Canada, adapt- Top-down corporate commitment to training; ing to a northern lifestyle, without
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