Quality ABET impacts the bottom line in a positive way. This is by equipping employees with the workplace literacy skills that they need to perform at their peak.
Employees who have completed all four ABET levels have workplace literacy skills. They can do basic calculations and write. Importantly, they can also read written directions for meaning and understand verbal instructions from their higher-ups. Refer to https://uis.unesco.org/en/glossary-term/functional-literacy for a formal definition of functional literacy. The terms “functional literacy” and “workplace literacy” are often used interchangeably by human resource practitioners. However, they both have a bearing on workers’ abilities to perform their respective jobs as expected and as defined in their job descriptions.
ABET Level 4
Employees who have completed ABET Level 4 are functionally literate. They are able to understand and use words and numbers for practical purposes. Among others, this includes deliberating ideas and solving problems.
Functional literacy, therefore, differs to the general definition of literacy, which is merely the ability to read, write and do maths. People may be able to able to read words in a document but may not understand its arguments and analogies. Therefore, they are functionally illiterate. While people may be able to write sentences, they may not be able to express complete, cogent thoughts. Workers may be able to count, add and subtract. However, someone who is functionally literate can also analyse graphs, interpret statistics or plan budgets. These are skills that are needed to make sound decisions in all aspects of life, including in the world of work.
ABET facilitates meaningful communication
ABET facilitates meaningful two-way communication between employees and their higher-ups. This is so that work can be completed according to the required quality and by deadline.
Enterprising managers, supervisors and foremen understand how to direct their staff.
When communicating instructions to their employees, they provide context and are specific. They know that their employees need all the details and background to perform an impending task correctly and by deadline.
Moreover, they instruct their staff in a polite manner. They are conscious about the tone of their voice; speak at a reasonable volume; and use kind and respectful words when directing staff.
Experienced managers also provide their employees with an opportunity to ask questions to better understand what is required of them. This is to avoid ambiguity and misunderstandings that result in mistakes.
Furthermore, they demonstrate trust in their employees and faith in their abilities. They also provide positive feedback and appropriate gratitude when tasks have been completed according to their expectation. Experienced managers also know how to give clear and helpful feedback or constructive criticism if tasks were completed incorrectly. This is to avoid repeating the same mistakes in future.
However, it does not matter how effective your managers are at communicating instructions if members of their teams struggle to understand them. This is especially relevant when teams that are being directed mainly consist of unskilled and semi-skilled workers. While the jobs that they perform require no formal education and minimal training and experience, they play an important role in business success. They, therefore, need to be completed at a satisfactory level. This can only be achieved if those individuals who physically perform this type of work understand exactly what is required of them.
ABET nurtures important team members
Quality ABET nurtures important members of your team and the cogs of industry and the economy.
It may not always be easy to measure the real value that is provided by low-skilled and semi-skilled workers. This is compared to the work that is performed by skilled or knowledge workers which is more strategic in nature.
However, low-skilled and semi-skilled workers are pivotal members of your team, performing work that keeps your company operational and projects ticking over. There would not be vacancies for such work if it was unimportant, although South Africa is increasingly relying on higher levels of skills. This is as it transitions into mainly being a service-based economy, placing the many unskilled and semi-skilled jobs at risk. Nevertheless, these employees work tirelessly and under pressure to ensure that skilled staff members are able to perform their tasks.
Notably, the low-skilled workers of today are going to be experts in their jobs in the future. Experience and expertise are highly valued in any company. Therefore, it is important to invest in these employees. They will be of even more value if they are equipped with the skills that they need to perform at their best. This also instils loyalty because employees see that you are invested in their wellbeing. It is, therefore, easier to retain the skills and experience that keep your production lines running smoothly. Equipped with literacy and numeracy skills, these employees can also learn other skills that enable them to rise up the ranks. In more senior positions, they can pass their wealth of knowledge of your processes to junior members of staff to help with succession planning.
ABET is important
Therefore, ABET is important. It a vital component of most companies’ communication improvement strategies.
By implication, individuals who perform unskilled and semi-skilled work have a limited educational background. Therefore, many of these workers are functionally illiterate and semi functionally illiterate. This means that they cannot read directions for meaning. They also lack the ability to listen actively to instructions that are communicated verbally, irrespective of the language being used to convey messages. In many instances, these workers also have limited critical and logical thinking skills. This impedes their ability to follow through on instructions that they have received from managers, supervisors and team leaders.
