This Week's Herman Trend Alert The Consequences of Virtual Meetings

The Herman Trend Alert February 14, 2007 Graduates Lack Life Skills One of the refrains we often hear from employers is that graduates lack skills, particularly life skills. They tell us that many young people graduate from high school or college without knowing the basics: literacy, numeracy, what it takes to hold a job, or balance a checkbook. In a study by the Pew Charitable Trust, 50 percent of college graduates were found to be lacking in simple life skills. These grads were tested for three types of literacy skills: analyzing news stories and other prose, understanding documents, and having math skills needed for balancing checkbooks or figuring restaurant tips. A new study just released by the American Institutes for Research (AIR), a behavioral and social science research organization, echoes Pew’s findings. More than half of the students nearing graduation at four-year colleges lacked the literacy skills to handle complex tasks, such as analyzing arguments in newspaper editorials or understanding credit card offers. Students nearing graduation at two-year colleges scored even worse. Seventy-five percent of these students also did not have the basic skills. This AIR study was the first to target students closing in on graduation. The researchers utilized the same test as the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, the United States government's examination of English literacy among adults. Results of that government study, released in December, were similarly disappointing. The results reflected about five percent of U.S. adults are not literate. All of these studies raise serious questions about college curricula as well as the skills students possess when they arrive at college. We are not surprised. A major midwestern bank reported some years ago that they were testing all of their candidates for basic literacy and numeracy. Sixty-eight percent of their applicants failed this basic assessment. (Imagine the time saved from interviewing unqualified applicants.) All of these outcomes do not bode well for the United States’ ability to compete in global markets. Looking onto the future, we see more employers engaging college instructors and training professionals to fill in the gap---to up-skill their fresh grads with just-in-time support so that the employers will not be adversely affected. © Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: RETENTION SPECIALIST PROGRAM A growing number of people have expressed an interest in attending our Employee Retention Specialist Certificate Program. We'd like to schedule on that's convenient for those who want to attend, but need your feedback to do so. Please place RETENTION SPECIALIST in the subject line and Joyce will personally call you back to schedule the workshop. Or you can call Joyce directly at 336-210-3548 (PDT this and next week). BUSINESS IS PICKING UP Most employers are unprepared. The recovery will bring a new set of challenges for employers that have been in prolonged contracted mode. They will need more skilled workers or will need now to begin to upskill their current staffs. But organizations can not engage in Strategic Workforce Planning, when they don't know how. That's where The Herman Group can help. We can help you with your "People Review"----large or small---so that you will know who you will need and when you will need them. . . and we can also guide you to the best sources for the people you will need. For more information, call Joyce at 336-210-3548 or e-mail joyce@hermangroup.com. FIND OUT WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES REALLY THINK AND FEEL Discover what’s really going on in the hearts and minds of your employees. Our InnerViews interviewing service uses SPHRs and PHRs, certified human resource professionals to probe for the information you really need to know. Exit and Stay Interviews, as well as Why-Didn't-You-Take-Our-Offer Interviews. Call Rosalie Catalano at 937-416-7066, or read more at: http://www.hermangroup.com/retentionconnection/exit_interviews.html. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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