Training the Personnel of Small Offices By the Committee on OFFICE WORK TRAINING Chairman Martin L. Pierce Manager of Research and Promotion, Hoover Suction Sweeper Co. Copyright, 1922 NATIONAL PERSONNEL ASSOCIATION 20 Vesey Street - New York, N. Y. COMMITTEE ON OFFICE WORK TRAINING Martin L. Pierce, Chairman The Hoover Suction Sweeper Company North Canton, Ohio H. G. Kenagy Carnegie Institute of Technology Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania C. A. Stonelake The Prudential Insurance Company of America Newark, New Jersey Miss Ann Durham Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Chicago, Illinois C. H. Weiser Southwestern Bell Telephone Company St. Louis, Missouri P. C. Holter Chase National Bank New York, New York M. B. Folsom The Eastman Kodak Company Rochester, New York James H. Greene Kaufmann’s Department Store Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania H. E. Puffer The Larkin Company Buffalo, New York D. A. Reed Travelers Life Insurance Company Hartford, Connecticut Note: — This report will be discussed at the convention. Members should bring their copies of reports with them. No copies will be available for free distribution at the convention. TRAINING THE PERSONNEL OF SMALL OFFICES I. Introduction The basis of this report on Training the Personnel of Small Offices is a general survey of conditions as they actually exist in the typical small office in the United States. The offices covered include those of manufacturing concerns, insurance offices, real estate offices, department store offices, and the offices of larger wholesale and retail establishments representing various lines of business. It will be the purpose of this report to outline for the office manager, or the executive functioning as an office manager, the essentials of a systematic program for training office employees. The dis- cussion will also furnish sources of information that can be se- cured both for checking the efficiency and for further classifying and standardizing his own organization. This study is limited to offices having approximately 200 em- ployees or less, because the work of the larger office has been, for most part, covered by such publications as those of Schulze* and Leffingwellf. Furthermore, the offices employing more than 200 employees have, for most part, an office manager giving all or most of his time definitely to carrying out plans of training and employee development for his organization, while the typical small office is, for most part, simply a number of departments without any executive giving general supervision — each department head having his own standards for a day’s work as well as his own standard of efficiency. There is seldom a standardization of iden- tical jobs in various departments; neither is there a standardization of salaries. The report is intended to cover the typical employees of the small office, such as stenographers, typists, dictaphone operators, filing clerks, billing clerks, and operators of adding machines, comptometers and other standard office equipment. The data upon present training methods in small offices have been secured from an investigation of approximately 400 offices, these offices being situated in towns and cities ranging from the size of New York to Canton, Ohio, and in geographical distribution ranging from Boston to St. Louis. The method used by the Committee was ♦Schulze, John William, The American Office, Ronald Press Co., 1914. fLeffingwell, William Henry, Scientific Office Management, A. W. Shaw Co., 1917. 3 that of personal investigation by the members of the Committee of conditions that actually existed in the various communities. This information, for most part, was secured personally from the office manager or some executive in the office from which the re- port was received. In the small office the all-around efficiency of the employee should necessarily be higher than that of the large office, if the standard of work turned out is to be maintained, because in a small office even stenographers will not have dictation enough to keep them busy all the time. For that reason they must have knowledge of other types of work, in order to keep their time profitably employed. The same thing is true of all other types of office employees. The lack of systematic training in the small office necessarily keeps the efficiency of the small office employee much lower than it should be, and for that reason it has been found that the number of employees in the small office ranges higher for the volume of work turned out than in the larger office, where systematic training is regularly conducted. Training Methods Discovered Among the 400 offices investigated, only five per cent, of them are carrying on any type of office training and not more than one per cent, are carrying on a systematic, well-arranged training pro- gram, which looks towards the definite development of its em- ployees. Two of the companies investigated have more or less formal school training. One of these, a large printing house, re- quires all its employees between 14 and 18 years of age, to attend classes an average of four hours per day. The emphasis is upon shop work but some general instruction is given in such subjects as Applied Arithmetic and Grammar. Some of the employees graduate from the school into office jobs. The Northern Trust Company of Chicago requires all employees under 16 years of age to attend school 50 per cent, of the time. A teacher is employed full time but officers of the company assist in special work. At- tendance of employees above 16 years is optional, but incentives are supplied to make training desired. Special salary increases are given to good students, and the brightest students are picked for special training. Pupils are