How do you find and keep the right talent in today’s competitive market?
You develop it, say forward-thinking organizations that have found ways to invest in their employees’ education and development in spite of the economy. They've found the return on investment to be worth it.
In its goal to have a highly educated workforce, United Technologies Corp. (UTC) celebrated an important milestone in 2011. Overall investment in its Employee Scholar Program reached the $1 billion mark. In 2011, $12 million went to Georgia employees who earned 558 degrees. The worldwide provider of high-technology products and services to the aerospace and building systems industries employs about 2,000 employees in 23 facilities across the state.
“We’re a very technological company, and our culture is committed to continuous and lifelong learning,” said Natalie Morris, director of employee benefits and HR systems for UTC. Available to all employees, the Employee Scholar Program pays upfront for tuition, books and fees for employees to earn their choice of associate, bachelor’s or master’s degrees.
Improving employees improves the company overall, Morris said.
“It helps us promote from within and to attract and retain top talent,” she said. “We’ve found that Employee Scholar graduates are more likely to be promoted and less likely to leave the company.”
Chris Parmley manages a multibillion-dollar inventory logistics program for Delta Air Lines as a manager of Pratt & Whitney (a UTC division). As a new engineer, he found UTC's job offer attractive in 1980. After 31 years with the company, he knows he made a great choice.
In 1991, the company paid for his master's degree in engineering management from the University of South Florida. Working and taking a course a semester, he was offered a management position before he even graduated. He’s been promoted four times.
“It was so valuable not just to move up, but to feel confident that I had the tools and knowledge for the job as I went,” he said. How to manage in a matrix organization and how to improve process efficiencies are skills he learned at school, and uses daily.
Many UTC employees use the education benefit to earn engineering or business degrees to advance their careers, but Parmley is earning a master’s in education at Mercer University with company funding.
“I plan to retire next year at age 55 and teach high school science or math,” he said. “The company has been very supportive. Everyone respects that I’ll be doing something that will help the community.”
Many United Parcel Service leaders can boast that they started as part-time package handlers and moved up thanks to the Earn & Learn program that let them go to school while working. The program pays up to $3,000 a year in tuition reimbursement for part-time employees ($15,000 lifetime max) and $4,000 a year ($20,000 lifetime max) for part-time managers. It invested more than $15.5 million in the Earn & Learn program in 2011.
A total of 16,665 UPS employees enrolled in educational institutions gained tuition assistance from UPS in 2011, said Susan Rosenberg, public relations manager. One unique education program is the company’s partnership with the commonwealth of Kentucky and five Kentucky colleges that has allowed nearly 10,000 Kentucky students to attend college for free while working part time at UPS Worldport, the company’s international air hub in Louisville, since 1998.
“Enhancing the skills and knowledge base for our employees is a fundamental element of our success, and correlates directly with our policy to promote from within,” Rosenberg said. “We need a skilled workforce, and we believe in helping employees toward career growth and development.”
In its mission to make Atlanta a safer city, the Atlanta Police Foundation began funding scholarships in 2006 for Atlanta police officers to earn their bachelor's or master’s degrees.
“The aim was to build a stronger police department, stem the attrition rate of officers who left after two to five years on the force, and strengthen leadership in the department,” said Dave Wilkinson, president and CEO of the Atlanta Police Foundation.
Overall, the foundation has invested about $500,000 in scholarships to accredited programs of the officers’ choice. The attrition rate has dropped from 10 to 7 percent.
“The scholarship program has been tremendously successful,” he said. He’s seen the program help build officer morale, confidence and strategic, pro-active thinking, as well as improve succession planning.
“It’s one of the building blocks to building a better police department,” Wilkinson said.
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