Many unskilled or semi-skilled employees also do not communicate in English as a first language. In fact, English is often a third or fourth language for individuals who perform low skilled or semi-skilled work. They mainly speak Zulu and Xhosa and even Afrikaans outside the workplace, despite English being the formal language of business in South Africa. Many managers, therefore, incorrectly assume that all of their staff are fluent in the language. For more reading on this topic, refer to https://southafrica-info.com/arts-culture/11-languages-south-africa/#:~:text=IsiZulu%20is%20South%20Africa’s%20biggest,%2C%20and%20isiNdebele%20(2%25).
Notably, a significant portion of the 3-million South African adults who are illiterate are of working age. Those who are employed perform mundane and general, but necessary work. They can be found working on construction sites, farms and roads and in warehouses mines, quarries and factories. Refer to https://www.dhet.gov.za/Planning%20Monitoring%20and%20Evaluation%20Coordination/Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Adult%20illiteracy%20in%20South%20Africa_March%202022.pdf for more reading on the topic. Many young learners are also leaving school prematurely to start working, exacerbating the country’s illiteracy crisis. Only individuals with a Grade 9 education are considered to be functionally literate. They can, therefore, perform general and entry-level work properly.
Employees who complete ABET
Employees who complete ABET do not just listen to hear an instruction from their higher-ups. Rather, they have been taught to listen actively. This means that they focus on the intent and purpose of the conversation. They also pay attention to body language and give encouraging verbal cues. Moreover, they clarify and paraphrase information and summarise, share and reflect.
In this way, they understand exactly what needs to be done. There is no uncertainty around when and where the task needs to be completed and how it needs to be done. They also know why the work needs to be done and executed in a specific manner.
Because they can write, they can also take notes. This enables them to remember everything that was communicated to them in a meeting with their supervisors, managers and other higher-ups. It also demonstrates preparedness; organisation; and a keen interest in doing the job correctly the first-time round.
They also have the ability and confidence to ask questions if they are uncertain about what to do. Importantly, they also provide other team members the opportunity to do so. Moreover, they engage constructively with the rest of the team in meetings to help clarify what needs to be done. Teamwork ensures that employees know what is required of them and can collaborate to get it done.
They also refrain from judgement when listening to what is being communicated to them. This enables employees to respond with a positive attitude which enables them to complete their tasks correctly.
ABET imparts critical thinking skills
Importantly, ABET imparts the critical and logical thinking capabilities that employees use to follow instructions correctly. This so that they can complete their tasks according to expectation. Employees also use these skills to make sound decisions and solve problems when they encounter unforeseen obstacles along the way. They are able to do this individually or as part of high-performance teams and with minimal supervision from their superiors.
ABET improves quality
ABET improves the quality of work produced by employees.
Quality is ensured when employees are able to follow clear and comprehensive instructions from their higher-ups. When workers do not know exactly what to do, they will approximate. This increases the risk of mistakes being made, potentially compromising the overall quality of the final product. If the errors are detected early, the work will need to be redone, resulting in waste and delays that hold up production.
For this reason, work instructions usually form a key component of companies’ quality management systems. These manuals may even include detailed corrective and preventative actions that need to be taken to ensure a positive outcome. However, they are only effective if your employees can read them for meaning.
ABET improves productivity
ABET improves the productivity of your workforce.
Communicating instructions verbally and then recording them in writing standardises procedures that need to be followed by each team member. Employees who can read can refer to these when necessary. This is opposed to wasting time trying to understand what to do and how to complete the task. They also know why it is important to precisely follow the instructions. This enables your employees to work faster and more accurately and, in doing so, improving productivity.
ABET improves safety
ABET helps to improve health and safety in the workplace.
Employees who are able to read and listen actively; think logically and critically; and make sound decisions are healthier and safer workers. They are able to follow health and safety directives to the tee. This is so that they can complete their tasks without endangering themselves and others, as well as their surroundings.
Triple E Training is a leading adult literacy and numeracy training provider.
We have an impressive track record equipping low-skilled and semi-skilled employees with the English literacy and numeracy proficiencies that they need to perform at their peak. Our training enables your employees to work accurately and efficiently. This results in better work quality, service and productivity gains. Employees also commit fewer errors because they can better understand instructions, warning labels and procedures. This leads to fewer errors, accidents and waste which, ultimately, produce cost savings for the company.
Learn more about Triple E Training and our quality ABET. www.eee.co.za