encouraged to take outside courses also, such as the Benjamin Franklin Institute Course, and gradu- ates of such courses are given opportunity to advance to responsible positions. Departmental meetings are used for giving such general 4 training as all employees need. The results of the whole training program have been very gratifying. In the Guardian Life Insurance Company, a course on general life insurance principles, extending over three months, is given as often as the hiring of new employees necessitates. The class meets twice a week from 8:30 to 9:30 A. M., the company giving half the time and the employee half. The teachers are mostly company officials and give their time. A few of the lectures are given by older clerks who consider it an honor to be asked to help. An examination is given at the end of the course and successful students are awarded certificates. The company reports that the course has tended to bring about greater permanence of service and stability in the office force and has served to interest several keen young men in a life insurance career. Friction between clerks of different departments has been lessened since each department understands the work of the other. The attendance has been ex- cellent with each class. Recently there has been a demand for an advanced course. Many companies find it necessary, of course, to give new office employees special training in performing operations on tasks pe- culiar to their business. Many jobs require a certain amount of specific technical information on the part of the worker. Every company, with its particular products or services, has its own body of knowledge which almost all its office employees need to know. For these reasons some plan, whether formal or informal, needs to be employed to give the necessary knowledge to the em- ployees. Some companies conduct specialized courses covering technical jobs, others maintain courses of instruction in the funda- mentals of the particular business. Examples of this latter plan are the courses in Investments and Bank Operations given by some banks and trust companies. Some manufacturing companies give their office employees a course of general lectures about the products manufactured. Concerns like the Addressograph Com- pany and the Yawman and Erbe Company, train their employees in the use of their particular products. The American Rolling Mill Company, in addition to the development of a manual of gen- eral instructions for stenographers and other office workers, has published for their use a special company vocabulary, showing all the shorthand equivalents. Training in the more common office functions has not been given the attention it deserves. Aside from sporadic attempts to 5 train correspondents — sometimes by merely publishing a booklet of the mechanics of composition and letter writing — little has been done. Courses in correspondence usually bring satisfactory re- sults, but the idea of training seldom spreads from this to other departments. One plan, however, which involves actual training in office work, deserves mention. This is the plan of keeping an emergency stenographic and clerical force, under constant train- ing, to fill positions suddenly or temporarily made vacant in some department of the plant. The Eastman Kodak Company main- tains such ;a group, under the supervision of a trained office woman. The members are given regular instruction in typing, gen- eral filing and other clerical operations. When they become fully qualified for regular positions, they are transferred out of the emergency squad. The period of training depends upon the in- dividual, and may vary from four to sixteen weeks. In such a brief summary, it is impossible to describe the many variations in training methods which were found. Others will appear later as illustrations. The chief fact discovered, in the opinion of the Committee, is the almost total lack of a definite, planned training program in the majority of companies. Train- ing, in small offices, has been left to take care of itself. The findings of the Committee, therefore, show a positive need for serious attention to the problems and methods of training. In the paragraphs which follow, the essentials of a scientific program will be outlined. The Committee believes that, thru the adop- tion of such a program, the management of the small office may expect the following definite results: 1. The several tasks to be performed by the employees will be classified, and the relative simplicity and complexity of the tasks to be performed will be brought out. 2. By job analysis, the various operations will be studied and the easiest, quickest and best methods of performance will be written down. 3. Standard performance by the hour or day will be estab- lished. 4. On this performance, salaries can be standardized and a definite route for promotions established. 5. By the coordination of the various offices, promotions from within the organization by transfer from one department to the other will be made possible. 6. The excessive turnover will be greatly reduced. 6 7. The inefficient employees will soon be discovered and elim- inated. 