Linking the Success of a Basic Skills Program to Workplace Practices and Productivity: An Evaluation.

Abstract

workplace literacy project implemented at a hospital with help from a university and a literacy organization. Results indicated significant changes in all basic skill areas and improvement in job performance, attitude, and self-esteem. ■■U.S. employers currently face a diminishing pool of literate, qualified potential employees, while coping with existing employees whose literacy levels are no longer congruent with workplace demands. In an attempt to narrow the gap between skills and workforce demands, workplace literacy programs have appeared in all sorts of work environments. Among these are hospitals attempting to upgrade employee literacy skills while maintaining high-quality patient care at lower costs. To do this, hospitals must invest in continuous learning opportunities for their employees. This article focuses on the evaluation of one such learning opportunity, a workplace literacy project (Adult Learning Program) implemented at a specialty hospital in the heart of Pittsburgh's medical complex. Work redesign began at this hospital in 1993 with an emphasis on reducing costs, developing multiskilled workers, eliminating duplication of efforts, and streamlining workflow practices. The overall goal was to create a patientfocused care delivery system in which costs are controlled, but patient care is not compromised. At the core of the restructuring plan was decreasing the number of people directly interacting with a patient while upgrading the quality of patient care by creating Care Teams. To make this work with fewer staff, the hospital was committed to increasing skill levels so staff were prepared to take on more responsibilities while still meeting patient needs. What came as a surprise to the redesign team, however, was the number of problems experienced by those who began working in these new positions. These were experienced employees who had demonstrated competent job performance in single-function jobs. Why, then, were they having such difficulty finding ways to mitigate the additional workload, communicate with team members, work with registered nurses (RNs) on a more equal foot-

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