Six Years’ Literacy Training Pays Off at SKYCITY
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Data shows customer service quality, staff engagement and incident and potential hazard reporting are up, while staff turnover and staff errors are down.
Managers say some of the gain can be attributed to six years of workplace literacy training (training in basic English, reading, writing, maths and speaking).
Nearly 3,000 people, representing more than 50 different ethnicities, work for SKYCITY Auckland as cashiers, cleaners and laundry, security, wardrobe, property, food and beverage staff.
A significant proportion of SKYCITY Auckland staff speak English as a second language.
In 2006, the Auckland branch of SKYCITY Entertainment Group introduced workplace literacy training, initially hoping to improve customer service skills.
Group HR Manager Evan Bateup explains: "We're a customer-focused organisation. Every interaction we have with a customer needs to be a good one – regardless of whether you're a cashier or a manager.
"Cleaners and laundry staff, for example, need to interact with customers in an open, friendly and approachable way. But they also need the numerical skills to accurately measure chemicals and the critical thinking and writing skills to accurately identify and report potential incidents," he says.
To date, more than 250 SKYCITY staff – across all departments – have taken part in a 40-week literacy course run by Workbase, a private literacy training provider.
Workbase tutors teach employees basic English, reading, writing, maths and speaking for an hour a week, one-on-one or in small groups.
Anecdotal feedback from managers shows the customer service skills of employees who've taken part in literacy training has improved.
Meanwhile, company data shows incident and potential hazard reporting has increased by 10 per cent each year since training started. Lost-time injuries have dropped by more than 20 per cent in the past two years.
"We believe literacy training has been a factor in our health and safety gains," says Mr Bateup.
Other markers of success include a 30 per cent decrease in staff turnover among workplace literacy trainees and survey results showing improved staff engagement over the same period.
Employees' confidence has grown too, says Mr Bateup. And with that has come a willingness to learn more and climb the company ladder into more senior roles.
Russian-born wardrobe operations manager Julia Bolotbaeva is a great example of someone who has used the Workbase training to further her career and education goals, Mr Bateup says.
Ms Bolotbaeva, a speaker of Russian, Turkish and English, originally trained in criminal law and joined the firm in 2008.
She started as a wardrobe supervisor, took part in workplace literacy training and has since enrolled in further university study and taken up a managerial role.
Ms Bolotbaeva says workplace literacy training offers non-English speakers a unique and very practical way to learn English.
"I've been learning English all my life. I've studied it formally here in New Zealand, as well as at home in Russia. So I understand sentence structure and grammar. But my training here at SKYCITY has been valuable for different reasons. It's given me a real-world understanding of English. It's helped me learn how to adapt the language I use to the situation I'm in. I've learned the language for writing emails, drafting performance reviews, building a sense of team-work and so on."
Ms Bolotbaeva says she's also learned a lot about the tone and style of communicating with Kiwi staff.
"In Russia, we are more straight forward. For example, we don't alter what we say to prevent hurting someone's feelings. But Kiwis tend to be more considerate and more understanding in the workplace. These things are cultural, of course, but they are also part of learning a language and using it more effectively at work."
Ms Bolotbaeva believes the high quality of SKYCITY's workplace literacy training makes it a good choice for many employees. She says her tutor taught her exactly what she needed to know after first assessing her needs and talking to her about her goals, and then independently researching the specific language needs of Eastern European migrants.
"He came up with a learning plan especially for me and for my work here at SKYCITY. He also encouraged me to go on to further study, knowing I was capable. I'm very grateful for the opportunity I've had."
Last year, SKYCITY's literacy training programme was profiled on the Department of Labour's Skills Highway website (www.skillshighway.govt.nz), alongside case studies on Millennium Hotels and Resorts and Accor Hotels.
Research shows about four in every 10 (more than one million) employees in New Zealand have difficulty with reading, writing, maths and communication.
Jacqui Gibson
Department of Labour