8. The unusually efficient employee will be discovered and promoted. II. Proper Selection the First Step in Training A careful program of selection is the first step in the develop- ment of an efficient office force. This is particularly true in small offices because of the necessary absence of a comprehensive train- ing system such as is possible in larger groups. It is necessary in most cases to select employees for the specific job rather than for induction into a training course which might fit them for one of several positions. In other words, employees at the time of hiring must be capable of filling satisfactorily the specific jobs for which they are employed and most such employees must be able to learn to fill more responsible positions. The best personnel practice in offices provides promotion from within the company as far as this is possible. Where this practice is carried out it is usually the lower and less important position which is made vacant by the turnover in the office force. That is, if a high-grade clerk leaves her position, the vacancy is filled by an understudy and promotions occur down the line to the lowest position in the office. It is this position which must be filled from the outside. If this system of promotion is followed, it is evident that the new employee must be capable of advancing from one position to another as rapidly as vacancies occur. The importance of careful selection, therefore, cannot be too greatly emphasized. The plan of promoting within the company and of taking on new employees at the lower level of duties, is only possible, of course, when opportunities for training are given to all office workers. Each employee must be given the chance to understudy a more responsible position and to acquire the general background of information necessary to advancement in the company. But employee initiative must not be relied upon wholly to secure re- sults. The company must make training easy to acquire and must supply incentives to arouse the interest and earnest efforts of employees. One exception to the general rule of hiring only persons cap- able of rapid advancement, may occur in the case of employees who operate special machines or who do work of a routine char- 7 acter. In this class would be put comptometer operators, billing machine operators, dictaphone operators, and long-hand clerks. It has often proved to be good practice to hire for such positions persons who are adapted to routine work and who are incapable of doing work of much higher character. It is possible to secure office workers who are content year after year to hold positions of this sort. Hiring Another Company’s Trained Help Only a Temporary Solution It should be pointed out in this connection that the hiring of another company’s trained help is only a temporary solution of the problem of securing an efficient office force. In the first place this practice disturbs the morale of the office into which such em- ployees are brought. The older employees, who in such circum- stances have no chance to advance (through lack of training facil- ities), resent having an outsider put into a position which they have not been given an opportunity to hold. The company which follows the practice of bringing in outsiders can never expect to develop the team work and Esprit de Corps which is found in offices where promotion within the company is the rule. While it is possible to secure by this method a group of highly capable individuals, it is not possible to develop the smoothly working or- ganization which is necessary for efficient work. Hiring another company’s trained help is more expensive in the long run than the development of persons within the organiza- tion. The cost of discovering and inducting outside help, and the high turnover which this practice usually causes in the or- ganization, more than offset the necessary time, effort, and expen- diture given to develop talent within the company. For this reason as well as for the ethics of the situation, intelligent personnel prac- tice points to the value of filling positions within the company through the regular channels of promotion. Successful Selection Based on Job Analysis 4 Successful selection of office employees depends largely upon the thorough knowledge of the various jobs to be performed, since each individual must be selected upon the basis of his or her ability to perform specific tasks. The employment manager or office manager must know the specific requirements of each job. The approved method of securing this information is the job analysis. This method is so widely known through its use in con- 8 nection with industrial problems that no description need be given here. Factory managers and industrial engineers have discovered that job analysis is the first step in improving the processes of production and in increasing the earning power of the individual employee. The data from job analysis have been used as a basis for: (1) Devising methods of work that require less time and energy (2) Improving methods of training and supervising workers (3) Improving the methods of selecting employes (4) Making wage adjustments (5) Planning a system of promotion (6) Improving working conditions The use of job analysis* makes possible the careful descrip- tion not only of the duties of each job but of the qualifications required of the person who fills the job. With this data in hand it becomes possible to draw up a detailed job specification which the employment department can use as the basis of its selection procedure. To illustrate what is meant, the following description of a clerical position in the employment department of a Pittsburgh public service corporation is given. Name: Name of Occupation Steno. and Clerk Immediate Superior: Employment Manager Number of Subordinates: Office boy does filing, part time, under her direction Hours of Work: 8:30 to 5. One hour for lunch. Description of Occupation : Performs stenographic and clerical work of the Employment Office. Takes dictation from Employment Manager, Office Employment Supervisor, and from interviewers. (Most of the correspondence is with outside firms relative to requests for references or information regarding persons who apply for positions with the company.) Types form letters, “Help Wanted” advertisements, and weekly and monthly employment reports. Performs clerical and filing work involved in keeping up to date the file of application blanks. Classifies and tabs application blanks, which are filed in a visible index file. Gives trade tests to persons applying for sten- ographic and typing positions. Advises new female employees as to company standards and policies. On account of typing being done in the reception room of the Welfare Bureau, answers telephone for the Welfare Manager, receives and ushers his callers. Occasionally sterilizes instruments for Welfare Manager. Occasion- ally types correspondence for him. Time Required to Learn This Work: One month. Special Training Required: Knowledge of stenography, filing, business letter writing, use of tests. ♦The March, 1922, issue of Filing and Office Management contained a valuable article on “Job Analysis as an Aid to Management,” by O. C. Murray. 9 The problem of developing job descriptions in small offices is complicated by the fact that it is often necessary for one person to perform a variety of duties. For example, a stenographer, in addition to taking dictation, may have to do a great deal of routine typing, some longhand transcribing, check records, and file all the records of her office. Because of this variety of duties it is difficult to hire a person who can fit the job from the beginning. For this reason it is all the more important that the various duties should be carefully described in the written specifications of the job. With the written specifications as a basis, the employment pro- cedure can be gradually defined and standardized. That is, since the qualifications necessary for each job are known, it becomes pos- sible to develop ways and means of measuring these various qualifi- cations in the applicants for positions. To date very little has been accomplished in this direction outside of a few proficiency or trade tests for some of the special qualifications needed in office posi- tions. We have, for example, tests to determine the speed and accuracy of typists and stenographers and various machine opera- tors. But, as has been pointed out above, the problem in small offices is not so much to secure efficiency on a particular job, but to secure ability to learn. In the small office the new stenographer must be able not only to take dictation and transcribe her notes, but must be able to learn rapidly many other operations, some of which may be peculiar to the particular company. For most posi- tions in the small office, therefore, the intelligence of the applicant is of prime importance. A Measure of Intelligence Is a Valuable Selection Evidence is accumulating to the effect that the use of a standard intelligence test in selection will improve the ratio of success and will aid materially in raising the level of efficiency in an office. It will also greatly decrease the turnover now caused by improper placement. The Bureau of Personnel Research of Carnegie Insti- tute of Technology has secured significant results with a revised form of the Army Alpha test. The test has been given to several thousand office employes and clearly defined levels of intelligence for various types of office workers have been discovered. 5 *' That is, as the accompanying chart indicates, stenographers score higher as a group than do typists, bookkeepers score higher than ledger ♦For a full discussion of tests in selection, see Administration, October, 1921, “The Prevention of Labor Turnover” and Forbes , May 27, 1922, “Empty Heads Make Poor Clerks,” by H. G. Kenagy. 10 Comparison of occupational sub-divisions in t\n/o genera! occupational groups on basis of Scores in Genera! Intel I igence Test • Company A. 5 rff/vofi/?APH/c Clocks Lonath of bor- show* rang* of rrndd/o SO % S«tr«fan»e Q»| L I Future rtoar cantor • a modi' an . I '»» * 1 r vf 3 ;a+u(i>) ■ i i ■ i 30 40 70 30 so _J I HO 130 I .. too ~T&ntsiscfZiG>mG Clcsks. Oeofckee/xrap3) Lodger Clork.o( 55 ) IOI 6,//C/*r/<3(2S) ~T— 22 . 'ftrneCJorli 79 clerks, etc. Therefore an applicant who makes an intelligence score below the lower limit for successful stenographers, should not be given a position as a stenographer. In small offices no applicant 11 should be employed, except for routine work, whose intelligence level is not comparable to that of the average satisfactory worker now employed. Applicants for routine jobs, who compare favor- ably in intelligence with the routine clerks already employed, should be warned in the beginning that they cannot expect to be advanced. The intelligence level of an applicant or a new employee is a reliable index of his or her ability to learn and to advance from job to job. Consequently, opportunity to learn must be given or else dissatisfaction arises. When an employee is held too long in a position which he has mastered, he loses interest, “soldiers” on the job or quits. A large part of the turnover in business offices is traceable directly to this situation. At the other end of the in- telligence scale are employees who are unable to learn and who can- not perform their work satisfactorily. Discharges add these workers to the turnover records. Intelligence is not, of course, the only qualification which should be considered in hiring office employees. But, it is perhaps the one trait or quality which can be measured successfully today at the time of employment, excluding, of course, actual ability to per- form standardized operations. The other qualifications of the ap- plicant must be judged by the interviewer, using perhaps some form of rating scale or judgment blank to assist in the process. III. Training It has been pointed out in preceding paragraphs that formal training courses are not adapted to the needs of small offices where few individuals hold similar positions or perform the same duties. The information which all employes need is not extensive and is not so difficult to acquire that formal training courses are neces- sary. Each employee needs careful instruction in regard to the duties and responsibilities of his or her own position. Consequently training must be given for the job and on the job. That is, each employee must be given instruction covering each element of his job and the best method of performing each element. Further- more, this training must be given while the job is being performed. Two general plans of training, therefore, are needed in the small offices. First, the employee must be given such general in- formation as is needed by all employees; second, each employee must be taught how to perform his particular job most efficiently. The first type of training may be given through group instruction. The second must be thoroughly individualized. 12 Job Analysis Indicates Training Needs The basic material for both types of training should be secured from the data of the job analysis. By combining the data secured from an analysis of all jobs, the common requirements of all the jobs will be clearly indicated. That is, it will be discovered whether general training can be properly given in such things as English, spelling, office routine, and the like. The most important informa- tion, however, will be that which describes the particular duties of each job. This information becomes the basis of the special training given to the individual holding a job. To further define and improve this individual training, careful judgments or ratings of the efficiency of each employee in the various elements of his or her job can be made. By comparing these ratings with the company standards of efficiency the special training needs of each individual will be clearly indicated. That is, the weak points will be pointed out and can be made the basis of training efforts. Efficiency Standards Necessary To carry through any training program for office workers, there must be clearly defined standards or goals for the training pro- gram as a whole, and for the individual employees. It must be pos- sible to measure the degree of attainment in each job so that the proficiency of each employee may be determined definitely. This is perhaps more difficult for the jobs in small offices since each job may include many dissimilar duties, but as far as possible there must be for each task definite understandable norms or stand- ards of efficiency such that it will be possible to grade the ability and performance of each employee. In this connection, it should be pointed out that ordinary ratings or estimates on general traits are not sufficient for this purpose. That is, the office manager’s “arm chair” judgments of speed, ac- curacy, intelligence, personality, loyalty, etc., are not reliable bases from which to develop a training program. More exact and more objective measures are needed. The ideal rating is one which is based upon the performance of the actual concrete elements of the job. The rating scale which is used should be designed to force the office manager or the supervisor to analyze his judgments care- fully and to discriminate between qualities. Wherever possible actual production units should be the basis of judgment as to ability and the need for further training. For some office jobs this method is quite possible. For straight typing, 13 \ machine operating, and for some kinds of routine clerical work, it is possible to measure the actual amount of production per day or per hour. In such cases quality and quantity of work become the basis for efficiency ratings. At the other extreme are positions of such a character that judgments of ability must be relied upon almost entirely. In such cases, the necessity for making a careful analysis of the job and for basing ratings upon the discrete elements discovered is all the more important. In order to illustrate the method of rating common qualities, a graphic rating scale for clerical workers is included. Such a scale has been used extensively by the Scott Company of Philadelphia, the Carnegie Bureau of Personnel Research, and by numerous business firms. Putting the Training Material Across There are two methods which can be employed to put across the general information which all employees in the small office should have. The usual practice is that of the group meeting where some executive of the company, such as the office manager, or some outside lecturer discusses topics of mutual interest. The National City Bank of Chicago and the Northern Trust Company are examples of financial institutions which follow this plan of acquainting office boys, messengers, and others with the funda- mental information regarding bank operations. The office man- ager of a large food products company in New York gathers all clerks together once each month for instruction covering every line of office practice. The Lincoln Alliance Bank of Rochester, New York, requires all its junior employees to attend educational meetings, held outside of banking hours, which are addressed by senior employees of the company. Many other companies give groups of employees special instruction in handling correspondence and other matters of general office concern. The formal lecture method of training, however, even though accompanied by informal discussion, seldom secures as valuable results as does training based upon the study of some printed ma- terial. The combining of lectures and group study, however, se- cures the benefits of both methods. fp'-> • Using the Office Manual Special material for group study and formal discussions ma> well be embodied in what is usually known as the office manual. 14 Name Graphic Rating Scale for Clerical Workers Dept Position Instructions for making out this report: Before attempting to report on this em- ployee it is necessary to have clearly in mind the definitions of the qualities which are to he reported upon. In each quality judge this employee and place an X somewhere on the line running from right to left that will indicate approximately this employee’s standing in that quality. It is not necessary to put the X directly above any of the division points. Judge employee on present job only wherever possible. Qualities Report 1. Appearance. Consider neat- ness of person and dress. Appro- priate Neat Ordinary Possible Slov- enly II. Ability to Learn. Consider ease of learning new methods. Very quick Catches on easily Needs repeated instruction III. Accuracy. Consider qual- ity of work, free- dom from errors. No errors Very Careful Few errors Careless Many errors IV. Dependabil- ity. Consider how well he can be relied on to do his w o r k- without supervi- sion. Very reliable Trust- worthy Usually reliable Unreliable V. Speed. Con- sider amount of work accom- plished. Very speedy Rapid Moderate Slow Very slow VI. Cooperative- ness. Consider his ability to work with others. VEt. Construc- tive Thinking. Consider his ability to grasp a situation * and draw the correct conclusions. Cooperative Falls in line Difficult to handle Obstruc- tive Shows originality Resourceful Carries out suggestions Needs de- tailed in- struction Vni. Ability to Direct Work of Others. Consider ability to direct work and gain cooperation. Gets max- imum efficiency Directs work without friction 15 Secures limited cooperation Wastes manpower Antagon- izes Such a manual should contain as a basis that body of facts which all employees should know and understand. The practice of com- panies differs widely in the nature and content of information which goes into an office manual and experience offers little proof of superiority of any particular practice. Too often a company using a manual for the first time, follows blindly the plan used by other companies without regard to the peculiar needs of the situa- tion. This trouble is entirely eliminated by building the office manual upon the basis of job analysis data. The manual should contain only such facts as are clearly called for in the detailed job descriptions. Undoubtedly such descriptions will call for facts regarding company history, its plan of organization, lines of au- thority, general rules of office routine, functions of the various departments, and the interrelations of departments, but it is use- less to clutter up the manual with information which employees never use. Many operations in a business office touch all employees. Each such operation should be covered by standard practice instructions in the interest of efficiency and uniformity. Each employee should be able to turn to the office manual and find instructions for per- forming such an operation. An excellent example of standard practice instructions, taken from the manual of a prominent St. Louis firm, is given on the next page. The most important part of the training program in a small office is concerned with individual instruction given to each em- ployee covering the performance of his or her own particular job. Because of the nature of the jobs there can be no single individual, such as an office manager or other supervisor, who acts as instruc- tor for all employees, or even for large groups. Each employee must secure instruction from his immediate supervisor or from someone who has previously held the same position. The best per- sonnel practice in this connection is that where each employee is learning to do his own job better by receiving instruction from h : s immediate supervisor and is at the same time giving instruction to the person who is next in line of promotion for his job. When this plan is carefully developed each employee becomes familiar with three jobs: his own, the job below, and the job above his own. Before he can be promoted to a higher position he must train someone to fill his present position. This system when prop- erly supervised not only secures very excellent training results but makes possible the plan of promotion which develops organization efficiency. 16 Subject: Answering the Telephone. I. Courtesy. A. It is the desire of the management of this Company that all its representatives appreciate and fully measure up to their duty in the matter of courtesy. The principle that underlies courteous treatment of others is simply that of treating them as you would want them to treat you. True courtesy is £o respecter of persons. It should be remembered that words are only one means of ex- pression, and that manner is quite as important. II. Answering Calls. A. When answering telephone calls, employees of General Plant Man- ager’s office shall be governed by the following: 1. Where a telephone is used by a certain employee and calls placed for that telephone are usually for the particular person, the em- ployee answering the telephone should answer with, “Mr speaking.” 2. When an employee answers the telephone for the head of a department or in any similar case, the person answering the call should answer with the name of the head of the department followed by the word “Office” and employee’s name. For ex- ample, Mr. Robinson’s office, Miss speaking. 3. Where a telephone is for general use, and calls placed for that telephone are usually for the department and not for a particular person, the employee answering the telephone should answer with the nam-e of the department or sub-department in which the telephone is located. For example, in case of telephone used for general purposes in the General Plant Manager’s office the employee would answer with “General Plant Manager’s office. Mr speaking.” 4. Where a person calling desires a particular employee and the latter is called to the telephone after the call has already been answered, he should answer with, “Mr speaking.” B. In case party called is absent, name and telephone number of per- son calling shall be requested in all cases, with remark that the party called will be requested to call the number upon his return. As has been pointed out the basis of training for each in- dividual is the detailed description of the duties and responsibilities of his job. Each employee should be furnished with written specifications clearly defining his duties and describing carefully the methods which he should use. Care must be taken in the mak- ing of instruction sheets to formulate each job description in terms of functions. The importance of this plan, and the attention which must be given to the work of analysis and description, is well illustrated by the accompanying instructions prepared by an office expert for one of the large life insurance companies. 17 Instructions for Writing a Job Description. Number of Cards to Make Out. I. Make out a separate card for each job. You may, however, refer to previous card if reference is definite. Ex. Carries on same work as “sales recording clerk” except for item 4, etc. II. When the employee does the same work as several others but has general charge of the work, make out a separate card, as noted above. General Directions for Writing Job Descriptions. I. In writing up job descriptions, begin with the simplest operation, i. e., the job involving the least responsibility in the department, and then work up through the more responsible jobs. II. The name of the position should (be as descriptive as possible, that is, not just Junior Clerk, but, for example, Junior Reviewer, Com- parer, File Clerk, Poster, Bookkeeper, etc. III. Give first a very brief general statement of nature of work. Ex. 1. Supervises card writing section. 2. Waits on Policyholders making personal calls. IV. Then give detailed description of work. a. If the clerk’s round of duties is daily, give those duties in chronological order. b. If the round of duties is weekly or monthly, give items in order of time devoted to work. That is, if one part of clerk’s work takes 10 days and another part 5 days, describe the ten- day work first. c. If job is one in which there is little definite repetition of duties, give items in order of importance, the most important duties first. d. If the job is a combination of the above three, give daily duties first, then weekly, monthly, etc., and last variant duties. Form of Writing Detailed Description. I. Write in present tense. II. Use no pronouns. III. Whenever possible tell where the work comes from. IV. When referring to forms, use definite form number, but also give name of form, if any, at time of first reference. Subsequent refer- ence may be either by name or number. V. Number duties (1, 2, 3, etc.) whenever possible. VI. State time devoted to each operation when possible. VII. State average amount per person accomplished each day when possible. Ex. 1. Number of dictaphone records transcribed. 2. Number of cards filed. VIII. When supervisory duties are involved, state whether or not super- vision is of a general or detailed nature. IX . Whenever possible tell where work goes to. Explanation of Questions on Reverse Side of Card. I. The question of “time to learn the work” refers to the time required to learn the job itself and not the amount of time required to be- come proficient in the job. i II. In question 4 give total time that an average person should have worked in other company positions to qualify for the job being described. If it is necessary to discuss the job analysis with the person actually doing the work, discuss matter with him as if for your own information. 18 When putting a training program into effect it must be kept in mind that standardization and the development of routine can be carried too far. It is possible to organize and classify the life and interest clear out of organization. Jobs must not be stereotyped and red tape must not be allowed to accumulate. It must be realized that individuals grow and develop and that the jobs must grow along with them. Standards and routine should never be allowed to hamper initiative or hinder individual development. It will be necessary, therefore, to revise job specifications regularly at half year intervals, and the rules of standard practice must be constantly subject to revision. The important point in this com nection is simply that job descriptions and the standard practice manual should form the working basis of individual and group training. The use of job analysis in connection with the training of office employees is not an innovation. The method has been used with completely satisfactory results in a number of progressive com- panies. Wilson & Company, well known shirt manufacturers, have made complete job analysis data the basis of their office organiza- tion and training plan. A manual of instructions gives the new employee an understanding of the general office routine and de- tailed instruction sheets are furnished for each position. The United States Gypsum Company has likewise developed detailed written instructions for each job and employs special educational counsellors who supervise new employees and watch their progress in becoming familiar with their duties. The results in both of these companies are reported as excellent. Making the Training Program Effective No training program is more effective than the supervision which is given to it. That is, training can only be carried on sat- isfactorily when the results of training are checked up from time to time and objectively measured. It is, of course, more difficult to measure production in office jobs than in factory positions where there is a more tangible output. The factory affords also the pos- sibility of a greater division of duties than is possible in a small office force. But it is possible to work out standard efficiency for the various operations in most offices and the work of each in- dividual can be measured in terms of these standards. In some cases it is possible to measure actual production. In others, it may be necessary to rely upon careful ratings or estimates of ef- 19 ficiency made regularly by one or more supervisors. The purpose of such measures is not only to check-up the efficiency of the in- dividual for purposes of salary adjustment or promotion, but to develop the further training needs of the individual. The greatest improvement in the performance of any job will come from care- fully regulated supervision of each employee’s work with the con- sequent detection of errors, weaknesses, or improper methods. These things become automatically the objectives of thorough training. The training program cannot be effective unless some executive with authority is charged with the executive supervision of the work. The individual usually charged with such supervision is the office manager, but in small companies where no such executive is employed, the duty of direct supervision must fall upon the de- partment heads. However, where the function of supervision must be exercised by a number of such department heads, some single executive of the company should be charged by the management with the responsibility of seeing that supervision is properly carried through. A system of regular reports by department heads may be found necessary in carrying out this plan. While the organization and administration of a training pro- gram is a problem for the management, it must not be forgotten that the interest and cooperation of the workers themselves is ab- solutely necessary to success. That is, it is not only necessary to provide training for the various positions, but is also necessary to make employees want to secure such training. Sufficient incentive must be supplied to secure the hearty cooperation of all the workers in the office. The principal incentive must naturally be that of ad- vancement in salary and position through the successful completion of the various steps in training. As an employee improves in ability, and therefore increases his or her output, the increase in com- pensation must be commensurate to the increased value of the em- ployee to the firm. Furthermore, the company must be careful to recognize increased efficiency, and the office organization must be such that it is possible to promote employees as rapidly as they achieve new levels of ability. In the administration of a training system, problems will arise due to the differences of ability and differences in attitude of em- ployees. Some will be able to advance rapidly, some will not make an effort to improve, and still others will be unable to learn. The 20 handling of these and other groups present a difficult personnel problem, but it is possible of solution. Department conferences and honest man-to-man dealing will eliminate wrong attitudes. The detailed knowledge of the requirements of each job, together with a method of measuring the proficiency of individual workers, will make it possible for the management to deal sucess fully with the individual who does not improve in quality or quantity of work. When the proper records are kept, the elimination of the unfit follows as a natural consequence. Complete success in the administration of a training program can be secured only at the price of constant supervisory effort. The checking of results must be regular, and the data thus secured must be carefully studied to detect weaknesses in the training pro- gram. Experience proves that the method and content of training must be changed frequently to conform to new conditions which arise, and it is only by a careful study of the training records that the need for changes becomes apparent. The failure of many promising training programs can be traced primarily to the fact that proper records were not kept. The Rewards of Training From the standpoint of management, the time and money ex- pended for a training program represents an investment from which management secures very tangable dividends just as truly as from equipment or manufacturing processes. By raising the efficiency of the individual employee, more work can be produced per day, therefore less floor space is required. Furthermore, the higher the type of the employee and the better trained he is, the less super- vision is required. Few supervisors are required for comparatively larger number of employees. Within the organization production is brought up to a maximum because the work is definitely laid out and scheduled. Records will show positively who are deserv- ing of promotion and salary increases. When it becomes advisable or necessary to discharge an employee, it is done upon the basis of facts revealed in the office records. Training is a promoter of good-will. The type of work being done as a result of a definite training program will put the industry back of it in a class above the average, and the spirit of helpfulness that is developed within the organization will be recognized and appreciated by those com- ing in contact with the management in a business way. A fifty per cent, decrease in errors and a thirty per cent, increase in pro- 21 duction has been secured by several business organizations that put on only a limited educational program, dealing for most part with general analysis, the standardization of a day’s work of the various employees. Much more can be secured by those who def- initely and systematically carry on a continuous program of train- ing built upon the actual needs of all office workers employed. 22 3 0112 05640822